In a German class about 15 years ago a student said he started German to meet new people because he never met new people. I sure was glad he started the class, because he had a stressful job and, as we later discovered, a terrible roommate. Class gave him some new connections and a really wholesome activity to enjoy.
People who talk about the loneliness epidemic (it's real!) never make suggestions like "Take a German class!" If you're lonely, take a German class! Clients in my German classes have begun to relate to one another in a really beautiful way: they remember things about one another from week to week and ask how things went. They ask about each others' weekends and how projects are going. There is a real sense of holding the other German learners in positive regard.
One of my students in an in-person class I teach here in Milwaukee is putting in an order at his local bakery for the most traditional German baked good they can bake because he wants to celebrate the end of our class together. Das ist so lieb!
Last week in the online Kurs A1 several people asked about a client who stopped attending due to scheduling reasons; I saw this client at GermanFest and I told her, so we took a photo together for me to share with the clients in the Kurs A1. Das ist so süß!
Those are only a few examples of how everyone feels connected to one another. Here are 7 ways a German class (really does) help you connect with other people, and by doing so, it helps stave off loneliness.
1. A German class provides you with regular contact with others.
When you meet with the same group of people for several weeks (sometimes classes are 9 weeks, sometimes 12, sometimes 18), you get the opportunity automatically to see the same people on a regular basis. You already know you have something in common! If someone misses class, you'll notice immediately. And if it's a class you take in your free time, then you're not forced to be together like at work; you're all there because you CHOOSE to be there. The dynamic is completely different.
In a class like mine, you'll regularly have the opportunity to work with a speaking partner or in a small group. This gives you the opportunity to get a sense of the other people and find out what they're like. You also earn a sense of achievement which you get to share because you did the exercise together!
None of this means you need to be bosom friends (we leave that up to Anne of Green Gables), but that you have classmates with whom you get to share a positive experience. And in some ways that counts more.
Plus you see your teacher every week, too!
2. The environment is more focused and safe (or safer) from a lot of political topics.
Because the focus is on learning to speak in, read in, write in, and listen to German, the focus is on German. If you've got a good quality textbook from a German publisher, these are all safe, middle-of-the-road topics. These coursebooks go out to millions of different people in different countries with different religions and different values and different beliefs, so they HAVE to be really mild. They can also be rather pedestrian, however with a quality instructor, you'll have enough enrichment material to keep yourself engaged.
If and when a discussion about politics should arise, it should A) be at a level like B1 or B2 because that's when you have enough vocabulary and sentence structure to talk about such things, and B) be about German politics and their art of diplomacy and thoughtful decision-making. Whenever we broach a topic like politics in one of my classes, everyone has to take an opinion which isn't exactly their own. It takes the focus away from everyone's personal opinions and puts the focus on how to say something in particular in German. This can be done with the Redemittel (prompts/example phrases and sentences) and/or with a roleplay exercise, where each student receives a card with a particular discussion point or opinion on it.
3. You get to play games and work through fun activities...together!
We play games in every class I teach! We've played everything from "Guess the letter" to "Correct Frau Warner" and from the Japanese letter game Shiritori to a very particular German speaking and writing game called a Wechselspiel. In one in-person class of A1 learners, some of whom were only in their second class, I gave them a set of random letters and asked them to write out as many words as they could in a 7-8-minute time period. They had a blast and got to focus on what they did know and can say as opposed to what they don't yet know.
4. When you learn German, you learn a LOT about communication.
All good German classes will teach you a boatload about communication.
When you learn German, you learn how to read the room.
When you learn German, you must learn to use your manners (either at all or even more). This includes your body language, tone of voice, and register (how formally/informally and how specific or general you speak with other people).
When you learn German, you learn how to be exact with your questions and exact in your answers.
When you learn German, you learn to bring a Mitbringsel (a small gift) when someone invites you over.
When you learn German, you learn to moderate the volume of your voice RATHER THAN SOUND REALLY LOUD ALL THE TIME.
When you learn German, you must learn to give and to receive a solid, firm handshake.
When you learn German, you must learn table manners.
When you learn German, you learn NEVER to go TMI.
And so much more.
5. A German class brings an element of consistency to your life.
You'll experience this consistency through the schedule of the class, the presence of the books and your notes throughout your week, the routine of the class and the routine of the homework, and if you're on a trimester schedule like I have, the routine of ending one class and beginning another one.
People keep talking about how "uncertain" life has become, and I think that's utter manure. Life has become inconsistent, volatile, and unpredictable. Psychologically it's really bad for us, and we need to find a handful of things in our lives which are consistent and we can rely on.
In German classes we keep things consistent, we speak politely with one another and share a lot, and people know what the activities are in each class and we keep things consistent from class to class.
One of these German classes might suit you and help you connect with other people.
We haven't even gotten started on the recipes we've shared (in online classes), the food we've shared in in-person classes, the music, the jokes, and ridiculously long German words! There's so much German to enjoy...it's time to get started.