On the 28th of December, 2010, the TKU Department of German held a German Singing Competition. In the basement level of the Foreign Language building, entrants tuned guitars, chewed on lozenges (to lubricate their throats), and chatted nervously.

Meanwhile, the audience casually conversed. They collected handfuls of German-style snacks and nibbled and munched as they waited for the contest to begin. And when German music began to blare from the speakers, the crowd cheered in ecstasy, and slowly started to sway to the music.

First place was claimed by the duo of Lin Jia-wei and Zhang Qi-jun, two TKU sophomores from the Department of German, who sang the popular German song “Ab in den Suden” (“Off to the South”). When asked how he felt about taking first place, Lin Jia-wei exclaimed “I couldn’t believe it!” He said that singing German songs is not difficult at all, as German pronunciation is much easier than that of English. However, he added, in order to sound more like an authentic German band, they tried to make sure that they pronounced each word clearly: “I think that’s why we came first”.