Almost like a native speaker
The 22-year-old Indian student Saurabh Divekar is currently completing his final exams in a German Studies master's degree programme. Starting in October, he'll begin a second German-language master's degree in "German as a Foreign Language (DAF)" at the Freie Universität Berlin. In an interview with Janna Degener, he describes his experience mastering the German language.
Where did you learn German?
I started learning German in the tenth grade. A friend and I decided to take an evening course offered by the university in my city – two-hour class periods three times a week. After graduation, I went on to get my bachelor's degree with a major in German Studies, during which time I attended an intensive language course at the Goethe Institute. There I learned German for 30 hours a week until I had reached the C2 level. In my first semester of my master's degree programme in German Studies, I enrolled in a language course and then focused on the didactics of the German language. We discussed and examined a variety of learning methods and theories, such as how to integrate learning games and literary texts into “German as a Foreign Language” instruction. Even though we had excellent teachers at the university, the language courses were large – 30 people in a course – and I was a little reluctant to speak up. At the Goethe Institute there were only 15 to 20 people per course, which allowed everyone to speak more often. The Goethe Institute also used more types of media which made the courses much better. But also much more expensive!
And then you came to Germany last summer...
Right. I participated in a three-month programme for foreign German Studies students. For the first two months I worked as a temp at several factories in Munich. And then with a scholarship, I took two German courses at the Freie Universität Berlin. They placed me in the highest level course which I completed with a 1.0. I never had a problem with the German language in Germany – a lot of people praised my German. I don't find German very difficult – aside from modal verbs in past perfect passive. (laughs)
Why do you want to become a German teacher?
Foreign languages come easy to me. In addition to my native language Marathi, I can also speak the official Indian languages Hindi and English, as well as Gujarati. I've also learned a little Japanese. I originally started German and Japanese because I wanted to work in international relations and was hoping for an appointment to a highly respected government post. But then I worked as a freelance translator for a few months which made me realise that I didn't want to sit in front of the computer using passive, specialised vocabulary all day long. I wanted to work with people instead, and read, speak, write and hear German. That's when I decided to pursue a master's degree in “German as a Foreign Language” – even though my German was already good enough to get a well-paying job at a company or in politics. Since February I've been teaching German at a private institute two to three times a week. It's so much fun. Like last week, I started teaching my students about the German division and the GDR – and then we all watched the film "The Life of Others".
You've just finished your German Studies degree programme and are well-versed in the didactics of foreign language instruction. What advice can you give people who would like to learn German?
I think what's most important is that you enjoy the language and aren't afraid of it. A teacher's task is to convey this joy of language learning. I believe that people learn better through songs or plays. For example, I like listening to "Nicole", because her lyrics are easy to understand. I also like "Xavier Naidoo", the "Toten Hosen" and German rap. And I also act in a German-language theatre group. My professor translated a Marathi story into German about pre-arranged weddings. It’s a subject that fascinates many Germans. We've rehearsed the play and are going to perform it again for the third time here in India. It's also good to read and write German a lot if you want to learn the language. You can chat in German and write German e-mails in your home country. And when you're in Germany, you shouldn't spend all your time hanging out with fellow compatriots, but try to make German friends as well.
You've already completed a bachelor's and master's degree programme in India and are currently teaching German. Why do want to get another master's degree in "German as a Foreign Language" in Berlin?
I really enjoyed being in Germany last year. I made lots of friends and Berlin was absolutely beautiful. But I was there in the summer – there were lots of tourists and many, many international students at the university. So I haven't become acquainted with the "real" Germany yet and I would definitely like to see more of the country. Furthermore, it's a big challenge to teach a foreign language – you have to be extremely well trained. I would like to achieve a native-speaker level of proficiency and become a better teacher with a master's in "German as a Foreign Language" – for example, by learning the newest methods of GFL instruction and collecting materials for my future classes. I'd also like to visit some other countries in Europe – maybe Italy or Spain. The degree programme comprises one semester of study abroad which I'm really looking forward to. And maybe I can also do an internship at a publisher while I'm in Germany. Then I'll be so well trained I could work in Germany or India as a GFL instructor and even write my own textbooks.
