Better a good neighbor than a distant friend? About 350 students from both Germany and Drenthe came today to the NHL Stenden college in Emmen to get acquainted with their neighboring language.
The organization was in the hands of sixty teacher training students, who taught through workshops about growing up in a border region and the benefits of this.
The initiative for the so-called ‘neighborhood language day’ came from the Eems Dollard Region, a meeting center that is committed to meetings and other activities related to the border region. “We often have a mindset in the Netherlands that young people here think that they are at the end of the world. They often envision a future in the West. I hope that the children will become proud of this place and think: I live in a border region, that’s great,” says Lea Timmer of the Eems Dollard Region.
It was an exciting day not only for the German and Dutch students, because they did not understand each other. It was also hard work for the teacher training students, because speaking German is not their daily activity. “I can’t speak German at all! So I’m happy that we have a few people in the class who speak the language a little better,” says second-year teacher training student Anouk Jansen.
One of the workshops was a kind of Pictionary. “Then they see a photo on the board and they have to write down the Dutch and German words, which really makes them think about what the two different words are,” says Jansen.
In that game, the students immediately notice that many German and Dutch words are similar. Although Roan Loer, a student from group 7, has known this for some time: “I just speak Gronings to the German children, they understand that well.”
But not everyone has the same approach, because English is also used. For example, Myrthe Sikkema, a student from group 7, tries to use her English knowledge, even though there is a German dictionary right next to her. “I just find that a bit easier, because I know many more English words and that’s how we figure it out,” says Myrthe.
Many of the German students speak some Dutch because they live in a border region. That is why they realize that it is important to organize a neighborhood language day. “We often come to the Netherlands, for example to buy food, so it is useful if you speak Dutch. We go here because Dutch food is much tastier,” says a German student, laughing.
Dutch primary school pupils also find it important to learn more about the German language. “I really like this and it’s nice to speak a little German when I go to Germany with my parents, for example, but I really don’t want to live in Germany,” says Myrthe. Roan also doesn’t see himself moving to our neighboring country anytime soon: “I want to continue living in Midwolda.”
Living in Germany is a big step, first get acquainted with the German language. Lea Timmer hopes that in a few years the students will think back on this day and choose the German subject at secondary school. “German is not mandatory everywhere, wouldn’t it be great if they continued to follow this?” And the students like that.