German at KTH

Studying a language at KTH

Language and Communication offers courses in Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish. The teaching is skill-oriented and focuses on professional life in the technical sector. We emphasize skills needed at a workplace, e.g., how to describe work tasks, how to present a project, or how to negotiate and discuss successfully. Important themes in our courses are intercultural competence, which is necessary for effective communication in multicultural workplaces, and sustainability issues.

Most of our courses are taught through blended learning (online sessions as well as on-campus meetings) and include individual and group work. We make optimal use of the advantages each teaching form provides to create a flexible language learning experience. Our primary focus is to create and maintain an inclusive learning environment.

Several of our courses include meetings and collaborations with students at other technical universities as well as (virtual) study visits or lectures. These meetings and collaborations with native speakers provide the opportunity to use the target language and to establish contacts with students in universities abroad as well as with companies.

Language skills and knowledge of a country's everyday life are now one of the success factors in many professions and a prerequisite for successfully working in our globalized society. Speakers of German can communicate with about 100 million Europeans in their first language. KTH has numerous established contacts via whom many German companies offer master’s and doctoral projects.

Why learn German?

German is an exceptionally important language in Europe. German is not only spoken in Germany, but also in Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. In addition, German is an important contact language particularly in Eastern Europe, where many people do not speak English very well. For Swedish speakers, the learning process is greatly facilitated by the fact that German and Swedish are closely related: it doesn’t take long before you are able to communicate in German.

The German-Swedish cultural relations are by tradition very good. In Germany, there is a significant interest in Sweden and Swedish culture. Several Swedish authors have found a wide audience in Germany, and the same is true for many performers within various genres of music. In addition, a number of young Swedish artists have been both active and successful in Berlin.

Exchange opportunities

Germany is - and has always been - Sweden's undeniably largest trading partner for both export and import. This opens up a wide range of opportunities for Swedish students and job applicants. Many German companies offer internships, and KTH has a large network of contacts in addition to the academic exchange.

Exchange studies at KTH

Practice your German: Language café and tandem

In addition to the courses in German for engineers, students at KTH can practice the language outside the classroom by attending the language café  or finding a language tandem partner .

Contact

If you have questions or comments, please see our FAQ for German  or contact the responsible teacher: