Learning German in Germany

Yesterday I was a little bit relieved that the German course I am attending is not as difficult as I had thought. It is a feeling that sometimes you get when you go to this kind of courses: How come that guy there knows so much and I don't? Well, probably it is because he or she is doing the course again and they know must of the things already.

Anyway, what we are learning is not easy, definitely, but I hope with some practising with my wife, I will get along. You might want to know however about learning German in Germany. I have had some experiences. All of them positive.

I have always studied at the Goethe Institut. Which you can say is the official school for learning German and sponsored by the German Government. Kind of the Alliance Francaise for France, the British Council for Britain and so on. I have to say, it is not cheap. But you get to know interesting people with the same interests like you and you might get the chance to do some networking.

While taking the course I met someone who used to work in finances in Switzerland, someone working in British American Tobacco, someone studying a Master in Amsterdam of Yugoslavian origins, a Consultant from Chicago, someone from Kuwait, a businessman from Poland doing businesses in Germany and Ukraine, to name a few. Apart from the basic knowledge of German, most of them speak good English and is easy to enter into conversation with them. So, don't worry about the people you will meet.

About the city, I was in Berlin and now in Hamburg. Personally, I like big cities. Berlin, Hamburg and München are the biggest cities in Germany. And I know that Köln or Düsseldorf it is already small for me. Not to mention Bremen or Bonn. But if you prefer to live tranquil and easy, you may opt for the smaller cities.

The way they divide the knowledge of German is as follows:

A1 You can introduce yourself and ask simple questions
A2 You can describe your everyday life
B1 You can take part in a discussion
B2 You can understand current news programmes
C1 You are competent in the German language

Now, the are intermediate steps. In February I was in A2.1 and now I am in B1 (.1 I guess). I did not do A2.2 as I wanted to get a bit further. I'll let you know if it was a correct choice.

However, as you go to different schools, you will find different kinds of levels. When I was in Berlin some years ago, everything was about Grundstufe, Mittelstufe and Oberstufe. I was taking a look at another school last Friday and all of a sudden they speak about Aufbau 1. For my wife it made sense, for me it did not.

Besides the differences on levels, there are differences on schools. I visited 3 schools in Hamburg before returning to the Goethe. I guess all depends on what you are looking for and how much you want to pay. Be careful tough, some schools are more expensive than the Goethe and I don't think they are as good.

Finally, learning a new language is always difficult. German might be not as easy as learning English or Spanish. But is not as difficult as, I guess, Chinese or Arabic. But be sure of something, you won't learn by just going to the course, you must practice.

I love it when things start making sense in German. At the beginning, you just see big long words, but later, you understand them and even use them. It is a satisfying feeling.

You can visit the website of the Goethe in:

http://www.goethe.de/ins/de/enindex.htm

Viel Spaß!!