Digital Week of the German Language 2021
Semmel or Schrippe? German(y) is so colorful

From August 23 to 27, enthusiastic German learners from all over Thailand met for the "Digital Week of the German Language." In addition to the joy of learning German together, the focus was on how versatile the German language and culture are beyond all clichés.
 

What is the German Language Week?

The Digital Week of the German Language is an offer of the Thai German Teachers Association, the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) and the Goethe-Institut Thailand. Normally, German Language Day is held as a large-scale event for learners of German from all over Thailand. Since this is not possible in times of strict hygiene and distance rules, the event was offered digitally, over a whole week, with a professionally equipped broadcast studio. Pupils and students of the levels A1 - B2 receive each year opportunity to immerse in the German language and culture in playful formats and interactive language animations together. The goal is to experience and actively use the German language in a variety of ways together with other learners - regardless of their own language level. To experience and use the German language - regardless of one's own language level. More than 800 participants* from 31 schools and 7 universities took part in August 2021.  

So colorful is German(y)

Each year, the event focuses on a specific theme. In 2021, the motto Colorful German(y) was about the diversity of the German language and culture beyond all clichés.
 
German Ambassador Georg Schmidt summed up just how colorful Germany really is in his video greeting: "If you order rolls at the bakery in Hamburg, it's not easy. Neither does anyone who orders a Schrippe in Munich." And did you know, for example, that there are as many Swiss German dialects in Switzerland as there are mountain valleys? With her own dialect, the Swiss ambassador is the best example of the diversity of the German language. Cultural Attaché Conradin Rasi discussed with the students of German and with the German ambassador how exciting this diversity is in intercultural exchange.

What was on the program?

For a successful event, one thing must not be missing, of course: Karaoke. Michie from the Munich Supercrew got the DaF students singing and dancing with cool beats after the kick-off. Over the course of the week, the participants also created videos about their colorful Germany and shared their perspectives on Thailand's diversity in podcasts. In a quiz they could prove their knowledge about Germany, Austria and Switzerland and show their expressive skills in a competition. We list the winners of all the competitions for you at the end of the article.

Digital Week: a format with a future?

For the second time, the Goethe-Institut Bangkok set up a professional broadcast studio to offer the German Language Week virtually...Compared to last year, it was especially important to us to make the established, digital format more interactive and to also offer those pupils and students who did not participate in the competitions the opportunity to actively take part in the event.
For this reason, the conference tool Zoom was chosen. Several workout rooms were set up with a wide variety of activities (German café, online games, word box activities, etc.) in which participants could actively participate. In addition, competitions were held on a digital main stage so that students* could decide independently what they wanted to see, when they wanted to see it, and where they wanted to participate.