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Goethe-Institut

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Goethe Institut Kuala Lumpur
Goethe-Institut, Prague
Goethe-Institut Oaxaca de Juárez
Goethe Institut Oslo

The Goethe-Institut (GI) is a German non-profit organisation whose mission is to promote German language and culture outside of the German-speaking countries. Its primary concern is teaching German as a second language. The Goethe-Institut's second goal is to strengthen Germany's international cultural relations. This includes not only the exchange of films, music, theatre, literature, and the like, but also the values of civil society.

History

The Goethe-Institut was founded in 1925 as the Deutsche Akademie (DA), and currently has branch institutes all over the world: 16 within Germany and 128 in 77 other countries.

The Goethe-Institut merged with Inter Nationes, an organization with certain common goals, in 2001. After an interim name "Goethe-Institut Inter Nationes" the name was shortened to the old version.

It is named after German polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Organization

The Goethe-Institut is mainly financed by the national government of Germany, and has around 3,300 employees and an overall budget of approximately 278 million euros at its disposal, more than half of which is generated from language course tuition and examination fees. The Goethe-Institut offers scholarships to students from foreign countries. Most of these scholarships, however, are aimed at teachers of German.

The Goethe-Institut has its headquarters in Munich. Its president is Professor Dr. Jutta Limbach, the General Secretary Dr. Hans-Georg Knopp; Financial Manager Mr. Jürgen Maier.

Exams

The institute has developed a series of exams for learners of German as a foreign language (Deutsch als Fremdsprache, DaF) at all levels: A1 up to C2. These can be taken both in Germany and abroad, and have been adapted to fit into the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF), the standard for European language testing. There is also one exam, the Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom, which is at a higher level than the highest CEF level. Below is a table of the basic Goethe-Institut exams as they fit into the scheme:

CEF levelGoethe-Institut exam
C2Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung, Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom
C1Goethe-Zertifikat C1 - Zentrale Mittelstufenprüfung (neu), Prüfung Wirtschaftsdeutsch
B2Zertifikat Deutsch für den Beruf
B1Zertifikat Deutsch
A2Start Deutsch 2
A1Start Deutsch 1


In 2000, the Goethe-Institut also helped to found the Society for Academic Test Development (Gesellschaft für Akademische Testentwicklung e.V.). The resulting TestDaF exams are run by the TestDaF-Institut in Bonn, the German Academic Exchange Service. They are aimed at people who would like to study at German universities, academics and scientists.

Recognition

In 2005, along with the Alliance française, the Società Dante Alighieri, the British Council, the Instituto Cervantes and the Instituto Camões, the Goethe-Institut was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for outstanding achievements in communications and the humanities.

In 2007, it received a special Konrad Duden Prize for its work in the field of German language.[1]

By country

  • In Iran, the Goethe-Institut officially opened in Tehran in 1958, but was forced to close down in 1981 due to a diplomatic row with Germany. It reopened under the German embassy in Tehran as a "point for dialogue."

Virtual Presence

The Goethe Institut offers e-learning courses and plans to open an island in the 3D virtual world Second Life [2].

See also

References

  1. ^ 06.03.2007: Goethe-Institut erhält Konrad-Duden-Sonderpreis Template:De icon
  2. ^ Schlösser, Nico Daniel (2007-07-30). "Zweite Chance". Süddeutsche Zeitung. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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