Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

by Christine June
U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern Public Affairs

Viktoria Ehrhardt has helped Americans here say “Ja” instead of “Nein” to the question, “Sprechen Sie Deutsch?” for close to 30 years.

“I love my job. Ja, I enjoy it so much,” said Ehrhardt, a conversational German instructor.

She teaches 10-week conversational German levels 1, 2 and 3 classes at the U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern Army Education Centers on Rhine Ordnance Barracks and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

“Her courses are ideally suited for family members who just want to learn some basic German conversational phrases in order to comfortably adapt to German life and culture,” said Gale Stewart, a garrison education services specialist.

That’s why Bonnie Nicholson took Ehrhardt’s conversational level 1 class at ROB.
“We want to be able to experience Germany as much as we can, and by learning the language, I feel like we can do that,” said Ms. Nicholson, who at the time had been here for eight months.

Ms. Ehrhardt began teaching here at Ramstein Elementary School. She added adult afternoon and evening classes at Landstuhl about 25 years ago, and when she retired from teaching in 1998, she started morning adult classes at ROB to reach more students.

“I have many people who can’t come in the evening or afternoon because of their children and family so they prefer to come in the morning when their children are at school,” she said.

Her classes offer a more informal and relaxing alternative for learning basic things about German language and life, Ms. Stewart said.

“She keeps it light and fun. She’s a wonderful teacher,” Ms. Nicholson said. “She’s always willing to answer a lot of questions and to discuss German culture which is helpful for us.”

Conversational German level 1, 2 and 3 classes start Aug. 25 and 26 at the Army Education Centers, Room 1, Bldg. 285 on Rhine Ordnance Barracks and Landstuhl Army Education Center, Bldg. 3701. Cost is €70 per student, cash only. Payment is due on the first day of class. For details, call the instructor, Ms. Ehrhardt, at 0631-72255.