It’s the mission of the Goethe-Institut to promote German language and culture. At the institute in San Francisco we consider music and soccer integral parts of Germany’s culture, in particular its youth culture. That’s why over the past 15 years we have organized numerous projects centered on music and soccer such as the Transatlantic Soccer Bridge tournament or concert tours by popular German artists. Step into German is the culmination of these efforts.
With the advent of the Internet it’s now so much easier to be exposed to German popular music. You can now listen to the latest album of your favorite band a few days after it was released in Germany. But at the same time you’re faced with an abundance of riches. Where to turn to find among all these musical offerings a song whose lyrics are suitable for an American high school, or a video clip that does not hurt American sensibilities?
Step into German features music videos that are right for you and your students, both in terms of lyrics and visual content. We also provide you with worksheets for each video so that you don’t have to spend hours of your precious time preparing for class. Just download the “Teaching Materials” and you’re ready to go!
Even if you’re not a big soccer fan, after the 2006 World Cup you must have realized that Germany is a soccer crazed country. You’re also aware that soccer has become the most popular youth sport in the U.S. for girls and boys alike. What you may not know is how to use the world’s fascination with “Fußball” in your German classroom.
Enter Step into German. This website does not try to turn you and your students into soccer aficionados (even though that may very well happen ;-) We don’t offer a language course full of esoteric terminology that’s only of interest to your hard-core soccer players. Instead, the website presents easily accessible video clips, podcasts as well as grammar and vocabulary exercises that will appeal to all of your students. Introduce Germany’s geography by visiting the Bundesliga cities, practice the numbers by listening to the scores of important games, “interview” the stars of the 2011 Women’s World Cup.
If you already work with soccer or music in your classroom, we’d love to hear from you. Let us know your ideas, send us your teaching materials – we’re happy to include them on our website. Our goal is to keep the materials fresh and up-to-date, and to reach that goal we need your help.
Subscribe or unsubscribe 
