Label Culture caught up with the German Language Society for this week’s Societies Showcase.
Tell us a bit about your society…
Hristiyan – Well, we’re a friendly group of people who just wanted to provide an opportunity to students to learn German in a relaxed and informal environment. Anyone with an interest in the German language or culture is welcome, and we want to offer German speakers the chance to network with each other. The society is a new one for this year, and we recently hosted our first social with a very positive turn out!
Szymon – I think it’s also important to note that our society is named the ‘German Language Society’ not just the ‘German Society’, because we are open to people of every nationality who share our love and interest of the German language and culture. People of any level of advancement in German are welcome, you don’t have to be completely fluent or anything!
Isobel – There’s also no competition or expectation, and it’s a great place to meet people and build on your German speaking skills.
What motivated you to join the German Language Society?
Hristiyan – Actually I had wanted to set up the German Language society last year, but as a fresher I joined quite a few societies at the start of the year and ended up having very little time for any others! It may have been for the best though as now I know a little bit more about what is expected of a society. I found out a few weeks ago that Isobel had set up a German Language society and, unsurprisingly, I immediately offered to do what I could to help get it up and running. We’re having a meeting in a few days with our members to find out what direction they want the society to take and to agree with them on what we as a committee will do to get it there.
Jack – I joined because I pursued German at A Level and wanted to keep it going at university so I didn’t get too rusty and forget everything. We only set the society up this year, so we’re pretty new at this, but it’s been great fun to be apart of so far!
Szymon – Isobel got the idea to set up a German Language Society after she couldn’t find it during the Societies Bazaar, and wanted to stay on top of it after A Levels. She thought that having a German Language Society would be the best way to do that in terms of practise and speaking ability. Since I speak some German, I offered to help her in creating the society and getting it going.
Isobel –I’m really pleased with how many other people are interested in speaking German, and I hope that we make it the as good of an experience for people as it can be. As a committee we want the society to work for everyone, so we really value feedback and ideas from our members. We want to be as collaborative as possible and are always open to new ideas.
What kind of events do you put on?
Szymon, Jack and Isobel: Two weeks ago, our first social took place and we regard it a great success! We got together as a society for a drink and just got to know one another, a very informal kind of thing. As we’re a new society we’re still trying things out and coming up with some ideas so we can find the right balance between improving our German effectively and having fun. We had a great time at our first social, and we’re planning another one after Christmas – probably in the first week of semester 2 after exams. We want to hold regular meet ups, and in the future we’d love to host some film/TV nights where everyone can watch and discuss different German films they’ve seen. Other ideas that have cropped up in committee meetings have been a German-themed brunch with games too!
Why do you think your society is a good one for people to get involved with?
Jack & Isobel: Not only is it a bargain membership price of £5, but also is a really great way to meet new people from loads of different countries and cultures. The more people that give involved the better! It’s also really useful in terms of developing your language skills, whether you want to do so for your course, career or just for fun!
Anything else we should know about?
Jack & Isobel: We cannot stress enough how much we have planned for after Christmas. For all the information regarding socials, meet ups and anything else we organise the best way to find out is through our Facebook group. We are always happy to welcome fresh faces!
How can people get in contact with you?
If you want to know more about us, are interested in joining or just want to keep up with what we’re planning take a look at our Facebook, Twitter or Website. Alternately, feel free to get in contact with us by email: germanlangsoc@gmail.com
