It is the evening before the beginning of my German intensive courses at the Goethe Institut Dresden, and I am very excited. German is essential in my field (biblical studies) not only because of important untranslated works in the history of interpretation, but also because new research is regularly published in German in the top journals and monograph series. However, most people in biblical studies have never studied German in a traditional way; instead, we typically either independently work through a “German for theological reading” type of book or take a “German for graduate reading” type of course. In other words, we get a crash course on grammar but typically don’t have the opportunity to actually learn the language. Actually learning the language is, of course, valuable in its own right; however, this also increases reading facility.
For this reason, I am incredibly excited for the opportunity to study German in Germany this summer at the Goethe Institut in Dresden and grateful to the Summer Language Abroad and Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures for the grant that made this possible. In addition to the same reasons that everyone in my field would be excited to study German in Germany, for me there is an extra reason. I actually lived in Germany when I was a child (after China and before the US) and acquired fluency naturally in situ. However, I unfortunately forgot German very quickly after moving to the US. For a long time I have longed for the opportunity to have an immersive experience in Germany and see how the language “comes back.”
I have been very much looking forward to the immersive language experience in Germany and expect significant improvement in my German. I have had a crash course in German grammar and have read academic literature since then, but have had no opportunities for speaking and listening since living in Germany as a child. This immersive experience will, of course, also increase the reading facility that is essential to my academic research. At the end of my courses this summer, I will be at the B1.2 level.