I'm currently in search of a good language school to take my German to the "next level". My conversation skills are OK, I can understand and say most things, but have big problems with doing it properly (i.e. grammar, spelling etc.) which greatly impacts my abilities to read/write. Therefore, I decided to go back to the classroom. Since I have to do this while working, I'm primarily looking for evening courses offered once or twice a week.
Has anyone done such courses? What experiences did you encounter? Any recommendations? With so many choices out there (Migros, Benedict, AKAD etc.) I'm bit reluctant. I'm not looking for the cheapest option, rather for best value.
Thanks in advance!
bf
PS: I apologise if this topic has been discussed in another thread already. I browsed through the latest posts once but nothing jumped at me.
Try the Bellingua School in Zurich (on Lowenstrasse). I'm currently studying German there but at a more basic level than you. They are teaching me proper German and do concentrate on grammar etc. Did a lot of research before picking it and everyone seemed to agree that it was the best (or one of the best) schools. Have met with other people on my course who tried other schools but agreed that Bellingua was far better.
Best bit is that you can join up and if after the first week you don't like it, you get the full week refunded.
I am Dolors Ferrer, I have a language school in Kloten called Mi-LenguA (Dorfstrasse 11). You can reach us with the public transport ( 2 m. from bus station Wilden Mann/ 10 minutes from train station of Kloten) or wiht the private car (park places beside the school). We have german courses and privat german lessons once a week and we have only very engaged native teachers. Info: www.mi-lengua.com
If your goal is to improve your writing skills, you need a solid grammar foundation. Most of it is taught in B1 and B2, I am not talking about the very basics here. I am doing C1 in a different school right now - that's where the real fun starts
Does anyone know if one of the schools offer Saturday intensive courses? I only found allemagne school but have not heard if they are good or bad. I travel a lot during the week and cannot do courses during the week.
Thanks for feedback on either a name of another school or feedback on Allemagne.
The important things to look for are a small class and a good teacher. You should be able to know both before committing to a long contract. There are schools that have Saturday 9-1 or so, PM me for details.
I've been a student at Bellingua Sprachschule ( www.Bellingua.ch ) since beginning in A1 in November and about to begin the B2 level in two weeks. In fact, I just had my first Job interview last week (all "auf Deutsch") only 8 months after beginning learning.
While expensive, I can't recommend them highly enough.
Some schools are cheaper, but often come with larger classes, and students who (to put it nicely) are less educated (read slow) and unmotivated.
The classes move FAST at Bellingua, with an intense focus on grammar. The classes have averaged 6 students, meaning lots of in-class practice and teacher feedback. Almost every student I've had the privilege of learning alongside has been either university-educated or a professional of some sort. They don't slow the classes to fit the slowest students; rather they offer private tutoring to those who can't keep up, or let them move down or back a level according to their needs.
You get a lot of homework, and receive weekly tests to ensure you're not getting left behind. The teachers are top-notch as well. Most seem to be doing their PhD's in Linguistics or Education. If you get the chance, ask for Stefanie Diethelm or Ladina Camenisch; both FANTASTIC teachers.
Bottom line, if you're a motivated, fast-learner who likes to be challenged, I'd check out Bellingua.
They even offer the first week as a free trial. If it's not for you, it costs nothing.
You might also want to consider whether nor not you would like to work towards some sort of certification. I've noticed that certification classes seem to be more expensive so if you don't want to pursue a certification, it I'd go for one of the regular grammar classes. I've signed up for a class at EB Zuerich that begins in October. They have quite a variety, geared to different needs and this one is all about writing grammatically. I would say that, given your focus is on grammar and writing it won't make such a difference if there are less motivated students in you class with you. A conversation class would be much more difficult if some of the others have no desire to be there.
Hi, come for a trial lesson at rosasprachen in the center of Zurich, we have small groups of max. 4-5 people and we focus on speaking and grammar home work. We have only native speaker teacher. Best, Valeria
I couldn't agree more! I have been at Bellingua for the past 5 weeks and the school is fantastic. Not only that I have had 3 different teachers (that's not normal, just because I changed classes) and they were all excellent. So from that it seems that you aren't just 'lucky' when you get a good teacher. It's the norm.
I was studying in Alpha school 6 months, then I wanted to try something else and went to Bellingua, the school is good, but I don't really enjoy to study there, because we speak all the time about grammar and its a little bit difficult to focus only on it. In Alpha I had more fun and it was easy for me to remember new words and grammar as well. So I decided to come back to Alpha. If anybody goes to Bellingua, I have books for B1 level, have used it only few days, will give for 30fr