WHY STUDY GERMAN?

More than 130 million people worldwide speak German as their native language or second language. German is the official language of Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, Liechtenstein and one of the official languages of Switzerland. German is also used in the European Union as a business language alongside English and French. ^[1]   Germany has the largest economy in Europe and is ranked fourth in the world in nominal GDP (4 trillion). It comes as no surprise that Germany has an incredibly strong and skilled workforce, with approximately a 97% employment rate among those between the ages of 20 - 64 ^[2]. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), Germany is the second-largest global export economy and is the home of the 'modern automobile' therefore, vehicle parts are in it's two top exports totaling over $222 billion. 

According to LinkedIn, Germany is recognized as a global leader in technological innovation in the aforementioned automotive engineering, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing practices ^[3]. By studying and understanding the German language, businesses can collaborate and understand these cutting edge developments which staying prevalent in an increasingly competitive market. 

GERMAN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON

Here at the University of Akron students will learn to value the German language, culture, history and themselves as individuals. We offer a wide variety of courses to fit all learners. Those with previous German study should greatly consider taking a placement test, located on MyAkron underneath the My Experience tab. 

No prior experience, no problem! Students can enroll in Beginning German I and continue their study through the Intermediate levels!