The diversity of German Studies students in Australian universities

Abstract

This article analyses to what extent the cohort of German Studies students in Australian universities has changed since the late 1980s. It will be argued that the large number of beginners� students, the increasing number of non-Arts students, and the growing number of international students can be linked to changes to higher education policies. The analysis includes data from a large-scale national survey of German Studies students and will show that despite their different backgrounds the majority of German Studies students have similar motives and expectations with regard to learning German at university. The article concludes with a discussion of how language programs should respond to the new student profile.