I
Michael Stang standing on “Die Alte Brucke” (The Old Bridge).
BE TH EL PARK S CHO OL DIS TR IC T
ethel Park
A view of the Heidelberg castle from “Die Alstadt” (The Old City)
A view from the castle courtyard overlooking Heidelberg.
Heidelberg as seen from “Der Philosophenweg” (The
Philosopher’s Way), a hiking trail that leads up the mountain.
60 Bethel Park
GERMAN TEACHER SPENDS
MONTH STUDYING AT
HEIDELBERG UNIVERSITY
ndependence Middle School German Teacher Michael Stang was one of
three American Teachers of German who received the Quadrille Stipend
to attend the Fortbildungskursus for non-native teachers of German as a
Foreign Language at Heidelberg University in Germany.
He was one of 50 teachers of German from all over the world, including Europe,
China, Myanmar and Israel, to participate in this program that provided them with
courses designed to further their knowledge of how to teach German as a foreign
language.
Mr. Stang was made aware of the program from an advertisement on the
American Association of Teachers of German’s website, and he applied to attend
the month-long program, which took place from August 1-26.
The Fortbildungskursus offered six courses and Mr. Stang was able to take
three of them, plus a mandatory course on German culture. He selected “German
Through Film,” “Syntax” and “Fairy Tales.”
Classes were held for three hours every morning and then the students had their
choice of optional activities in the afternoon, including trips, sports and movies.
His favorite class was the film class, because it used film clips in a creative way.
“It was way more than, ‘Watch this film clip and answer questions,’” said Mr. Stang. “I
look forward to incorporating what I learned as much as possible into my lessons.”
He felt that the month of being immersed into German culture was the most
valuable part of his experience. “There’s no better experience than living in a
different culture to learn about it. I’m now able to talk to my students about the
Germans—what they think and why they think that way. Being able to use my
German at a level of depth I don’t normally use was also a big plus.”
Heidelberg provided a great location for the program. “Heidelberg is a large city,
but not too large. It’s on the water; everybody is friendly; there are lots of things to
do and it’s easy to get around, especially if you want to go to other German cities,”
he explained.
One of his favorite things to do was to board a train with his friends and pick a
random stop to disembark and explore. He saw some unique and familiar things on
his adventures. A unique sighting was the first garage in the world built to house
a car, constructed by Karl Benz. And he felt like he was back in Pittsburgh when he
saw Pittsburgh Penguin hockey jerseys for Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux in the
back of a car.
For recreation, the program had a mini-Olympics set up, where the students
could participate in various sports such as basketball, volleyball and soccer. Mr.
Stang also enjoyed the concerts. His favorite was a concert on a riverboat cruise
that played classic tunes from the 60s, 70s and 80s.
Most evenings were spent at the Mensa on campus, the college cafeteria that
was the social hub of the college, with students socializing for hours on end—
eating, drinking, talking and playing music. Mr. Stang even sang a little Karaoke at
the Mensa.
“Heidelberg was just the perfect city,” he said. “Very beautiful and picturesque.
The Fortbildungskursus was a great program and I would attend it every year if I
could!”
Mr. Stang has been studying German since he was in fifth grade. He originally
attended West Virginia University to study Pharmacy, but switched to Teaching
after his first year and it’s a decision he has not regretted.
After graduating from WVU, he spent two years teaching German at the
University before coming to Bethel Park in 2014.
His August trip was his fourth to Germany. His first trip there was as a high
school student in 2006. He spent two months there working on his senior college
thesis in 2011 and vacationed in Germany in 2015 with his father.
His recent trip to Germany has now made it easier for him to travel abroad,
because he now has friends all over the world. For his next trip, Mr. Stang plans to
visit Israel and visit with one of the teachers he met this summer.