Within a project, the Goethe Institute Namibia and Carina Schmid and Janusz Hamerski from Easy German and The Global Experience helped 50 German-learning students from Martin Luther High School, Windhoek High School, Concordia College, Deutsche Höhere Privatschule (DHPS) and St Paul’s College explore and experience German in Namibia through film.
The result is a great series of short movies that are shown in the successful and well-known YouTube series Easy German Online.
The individual short films approach German language and culture in Namibia as it is today and inform about characteristics of Namibia. The films are accessible to German learners and everybody who is interested in Namibia. The videos have already reached more than 16 000 views worldwide.
During the project week, the film team from Easy German together with the Namibian German pupils discovered a wide range of vital German language and culture in Namibia. While doing so, the aim was not only to improve their language skills but to motivate the students to improve and use the German language but to involve them in the filming process.
â In preparation for the film shootings, the students also learnt during an interactive workshop what it means to hold a camera in their hands and to make movies on their own. â Which picture should I choose?â , â how do I hold a microphone?â , â do I have to look into the camera when I speak?â â Katharina Stiller said in a statement.
During a city tour through Windhoek with the tour guide Dijongo Zaire, the students were able to see different sides of their capital city and also found out why Dijongoâ s German is useful for his work as a tour guide.
The next stop for the students and the film team was at Voigtsfarm, one of the oldest farms in Namibia. The farm is run as a family business already in its fourth generation.
Next to cattle breeding, German tourism plays an important role here.
On the fourth day, a visit to Nam Breweries was on the itinerary.
It is well known that a lot of beer is consumed in Germany, but how about Namibia? Which ingredients go into a beer? The students were able to ask all their questions to two employees who have completed their brewerâ s apprenticeships in Germany.
Then, the students and the film team went on a diplomatic mission and visited the German Embassy. There, the German Ambassador Christian Matthias Schlaga awaited them and their curious questions. What does he like best about Namibia? Which tasks does the German Embassy actually have?
The last day of the project was located at Windhoekâ s city centre. Who speaks German here? By conducting street interviews, the students could meet a lot of German tourists and also Namibians who spoke very good German.
During the second half of the day, everyone worked on the films. The students were able to catch a nice glimpse of what it means to cut and edit a movie and were able to try it out themselves.
