Summer Abroad

“The courses were challening but not overwhelming. I learned a lot! … The best part was the interactive nature of the courses. The teacher spoke only in German and put in a lot of work to make sure the courses were accessible.”

“I think the course was at an appropriate level for me because through it I’ve learned a lot of vocabulary that I otherwise would easily forget and was able to brush up on my written and spoken grammar.”

“The staff is absolutely wonderful and super helpful. It seemed very organized which is both reassuring and exciting.”

“The best parts were the classes that enabled me to overcome the fear of speaking out loud. The field trips, and the company of fun and encouraging fellow students and facilitators were a great joy that I think about daily since I returned home. The only downside was the very packed schedule, but again it’s only one month, so that’s expected.”

“My extracurricular experience was more than amazing. We canoed, danced, and hiked. We visited many German cities (fees applied), museums, and palaces.”

“My host mom was amazing. She was extremely patient and tried to listen and help me with my German.”

“Go with a host family if you want to really practice and learn the language. Go with the dorms if you want to have fun and socialize daily. Really try to push the edge of your comfort zone!”

“The museum trips were very fun and I enjoyed how much flexibility there was with them. Our instructor chose them based on our studies and so I like how closely they related to what we were actually learning in the book in the classroom.”

“It was such a delight to be able to visit the museums without having to pay for them myself … Seeing so much incredible art in person gave me a newfound appreciation for art history that I had not had before, for which I am very grateful.”

“I went to Berlin knowing that many people there speak English and that I would have a difficult time engaging people in German once they knew that I was not a native speaker. With this in mind, I was skeptical that I would learn much German at all, but luckily I ended up leaving feeling like I had gained a lot of confidence in my German-speaking abilities. I think that this was in large part due to the German course that I was in and the opportunity for daily practice that it provided. In hindsight, I do feel like I learned a lot over the course of the program and when I left Berlin, I was feeling much more proficient in my language abilities…”

“I loved Berlin and had an incredible time there, but I do wonder if I would have learned more German had I gone to a different city in Germany where I would have had less recourse to speaking English. For example, I spent a weekend in Hamburg where very few people spoke English to me. I would suggest to students considering studying abroad because they really want to improve their German-speaking abilities to consider one of the programs in other cities around Germany.”

“Please take advantage of this incredible and life changing opportunity. It’s scary to go somewhere so far and foreign but it is worth it! I cannot recommend this program enough. … This was the best 6 weeks of my life, because of this program I hope to live in Berlin in the future.”