Action-packed Munich trip delights Modern Foreign Languages students
Pupils from Third Year to Sixth Form enjoyed an action-packed few days in Munich during a Modern Foreign Languages trip.
The purpose of the trip was to experience the culture of Germany’s third largest city and to practise their German.
The first day started off with lessons at Inlingua Language School. Upon leaving the classroom, they embarked on a walking tour of the city to get their bearings. This including taking in the city’s main square, Marienplatz.
Day two began with a visit to the BMW Museum where they learnt about the car brand’s history via a range of exhibitions. They then scaled the Olympic Tower before making their way to the Allianz Arena – home of the football club Bayern Munich.
At the awe-inspiring venue they visited various parts of the stadium, including the impressive changing rooms, and walked through the tunnel to the Champions League theme.
The day concluded with dinner at the Hofbräuhaus and a German film at a city centre cinema.
The last full day of the trip saw the linguists venture out to rural Bavaria. They stopped off at Linderhof Castle and then visited the town of Oberammergau where they did a tour, visited a reptile zoo and had coffee and cake at a local hotel. In the evening the pupils competed in a Deutschland quiz.
Before heading to the airport on the final day, they had a couple more lessons at the language school.
Fifth Year Lucia Smart said: “It was an amazing experience and I learnt so much. I spoke as much as possible in German and this reinforced what we have been learning in lessons. I enjoyed the reptile house and all of the information boards were in German – this was a good test of our understanding of the language!”
Fourth Year Iwan Barrowcliff commented: “It was really good to hear the language spoken by native speakers. They spoke quickly but the work we did in class prepared us for this. My advice for anyone going on the trip in future years would be to speak as much German as you can whilst you are there.”
Sixth Form student Oliver Brindle added: “I loved the trip and it was great to be able to talk to the locals. Understanding the Bavarian dialect was a little challenging but it was encouraging when you were able to understand what they were saying.”
Third Year Anisah Dewan commented: “The tour of the Linderhof Castle was my favourite part – it is such an impressive building. I would encourage visitors on future trips to ask lots of questions as this helps with understanding the language.”
Third Year Serena Tirsahar enjoyed the tour of the football stadium whilst Chun Ka Leong was a fan of the BMW Museum. He remarked: “The attractions were amazing and as a fan of BMW and mechanics, the visit to their museum was a highlight. I spoke lots of German whilst I was there and, though the accents were a bit tricky, I understood most things easily enough.”
Head of Modern Foreign Languages Miss Sylvia Gibson said: “We crammed a lot into a short space of time during the trip to Munich but a thoroughly good time was had by all. Spending time in a German city, taking in its culture and speaking to the local people is an excellent way for pupils to build upon the work they do in the classroom at SGS.”
