Cactus Language Blog

Cactus Opinion: A Taste of German in Berlin

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Staff Opinion

Alex Wolfson, Language Travel Advisor for Cactus Language, gives us his thoughts on the language school and city of Berlin, Germany (Feb 07)

If you want to take a language holiday in a vibrant, buzzing city and you are interested in the 20th century, Berlin is for you.

Where do you start with such an important city? If you are taking a language course then the school is a good place. The school in Berlin is situated on a campus in a fashionable area of town on a street with lots of cosy candlelit cafés and bars. The school itself has bright, well-lit classrooms in a building opposite the on-site student residence. My studio room had a fridge, coffee maker, cooker, TV (with cable), mezzanine bedroom and an immaculate bathroom. I was astonished when I was told this was a standard student flat and that there were other rooms on the site which were even nicer!

I’d arrived in Berlin fairly late the night before and didn’t really fancy going out too far away, so it was great to discover on my first night that there was a student social event going on in the school’s own bar. I didn’t really have any expectations of what this would be like but the school’s student bar fitted right in with the other bars along the same street. It was romantically lit with up-lighting and candles (in fact it wouldn’t make a bad place to take someone on a date!), it served good food and, of course, quality German beer! I spent an enjoyable first evening there talking to students taking a course of German in Berlin from the USA, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Brazil, Peru, Italy, Argentina and…I could go on. The atmosphere was truly international and several of the school’s German teachers had come along too. Students enjoy a discount at the bar but it is also used by many Berliners who come in just because it is a nice bar in which to sit down and have a chat. It was a short walk back to my room on campus and I slept well in the comfortable bed.

The next day I had breakfast in the student café, which had a wide range of different things for breakfast and is conveniently situated just next to the classrooms, so it’s easy to get there in the morning AND have a lie-in AND have breakfast. The teaching of German in Berlin is very high quality, and the classrooms have modern equipment and a wide range of language learning materials. Once you’ve finished your lessons in the morning you can sit down and practise your reading skills in the quiet reading room or go to the self-study room to brush up on other skills in German.

East and West Berlin used to be place of huge contrast, but now they are starting to blend into one. You know you are in East Berlin when you start seeing trams! In Berlin, of course, there is also plenty to do of the non-academic variety which, to my regret, I did not get to experience in full. You can almost take a tour of the 20th century and see Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag building, Checkpoint Charlie, what remains of the Berlin Wall, Potsdam, many fine examples of architecture from different eras and dozens of fascinating museums. All this is accessible on the efficient and easy-to-use U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses, which all run precisely on time! If your German isn’t so good, don’t worry - many people in Berlin can speak at least a little English and are very willing to help and provide directions and assistance even if you don’t speak very good German. In Berlin you get all the benefits you would expect from a very large and very modern city.

My German was non-existent before I went to Berlin and even though I didn’t stay for very long at all I found myself picking up words and phrases from the classes, announcements in German and English on the trains, friendly Berliners helping me in English and teaching me the odd word and just listening to people around me. I still need to improve my German to make the most of this incredible city, which I feel I have just scratched the surface of, and am looking forward to having a couple of weeks of free time in which to take a longer course and spend more time in this trendy, vibrant and interesting city.

German courses in Berlin: http://www.cactuslanguage.com/en/languages/german/germany/berlin.php

Tags:Berlin, German, German course, Germany