German: I learned more than I expected Past Review
By Danielle H (Government, Harvard University) for
FUBiS - International Summer and Winter University
YES! I learned way more German than I expected and became genuinely comfortable with the language. I also learned a lot about myself from living (fairly) independently in a new country.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The main workload is the class time - 6 hours a day is a lot. At the end of the term there is a project (depends on the level) which can take a bit of time but is a great opportunity to learn and practice. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The teachers were excellent and the program was generally run efficiently. The program has a small core of administrators, which made it feel like you were really getting personal attention if/when you had a problem or question. The program size was not too large, but it depended on the class level (anywhere from 7-15 students in a class). |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Dorm location was really bad - an hour outside the city. I lived with roommates studying for a semester in Germany from other countries. Everyone was really nice (and everyone spoke German!), but mostly kept to themselves and so there wasn't much interaction on a daily basis. |
| * Food: |
Mensa is cheap, cafeteria food, not great but not bad. Its pretty cheap to find food in Berlin (Doener is the best!) and the dorms all had nice kitchens to cook in. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
There were excursions every two weeks, which were great opportunities to experience the city and "class time" in a more laid-back and relaxed manner. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Berlin is an extremely safe city and I generally felt much safer there then I have ever felt in the United States. Of course, incidents can happen anywhere - use common sense. A minority student friend did report he felt threatened one time in the city alone, however, it depends on the area and situation. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Berlin is generally quite cheap (by Europe standards) but don't let that fool you into spending all your money fast. If you keep track and are frugal you can get by on 20-30 Euros a week, depending on how much you like to shop. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | There was a 100 Euro deposit for the dorms. Although you get it back, you don't get it until you move out (the end of the program) and that would have been nice to know about. Also important to keep in mind is the expensive 70 Euro monthly transportation pass. These are one time expense though. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Intermediate German |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Most American students spoke English outside of class (and most Germans can speak English if necessary) and all the staff could speak English. This could be good for beginner students or in case of an emergency, but it makes it difficult to practice outside of class. It was just a matter of finding other students who wanted to speak German outside of class and spending time with them. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Self-motivated and independent students benefit the most from this type of study abroad program. Its up to you to coordinate and plan free time, which can be greatly freeing or totally uncoordinated, depending on the type of student. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
German Language C1 |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Anna Salgo |
| Instruction Language: | German |
| Comments: | Great class with an |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
