Alumna teaches German for opera singers
Asili Mugei Deeb graduated with her M.A. in German Studies in Spring 2015, and since then 
(amongst other things) has been teaching conversational German to opera singers with the Michigan Opera Theater. We asked about her experience at the opera house.
Why do opera singers in the U.S. need to learn German?
The opera singers learn German for conversational purposes when going to Germany or Austria to audition or have job interviews. Germany is one of the few countries where they still have a chance to get long term contracts and full time work. Some operas are also performed in their original language rather than translated. There are many operas that where written in German. Knowing the language helps the singers understand the context and emotions of the libretto.
How did your education at Wayne State prepare you for the experience of teaching at the Michigan Opera Theater?
Having to plan and teach lessons as a graduate teaching assistant helped me immensely in preparing to teach in any other setting. While I am a native speaker, I would have not naturally 
known the best sequence of teaching grammar points, for example. Also, the education at Wayne State made me a better communicator and problem solver. I was always able to consult my professors for advice, suggestions, and help. Furthermore, I learned about translation and how difficult of a task it is, when done correctly and professionally. Students often expect us to be walking dictionaries. Especially helpful to me were courses that focused on topics such as pedagogy.
Is there any special vocabulary opera singers need? Any favorite words that are difficult to pronounce?
Not really, but what is very interesting is that the opera singers are superb at pronunciation. They have taken diction classes and know most of the international phonics alphabet (IPA). This means that they often wanted me to repeat a word numerous times while looking at my mouth very closely in order to hear well and say it correctly. Often they asked me if a letter is voiced or not, for example. Most the favorite words of this group of students are not appropriate for this publication :) As with so many students, swear words are the most interesting Although, one word that came up a lot was "funkelnagelneu," meaning 'sparkly new.'
What are some of your greatest successes as a teacher at the Opera House? Any particular challenges?
The biggest challenge was that my students were of all different proficiency levels. I had two students who had never taken a class and one who knew enough to hold a simple conversation (his grandma is German and spoke to him a lot as a child). This made it difficult to decide on topics
and the order of things. One way I reconciled that was doing my favorite activity, "Was gibt's Neues?" It means "what's new?" and gave the students a chance to speak a lot or prepare just one sentence. The more advanced students were able to ask and answer more questions. I also did various writing exercises where everyone could work at their own level.
As with any class, when students start producing the language on their own, I feel elated! It is such a great feeling to see them grow. One of my students invited me to a solo concert in which she sang mostly German song and she sounded absolutely beautiful with great pronunciation.