German language institutes

[hildewijch]

I am trying to get my German in ship-shape in order to be fully prepared to do a masters at a German uni in the next few years. I completed a B2 course at the Goethe Institute a few years ago, but wasn't that impressed - I wanted more grammar and writing/reading focus. What school would people recommend to really get ready for uni/academic German? I have been looking at these institutes via the DAAD website:

Goethe-Institut

S + W speak + write

did deutsch-institut

Carl Duisberg Centren

InterDaF Leipzig

Edited December 14, 2011 by hildewijch

[dc_nhes]

Hi there,

it maybe too late to answer your questions, but I will avoid those big language schools. They normally charge you a fortune and all students there are mostly rich Americans and Japanese. If you can for instance check hartnackschule in Berlin, where you pay one of the lowest tuition fee but of a very high quality!

I have been living in Germany since 2003 and luckily earned a bachelor's degree at the Humboldt Universitaet. Now, I am in Scotland for my masters degree.

[Hanuta]

Hi there, it maybe too late to answer your questions, but I will avoid those big language schools. They normally charge you a fortune and all students there are mostly rich Americans and Japanese. If you can for instance check hartnackschule in Berlin, where you pay one of the lowest tuition fee but of a very high quality! I have been living in Germany since 2003 and luckily earned a bachelor's degree at the Humboldt Universitaet. Now, I am in Scotland for my masters degree.

Hi there, I know it's a bit after the fact but the Hartnackschule in Berlin looks really promising and I was wondering if you knew of any other language schools similar to that in other cities?

[FreeLindsey]

I spent much of the summer taking language courses at Speak + Write. I felt the teaching left something to be desired, but perhaps that was just my class. If nothing else, the immersion (four hours, five days a week) will do wonders. Marburg as a city is great if you're trying not to speak English too much. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about S+W/Marburg!

[Emdave]

I've heard really good things about the Goethe Institut-- they also have a summer "German for Scholarly Reading Program" that's $450 total for the whole course. Does anybody know anything more about it? Has anyone done it?

[ProfessorChaos]

I studied at the Goethe Institut in Bonn for a 5 week course. It was pretty expensive, but a great experience overall. Obviously it's not as good as studying abroad for a semester/year, but it worked great for me. I earned b2 certification, which set me up for a different program the next summer. While I haven't heard of that course, it's probably conducted in a similar manner. The only drawback came years later when I had to get officially translated official transcripts for applications.

[Emdave]

Oh, the program I'm looking at is given at their headquarters in Chicago. Everything is handled in the US.