The Latest at Goethe

At the Goethe-Institut’s partner school in the Croatian town of Pula pupils learn German with enthusiasm. It’s a success story from a tourist destination with a momentous history where learning foreign languages is a must. By Aya Bach

The hush of evening falls over the town on the Adriatic Sea. Bats whirr through the Roman arena cutting closely past the sun-drenched walls, perhaps like an evening back in Ancient times when the gladiator battle was reaching its bloody ending. Today, when we look through the stone arches, the past millennia shrink to a fleeting moment. Out on the sea, the shipyard cranes are illuminated by the sun’s setting rays. Today, shipping and tourism are the chief industries here. The peak season is now over, but tourists still stroll through the town admiring Roman ruins and magnificent Habsburg buildings; one last camera flash flares in the gloaming.

The next morning, I have a date to meet pupil Sarah Kim and two of her friends for a guided tour. Their German teacher has excused them from class. We meet at the imposing arena, which is almost as large as the Coliseum in Rome. Blood flowed in Pula as well, Sarah tells me, and the stench must have been awful. “From all the sweat! But they had large amphora full of perfumed water that was then sprinkled about.”

Learning German with PASCH:

Sarah offers a few more details that are not in every tour guide’s script. She is fifteen and wants to someday work in the tourism industry as so many young people here. She is still attending the school of tourism, which is a partner school of the Goethe-Institut. Although she spent the first ten years of her life in Aachen, she still finds German lessons interesting. They are quite different than the other subjects because not only are Sarah and her classmates permitted to show a German journalist the city, but are also able to take part in many other special projects. For example, a recent project focused on the fall of the Berlin wall. “I sang the European anthem in German. We held an exhibition and handed out flyers in town. It was great!”

Lessons anchored in real life – the German teachers Marina Bojanić and Vesna Pavletić are responsible for the project Sarah is describing. The exhibition is quite professional. Pictures by the photographer Stefan Koppelkamm – who shot photos of East German towns shortly after the fall of the wall and again about ten years later – are hung on rails as in a museum. The material was provided by the Goethe-Institut, as was the funding for the sleek presentation. All of this is part of the PASCH school partnership with the Goethe-Institut.

James Bond and the fall of the wall

Yet, the project also involved a great deal of effort by the class. The pupils went to town to explain something about German history to tourists. Marco (18), for example, who comes from the vicinity of Pula says “I wore a stylish suit, like James Bond,” and grins. “First it was weird, but then we noticed that it worked very well and the people said it was great.” Marco plans to study German after graduation. He learned German at an early age. Since his parents own a marina he – like many of his classmates – is accustomed to speaking German with tourists.

Anyone who deals with many international guests as the young people here knows how important foreign languages are, including and in particular German. German speakers make up the largest tourist population in Pula. “That’s a whole, whole lot; you simply have to speak German,” says Dennis (18), who later plans to take over the family restaurant.

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Nevertheless, what is natural for many pupils has not yet reached the ears of educational policymakers, bemoans German teacher Marina Bojanić: “Every year, we had to strike one school from the list of schools that teach German!”

So, the tailwind offered by the Goethe partnership comes at the right time. The two teachers, who call themselves the “PASCH Team,” make sure their pupils receive the practical speaking experience that they will later need in their professions. This means that German lessons are sometimes held outside school; the pupils set up an information booth for tourists, distribute flyers or answer questions. Now, during off-season, many young people from Germany are here on study trips and they want to know where McDonald's is or which clubs offer the best music. The pupils know that at least as well as the officials at the tourist information office.

International friendships

In the meantime, the pupils who chose other foreign languages are growing envious of the German classes. The partnership with "Goethe" allows for things that were once unthinkable; not merely the unusual forms of lessons, but even a lounge that all of the German pupils can use during their free periods. The Treffpunkt.de is an inviting place to chill with its chic black sofas, internet access and a huge flat screen TV.

It also has books and magazines; even Bravo, the popular teen magazine that makes some parents in Germany turn up their noses. But, for the PASCH Team in Pula, the Bravo love story is not taboo. “At first we feared that when the parents find out that they show unclothed boys and girls, they might protest,” Marina Bojanić tells me. “Here in Istria, we are rather strict Catholics.” So far, no one has raised any objections.

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Not to mention the main attraction for all PASCH schools worldwide: those who do very well in lessons have a chance to receive a three-week scholarship to Germany. Marco was near Weimar where he got to know PASCH pupils from 60 other countries. “We all improved our German,” he says, but for him the most important part was the friendships he made there with his peers. “I was sad when we came back. It took me two days to get used to living in Croatia again.”

Sarah still doesn’t feel very at home in Croatia. Yet she, too, profits from the PASCH projects, which focus less on grammar and more on speaking ability, teamwork and independent learning. Maybe she really will become a tour guide one day; she has certainly become fond of the history of Pula. A parking garage was supposed to be built across the street from her school, but Roman relics were found during excavations: “More than 3,000 amphoras, jewellery and dishes!” For Sarah, it’s certain that the garage will have to be built elsewhere!

The tourists would thank her. During her tour I not only learned a good deal about Pula’s history, but also now know where to find the best ice cream in town.

The article and films are a co-production by Deutsche Welle and the Goethe-Institut. They were created by Deutsche Welle reporters.