Zwei Amerikaner in Langen

Zurück zur Startseite

Navigation

Heimat in Rubrik:

3-Schule: Englisch

Lesetipps:

Englisch

		Zwei Amerikaner in Langen > Intro > Excerpts from Margarethe's report > The Koeppens and class 10E > Key sentences

Schüler fragen sich oft: Komme ich mit meinem Englisch in Alltagssituationen zurecht? Reichen mein Wortschatz und meine Grammatik aus, um einer Unterhaltung über alle Themen folgen zu können und kann ich mich aktiv an der Unterhaltung beteiligen? Diese Fragen erhielten eine Antwort als John und Larry Koeppen, zwei Amerikaner aus dem Mittleren Westen, die 10e besuchten und über die Themen Auskunft gaben, die die Schüler wissen wollten. Wie seht ihr Amerikaner uns Deutsche, wie wird Bildung in Amerika organisiert und finanziert, was halten die Amerikaner von Bush, was verbindet die Koeppens mit Langen, waren nur einige der Fragen, die die beiden beantworteten. Locker und gelöst standen sie also vor der 10e, Vater und Sohn, Larry und John und erzählten zuerst etwas über ihren deutschen Ursprung und dann gingen sie auf viele Fragen ein, die hier auszugsweise Margarethe, Schülerin der Klasse, protokolliert hat. Eingestreut sind Schülermeinungen zum Besuch.

	John and Larry	First John and his father Larry told us how nice it is being invited. After that John showed us on a map where they come from. His hometown is Minwaukee some 70 miles away from Madison. Our bi-annual school exchange goes to Oregon only 20 minutes away. Ten years ago, John went to Oregon High, too.
top
>	The first question	... was what Americans think about Germany or what they think when they hear “Germany / Germans”. John’s father started to explain that since the 1830s there has been a huge influence of German people in the Midwest of America, because of that German words are popular over there and the citizens love Geman food. "Bratwurst" is not the only popular meal.
top
>	Larry, John and Mr. Windmöller show where Larry and John live.
top
>	Opinions	- It was very interesting to see what Americans think about politics, their country and people. I understood almost everything and I was surprised what John and Larry thought about the Germans. Katja - In my opinion the meeting was very interesting. It was nice to talk to the Americans and to discuss about topics that interest the whole world. It was also good for our English, because we could practise and improve it. Bilal
top
>	School	When asked about school and schooling John remarked that American universities are very expensive. For instance you have to pay 35.000$ a year for a private one. In American high schools you pick the subjects you like and do not think much about your future job. He has heard, John added, that in Germany everybody has to take all subjects when they are younger. In America you have six subjects per term but in Germany you can have as many as 12. Another student wanted to know whether John would like to live in Germany. First he had to laugh about the question then he admitted that he would love to, because he likes the culture, cities, food and the people of Germany. The other day he went to Frankfurt to drink that "sweet hot wine" at the Christmas fair. Germans know how to celebrate, Americans don't really.
top
>	Opinions	- It was very interesting to hear that most Americans don’t know much about the rest of the world. And that most Americans don’t want to have George W. Bush as their president any more. Mareike - I could understand everything very well. And it was interesting to hear many things about Americans, for example what think about their politicians and their president. Anna - In my opinion it was a great idea to invite these two guys. I think we had a lot of fun and were taught a lesson. I hope that they liked being in our class.
top
	Larry and John, two American guests from Wisconsin, surrounded by 10e students
top
>	Politics	The final question of that morning was the one which had to be asked: “What do you think about G.W. Bush and is he really as bad as most Europeans think he is?” First Larry answered. He told that most of the young people voted for Bush but now the older generation feels angry because they feel being deceived. John mentioned that he finds it hard to listen to what Bush is saying. Bush seems to be so dumb. Bush for sure doesn’t sound intelligent and in many respects he, John, does not agree with Bush. Too soon the lesson was over and no more questions could be asked. It was a nice experience to talk to two Americans who spent most of their lives in America. The Koeppens - a great family. Margarethe
top
	key sentences	- "Call me Larry" - "Call me John" - We (people from Wisconsin) are a little more rounded in behaviour than the rest of the USA. - In school you take the subjects you like. At that point it is not important to know what you want to become. - Americans are wrapped up in themselves. - 99 percent of all Americans have turkey for Thanksgiving. - For Thanksgiving Americans go visit their relatives. It is a family day. - It takes us a long time to get angry about something or someone - like G.W. Bush - but now we are. - Americans should not impose their will on the rest of the world. - G.W. Bush has fallen from popularity. - With G.W. Bush a lot of things are coming to light. - The electorate has finally awoken.
top
Florian M., Webteam, 22.12.2006