December 2002 - Nr. 13
Goethe Institute Reports Rising Interest in German
TWIG - The German language is attracting more and more students in Asia, South America and eastern Europe, reports Jutta Limbach, president of the German culture agency Goethe Institute Internationes. Many people in these regions see learning German as a first step toward finding work in the Federal Republic, she explained at a recent press club meeting in Munich.
Demand for German language courses is especially high in the former Soviet republics, where Goethe Institute branches often serve as havens for political opposition groups. In such cases, the educational service provided by the institute plays an important role in the shift from dictatorship to democracy, said Limbach. Interest in German is so strong in Russia, there are more applicants than the institute can accommodate. In many other regions, Goethe Institutes have proved remarkably successful when they have teamed up with other cultural institutions.
