Returning to German Lessons, Part 1

Sometimes you just have to take initiative, especially when it comes to something you enjoy or want to accomplish. I don’t have a bucket list or X number of things I want to do before I die. But learning German has always been something I’m excited about. These days I’m even more excited because I’ve decided to start taking German lessons again.

Over the past few months, I could almost physically feel all the German language knowledge I’d worked so hard to acquire making a bee-line out of my brain. After months of hemming and hawing, I recently decided to bite the bullet and sign up for a German course with the Goethe Institute*, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the German language and culture.

My intent was to take their e-learning course so I contacted them, via their website, to take their placement exam to grade where my skill level is. I received a link via email the next business day for the test. It was 70 questions and took about 45 minutes. If you don’t know an answer, you’re supposed to select the “??” option instead of guessing.  Not guessing at the answer was the hardest part for me.

I received my results the next business day — the time difference really splits things up — and even exchanged a few emails with them about the best course for me. Based on their recommendation, I decided to go with the Besser Deutsch course, a writing intensive course focusing on constructing longer texts and improving grammar skills. In retrospect, it’s what I should have been focusing on all along. With the course decided, I was able to sign up online.

The Besser Deutsch course includes the selection of specific topics of interest for the writing assignments. During my sign up, I forgot to select the topic I was most interested in. I sent them an email explaining the oversight on my part and they responded that they’d add it for me. No problems! So far I’ve been very pleased with the customer service I’ve gotten although the emails in German are a bit intimidating.

The course also includes physical workbooks. My course entails emailing my assignments to my tutor for correction and constructive criticism. From the date I enrolled in the course to the date of receiving my materials was about two weeks. Not bad! Plus the materials arrived in a nice binder to help stay organized.

It’s kind of scary getting back on the horse, but I’m really looking forward to it. Would you believe my first assignment is on the topic of baking and bakers? Now, I need to go do my homework…

* It’s worth mentioning that this is a completely unsponsored post. They’re completely unaware of my blog so rest assured these are all my own opinions. My goal is to document my experience since I found reviews online hard to come by.

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