So quick update - I have heard back from the Language School (only one where I live that offers English to another language) and they don't have any German classes available nor will they have any any time soon. They can offer me private 1:1 classes for £50ph though! I thought that was very expensive!
I have emailed another place that that does courses for adults, but they only offered Spanish, Italian and French, so will not get much joy there, I am sure! I have looked at the local college, there are no languages AT ALL - day/night/weekends/16-18 year olds or adults. I have checked them all. I have googled language schools/German lessons/German tuition... NOTHING! It is so frustrating. Due to my job (NHS) I am unlikely to make it to another area on time after work to do classes, but if they offered an online link in, that could be a possibility. I have not yet looked that far.
My other thoughts were a GCSE in German through an online certification board as you would have to submit coursework/homework as a way to get a consistent marker/tutor, but I would have to look at how that works when I work full time Mon-Fri, sometimes weekends.
Little did I know how hard this would actually be!
Thank you - that could be helpful! I have a few different options so will weigh them up and see what comes from it. What a shame that it is so hard to get some German lessons locally. I always thought that German was a popular choice in schools and at GCSE/A Level (and their equivalents) in the UK.
As others have said, start off with Duolingo but set your daily target low, 2 or 3 units, so that you don't feel it's taking up too much of your time. If you set it at 5 it can begin to feel intrusive, particularly if you're working full time.
For listening, I recommend 'German with Jenny' on you tube, which is now Lingoni.
I've seen Goethe recommended in this thread, but as you're a medical professional, I'd go down the TELC route because they have specialised language courses for the health care sector.
As for GCSE, it's handy to test yourself against their free BBC language courses, but if you want internationally recognised language qualifications, immigration and many employers will judge it by if you have one of the standard Goethe / TELC levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) rather than a GCSE. You'll be at A2 level in a few months, and when you begin B1, there are plenty of past test papers online to measure your progress against before you book an exam.
It's a shame, my school did French and Spanish only. I was under the impression that this wasn't the norm and we were the only school in the area to not include German in the curriculum.
I don't know what it is like nowadays, I did my GCSE's some time ago!
This a great help - thank you. I have completed 1-2 units per evening, every night, so far. I will maybe up it to three. It seems, for the most part to be sticking at the moment. I have always got this thread for reference, but I have saved the book in my Amazon Wishlist.
It does seem a bit daunting understanding everything in Deutsch, especially in the medical field, but I am sure it'll all make sense when I get to that point. Handy to know about the GCSE's... it does make sense, it just seemed like a logical way to get to understand the language and get assessed along the way. Now I know there are other options available, I will scrap the GCSE idea! Haha!
I have also found a website called Germanpod101, it is $1 for 30 days full access. so signed dup and cancelled ongoing subscriptions to see if that gives me a decent platform to work through for the next 30 days. It's CEFR recognised, which I believe is a good thing? So hopefully that will give me some good starting pointers whilst I explore everything else.
I decided to join a few penpal style groups where they are open to helping with those trying to learn or improve with new languages.
Lets see how far this gets me!
Thank you everyone for being so welcoming and helpful on my first post. I really appreciate everyones time and kindness! This forum has certainly been far more helpful than some of the other places that I have asked for help.
I hear ya!! In the NHS it’s pretty much impossible to take up any group lessons or pursue learning a hobby that needs a regular commitment on a fixed day/time of the week �� The first time I made real progress was when I did an intensive course in Switzerland, face to face, every day for 2 months. I needed that solid foundation, and now that I have that reasonably ok it’s easier to progress even if you study on your own. I was making no progress at all before I started the in-person course.
Other things I found helpful were: the German learning channels on you tube, German with Anja and Your German Teacher. They were even better than my face-to-face intensive classes when it came to explaining some grammar concepts.
I also looked into this Language teacher- https://www.olesentuition.co.uk/german-tutor-london he is based in London but does group classes. He also does evening/weekend classes, maybe you can see the schedule on his website and if it works for you maybe you can do I trial lesson? I was going to do A1 with one of his groups last year but it didn’t have the minimum number of students, so I ended up doing the intensive course in Switzerland instead.
Now to just convince the authorities to let me take a few months off to learn a new language with chronic crappy staffing and more patients than I can shake a stick at haha!
I work Mon-Fri, with the odd weekend and do on calls (can be any day of the week). I am not a Nurse/HCA, which is semi helpful as I don't have shift patterns, but it does also cause a hindrance as I am unable to then work shifts around study days... This was partially the reason behind trying to learn on a semi solo basis to begin with. My boyfriends job is even worse with timing, as in not able to get any time off outside of dictated leave periods.
The way you did it sounds perfect, I would love to be able to do something like that. Even if it was via Zoom and at home. I am going to try and be strict and do some form of German studying every day - regardless.
I will check out the Youtube channels too - I am open to all options currently, as I have no other choice! Hopefully one of the online classes works out!
From my understanding (please correct me if I am wrong)... you need to write to the canton to apply for the right to work/live in your Switzerland area of choice. After this and multiple checks, you can only apply for roles if you have a professional degree and held a senior position role?
I know there is something to do with a Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (FNIA) which needs to be checked and I would be second in line to Swiss/EU/EEA citizens when applying for a role. My brain is very tired this evening, so this is very brief and most likely wrong in part.
If you’re non-EU, your potential employer has to prove that they cannot find someone from Switzerland or the EU to do the job, before they can hire you, basically. Your employer has to do all the applying, not you.
Yeah, pretty much what I was getting from the reading. I guess, I am lucky that my role is pretty niche and I am a senior (mid level) in my job. I am not sure how readily available my role is over there though.
Do I just give up on the idea now?! Pretty deflating this Brexit rubbish.