Hi, Our daughter is a first-year college student and studying German (just started). We are looking for an intensive summer German language program and I have created a list (sharing here). Would anyone know of any other programs? We like the “KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt - Summer School” the best but curious as to what others found.
There are some guardrails here:
DAAD will not work for this year – you need 2 years of college/university first.
Dates are important (past August 20 will not work) – unfortunately many of the programs are in August.
Must provide room and board (what they call “accommodation” in Europe).
It needs to be well-organized and somewhat curated (not language classes only at some place you show up to and leave after) — needs to have social + cultural aspects for coherency. I can check the program for this of course, just wanted to mention this.
We are on a budget (so the $12k Middlebury college program is definitely not an option); trying to keep it $4k and under including airfare + food + accommodation.
Strongly prefer it to be in Germany, and it must be High German (Hochdeutsch) dialect.
Strongly prefer it to be in a university setting WITH credits – so she can apply them to her college credits. The language schools are an option but they don’t give credits necessarily (Goethe does not unless you take an exam).
Here is the list I came up with. Names of other programs are greatly appreciated and thank you in advance!
Program
Link
University of Leipzig / Universität Leipzig (interDaF)
My son attended FUBIS in Berlin last summer and really enjoyed it. The instructors were great and he learned a lot. He had one prior semester of college German, took A2 and B1 intensive classes at FUBIS, and this set him up to take third year college German in the fall. They provide a transcript with transferable credit.
I have no specific suggestions regarding German programs…but if looking for college credit your D should be sure to get any program/coursework pre-approved (in writing) by the home university.
My son studied at Humboldt Institut during high school for a few weeks each summer. They do a very fine job of teaching German in various cities across Germany. I’m not sure about how to get college credit with them though. The only downside with the language institutes is that the common language during the evenings between the kids tends to be English despite not having many Americans. My son’s classmates came from countries across the globe (Italy, Spain, France, Turkey, Mexico, etc), but English was the language used socially.
Yes thank you, that is the 2nd program on my list above. Vienna would be very nice. I sent them an email and they have not replied but trying again. My D is concerned about dialect – which is a question in the email I sent them. Thanks for your post.
This should be a non-issue. See what they say, but generally, the German taught is Standardhochdeutsch, even if the local dialect is different. As a kid, I learned German in Switzerland (and Swiss German is on another planet), but the lessons were Standard High German.
The greater challenge, as @DALJets mentioned, is that they speak German outside the classroom and not default to English as the lingua franca.
Sorry but no, it does matter, I am very intentional about what I write. It has to be high German (Hochdeutsch) or she does not get credit and if she picks up dialect patterns (perhaps even a few words or sayings) the professors at her college will likely take concern and potentially disciple (i.e. grades) if she is not using Hochdeutsch.
Definitely agree with you about language outside the classroom; need to fire those neurons unilaterally. One of the annoying things about going to Europe is that if you ask a person a question in the native language (say German), they answer you in English – no I am not here for you to practice English in your native country…
My D22 did a summer study with the Goethe Institute in Schwabish Hall, Germany. It was a great experience for her, and she earned university credit toward her German minor.
I’m not sure I would describe it as “less organized” as you describe it in your chart. She went with a friend, and they both tested ahead of time and were placed in different classes according to their level. My D enjoyed that she was studying not just with Americans but with students from around the world. Classes were all morning and sometimes into the afternoon, but they had plenty of free time too. They provided dorm style accomodations but students had to arrange for their own food. My D and her friend would walk or bus to the grocery store and cooked most of their meals in a shared kitchen.
We visited at the end of her study, and the town is very nice. I liked that they were in a smaller town rather than a large city - it felt very safe!
Edited to add - My D did a month long program that started I think in late June and ended late July in 2024. Her university also applied the credit directly - no special exam required? But maybe they have an agreement of some sort with the Institute.
Thank you. I reviewed the Schwabish Hall option – running for 60 years. I emailed Goethe to ask for a smaller town/city (which should be safer, and definitely quieter) and they suggested Freiburg but I was curious about the Schwabish Hall option and your sharing that it is a smaller town is helpful.
Credit – Goethe states on their web site that credit is only given is an exam is passed – which would not be a bad thing, and my D actually likes the challenge of tests.
Quality - I just imagine it is hard to keep up high(est) quality given the size of their operation.
Hi All, Would like to add…. we are particularly interested in the “Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt / KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt - Summer School” – if you have feedback on this in particular, please share. We like the small town, and the coordinator has been very prompt and thorough with email replies; in fact the coordinator is the only one of all the programs we have emailed that has been prompt and generous in the detail shared.
Yeah, I suppose it’s possible my D took a test and just never mentioned it. She usually stresses about that sort of thing and but maybe it was just low stress enough that she never said anything. I just know that she easily got the credit applied to her transcript! I got the impression though that her school granted it as their own credit (“German Language study abroad, 3 credit”…. Something like that) - rather than as transfer credit granted by the Institute itself. My D had to turn in an essay or report of some sort to the German department at her school before the credit would show up - similar to when she did an internship in her major. She got 3 credits for a summer internship at an employer in her field, but had to turn in a series of reports about the experience.