THOUSAND OAKS : German Lessons Appeal to Children

Every Saturday morning in a classroom in Thousand Oaks, a group of youngsters gathers around a table with teacher Ursula Wheeler to sing songs, count, recite the alphabet and do the kinds of things children do--but with one big difference. These children are doing it in German.

“Guten Morgen!” says Wheeler to the children, who respond with a hearty good morning. It is one of the German phrases they know best.

“Wie heisst du?” she asks each child in turn. What is your name?

“Ich heisse Karla,” says 5-year-old Karla Warvarouski, her head bowed bashfully.

“Wie alt bist du?” she asks Sean Ambrose. How old are you?

“Ich bin sieben Jahre alt,” he responds. I am 7 years old.

The 10 youngsters are enrolled in the German/American School Assn., the only German language school in Ventura County, said Lilo Kruger, principal of the school and one of its teachers. The school, which holds classes at Ascension Lutheran Church, is part of a worldwide organization sponsored by the German government and the Goethe Institute, Kruger said.

“These children have been enrolled in language class by their parents, many of whom are German and who want their children to learn their native language,” she said.

Since the Berlin Wall was opened in November, an increasing number of adults have taken German, she said.

Cheryl and George Soluk drive from Camarillo so their son, George, 4, can attend class. Cheryl speaks German and George is Ukrainian.

“We feel it’s important for children to be exposed to a foreign language at an earlier age than when languages are taught here in the United States,” Cheryl Soluk said.

“It’s easy for them at this age. They learn by playing and their ear develops flexibility.”

Indeed, even though it was young George’s first class, he understood Wheeler when she asked him how many chairs were in the classroom.

“A lot,” he answered in English.