German Language: A new career opportunity

Illustration: TBS

Learning a new language entails hundreds of new experiences, boosting brain function, memory sharpness, decision-making aptitude, and, most importantly, networking capability. It may also assist an individual to pursue greater career and life goals. While speaking of foreign languages, most people first think of French, Spanish or other global languages. But what many do not know is that learning German can also aid you in achieving your long-term goals.

Germany's official language is German, which is known locally as Deutsch. According to the World Population Review-2022, approximately 95 million people worldwide speak German as their first language, with another 5.6 million speaking it as a second language. Furthermore, it is the official language of five other countries (Austria, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland).

Germany is one of Europe's most affluent countries. Its education system provides free higher education. High-quality education, high-paying employment, part-time job opportunities, permanent residency, and so on—with all these advantages, the country has recently emerged as a top destination for international students, and so has its language.

Career opportunities for German speakers

1. Bangladesh

The German Embassy in Bangladesh approved Goethe-Institut Bangladesh to teach German. Aside from the institute, many public and private universities and a few renowned colleges provide foreign language learning opportunities through their Institute of Modern Languages (IML).

For instance, the IML at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology offers a six-month certificate program and a one-year diploma program in six distinct languages (Arabic, French, English, German, Chinese, and Japanese). 

Outstanding graduates from this institute may later begin working as trainees. Interestingly, the graduates benefited by adding these extra credits to their main-stream departmental credits, as the certificate and diploma programs in any language carry 6 and 12 credits, respectively. 

Germany is a reliable donor and Bangladesh's second-largest export market. To sustain diplomatic interactions, many private and government organisations hire German speakers for interpreting services, paving the way for students to explore careers in this language.

2. Abroad

An individual is naturally delighted to hear a foreigner speaking his native language. Similarly, Germans enjoy seeing others speak their language. To study in Germany, it is not compulsory to learn German.

However, certain courses may require German at the A1 or A2 level in addition to English, which will be noted in the course prerequisites. Regardless, one must be skilled in German to survive in Germany and pursue a successful career. Not only in Germany, but German-speaking people may also be given favour when starting their careers in other official German-speaking nations too.

According to Bangladeshi students now residing in Germany, even if a student does not speak German, he/she may get a job in some major cities speaking English. There is, obviously, a lot of competition. To find a better career easily, one should learn at least level A2 from Bangladesh. Moreover, B1 or B2 will be required for future permanent residency in Germany.

How to learn German efficiently? 

Learning any language should be approached with enthusiasm so that it does not become a source of frustration later on. When learning German, one has to feel like a toddler learning Bangla words one by one. The learning process may be classified into two categories:

1. Institutional learning

In Deutsch, there are six levels: A1-A2, B1-B2, and C1-C2, as well as four sections: Hören (listening), Lesen (reading), Schreiben (writing), and Sprechen (speaking). If a student wants to learn German at any IML, he must begin with A1 and cannot start the course directly from B1 or C1.

2. Self-learning

As an interested learner, one can start with the fundamental series of German books, Netzwerk Deutsch als Fremdsprache which are globally available with the textbook, workbook, audio, video, and solution manual both offline and online. 

Additionally, there are unlimited resources available online from which anyone can learn German for free. Unquestionably, using the Duolingo mobile app is still one of the finest ways to learn the fundamentals of the German language, particularly its tremendous vocabulary. Nevertheless, the 'shortcut' approach must be eliminated from the brain from the very beginning. Self-learning is always encouraged, but a self-learned individual must go through the institutional learning system for legal acknowledgement.

A new language requires time, effort, and agility to learn. Any skill, whether for a career or recreation, requires consistent practice to maintain efficiency. In all respects, learning a new language is like mastering a skill, while also becoming acquainted with the culture and traditions of that nation. Hence, it can be concluded with a quote from Nelson Mandela, "If you speak to a person in another language, it goes to his head. But if you speak to a person in his language, it touches his heart."