Comments about TREFF PUNKT

- what students wrote about us -

In the 'German/English discussion group' Chris from the U.S. had a question about studying German in Germany. Nick from England sent us a copy of his answer.

"... My class was far too big." was one of his main conclusions.

Find the complete correspondance below.

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QUESTION:

September 2002

Hallo,
Ich moechte mich zum Forum vorstellen. Mein Name ist Christopher Saunders, ich lebe jetzt in Philadelphia unt ich bin 26 Jahre alt. Ich lerne seit nuen Monate deutsch unt es geffaelt mir sehr. Ich moechte den deutschen Bewohner eine wichtige Frage bitten. ( Ich kann diese Frage nur unter auf englisch schrieben ) Danke fuer Ihre Hilfe!

Hello,
I would like to introduce myself to the forum. My name is Christopher Saunders, I am currently living in Philadelphia and am 26 years old. I have been learning German for about 9 months now and enjoy it very much.
I would like to ask those who live in Germany an important question about a class I am going to take there this summer. ( I can only write this question in English ):

I'm planning on taking a four week class in German at one
of the Goethe Institut locations in Germany. I've narrowed
my choice of location down to four places, Duesseldorf,
Bonn, Mannheim, and Rothenberg. I'd like to know if anyone
has suggestions for what cities might be a good location
and why. One of the factors I'm concerned with is learning
to speak German with a standard accent and I'm not sure
what region of the country would be best for that. I'm
also interested in going to a location that's good for
outdoor activites like hiking and horseback-riding, and
has some interesting cultural destinations as well (
museums , concerts , etc. ) . Any tips you all have would
be a big help.

Vielen Dank fuer Ihren Gutachten,

Chris

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NICKS ANSWER:

Hi Christopher,

I've actually studied at the Goethe Institut at Rothenburg
yes I have problems with the difference between -urg and
-erg as well!).

The town is best described as an extremely beautiful
medieval museum (It is an old walled city, carefully reconstructed where necessary after the war).

The staff at the Goethe Institut told me that on an
average day it has more Japanese tourists than inhabitants.
The town also has several permanently open shops selling Christmas Decorations.

The one thing you need to check with the Goethe Institut is that the class size is not too big. My class was far too big.

I feel I should also mention a school that I found much better, namely "Treffpunkt" in Bamberg. The school is small compared with the Goethe Institut, but it really takes personal care of you. It is also much cheaper than the Goethe Institut, and you can, of course, use the money saved to buy extra one-to-one lessons that will really advance your German. They organise a full programme of extra-curricular activities, including the regular Thursday "Stammtisch" where one gets to go to one of the Beer gardens on the hills surrounding Bamberg and chat to the locals.

Bamberg is also a beautiful city. We didn't bomb it in the war and it is a living city, unlike the museum-like feeling of Rothenburg.

The link for "Treffpunkt" is: http://www.learn-german.com/
If you want any more information, I'll be glad to help. I go back to the Stammtisch from time to time, and I've yet to meet an unsatisfied student.

In any case, good luck with your German

Nick Lusty
Erlangen (30 miles south of Bamberg), Germany