Learning German in Munich

Lizzie Morton
12 weeks in Munich!

Can I just say that I would absolutely recommend others to take a CESA language course and I would love to go back to Munich again, sometime.  I was lucky enough to be out there for 12 weeks, and the course certainly helped me build my German skills, helped my self-confidence and inspired me to learn more.  Not only was I able to benefit academically but I also got to see a beautiful part of Germany and meet some great people too.

Before I arrived I thought that I would have the opportunity on this course to meet people from a variety of countries and improve my German in classes with them.  I thought that I’d have the chance to speak lots of German and get involved with lots of group activities and outings in and around Munich and I hoped that I would become more confident speaking and writing German.

I knew I wanted to learn German in Germany, I choose Munich because it’s such a beautiful looking city and the CESA staff suggested it would be a good choice as I really wanted to stay in residential accommodation, not with German hosts.  I met such a variety of people and really enjoyed events such as the bus tour round Munich and a day trip to Salzburg.  I found that having to use my German all the time and being constantly challenged by the teachers, kept my focus on the language learning throughout each week of the course.

The German lessons were taken by two different teachers each week, and I found all of the teachers helpful and informative.  There weren’t many people in our class (never more than 8, and generally 7 at most) which I really enjoyed as I felt it was easy to ask questions and that I benefited from good teacher attention.  Sure there were hard days, German grammar is not always a pleasant experience, but that was all part of the learning process and along with the challenge and graft, was plenty of laughter and lighter moments.

The German language school in Munich was a great place to study and I was made to feel welcome by the people there.  I always found the staff approachable and felt able to ask the teachers questions when I needed to.  I thought it’s location in Munich was terrific, with easy access to the heart of the city, but in a pleasant less frantic area, surrounded by shops and good places to meet.

Of course there were the bad days, when I felt a bit homesick and at the beginning it took me a couple of days to settle in.  This was the first time I’d been on a trip abroad alone so I found having to be by myself sometimes quite hard but as a result I learnt to be more independent.  I really enjoyed getting to know people from other countries, who I wouldn’t normally meet and it was great to find that I could communicate with them in German in daily conversation.  I made a couple of good friends in my class, one girl from Poland and a boy from Sweden and we spent quite a lot of time together – we even tried to translate jokes we all knew into German (with mixed results)!  Although I felt very shy at the beginning I eventually ended up with friends from all over the place – Europe, China, Thailand and South America!  They were very friendly and we sometimes cooked together in the residence, which was great!

Munich…. I adored it!  I think it’s a very beautiful and intensely cultural city with masses to offer and see.  I enjoyed simply walking around and looking at all the historical buildings, particularly places such as Frauenkirche and the breath taking roof top views!  I didn’t eat out much as I wanted to keep the costs down, but when I did it was fabulous.  I’m not a party person so tended to spend most of my evenings chatting to the other students in the residence however I love to shop, and Munich is great for shopping!  I just really liked the whole atmosphere of the city and wandering around it during the day, through the market place at Marienplatz.  There was always something going on and plenty of street theatre on offer.

The help I received from CESA before I left the UK was great – everything was made easy and you answered all of my questions, gave me all the information I needed and it was very easy to get in touch and ask about something when needed.  I couldn’t fault you.  It truly a fully rounded experience which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thanks!!           :  )