German language students at Ashton Sixth Form College have been getting to grips with an app which aims to improve their German speaking skills.

Two students from The University of Manchester, Ben and Nadir, have been developing a website and app which aim to improve pronunciation in non-native German speakers as part of their studies.

The Ashton students were offered the opportunity to test the app and website and give feedback on usability. The programme is being developed by a group of German language students at The University of Manchester (Team Denglish) and teaches high-level pronunciation skills thorough phonetics.

The link was made possible by German teacher Guy Bennett who also lectures in Grammar, Translation and Business German at The University of Manchester. Guy felt our A-Level students would benefit from the app, especially before their final oral exams, and his Manchester University students would also benefit from user feedback.

Ben and Nadir also spoke to the students about why they chose to study German at University. Nadir (currently studying joint honors in German and Chinese) stated the opportunities to travel to both China and Germany as part of his course as particular reasons for choosing his programme of study. Ben mentioned to the students that studying a modern foreign language gave great opportunities for travel and employment as linguists are currently one of the most employed groups of graduates.

Ashton Sixth Form College student Anna Ridgway (pictured) commented “The app was really useful; it helped me to understand how to pronounce some difficult words. Ben and Nadir were great; they gave us all an insight into studying German at University”.  

You can view the Team Denglish website at www.denglishglo.tk/