Extended my German course in Berlin!
George Chapman
8 weeks in Berlin (extended to 16)
Languages for Life course
Having never embarked on such a course I had no real expectations other than that presented to me by CESA Languages, via the website, brochure etc. From this I had an idea in my mind of a German language school, where we’d be encouraged to achieve real progress.
The German language school in Berlin was as professional in the execution of their programmes as I could have hoped and my expectations, which were high, were met. It was exactly the way CESA portrayed it.
The German language lessons were excellent, well structured to help and guide you through the various language levels, so that you see real, steady improvement, whatever your starting level. I’d only got as far a German GCSE at school in the UK, so there was plenty of work to be done. The German lessons were always interesting and I enjoyed them very much, especially when we were learning about Berlin’s history and social issues, at the same time as we were learning the language.
Choosing to learn German in Berlin with CESA was a great choice, and I was totally satisfied with the experience and my language progress. The German language school in Berlin met my needs exactly, good social opportunities and good language progression opportunities. I looked into other German schools whilst I was in Berlin, but none could match where I was, so I decided to extend my stay for a further 8 weeks with CESA, studying for 16 weeks in total – and I loved every week of it.
Berlin was the ideal destination for me. Yes it’s a capital city, and a large one at that, but I’m used to cities, and felt safer in Berlin than in Manchester or London, back home. There are endless social opportunities to enjoy, as the city has so much culture, an endless day and night time buzz to it, great sporting facilities – frankly the lot! The night life in Berlin is as varied as it is vast! It’s ideal for younger students, or for older students who like the more traditional theatre or music clubs, rather than the hipper bars and night clubs that I enjoyed with friends! There are many historic and modern day attractions but you can also just go for a swim, join a gym, run through the city (which is very enjoyable with trees lining most of the city streets), hit the shops or chill with a beer at lunchtime in a beer garden. It was a tough time folks – honest!
The customer service I received from CESA was first class and I really appreciated your help through the whole process. It was useful to have my hand held.
For accommodation, I decided to stay self catering with a local German hostess. I wanted the freedom to self cater so I wasn’t tied to being in for set meal times. CESA advised me that staying with hosts would mean a commute to school, but I wanted the contact with real people out of school and it worked very well for me. Public transport was really good in the city, so the commuting was no problem. It was good to discuss with CESA the merits of staying on site in the German language school accommodation as opposed to out in the city and I can see that for some students the on site option would be ideal, but I have no regrets about my choice. My hostess turned out to be in her mid 30’s, extremely helpful, friendly and welcoming. Staying off site was definitely better for my German language progress as well!
