German names in German class

I have always politely refused the confusing custom of picking a new name in a foreign language class because the cultural value of doing so escaped me. I think that when I am teaching five classes a day with 25-30 students in each class that I must learn upwards of 100 names in the first couple of days of the

school year. Not only will this be difficult for me, but I would also like to get to know my students. While Shakespeare said, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. I would like to know my students and who they are outside of my classroom. I would like to know whom the announcements just named student government president and which students received awards. Asking another teacher to see how Waldemar was doing in his or her class, just to get a blank stare from my colleague because they have never met a Waldemar on campus, may cause more problems than the possible cultural value of assigning names.

What is the cultural value when assigning names in foreign language classes? The students get to hear German names. Generally, the names available on these lists are very old names. Hans, Dieter, Hannelore, Elke are the names of my parents’ generation and older. The names used in Germany now are surprisingly American. The movie Home Alone for example was syndicated in Germany under the name Kevin – Allein Zuhaus. This movie was wildly popular and the name Kevin became a very popular name in Germany. The name Kevin also became synonymous with children that misbehaved. Germans actually invented an affliction called “Kevinismus” which is the condition of being named Kevin that makes people socially awkward. Kevin is the most extreme example of popular American names. A lot of Germans like to borrow names from the French, Skandinavians and anywhere else. Handing students a list of German names, would probably be not very culturally enriching because German names change with current trends, just like anywhere else.

When students walk into my class, their name does not change on their student id. Very much like crossing into another country does not change the name in a passport. Once students travel to Germany they will still be called by the same names that their parents gave them at birth. I think there is value in pronouncing names with the German pronunciation, because if a person named Christian goes to Germany the name’s pronunciation changes dramatically. Sometimes when the pronunciation is changed, the student will not realize that he or she is being addressed. An entirely new name, does not help identifying when one is being addressed.

I will let everyone keep their name and their identity of their culture. I believe that changing students’ names to fit the target culture is not helpful. It seems to be more challenging and confusing to attempt to figure out over 100 actual names and associate them with 100 other names that only exist for one period per day in one room at a high school.