When you make the decision to learn a bit of German, you’re in luck living in Berlin. Being the capital and a multinational city, language schools have sprung into new locations across metropolitan Berlin. It doesn’t matter what part of the city you live, there seems to be a language school within distance. Which is a huge plus. Let’s get started with ‘Deutsch’ learning.
Every school is a little bit different. Some offer many different choices, teachers and flexible schedule options. If you look at one school but don’t see what you wish, you’ll most likely find the offering at another school. In my experience, smaller is better, and closer to home. When you wake at 7:00am to make your 8:00am class every morning, it helps for the school to be just down the road – not to mention extremely convenient.
During my seven months in Berlin, I’ve tried three different schools. It wasn’t because I hated a certain experience. Rather, it was due to wanting to try something new, pricing and location. About pricing, with the increased competition of courses in Berlin, you can now find classes for under €250 with no registration fee. So you should keep this price in mind when scouting a language school. Further, in my experience, the lecturer is really what makes and breaks an experience. If with in the first few classes you’re not ‘feeling’ the lecturer, I’d suggest moving to another class. You’re paying for it, so no harm in asking to move.
Okay, you’re ready to book that language course. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Decide if you want an intensive course that’s typically Monday through Friday, three hours a day.
- Or if you’d like to spread the course out over three months, one evening a week. In other words, how intensive do you want to be and how much time do you have?
- Classes typically go like this: Beginner to Advanced (A1.1, A1.2, A2.1, A2.2, B1.1, B1.2, B2.1, B2.2 and C1). Each level is an individual course, and you’re not considered intermediate until you reach B2. Based on my own experience, working up until at least B1 will get you by in everyday life (i.e. at the supermarket). If you go intensive, this should take you about five months of instruction.Okay, you’re convinced. These are a few schools from my experience that worked out pretty well.
DeutschAkademie: They have two locations, one in Alexander Platz and in West Berlin. They’re both very conveniently located. It’s clean classrooms, good lecturers, easy-going environment and professional. I took two courses here, and I was satisfied. However, I do believe they’re a bit expensive (compared to what’s popping up in Berlin), and the front staff wasn’t always organized.
die deutschule: I moved to this location, because it was much closer to my house. It cut the travel time in half! I really liked this language school in Neukölln. It has a bit of a hipster vibe, plus a coffee shop right in the school! It’s cheaper than DeutschAcademie.
Anda Spracheschule: New month, new language school. With my intensive schedule, I could no longer do 4-5 classes a week, so I searched for an opportunity that gave me one class a week over three months. I’d still be learning German, but slower. This little school in Friedrichshain was the perfect fit.
Lingoda Online: If you’re looking for something even more convenient, look to these online courses. It’s from a local startup in Berlin with high-rated lecturer reviews at a reasonable price.
It’s Berlin, so there’s many more language school options than these four included here. No worries. You’ll find your perfect school. Shop around on Google, and reach out to the many Berlin Expat Facebook groups to ask individual’s opinions on schools that they’ve attended. Viel Spaß!
