How Philippines' schools embraced German language

"A German lesson is starting in a public-school classroom in the Philippines, and it opens with a greeting: "Guten Morgen," the teacher says. Students respond carefully, shaping unfamiliar sounds before moving on to short dialogues about directions, food, family, and eventually, culture. German has a reputation of being a difficult language to learn, but this also makes it a valuable assetImage: Stanley Gajete/DW In a Philippine public school, that routine still feels unusual."

"German, after all, is more commonly associated with international schools or private language centers. But the language has quietly taken root in selected secondary schools due to a program launched by the Department of Education some 15 years ago with the backing of the local Goethe-Institut, an international organization cooperating closely with the German government. Following a pilot project on foreign languages in 2009, the Department of Education updated its curriculum and launched summer trainings for German teachers with the help of the Goethe-Institut in 2011."

"The partnership between the Philippines' educators and the Goethe-Institut has changed many careers. Marites Lacson, a longtime English teacher at Paranaque High School in Metro Manila, still remembers when the Department of Education memorandum first arrived. The authorities were offering several foreign-language courses, but German stood out to her because she found it intimidating. "I told my department head to offer it first to our experienced teachers," Lacson told DW. Some 600 teachers had applied for the 2011 program nationwide, and Lacson says she was "lucky enough" to be chosen and trained."

German language lessons have been introduced into selected Philippine public secondary schools, beginning with simple greetings and progressing to dialogues about directions, food, family and culture. German is viewed as difficult but valuable, and the language has been added to public-school offerings through a Department of Education initiative backed by the local Goethe-Institut. A 2009 pilot led to curriculum updates and summer teacher trainings in 2011. The program attracted hundreds of teacher applicants nationwide and has led educators to retrain, treat German as a professional challenge, and view the skill as an investment.

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