The German Program at W&J is a culturally centered program designed to teach students about the language, the people, and history of German speaking countries. Students will learn to effectively use the German language and knowledge of the culture in contemporary society. Students of German are encouraged to use the liberal arts tradition to go beyond their German classes and demonstrate interdisciplinary skills as a core part of the course of study.
The German program is a proficiency based language program. This means that at various levels (100, 200, 300, and 400) students must demonstrate standards-based abilities in German.
For both the major and minor, students are required to take advanced level classes, no matter what their proficiency. You can achieve this level of proficiency through coursework, past experience, or study abroad. The major and minor are based on W&J coursework at the advanced level.
Classes at the 100 level are elementary in nature and focus on everyday interactions, basic exchanges of information, and a functional notion of the culture.
Classes at the 200 level are intermediate in nature and require students to be able to understand a wider variety of spoken German. Students are introduced to literature and are asked to make connections between disciplines
Classes at the 300 and 400 levels are designated as “advanced level.” These classes require students to express themselves verbally and in written form on a wide variety of cultural and practical topics. Additionally, these classes are taught exclusively in German.
Double Majoring or Minoring in German
We encourage our students to link a German major or minor with another course of study. Current and recent W&J students with concentrations in German have also majored in fields as diverse as biology, history, psychology, political science, English, and business. We also have students who pursue Pennsylvania teaching certification in order to teach German at the high school level.
