Leeds-Dortmund scheme shows continued appetite for German language learning

Leeds has been partnered with Dortmund since 1969

A new Leeds-Dortmund German language initiative shows that there is still a big appetite to learn foreign languages in Leeds, despite a national figures showing 'a catastrophic decline in formal language learning'.

A new online German language course for Leeds residents, organised by organisations in our partner city Dortmund, which ran earlier this year, has proved so popular that Dortmund is now organising a brand new course starting in September to satisfy the demand.

The Anglo-German Society in Dortmund is cooperating with the Language Institute of the Dortmund Auslandsgesellschaft to run Wilkommen in Dortmund (Welcome to Dortmund), a new and unique online course for absolute beginners from Leeds.

Participants will get to know more about Dortmund, which has been Leeds’s German partner city since 1969.

The twelve-week online course, taught live from Dortmund, gives participants the chance to do both! The course, which is also supported by Leeds City Council, combines hands-on language learning with real cultural connections. Students will learn how to speak German in everyday situations – while also discovering the people, history, and character of Dortmund.

The lessons will take place once a week on Tuesday evenings from 6.30 to 8.00 pm (UK time) starting on Tuesday, 16th September.

To support the partnership between Leeds and Dortmund, the Language Institute of the Dortmund Auslandsgesellschaft is offering this course at the special price of 60 Euros. This fee covers both tuition and course materials which will be provided free of charge each week in the form of a PowerPoint presentation.

Geoff Tranter of Dortmund's Anglo-German Society said: "While language learning in schools nationally may be in decline, the fantastic demand for a new course shows there is a considerable untapped desire in Leeds, to learn languages like German in a way that provides everyday skills and fits about the realities of people's lives."

To register for this special German course Wilkommen in Dortmund, simply go to the Auslandsgesellschaft homepage https://auslandsgesellschaft.de/willkommen-in-dortmund-deutsch-lernen/.

For more information, contact Geoff Tranter at the Anglo-German Society, Dortmund, email: geofftranter@yahoo.co.uk.

Leeds and Dortmund have been partners for over 50 years. The twinning partnership dates back to the period after the Second World War when cities across Europe started twinning to promote peace and understanding between communities across Europe.

In 2021, following the end of the Brexit transition period, the two cities reaffirmed their commitment to the partnership with the resigning of an updated Memorandum of Understanding. 

Recent areas of cooperation include youth exchanges, education, culture, digital technology and economic development.