The absolute best way to learn German is to study German in Germany (Austria works as well). I know this from personal experience; the best time of my life was had in Germany twice; first in the military, then study abroad in my Junior year of college. I had condensed the first two years of college German into 3 quarters, and compressed the third year of College German into a 10 week immersion program in Munich (München, auf Deutsch).
By the end of that wonderful summer, I was quite fluent, and was completely comfortable striking up conversations with Germans in any situation I happened to find or be in. It was the most fun I have ever had; I would go out with my class mates in the evening, and we would discuss politics with German students in the beer tents all over Munich. And a great time was had by all!
I am quite excited about returning to Germany to study this summer, and have been doing quite a bit of online research in order to find the most economical German study programs. I really struck gold in finding these guys; I had no idea one could study German in Germany for 12 weeks, including accommodations, for as little as $2000.00. EuroLanguages is the name of the company, and they are definitely the most affordable study abroad program available.
The EuroLanguage program represent dozens of schools, in 12 European countries, teaching 12 languages. Courses range from 1 to 12 weeks, from beginner to advanced, and from casual study to complete immersion including one on one instruction. Business language programs are available, as well as cultural immersion (including cooking in Italy, surfing in Spain, and just about any option you can think of). Accommodation choices range from the dirt cheap to the moderately expensive, and include options such as sharing a dorm room, staying in a private citizens home (home stay), or even your own studio apartment; there really are options for every budget.
My main interest of course is in German and Germany, and they work with 6 different schools in six cities, to include Frankfurt, Dresden, Heidelberg, Munich, Cologne and Vienna (Austria). Prices range from very low (just a few hundred for classes and lodging for two weeks) to moderately expensive; the programs in Frankfurt, Cologne, Dresden and Heidelberg are extremely reasonable ($2000 to $3500 for 12 weeks), while the programs in Munich and Vienna are a bit more expensive, up to $5000-$6000.00 for 12 weeks, which is still less than $2000.00 a month, and that can include half-board if you so desire (breakfast and dinner during the week, all three meals daily on weekends).
I am very excited to have discovered this program, and am pinching my pennies for my next sojourn in Germany. The last time, I almost didn’t come back, and to be honest, wished I had tried a little harder to find work so I could have stayed. Now that I have a 15 year work history behind me, this time around, I may just stay. With the average 12 week program running from $700 to $1200 a month including lodging, with another $400 thrown in for half-board, one could live on very little, study, and work to pay one’s way once one was there. Check out their German study programs yourself.
Tags: Learn German In Germany, Study Abroad Germany, study German Germany, study German in Germany, Study In Germany
