Deutschlandfunk Radio features German Studies at Oxford

A German journalist, Andrea Lueg, from the Deutschlandfunk radio station recently visited Oxford to report on the German Sub-Faculty’s work in promoting German Studies and access to them for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. St Edmund Hall undergraduate Tim Powell tells us more:

An article on the Deutschlandfunk website by Andrea Lueg notes the sharp decline in take-up of German in recent years and praises the efforts that Oxford has made to reverse this decline. This includes the introduction of ab initio (beginners’) German; and securing a generous package of scholarship funding for Masters students, and bursaries, projects and internship opportunities for the undergraduate year abroad from the Lidl supermarket chain, which has become the first of hopefully many links between the German sub-faculty and the business world.

As part of her visit, Andrea attended a lecture on the poems of Heinrich von Morungen given by Professor Henrike Lähnemann (Professor of Medieval German and Fellow of St Edmund Hall) and interviewed some students who were present, including Tim Powell (2017, French and German), about their reasons for studying German. Andrea was very impressed by the high level of motivation displayed by Professor Lähnemann’s students, whose reasons for choosing German ranged widely from being inspired by former teachers and experience of music by the German metal band “Rammstein”, to a desire to become qualified to teach or lecture and inspire the next generation of students of German – which it is hoped that the new partnership with Lidl will support and encourage.

The radio feature is available to download here.

Find out more about studying German at St Edmund Hall