Kolkata Girls To Represent India In German Olympiad

Kolkata girls Mayukhi Ghosh and Yukta Raj have been selected to represent India in German Olympiad contest which will see learners from 72 countries. The two students from Modern High School for Girls are flying high with the opportunity that has poured in.

They had topped a national-level language competition thus earning the opportunity to represent India at the International German Olympiad in Freiburg this July.

Yukta is a student of Class 12 and Mayukhi studies in Class 10. They have been learning German for years now and following a friendly cultural banter in classroom lessons, they found out about the competition. The girls wanted accuracy in the language, and knew the fluency they needed would come only by competing with other learners in a language Olympiad. They confess improving the language skills by watching German television soaps and listening to pop music.

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"I started watching German TV shows like Jojo sucht das Gluck and Tyrkisch fur Anfanger to prepare for the competition. It was basically learning while enjoying oneself," said Yukta to The Telegraph. Yukta is also the president of her school's Deutschind club.

For Mayukhi, her favourite pop music include the rapper Cro and fellow artiste Namika.

Mayukhi, on the other hand, was drawn toward the language since she was in Class I. She was astounded to hear her mother speak German and was instantly hooked. Trying to imitate her as a kid led her to make it a hobby as a teenager. She insisted that her mother should converse with her in the language and "keeps correcting her".

"My mother is not fluent now for lack of practice. I ask her to randomly have a conversation with me in German," Mayukhi said.

Further, they would compete with learners from 72 countries in the IDO - Internationale Deutscholympiade as an extension of their future plans.

"It's started happening a lot. Since I started practising for the Olympiad, thinking in German has become a habit," said Yukta on enhancing the ability to not just speak and write but also think in the language.

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Feature image credit: The Telegraph

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