German Personal Statement Example 8

Studying German at an advanced level strikes me as a very natural choice due to my cultural heritage and my strong interest in the subject. I have been brought up in the French-speaking part of Switzerland in a very multicultural family with an Italian father and a German-Iranian mother. In addition to encouraging and nurturing my interest in foreign languages and cultures, this has also exposed me to the vital importance of multilingualism, especially in an era of strong globalisation. Having been surrounded by a great number of German-speakers throughout my life, I have developed a love for the German language and an ear for foreign languages. This has also instigated a distinctive interest in linguistics and structure variations. I was first introduced to German literature by a captivating piece of work entitled "Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer" by Patrick Suskind. I was fascinated both by the way that this work was structured and, more generally, by the world of German literature itself. Currently, I am reading one of Germany's latest bestsellers: " Berlin, Alexanderplatz", a challenging novel that I find particularly interesting especially after having spent 1 week this October in Berlin, to undertake further field investigations in regard to my independent research for the german written exam. In summer 2009 I had the opportunity to spend 3 weeks on an intensive course at the Goethe Institute in the Bundesland of Bavaria. Here, I found myself immersed in the German language and culture-an enriching experience which has undoubtedly contributed to my desire to study the language further. My grandmother, having herself been head of the Iserlohn Goethe Institute, introduced me to the complexity and beauty of Goethe's genius through many novels, poetry and plays. I completed most of my education in schools where a strong emphasis was put on playing musical instruments in orchestras, which is known to help the brain develop to its greatest potential and to enhance academic achievements. I have played the piano, the alto and the flute with a large proportion of the compositions I studied having been written by Germans. This illustrates how dynamic and rich German culture is. I have had the opportunity to spend most winters in Austria where I am able to combine my passion for skiing and the development of my understanding of modern Germanic culture. During my gap year, I spent over 1 year in Australia and New Zealand, developing my language skills whilst experiencing a vastly different culture to my own. As a consequence, I have become a very competent speaker in English and I have taken up the challenge of studying in this language in order to develop an even higher degree of proficiency. My near-native ability in English highlights both my aptitude and my passion for languages. Studying A-levels in the UK not only helped me develop critical and in-depth analyses thinking skills through subjects I highly enjoy but also has confirmed my ambition to pursue in higher education. I have always combined my study with a part time job, as I believe it to be essential to my personal development and growth in both maturity and independence. Most recently, I worked at one of Switzerland's biggest University hospitals in the statistics and public health departments, where I was involved in transcribing and analysing collected data. The area called Lake Geneva Region, where I grew up, is surrounded by numerous international organisations such as the UN, the WHO, and the Council of Europe, to mention only a few. These organisations gave me the ambition to work at an international level, and I believe the course for which I am applying will enable me to attain the linguistic and academic level required by such distinguished institutions. In this respect, I believe your establishment to be an excellent choice, as it would help me to achieve my goals through its high standards of teaching and research.