I know you are thinking that the heading for the article looks like the slogan for Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential campaign and that does not exactly bode well for someone looking for an interesting and informative read. However, in the context of learning Deutsch, I think being a part of a diverse class has many benefits and wanted to make it the topic of this write up.

While having a bunch of interesting chaps from different cultures bumble their way through the arduous maze of picking up a foreign language with its many well concealed traps is a proven goldmine for British comedies, it is also a very good idea to be a part of a multicultural group when you are learning a new language.

Currently, in our class, we have people from four continents and over nine countries. All the diversity helps add to the richness of the classroom experience. We have students who are for example stronger with their German vocabulary than in pronunciation and vice versa. Its common to see such pairs help each other out with the course work. These different backgrounds also help in bringing different perspectives to the proceedings.

I do not want to peddle stereotypes, but I have noticed that people with more exposure to Deutsch (live closer to OSD) are better at the pronunciation, while people from outside Europe generally do better with the grammatical rules (similar to seeing non native english users do better than native speakers in the GMAT English section). This becomes a great aid for teachers as they mixing people up in groups for activities and see students help each other and learn at the same time (teaching something cements the concepts in your head as well). So, yes, being a part of a diverse class helps everyone learn better! Share your take on the topic in the comments section below!