Languages – Dr Oliver Hartwich

Why learn German?

12/10/2023

This speech, delivered to the Auckland Goethe Society, celebrated the bond between New Zealand and Germany, highlighting the joys and challenges of learning German while emphasizing the cognitive benefits of bilingualism. It also (humorously) touched on the importance of understanding MMP and the unique German sense of humor.

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Acta non verba*

01/09/2017

By all means, let’s increase our schools’ language teaching capacity. But let’s do it properly.

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In terms of badly used English

05/07/2013

A few years ago, my pet hates in the English language were narrowly defined. They were the handful of words and phrases football star David Beckham typically uttered when reporters courageously interviewed him. ‘You know’, ‘like’ and my personal favourite, ‘like, you know’ were chief among them.

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Language competence is a benefit

15/03/2013

For countries whose official language is English, there may not be the immediate business imperative to learn other languages since world trade is dominated by English. Despite this, other English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia are realising the benefits of language instruction and promoting second languages at school.

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