Learning in a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere
Ainhoa completed her bachelor’s degree in biomedical analysis a year ago and has been a motivated full-time German learner ever since . We couldn’t imagine the course days without her daily happy, laughing hello! 😊
She learned A1 on her own and then attended the intensive courses A2.1 to B1.2 at DIALOG and will continue with level B2.1 later in the autumn after a well-deserved holiday . She is originally from France, came to Austria for love (without speaking a word of German) and would like to work here later. She is really looking forward to this interesting and varied job in German .
Do you also want to learn a new language? Find out here how Ainhoa benefited from the German course offered at our language school. Let’s get started!
Atmosphere & Methods at DIALOG
DIALOG: What was your experience with the personal support at DIALOG – DER SPRACHCAMPUS?
AINHOA: My tip for everyone: Please just come along – that’s what I did. Before I signed up for DIALOG , I exchanged emails with the team and then I met them in person . They seemed friendly and helpful when writing at first, but they also turned out to be very patient – my many questions were fully answered at the first meeting. I immediately felt totally at ease and was then really excited and convinced that this atmosphere would be perfect for learning. Spoiler alert: I was right!
I visited and looked at 3 institutes before making my decision, but I could immediately sense which environment would suit me best. DIALOG offers the ideal balance between professionalism and warmth – thanks to a highly supportive team and a bunch of open and passionate people!
New to Austria, I started my German learning adventure on my own and learned A1 on my own, so I only had a vague idea of where I stood. DIALOG was then able to guide me, thanks to the placement test and also a telephone conversation , on which course I should start with. My language skills were catastrophic at the time and to make sure I didn’t fall behind, I signed up for an easier course and was very happy with the decision and the advice beforehand.
I was always supported during the courses too. In one of my courses I was a little unsure whether my group was right for me and so I shared my concerns with the team. They offered me a no-obligation trial day at a higher level – which I tried. But so as not to miss out on any language skills, I decided not to change. They were absolutely open to my decision and understood and advised me very well! I am really lucky to have such a courteous team.
DIALOG: How did the trainers support you in learning German? What specific aspects of the course did you particularly like?
AINHOA: I have (so far) had the opportunity to get to know 4 different trainers at DIALOG and have been able to try out and experience many different methods. Some trainers work closer to the book, others use more specially created material or material from DIALOG, others focus more on speaking and much more. But two things were the same for all of them: All trainers were always there to help and respond to their participants. And: The atmosphere was always super pleasant, relaxed and informal.
For example, what I found really helpful was explaining words in different ways in different contexts instead of just translating them. That was a good challenge and it was easier to remember. I also learned a lot from individual text corrections.
Aids & Additional Services
DIALOG: Which technical tools have helped you improve your German ?
AINHOA: The course material used by DIALOG plays a big role for me. There is an app for the books where you can do all the tasks online and have them corrected. There is a lot of content in an intensive course , so the exercises are chosen individually to suit the group and not all the tasks in the book are covered. I did all the exercises myself again on the app and was able to see my own progress very clearly.
I mainly use translation tools in addition, such as WordReference (for words), DeepL (for sentences), Verbformen (for plural and adjective declension) and Reverso (for conjugations) and sometimes Reddit (for context and synonyms).
DIALOG: Did the German courses and the additional program (such as workshops or “Feierabendbier”) help you to feel more comfortable in the new city and to apply your language skills in real-life situations?
AINHOA: I attended the application writing workshop and it was fantastic! I would have loved to stay twice as long and continue talking and learning for much longer. We also received a huge amount of material, which includes examples and common phrases as well as ready-made sentence structures to choose from and use.
With the free, practical Study Help offer from DIALOG plus the workshop , “la boucle est bouclée” – that means that I get both: the material and the knowledge to create a CV and a letter of motivation and the “stamp of approval” (i.e. the correction) of an experienced trainer with whom I can discuss and perfect these.
Without the workshop and the study help I would have been completely lost and before that I had no motivation to start my application documents.
Learning German & Vienna
DIALOG: What was your first German word?
AINHOA: The first word I learned in Austria was “Aso!” [Note: “aso” is the abbreviation for “achso”, which indicates sudden understanding or an incredulous question]. I still use it today all the time and for everything, sometimes in English and French, where it always causes confusion. Oops!
DIALOG: Do you have any tips for people who are just coming to Vienna?
AINHOA: It’s generally better to learn German locally than online, and especially in Vienna because you can practice directly and talk to people. I also discovered a new dish here: tFlammkuchen. It’s also really easy to make yourself – ideally with tomatoes from your own garden, it tastes great!
Learning Success & Conclusion
DIALOG: What is difficult for you in everyday life, even though you can already communicate well in German?
AINHOA: The dialect ! I live in a village in Lower Austria. Everyone there speaks dialect. I knew that dialect and standard German are like two different languages, but it still confuses me…
DIALOG: What would you like to share with other learners?
AINHOA: I am a person who prefers grammar and structure. Many people like to chat without paying attention to grammar, but I don’t do that. I want to speak in the right way to automate it so that in the future I can speak perfect German without thinking.
For me, the intensive courses are the ideal choice for building a reliable and solid language foundation. A good school like DIALOG offers all the tools needed to learn effectively in a short period of time in an intensive course. In my opinion, it is also extremely important to plan time for self-study. You have to take the time to absorb everything you have learned, organize it and build a strong long-term memory.
Melde dich jetzt für einen Deutschkurs in Wien an und lerne effektiv Deutsch in Kleingruppen und mit hochqualifizierten Lehrkräften.
Zu kompliziert? Wir können helfen!
If you would like to get to know DIALOG as a language school and experience Ainhoa’s experience for yourself, click here to get started. We hope you have as much success learning German as Ainhoa did.
Here you can get an insight into our additional material: Präteritum (exercise with solutions here )
October 2024
