The Goethe-Institut teaches German to beginners around the world. Its worksheet Du oder Sie? explains: Das formelle „Sie“ benutzen Erwachsene, die sich nicht oder noch nicht gut kennen. Adults who do not know each other, or do not know each other well yet, use the formal Sie. For the workplace it gives one rule: Als neuer Mitarbeiter müssen Sie warten, bis Ihnen das „du“ angeboten wird. As a new employee, you must wait until you are offered the du. The Hamburger Abendblatt gave the same advice in 2014: Neulinge sollten immer darauf warten, dass Kollegen oder Vorgesetzte ihnen das Du anbieten. Newcomers should always wait for colleagues or superiors to offer them the du. Chiara M. Meidinger, a board member of the German Knigge Society, says who makes the offer. In private life it is the older person, and at work the higher-ranking one.
education
Titles in Address
A guide for students at the University of Trier gives the correct written forms: Sehr geehrter Herr Professor Knodel and Sehr geehrte Frau Dr. Freudenreich. It adds that many a chief physician would not let even a patient call him merely Herr Doktor instead of Herr Professor. A guide on e-mail etiquette used at Goethe University Frankfurt tells students: Wenn Ihre Lehrenden akademische Titel führen, sollten Sie sie verwenden. If your teachers hold academic titles, you should use them. A first name is appropriate only once the addressee has explicitly offered the du. Erst dann ist die informelle Variante Liebe/r <Vorname> angemessen. Only then is the informal form Dear followed by the first name appropriate. The doctorate even appears on the German identity card. The identity card law lists the Doktorgrad, the doctoral degree, among the few details printed on the card.
The Professor Who Went Back to Sie
The Trier guide for students tells of a professor who at first said du to her staff. Over the years she found that younger staff found it increasingly hard to say du to a respected and older superior. She also found that it is much easier to criticize staff, to warn them or even to dismiss them, when one is on Sie terms with them. According to the guide, most professors therefore switch at some point in their careers to an obligatory Sie with new staff, if they have not used it from the start. The guide also says who makes the first move. A research assistant would hardly offer the du to the head of department, but the other way round would be more conceivable.
No Title Before Publication
In Germany a doctorate is not complete when the oral exam is passed. The thesis must first be published. The University of Göttingen states the rule plainly: Vorher darf der Doktorgrad nicht geführt werden. Before that, the doctoral degree may not be used. Göttingen allows two years after the oral exam. At LMU Munich, a candidate who chooses conventional printing must deliver 80 copies, the Pflichtexemplare. If the final, extended deadline passes, the rights earned by the exam lapse.
A License for the Club Coach
A coach in a German sports club can earn a license under the guidelines of the German Olympic Sports Confederation. The first level requires 120 teaching units of training. The license is valid for four years. To renew it, the holder must complete at least 15 teaching units of further training. In the Rhine-Berg district, for example, a holder whose license has lapsed for more than five years must normally take the full course again.
The Master Craftsman Goes to University
Since a resolution of the Conference of Education Ministers in March 2009, a master craftsman in Germany may study at a university without the Abitur, the high-school diploma. The Meister title opens den allgemeinen Hochschulzugang, general access to higher education. Holders of similar advanced vocational qualifications, such as technicians, have the same right. Others with vocational qualifications get access to subjects related to their field.
The Jury’s Word Is Final
Since 1964, young musicians in Germany have competed in Jugend musiziert, youth makes music. They play first at regional level, then at state level, then in the federal competition. More than three quarters of a million young people took part in the first 56 years. At every level the juries are made up of qualifizierte Fachleute, qualified specialists. They award up to 25 points. A soloist goes on from the state to the federal competition only with 25 points. The rules say: Die Entscheidungen der Jurygremien sind unanfechtbar. The juries’ decisions cannot be challenged.
A License to Train
Anyone in Germany who wants to train apprentices must first prove the necessary teaching aptitude. The Ausbilder-Eignungsverordnung, the ordinance on trainer aptitude of January 21, 2009, sets the exam. It has a written part, which should last three hours, and a practical part of at most 30 minutes in most trades. It covers four fields, from checking the conditions for training and planning it to concluding it. Germans call the certificate the Ausbilderschein, the trainer’s license.
The Correction After the Test
When a class test comes back in a German school, pupils write a Berichtigung, a correction of their own mistakes. A 2006 guidance letter for English teachers from Berlin’s education administration says: In der Regel sollten Schülerinnen und Schülern die Berichtigung ihrer Arbeiten selbstständig vornehmen. As a rule, pupils should correct their work themselves. The aim is to build Eigenkorrektur, the ability to correct oneself.
Every Borrowed Passage
A German thesis ends with a signed declaration. At the Goethe University in Frankfurt, students of the geosciences affirm that they wrote the work on their own and used keine anderen als die angegebenen Quellen und Hilfsmittel, no sources or aids other than those listed. Every passage taken from another text, wörtlich oder sinngemäß, word for word or in substance, must be marked as such. The University of Hildesheim asks for the source in jedem einzelnen Fall, in each individual case. The Frankfurt form now adds a sentence. Ich trage die Verantwortung für die Richtigkeit KI-generierter Inhalte. I bear responsibility for the correctness of AI-generated content.