German language program to graduate first batch of high school students

By the end of this school year, a group of Filipino high school students will be saying “guten tag” (good day) as they find better opportunities on their way to college and beyond.

Twelve Philippine public high schools are set to graduate the first batch of students in a special German language program, a two-year beginner’s course introduced last year through a partnership between the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Goethe-Institut, Germany’s cultural institution.

“We signed a memorandum of understanding with DepEd last year and we have agreed to introduce German in the curriculum of high school students on a pilot program,” said Helmut Frielinghaus, Goethe-Institut language consultant in Manila.

Chosen by DepEd for their high achievement rates, the schools conduct intensive German language training for up to 25 of their top students four hours a week.

After undergoing intensive training during the long school break, a total of 40 teachers continue to improve their German on Saturdays. German trainers assist in the preparation of lessons for the students.

Goethe-Institut initiated the program to boost the qualifications of Philippine graduates and enhance their chances of getting German university scholarships and jobs in German firms in the Philippines, in Germany and other parts of the world, said Frielinghaus.

“We have a huge demand (for people who speak German) in the Philippine job market. We also have many offers and study possibilities in Germany for Filipinos,” Frielinghaus said.

German is among the foreign languages currently taught in selected Philippine public high schools. The other languages are Spanish, French and Japanese.

Frielinghaus told the Inquirer that there were more job offers than possible employees because German and other foreign languages were not included in the basic education curriculum.

He said German companies operating in the Philippines, among them information technology and outsourcing firms, were offering an increasing number of jobs for German-speaking Filipinos but could not find qualified employees.

Goethe-Institut also hopes to see more Filipino students apply for scholarships in German universities.

Thousands of slots are available in undergraduate and master’s programs—both in English and German—in German universities, mostly state-funded institutions, for students from around the world.

“There is this fast-growing job market and there is this huge offer for Filipino students going to Germany to study in high-quality study programs for free,” Frielinghaus said.

Meanwhile, Goethe-Institut expressed support for the K+12 program, DepEd’s plan to make the Philippine education cycle the same as the rest of the world’s and to make high school graduates more employable with an additional two years of schooling.

He said Goethe-Institut could assist in the implementation of the program that would give Filipino high school graduates a direct track to foreign universities as most require 12 years of basic education for admission.