They have trouble with the article in German. “Der Kaffee” and “das Café?” The blonde nurse shakes her head: “We don’t like these articles!” says Leslie Eldrige, laughing. She’s learning German together with other South Africans at the Goethe-Institut in Johannesburg. “The teacher only speaks German,” sighs the 50-year-old student who nevertheless enjoys learning and isn’t to be discouraged by “der, die, das”, the three articles in German. “I have a Swiss passport,” she adds, “but I can’t speak German.” Another student, Clement Scholtz, is a young black man who even has a German name but no connection with Germany, except that he’d like to study there.
The motivation for South Africans to register for a language course at the Goethe-Institut in Rosebank in the north of Johannesburg is as diverse as their cultural backgrounds. The teacher Agnes Harms encourages her students, who are immersed in a role-play visit to German authorities. After all, it could be very useful for a future stay in Germany. Fanyana Mazibuko has already been to Germany several times. He’s a retired teacher who was prevented from working in his profession for 20 years under the Apartheid regime in South Africa.He later set up an organization to promote education. “I find the German class a real challenge,” says Mazibuko with a grin.
The institute in Johannesburg promotes the German language abroad, encourages international cooperation and conveys a comprehensive, modern image of Germany. This Goethe-Institut is just one of the eleven institutes and ten Goethe Centres in the Sub-Saharan region. There are two language learning centres in Cameroon and a centre in Djibouti; then there are four Goethe coordination offices in Malawi, Burkina Faso, Rwanda and North Nigeria. Some 600,000 Africans are learning German in schools and 25,000 register at the institutes and Goethe Centres each year. Half a million students are learning German at secondary schools in Africa’s francophone countries. “In the countries that were or still are French-speaking, there’s a strong interest in German,” says Robert Fallenstein, head of the language section for Sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2008/2009 two new institutes emerged in the region: in Tanzania the institute reopened in Dar es Salaam after being closed for ten years for financial reasons. And “Goethe”, as the institute is popularly known, has been established in Angola’s capital Luanda. “Angola is very active and interesting culturally. And it’s an important economic partner for Germany,” says Fallenstein, as he explains this move. In South Africa, for instance, the Goethe-Institut also supports almost 100 schools and teachers with materials, scholarships for further training and student language courses in Germany. Around 8,000 students are learning German here. Admittedly, during the 1980s there were about 25,000 people learning German. The decline is partially because nowadays South Africa has increased its support for African languages.
“The Goethe-Institut in Johannesburg still has a fairly constant number of about 300 students a year,” says language course coordinator Ottilie Ramonat. There is also a broad range of courses in Cape Town. But in general the learning groups are much more mixed than they used to be, and there are far more black students now. Some students are sent by German companies, others come for the fun of learning and out of interest in the language and culture. And the course participant Fanyana Mazibuko has another reason, too: “The World Cup will be starting soon, and lots of German fans are coming. So that will give me a good chance to practise.” Not only South Africa is preparing for this major sporting event in June and July; the Goethe-Institut is planning a number of projects for the football spectacle as well: 100 children from the regional partner schools are being invited to the World Cup stadiums in Johannesburg. They will be training with the players and taking part in music and theatre workshops in the “German Lodge”. Plans are also under way for an exhibition on “Football Impressions” and a natural science exhibition asking “Is the ball really round?”
“Soccer Stories” is the title of a workshop in a township, where children will be writing stories about football that will then be published. During the World Cup, information about football will be available in many “Libraries with a Kick”, and live transmissions of the matches are destined to transform libraries into meeting centres. At the same time the Goethe-Institut in Johannesburg will mutate into a “trailer park” for football fans during the contest: converted caravans, decks on wheels, mini-lounges, attractive bars and football on big screens will be creating a subculture campsite idyll and a vibrant World Cup atmosphere in the big city.
