Originally Posted by
Denti
No idea about other european countries, however, in most german states to get A levels you need to have two foreign languages in the mix. German, however, is optional
English is usually a given, the second language can be usually chosen dependent on staff available, although sometimes schools in a city pool pupils into one course for the more rare languages, like russian or mandarin.
Denti
My PA speaks Russian, though she was born in what was East Germany, and her parents spoke it, so not unsurprising maybe although she was born in 1991 so post wall removal. However her knowledge of English / French /Spanish/ Italian / Arabic is a little more of a challenge for my limited skills ie German and Spanish, but the later is from South America (Chile) so when I worked in Spain in late 80,s I got ribbed about my "old" Spanish. Also in Bavaria, as you may know the accent is some what different to my Northern German accent, again causing some smiles amongst my staff. Mind you I always used to struggle when trying o understand excited Glaswegians when they were speaking English, God knows what other people from overseas do !
Orac
I have the same issue, but I do remember faces, so when meeting a new team or client who I recognise, we play the old 10 questions about careers to find where we last were working together. As my sector is a little like the travelling circus, I am not alone thankfully in this. Mrs Mac who is 10 years younger however, seems to remember everything about the people she works with, including children's names, and even their careers which I would have no hope with, which maybe why she is better at her career than me !!
Cheers
Mr Mac