Where to learn German in Berlin
Want to Learn German in Berlin? Great news! Now the tricky question: Where will you learn German in Berlin? With so many language schools and courses to choose from, how do you narrow it down? We recommend a simple process of elimination.
How?
The best way to learn a language is to live in the country while you do it. If you want to learn German in Berlin and your feet are already on Berlin soil, you can cross number one off your list. Berlin is Germany’s capital and is the perfect place to immerse yourself in the culture and a German Sprachkurse (language course) that is just right for you.
What’s your budget?
This is a big question and it can often narrow down your options quite quickly. But you have to remember that in most cases, if you are paying a lot, then you will be getting a lot in return. For example, the Carl Duisberg Centrum is one of the largest and most popular schools in Germany. They have a 16-week intensive course stating at €3,120.00. It’s packed full and lots of bang for your buck.
Another centrally located, smaller school, but which is still as reputable as Carl Duisberg is Inlingua. Inlingua Berlin offers an intensive 12 weeks course at €1,640.00, the more weeks you do, the cheaper it gets.
On the flip side, and this is a huge flip, one of the cheapest language schools in Berlin is Berlino Schule, where they offer an intense 4-week German language course for around €192.
So, it’s wise, to begin with your budget and then ask yourself the next question –
How long have you got?
After doing some research you’ll find that all German language courses will start at the beginning and go through a number of classes which they call levels. As a beginner, you’ll start at A1, then move on to A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2. If you already know some German, there are schools that will let you jump a class if they determine that you are in fact at the right level of language to do so. But the next question is, –
How much do you want to learn?
Going from A1 to C2 can sometimes take up to 6 months, and that’s in an intense course!
There are many schools, which offer something other than your standard daily full-time course. You can search for crash courses, part-time, or learn German for university or business.
Deutsch Akademie runs a semi-intensive evening course for those who can’t go during the day, and Kapital Zwei is known for excellent private one on one classes to help you get to your desired level of German. The Sprachinstitute even do a simple 4-week conversation course (B1 level) if you’d like to concentrate on improving speaking German on a day to day basis to get around town.
Where’s your local?
Tricky, you can either stay local, find a school near where you are based to make it easier for you to get around, or hop across town to get out and about more. Either way, you’ll be exploring the city simply because you are living and studying here.
Outside of Mitte, there are some great, smaller, German language schools in the areas surrounding the center of town, which offer both intensive and part-time courses.
Neuköln – Expath
Charlottenburg – Akademie für Fremdsprachen
Prenzlauerberg – LOGO! Sprachenschule
Friedrichshain – Speakeasy
Berlin travel site My Guide Berlin has a great article on the top 10 language schools in Berlin and it breaks down each school into more detail so you can make a better-informed choice about which language school to choose. Click on each school link to see their updated profile on the website.
What about the mums and dads!?
Throw a couple of kids into the mix and rather than jumping head on into an intense language course as a child free person could do, learning German in Berlin as a mum or dad turns into juggling not having enough time, spew on your shirt and a serious case of baby brain, or a child at Kita that will soon have more German language skills than you do and all you want to do is sleep……..ok so perhaps this scenario is a bit extreme, but we know from experience that learning another language does not always come easy, especially when you are also trying to run a family, or breastfeed, and have a life.
There are courses around Berlin that cater to parents, like Sprachenatelier Berlin , who runs a weekly class for parents with babies ages 3 – 12 months. The Language Gym school operates the Facebook group Mums learn German Berlin, where courses for mums and dads run for 5 weeks.
Learning a second (or third) language is scary, exciting, and a great challenge. You are living in Berlin, so why not go for it?
Contributed by Charmaine.
Charmaine Gorman is an Australian actress and writer living in Berlin with her family. As a content writer and editor, she works for many clients around the world, and along with her husband, is the founder and content manager of the online travel guide My Guide Berlin.