Germany

Germany, a parliamentary republic in Western Europe, is the most populous nation in the European Union and the second most popular migration destination in the world after the United States. The official language is German. Learn more about Germany

History of German Immigration

German Americans are citizens of the United States of German cultural or linguistic ancestry. The first significant numbers arrived in the 1680s in New York and Pennsylvania. Some eight million German immigrants have entered the United States since then.

Culture

The following are generalizations based on conversations with German tourists, students and immigrants to the United States. In no way are the observations below intended to describe the mindset of every individual.

Social

Social Distance

Germans are sometimes initially perceived as reserved and unwelcoming, due to the conventional use of last name and a title, such as Mr. or Mrs., Dr., Professor, etc. in German society. Phrases such as “Nice to meet you” with an introduction or “Hi, how are you today?” between strangers are uncommon in Germany. As a result, Germans new to this country often do not know how to respond to these ritualized social exchanges, which makes them appear awkward and detached. When asked how they are doing, Germans might either deem this question too personal and “out of place”, if it comes from someone they have not met before, or, if asked by an acquaintance, Germans might respond with an honest assessment of their well-being that day.

Social Customs

Thank-you notes are not expected and are rather unusual. Immediate feedback about a present, such as in the form of a phone call, is felt to be more personal.

“Inviting oneself” is not a major faux pas. It is common for children to go by their friends' houses to see if they want to play. Arranged playdates are less the norm.

Children's tables at dinner invitations are unusual as well. Children are included in the meal and then “sent off” to leave the adults to socialize among themselves.

Directness and Conflict Readiness

Germans tend to be direct and say what they think, even if this causes a conflict. When, for instance, watching a youth soccer game, it is not unusual to hear German parents call out real criticism for poor play. Americans tend to applaud both good and bad play, by giving children credit for trying (“Nice try”, “Unlucky”). Problems with friends are addressed quickly and friendships are usually strong enough to weather open criticism. It might take a bit longer for a German person to extend an invitation to someone, but when they do, they mean what they say.

Americans' friendly ways with casual acquaintances, while appreciated, are often misunderstood. When an American says “Drop by when you're in the area”, or “Keep in touch”, they will be surprised to find their German acquaintance (whom they may or may not remember) at their doorstep the next time he or she is in the area. Germans tend to take these invitations literally and are disappointed when it turns out that they were not really expected to accept that invitation.

Relationships

Friends vs. Acquaintances

It takes longer for a German person to call someone a “friend”. Germans distinguish between friends and acquaintances. In general, Germans have a large group of acquaintances and a small circle of friends. In some situations, people might have been acquaintances for many, many years, without progressing to the informal form of addressing another person (“du”) or to a true friendship.

Education

Responsibility for educational oversight in Germany lies primarily with the federal states individually whilst the government only has a minor role. Optional kindergarten education is provided for all children between three and six years old, after which school attendance is compulsory for at least ten years. Primary education usually lasts for four years and public schools are not stratified at this stage. In contrast, secondary education includes four types of schools based on a pupil's ability as determined by teacher recommendations: the Gymnasium includes the most gifted children and prepares students for university studies and attendance lasts eight or nine years depending on the state; the Realschule has a broader range of emphasis for intermediary students and lasts six years; the Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational education, and the Gesamtschule or comprehensive school combines the three approaches.

In order to enter a university, high school students are required to take the Abitur examination, however students possessing a diploma from a vocational school may also apply to enter. A special system of apprenticeship called Duale Ausbildung allows pupils in vocational training to learn in a company as well as in a state-run school. Although Germany has had a history of a strong educational system, recent PISA student assessments demonstrated a weakness in certain subjects. In the test of 31 countries in the year 2000, Germany ranked 21st in reading and 20th in both mathematics and the natural sciences, prompting calls for reform.

In the annual league of top-ranking universities compiled by Shanghai Jiaotong University in 2004, Germany came 4th overall, with 7 universities in the top 100. The highest ranking German university, at number 45, was the Technical University of Munich. Most German universities are state-owned and until recently did not charge for tuition; a 2006 education reform measure calls for fees of around €500 per semester from each student.

Beliefs about School-Readiness and Literacy Development in Children

Through conversations with German parents and educators as well as through informal review of German curricula for pre-school and Kindergarten, I was reinforced in my impression that German children are not expected to learn letter names and corresponding sound before 1st grade. Kindergarten curricula focus on a child’s cognitive, social and motivational development in play, during craft and music activities and in physical movement. Children explore their environment and their place within those environments through simple problems loving activities. Phonological awareness activities, such as rhyming and word segmentation are incorporated into everyday activities, however no effort is made to introduce children to the study of letters. Curriculum reviews and school readiness protocols for the first grade stated the following criteria for a child entering 1st grade:

• Language: The child should be able to speak fluently and correctly, find a rhyme to a given word (hose-nose) and know his/her prepositions.

• Pre-numeric knowledge: The child should visually recognize or differentiate between amounts, know the numbers from 1-10, count up to 10 forward and backward, be able to sort groups of objects with their corresponding number and differentiate between ordinal and regular numbers.

• Perception and Motor Skills: Child should be able to imitate a clapped rhythm, trace the movement of an object with the eyes crossing the body midline, hold his/her balance while standing on toes, recognize the direction from which a sound is delivered and recognize and sort objects by weight.

Language

According to 2000 census data, German is spoken at home by 0.527% of the US population.

Brain Drain?

Although large-scale German immigration to the United States all but ended after the “Wirtschaftswunder”, the economic upswing experienced by Germany and Austria after WWII, a marked increase of highly skilled and educated workers from Germany entering the United States was observed between the years 1990 and 2000. This raised the question of whether Germany is experiencing a “Brain Drain”, or one-way flow of skilled and educated professionals from Germany to the US. It is hypothesized that many of these skilled workers leave Germany’s lagging economy (unemployment rate around 11%) and high taxes (wage and social security tax combined account for 47% of income) to seek better opportunities in the United States.

According to US census data, a total of 29,000 Germans with Bachelor degree or higher had entered the US within 5 years of the 1990 census. In the year 2000, that number had risen to 49,000. Numbers dropped slightly after 9/11, most likely due to greater restrictions on entering the United States, as well as increased apprehension on the part of many Germans.

A closer look at immigration data however reveals that most of the above cited increase seems to be made up of temporary migrants, not permanent residence seekers. While temporary mobility rose sharply between 1990 and 2000, the number of green cards issued to German-born individuals has only slightly increased.

English Language Skills

The great majority of Germans entering the United States speak English. Throughout all branches of the German educational system, German is typically introduced as a mandatory foreign language no later than 5th grade, with many elementary schools offering English language classes as early as 1st grade, as an extracurricular elective. Upon graduation from Hauptschule, Realschule or Gymnasium, students will typically have completed between five and nine years of English language instruction.

It is important to keep in mind that conversational language skills (BICS) of many Germans entering the US might lag slightly behind their academic proficiency (CALP) in the language, since much of what is learned in the classroom pertains to the latter. As a result of high English proficiency and educational status, Germans living in the United States tend to be fully integrated into mainstream society.

Implications for the SLP

A Kindergarten or 1st grade German-American child who appears to be behind his or her class in the acquisition of certain preliteracy skills might not have been exposed to the formal study of letters, their names and corresponding sounds.

For an older German child who enters the school-system as a reader and writer it is important to keep in mind that the German written language is rather phonetic in nature, meaning that letters are consistent in their representation in words. The letter “g”, for example, is always pronounced /g/ in a German word, regardless of the context, whereas in English, it could be pronounced /g/ or /dg/. Therefore spelling in German is much more easily mastered, once a child has mastered letters and corresponding sounds. This, of course, could lead to phonetic rather than orthographic spelling for child beginning to transfer literacy skills from German to English.

A German American bicultural child might be slower to warm up to children and expect greater intimacy and more frequent contact from a friend.

The German parents of a client might initially appear more reserved and possibly more openly skeptical or critical than many American parents. Remember to be direct in your interactions.

Original Contributor: Daniela DeYoung, Winter 2007