Germany has emerged as the strongest economy in Europe, and the State of Michigan has especially deep economic ties to Germany: Thus German is one of the most important languages for business and engineering. German is also centrally important for gaining a first-hand, fundamental knowledge of the aesthetic, philosophical, and scientific foundations of modern thought. By a wide margin, German is the most frequently required or recommended academic language. At every level of our language program, we strive to appeal to the cognitive abilities and intellectual curiosity of our students. Our language courses focus systematically on the development of all four basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), while emphasizing context and meaning at all levels and in all spheres of the language acquisition process. It is fundamental to our program that all language courses encourage students to explore other world-views and learn to think critically about culture.