Opening in Mannheim in 2028, the Forum Deutsche Sprache will be part language museum, part science centre – a place where visitors can discover, explore and actively engage with the German language. Prof. Dr Henning Lobin, scientific director of the Leibniz Institute for the German Language (IDS) and the main force behind the project, explains what makes the Forum so significant and previews the fascinating programme ahead.

Since 2020 the Goethe-Institut USA has been expanding its nationwide network to boost German teaching by working together with American schools. “SPARK for German” is a joint project of the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) and the Goethe-Institut. The acronym stands for “Strukturiertes Programm zum Aufbau von Ressourcen und Kompetenzen” or “Structured Programme for the Development of Resources and Skills”.

Worldwide an additional four thousand German teachers are needed. Language skills are the key to successful integration for immigrant students and skilled workers.

Rukiye Samanci knew exactly how to explain maths - but only in her mother tongue. At first, she sometimes felt like the little mermaid who dreams of a prince above the water but has no voice to speak to him.

Learners with self-regulation skills learn more efficiently – at school and later in life, too. But is that possible with fewer teachers?

Manuals, deliberations, data analysis tools... For about twenty years now, experts have been struggling to make German officialese more comprehensible. But there’s still a lot of work left to do.

The latest annual report by the German Expert Council on Integration and Migration clearly shows that the German healthcare system can’t function without skilled personnel from abroad. What language skills do doctors, nurses and other health professionals need to communicate effectively in the workplace?

How do you motivate youngsters to stay on the ball when learning a foreign language? How can schools contribute to personality development? Experience shows that strategy games can help achieve both of these goals, as well as giving kids a better understanding of democratic decision-making processes.

Who learns German and why? And what can governments, institutions and teachers do to ensure that languages are accorded equal importance? We asked Hans-Jürgen Krumm, a professor of German studies and author of a recently published book entitled “Sprachenpolitik Deutsch als Fremd- und Zweitsprache”(Language Politics in German Teaching).

A look at German university curricula shows that teacher training has yet to be internationalised all over the country. In a recently published anthology of articles on the subject, the SCHULWÄRTS! research hub explains why it’s so important for teacher trainees to do placements abroad.

How can you address complex issues like poverty, solidarity and growing inequality in German classes? Can ESD goals be worked into language teaching? This article points up some inspiring approaches and methods that teachers of German as a foreign or second language can use.

Language learning trains the brain. Learning two languages at an early age develops language skills in general. But bilingual kids also do better in other cognitive subjects – like mathematics. Professors Michaela Sambanis and Heiner Böttger explain why a paradigm shift is needed and how to make it work.