This week, we get advice from students enrolled in German classes at South Mecklenburg High. Twelve of the students will be traveling to Germany for a week in mid-June, where they will live with host families and attend Gottlieb-Daimler-Realschule, a German school in Schorndorf. Here, they share their tips on learning German and thoughts about traveling abroad.

Q: What is your favorite German phrase?

Nathan Fisher: “Der Hubschrauber landet auf meinen Dach.” (The helicopter lands on my roof.)

Thomas Dols: “Wann du willst” meaning, “if you want.” I’m not quite sure why, there must be something appealing about both false cognates in the three-word phrase.

Jennifer Su: “Das ist mir Wurst.” It literally translates to “That is sausage to me,” but it means it doesn’t matter!

Abie Bonevac: “Das ist so fabelhaft!” which is, “That is so fabulous!” It’s just fun to say.

Q: Why do you enjoy studying German?

Abie: I enjoy it because it’s something that most people don’t even think about taking. It’s all (about) Spanish and French, but what (is) fun about doing what everyone else does?

Nathan: Because unlike English, there are explanations for almost everything about the language.

Lukas Burak Hilgenstock: I was born in Germany. (And) all the people in my family speak either German or Turkish, so it allows me to communicate with a large part of my family.

Jennifer: I really enjoy studying German because English is also a Germanic language, so it helps me in that field. It’ll also help me out with a medical career, if I choose to follow that path. Really though, I enjoy making all these new sounds you don’t really hear whilst speaking English.

Q: To be considered wise, what must you know?

Lukas: I think you need to have a broad vocabulary, which comes from reading books at or above your skill level. You need to know your basics, i.e., grammar, capitalization, etc.

Jennifer: To be considered wise in German to me is knowing all of the definite articles for every noun. There (are) three of them – der, die and das – in German, whereas in English all we say is “the.” It’s a hassle to learn, and anyone who has memorized all of them definitely has my respect!

Rhianno n Williams: It’s the same with any language, you need to know the slang!

Q: How can youth be successful?

Nathan: Start (learning German) early and learn to speak it first. Writing should come to you as you speak because the language is phonetic.

Lukas: Just have a positive attitude, and realize that you’re not going to walk out of class after the first week as a German major. It takes practice.

Q: Are you nervous about traveling abroad?

Jennifer: I’ve already talked to my (host) family student beforehand. She is 14 and likes Justin Bieber and shopping.

Stormy Boutwell: No, this is going to be an adventure.

Q: What are you looking forward to experiencing in Germany?

Most of the students said German food. Here’s what Jennifer had to say:

Jennifer: I have been vegetarian for a year, but I’m going to eat meat while I’m in Germany. I also want to eat authentic Black Forrest cake.

Q: What’s one thing worth remembering in tough times?

Jennifer: Emil Kerbs knew 68 languages perfectly! He studied 120; if he can do it, so can you!