http://www.whatcanidowiththat.com is a website explaining different ways to use German in your future! Why Learn German? The German language is very practical for today's global society and can help a student lead a more successful life. Finance, career enhancement, travel, heritage, personal enjoyment, and human services are just a few of the areas enriched by the study of German. Here's why: +German is the most widely spoken language in the European Union and in the rapidly growing markets of Central and Eastern Europe, where it is a language of business, diplomacy, and tourism. Germany is America' largest trading partner in Europe ($34 million in German exports) and is the third largest economic leader in the world. +More than 750 major American firms do business in Germany. More than 2,500 German companies/subsidiaries invest in businesses in the United States with many hundreds of thousands of American employees. For example, German and Japanese are the pilot languages for future Microsoft products that will be eventually brought onto the market. Other companies are participating in joint ventures (such as Mercedes with Chrysler and the Bertelmann take-over of Random House. In fact, 68% percent of all Japanese students learn German. In addition, Germany hosts important international trade shows. +Learning German helps students achieve higher SAT and ACT scores. This is because German and English share thousands of the same words, and English bases its syntax on German (both developed from the same language family). +In a two-month survey of 631 advertisements in "The New York Times" in which persons with a language skill other than English was requested, more than half listed mentioned a need for German. +More than 25% of all foreign tourists visiting the U.S. come from German-speaking countries. The German-speaking countries have long been a popular tourist destination for American travelers. In fact, Germans are the most traveled people in the world! Travel in Europe is easier with a knowledge of German because so many people speak it (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, parts of other European countries, and countries west of Russia). +Nearly half of all pharmaceuticals come from Germany and Switzerland. Medical research continues to thrive there, and many U.S. companies have affiliates in German-speaking countries. +Germany has made tremendous strides in pollution control, ocean- ography, forestry, agriculture, fisheries, and wildlife management. American and German research scientists often cooperate, such as in JOIDES, the Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth sampling, as well as the Nautical Alamanca and Spacelab. +One out of every ten books published in the world is in German. Germany ranks third in the publishing industry (behind Britain and China). It is the one of the main languages for scientific publications. +Many post-secondary schools offer majors that recommend the study of German. For example, at the University of California 56 majors require German, compared to 43 French, 21 Spanish, and 7 Japanese. These include careers such as accounting, anatomy, architecture, art history, banking, biology, bio-medical physics, botany, business, cartography, chemistry, design, education, engineering, export, fashion, film making, foreign correspondence/journalism, foreign service, genetics, geology, hotel management, international trade, interpreting, law/international law, linguistics, logic and methodology of science, molecular biology, marketing, medicine, music, nuclear energy, philosophy, physical science, physics, physiology, political science, publishing, religious studies, research, sociology, stock brokering, technology, tourism industry, translation, and zoology, to name a few. +Non-university studies include the armed forces, auto production, computers, manufacturing, the airlines and other international transportation, sports, etc. For example, the internationally renowned German monument preservation office provides money and technology/skills to help countries such as China and Jordan save their national monuments, which are up to 7,000 years old. Also, the world's third-largest automotive industry supplier, TRW, which is American, manufactures airbags in what was the formerly East Germany. In every third car in Europe which has an airbag, there is a part from this company. +A review of Nobel Prizes indicates that scientists from the three major German-speaking countries have won 21 prizes in Physics, 30 in Chemistry, and 25 in Medicine, while many other laureates from other countries received their training at German universities. Nine Nobel Prizes have been awarded to German and Swiss writers, and seven Germans and Austrians haved earned the Nobel Peace Prize. +To learn more about careers in German, visit http://home.netscape.com/netcenter/careercenter and type in the word German. +Germany's educational system is a leading model for the current emphasis on school-to-career partnerships and mentoring. It is the source of some of our own educational traditions: kindergarten, education for the deaf, technical training, graduate school, and vocational-technical schools, and physical education. +American history has been shaped by many Germans and German- Americans. In fact, one out of every six Americans is of some German descent, and their impact continues to be a definitive element in the American way of life. Knowledge of the German language and culture is invaluable in understanding your own history, society, and culture. +Even in the world of sports, German-speakers figure prominently. Germany accumulated the second-highest total number of medals in the 1996 Olympics while also winning the European Cup in soccer for the third time as well as the highest total number of medals in the 1998 Olympics. In World Cup soccer, Germany has reached the finals more often than any other country,and only Brazil has won the title more often. In addition, tennis is a sport at which Germans excel, and athletes traditionally dominate alpine skiing to the extent that German is the sport's primary language. +Let's not forget personal enjoyment: music, literature, philosophy, and more. Learning German is a great way to develop self-awareness and an understanding of other people. You gain new insights and perspectives and enlarge your horizon by discovering a culture other than your own. For example, a musician who visits a favorite composer's city, eats the cuisine there, visits the composer's home, attends concerts of world class orchestras to hear his music, and talks with the people there will feel and understand a stronger connection with that composer's music. The importance of German may not seem so obvious to Americans because we are separated from Europe by thousands of miles. But it is becoming more important worldwide, and you will be glad you studied it!!!