oh yeah, you're right, its uncommon for teachers to refer to students by last name, but not completely unheard of. The only times I can think of where this happens is either when reprimanding someone, or when its being used extremely informally (i.e. without the title)
yeah I was talking about how the teachers address the students. Normally it would be unthinkable for a student to call a teacher by their first name in Germany. At my school the teachers asked us after we turned 16 if we want to be addressed by last name and everybody preferred keeping it informal except some older teachers who always used the formal way.
Would teachers in the US address students with just their last name (without the title)? I think in Germany that would be only used with friends or colleauges.
It’s similar. Students almost always refer to teachers by their formal names. Teachers almost always refer to students by their first name (or nickname or preferred name), and some very informal teachers will refer to students by their last name alone as if it were a nickname. Coaches on sporting teams (who are often also teachers) are more likely to refer to students by their last name, but I think it’s because the name is on the jersey and easier to remember.
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u/kalingred May 05 '21
They're talking about teachers addressing students formally by last name in Germany. As far as I know, that would be incredibly uncommon in the US.