German course offered at FSCC

Area residents who don't know the meaning of that phrase -- which means "Do you speak German?" -- but are interested in learning, may be just the people FSCC is looking for when the Community Education Department at the college starts up its newest foreign language course offering next month.

The special continuing education Conversational German class, which will be open to the community, will be taught by Harold Hicks, an English instructor at FSCC who originated the idea for the course and lived in Germany during his time in the U.S. Army in the mid-1970s.

"We keep it relaxed and friendly," Hicks said. "I wanted to keep proficient (in German) and the best way to learn something is to teach it."

Students in the course will learn the basics of communicating in the German language.

"We're starting from bottom level basics," Hicks said.

Last spring, FSCC offered a similar class that taught students the basics of the French language. Participation in the class "shifted" throughout the semester, Hicks said.

Hicks, who has proficiency in the German, French and Spanish languages, is involved in the language arts department at FSCC and also helps students develop their writing skills.

If the foreign language course offerings at FSCC are popular and successful, college officials could make other foreign language classes available in the future, Hicks said.

"I think there will be more and more community involvement," he said. "We want to make sure these types of things are available for the public. I learned more about my language from these other languages."

The knowledge and use of foreign languages is slightly becoming more popular in the community and among FSCC students, Hicks said.

"I think there is equal community and campus involvement," he said. "We have students (in the class) who are learning English as a second language and there are students who learn French as their third or fourth language. It's for students who just want to learn a language."

The classes, which cost $50 including the textbook, will take place from 3 to 4 p.m. each Friday starting Feb. 5 at the Maximized Individual Learning Laboratory (MILL) inside the FSCC Academic Building, 2108 S. Horton St. Pre-registration is required for the class.

For more information or to enroll in the class, call FSCC at (620) 223-2700, extension 430.