The Auckland Goethe Society Exams

2016 German Examinations Prize-giving
On September 22, the Fisher & Paykel Appliances auditorium at Auckland University was packed with students, parents, friends, families and teachers to attend the prize-giving celebrations of the 2016 Auckland Goethe Society German examinations. This year over 530 students from Years 7 to 13 participated in these competitive tests.  127 of them were invited to the speaking examinations held at the university in August 20, and 83 attended them.“It looks like the demand for German in schools is on the rise,” said Heike Papenthin, National Adviser for German in schools.

Student Elysha Negi (left) with her teacher Heike Zimmer and her younger sister. photo: Doris Evans

130 students more than last year attended this year’s exams, which is fantastic. “The students showed wonderful levels of proficiency in German, some of them outstanding,” added Anna Bauer, Acting Head of German at the University of Auckland. We're all hugely appreciative of the wonderful work being done by the teachers of German at the Auckland schools. 

The examinations would not be possible without a team of people willing to be involved, in particular Steffi Glowinski, Malin Messmer, Nicole Perry, Pia Schneider, Patrick Flamm, Janelle Wood, Heike Zimmer, Janet Welch, Michael Kandlbinder as well as committee members of the Auckland Goethe Society.

Special thanks goes to Gretchen Badenhorst, who coordinated the examinations. Gretchen has been the lead committee member organising the examinations and the prize-giving for the last four years.

Doris Evans

German Quiz Night

Wednesday 27 July saw another very successful instalment of our annual German Quiz Night at University of Auckland. Over 35 secondary and tertiary students and their teachers joined UoA German Studies in the Arts 1 Common Room for ten rounds of tricky questions about German and the German speaking area.

Having prepared the quiz together with new lecturer Dr Nicole Perry, UoA students of German Rebecca Reilly and Adam Koifman moderated the quiz with grace and aplomb, managing to mark the questions in record time later.

School students made use of their chance to explore German at uni, asking both the uni students and the lecturers many questions about study options. At UoA, we look forward to seeing many of them and perhaps even more during our "explore German at UoA" weeks 26 Sept – 7 Oct this year.

The UoA German Quiz Night 2016 was made possible through a project grant from the DAAD, the German Academic Exchange Service.                                                                      Anna Bauer

Ingrid Kölle and her book about New Zealand

Ingrid Kölle @Doris Evans

Around 14 interested people joined us on Monday, July 18, to listen to writer and journalist Ingrid Kölle, who was presenting her new book 'Neuseeland - ein Länderporträt'.

Ingrid shared the experience she enjoyed while working on this book and talked about the process of writing. She then read passages from her book, which gives an insight into nature, culture, politics and economy of Aotearoa, but also points to the danger of this unique environment. The fluid style of her writing and her experience as a broadcaster, made listening to her very enjoyable.

Ingrid has worked for the German Broadcasting Corporation (ARD) for over 30 years. She has travelled the world and taught German in Great Britain, Sweden and New Zealand. In 2003 she returned to Wellington, New Zealand, where she has studied art and creativity, teaches free form dance and continues writing documentaries for German Radio.                                                                                              Doris Evans

Monique Surges “Learning languages has made my career”

Monique Surges and Dr. Anna Bauer photo: Doris Evans

Around 40 people, mainly students, joined our event at the Auckland University on Tuesday, May 24. Monique Surges, Chief Executive Officer of the New Zealand German Business Association Incorporated (NZGBA) gave us an insight into her successful business life and the advantages she enjoyed because of speaking more than one language. Monique, who is a Kiwi-German “hybrid”, brings over 25 years of experience dealing with Germans and New Zealanders. She also speaks Spanish.

Audience at Auckland University photo: Doris Evans

One is never too old to learn another language. The University of Auckland offers a number of courses – from simple language learning classes to programmes including literature, culture and linguistics. Speaking the native language in a foreign country enrichens your experience as a traveller. If you are looking for a job, being bi- or multi-lingual can be a door-opener. 

Doris Evans

Nicole Perry: Native Americans in German culture

Nicole Perry

12 people joined us to listen to Nicole's talk on April 26, 2016.
In her presentation, Nicole looked at the historical development of the 'Indianer' (Native American) image in German culture and literature. The second part of the presentation concentrated on Native American reactions to the German idea of what is Indigenous- the example she used was a Karl May film adaptation, which was combined with a video game image and soundtrack by an Indigenous artist. It ultimately showed that even positive stereotypes of Native Americans are still stereotypes and still need to be deconstructed. 

Nicole Perry is a Lecturer in German at the University of Auckland. She completed her PhD in Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Toronto (2012) with a dissertation on the German image of Native Americans from 1800-present. 

Machi Christidou

“ The current refugee situation in Germany and how Germans handle it“

Heike Papenthin photo: Doris Evans

The situation of refugees in Germany was certainly a topic that drew a lot of interest. Around 50 people joined us to listen to Heike Papenthin's presentation. She gave us an insight to stories behind news headlines and some critical thoughts on the media coverage. As an active Couchsurfing host and supporter of teaching and learning German in NZ, she has had many encounters with young Germans who have shared their stories with her about their and their friends´ involvement. Some of these stories were really touching. Video clips from German television about how the integration is handled and how children of refugees learn German added value. In her detailed presentation, Heike also took a deeper look at the linguistic changes around words such as refugee, asylant seeker or migrant. It was a memorable evening.  Doris Evans

Astrid Wolter, Heike Papenthin and guest photo: Doris Evans

@Doris Evans

Student Lunch at University of Auckland

@Anna Bauer

@Anna Bauer

@Anna Bauer

On Wednesday 16 March, the AGS treated the students of German at University of Auckland to a free lunch. 
We had organised fantastic and very authentic Laugenzöpfe (lye sticks) and Apfelkuchen (apple cake) from Brotzeit Bakery in Rosedale, and Zwiebelbrot (onion bread) from Bread&Butter in Ponsonby, accompanied by some other delicious but more international things. Put together, that resulted in a very nice German-style Brotzeit (cold lunch/supper), which we enjoyed while having a very nice time chatting and laughing. 
Over 40 students attended the event, heard about the AGS and what we do, and over a third of them signed up on the spot to become members. Herzlich Willkommen!

Anna Bauer

Sylvia's Bakery - German Bread Demonstration

@At Sylvia's bakery

Hi all,

@Auckland Goethe Society

we've had a great time at Sylvia's Bakery this evening. Sylvia is from Berlin. She opened this bakery in October 2014 at 598 Remuera Road, Auckland. More Info here: http://www.sylviasbakery.co.nz/ 
With the help of her assistant, Magdalena, they demonstrated how to make "Roggenbrot". We tasted some Sonnenblumenbrot and some Kuchenbrot, too.

Mahi
President, Auckland Goethe Society