Is the program any fun or is it just work, work, work?
Believe it or not it is fun most of the time, even when you are in class. Our programs are geared to provide complete immersion, which means learning, by experience. Class material is presented in an interactive manner, not a boring lecture format.
We believe that teaching a language cannot be successful solely by routine and repetition but should be creative and communicative. We focus on learning to speak the language by instilling the most effective ways to master correct pronunciation and intonation.
School Methodology and Content
The basic program provides intensive coaching in grammar, sentence structure and vocabulary. Reading and listening comprehension, as well as written exercises, are important components of our courses. We believe it is important to vary teaching methods in our German courses as much as possible. Since every group is different, our teachers take an individual approach to each group and flexibly adapt their teaching methods to students' respective learning needs.
We supplement various course books with authentic teaching materials such as newspaper and magazine articles, audio-visual materials, and activities inside and outside the classroom, and ensure a maximum of spoken communication. You are encouraged to practice your spoken German in real life situations, with your teacher, and with other participants, in pairs and groups.
Apart from authentic teaching materials prepared by our teachers, we use textbooks by the following publishers: Hueber, Verlag für Deutsch and Langenscheidt. Our courses follow accepted curricula, from beginners to advanced. Modern teaching materials and equipment are used. We have cd and video recorders, together with a large collection of cds and video tapes for language teaching purposes, on topics including the arts, Austria, literature and business. Use of the multimedia library is a good way of adding to and reinforcing the skills acquired in class work.
Our teachers see themselves as your friends and partners. They are native speakers of standard German, and they take genuine pleasure in working together with you. They are highly qualified and regularly attend training courses held by the school. Each group is taught by two (Standard course) or three (Intensive course) teachers a day in order to ensure more varied and stimulating instruction. Participants become familiar with different individual styles of teaching, teacher personalities and variations in pronunciation of modern German.
Course Content, Levels & Outline
The course is supplemented with various course books and practical teaching materials such as newspaper and magazine articles, audio-visual materials, and activities inside and outside the classroom. All lessons ensure a maximum of oral communication between the students and the teacher.
Students are encouraged to practice spoken German in real life situations, with the teacher, and with other participants, in pairs and groups. The school has many CD’s and video tapes for language training purposes, on topics including the arts, Austrian culture, literature and business. Use of the multimedia library is a good way of reinforcing the skills acquired in class work.
Beginner
Chosen number of lessons plus 5 lessons of cultural programs per week. Average course duration: 4 weeks.
Prerequisites: no previous German knowledge necessary.
Outline of course content: The student is a complete beginner or has very little knowledge of German. He/she learns basic sentence structures and vocabulary to help to get simple messages across in everyday situations. He/she learns how to introduce her/himself and to cope with simple situations at the shops, at work, on the telephone, at the doctor's and at hotels.
Elementary 1
Chosen number of lessons plus 5 lessons of cultural programs per week. Average course duration: 4 -8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 4 weeks' Beginner course or basic knowledge of the German language: ability to introduce oneself and talk about simple everyday situations.
Grammatical prerequisites: ability to introduce oneself and talk about simple everyday situations.
Outline of course content: The student has little knowledge of German. He/she learns to make simple enquiries in speaking and writing and to give instructions, builds on his basic grammar skills and increases his vocabulary. The following language functions are among those practised: asking the way; giving directions; asking for and giving information; discussing home and the household; describing people and their characters; defining shape, size and colour of objects; asking for and giving opinions; the working world; returning faulty goods to a shop.
Elementary 2
Chosen number of lessons plus 5 lessons of cultural programs per week. Average course duration: 4 -8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 8 weeks' Beginner and Elementary 1 courses or good basic knowledge of German: ability to talk about everyday situations, ask the way and give simple descriptions.
Grammatical prerequisites: imperfect tense, nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, adjective declension, simple subordinate clauses, simpleprepositions.
Outline of course content: The student has some knowledge of German. He/she learns how to express him/herself adequately in familiar,everyday situations and to read and understand simple texts. Main course topics include: holidays and travel, living abroad, nature and the environment, family, the generation problem, population, living, the concept of home, news, politics, radio programs.
Certificate(optional): "Österreichisches Sprachdiplom Grundstufe 1"
Elementary 3
Chosen number of lessons plus 5 lessons of cultural programs per week. Average course duration: 4 -8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 12 weeks' Beginner, Elementary 1 & 2 courses or very good basic knowledge of German. Understanding of everyday oral and written situations, ability to communicate in day-to-day contexts.
Grammatical prerequisites: imperfect tense, perfect tense, nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, adjective declension, subordinate clauses, direct and indirect subordinate clauses, prepositions.
Outline of course content: After completing Elementary 3 the student should have a basic command of the fundamentals of German grammar and be in the position to participate in simple discussions and to understand simple texts, including the main points of short press articles. He/she consolidates and revises basic grammar structures and learns to discuss interesting topics. Main topics include: Travel & tourism, employment and the working world, school, education, history, politics & culture, literature.
Certificate (optional): "Zertifikat Deutsch" or "Deutsch für den Beruf".
Intermediate 1
Chosen number of lessons plus 5 lessons of cultural programs per week. Average course duration: 8 weeks.
Prerequisites:16 - 20 weeks Beginner, Elementary 1, 2 & 3 or good German skills: problem-free and fluent communication in everyday situations, basic understanding of simple press articles and films, the ability to discuss familiar topics.
Grammatical prerequisites: Basic command of the essentials of German grammar, in particular all tense forms, present and imperfect subjunctive, passive, adjective declension, subordinate clauses & sentence structure.
Outline of course content: The student should learn to be able to express her/himself on a variety of moderately difficult topics fluently and without preparation. He/she learns to express his opinion, to state his/her views, to discuss, analyse and interpret simpler texts, to summarize them and given an account of them. The basic grammatical structures are revised again and consolidated at intermediate level. The prerequisite is a command of basic grammar!
Certificate (optional): "Österreichisches Sprachdiplom – Mittelstufe"
Intermediate 2
Chosen number of lessons plus 5 lessons of cultural programs per week. Average course duration: 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 28 weeks' Beginner, Elementary 1, 2 & 3 and Intermediate courses or a very good knowledge of German: problem-free and fluent
communication in everyday situations, understanding of newspaper articles and films, ability to converse on a number of topics. Comprehensive and sound command of the language and use of a large range of language devices.
Grammatical prerequisites: The student must have a good command of German grammar, all tense forms, all applications of the present and imperfect subjunctive, subordination, participle constructions, prepositions.
Outline of course content: The student has a good command of German. He/she learns to express her/himself clearly both in speaking and writing on a large number of topics and to understand almost all texts. For example: Art: fine arts - interviews given by artists - interpretation of art, learning German: experiences and problems in assimilating a foreign language, sport, Austrian regional studies, Austria-Germany-Switzerland comparison, use of different types of text, literature (poetry).
Advanced
Chosen number of lessons plus 5 lessons of cultural programs per week. Average course duration: 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 36 weeks' Beginner, Elementary 1, 2 & 3 and Intermediate courses or excellent knowledge of German: problem-free and fluent communication in situations of all kinds, understanding of complex written and oral passages of all kinds, the ability to discuss complex topics. Comprehensive and sound command of German and use of a large range of language devices.
Grammatical prerequisites: The student must have a very good command of German grammar.
Outline of course content: The student can express himself fluently in German. He/she works on literary, sociopolitical, cultural and scientific topics.
Certificate (optional): "Diplom Wirtschaftssprache Deutsch"
Class schedule
The general schedule for the rest of the program is as follows:
Standard Course:
09:00 - 10:30am classes
10:30 - 10:45am break
10:45 - 12:15am classes
or
2:15 - 3:45pm classes
3:45 - 4:00pm break
4:00 - 5:30pm classes
We have groups of every standard from absolute beginner to the very advanced. We ask everyone (except beginners) to take a short test on their first Monday morning so that we can place you in the right class for your standard.
Exam courses
The school is an examination center for the Austrian German Diploma (OSD).
The Austrian German Diploma (OSD), which is advocated by the Austrian state, boasts 120 examination centres in 30 countries and enjoys world wide recognition for its German as a foreign language examinations. OSD-Certificates: Grundstufe Deutsch (Elementary), Zertifikat Deutsch (Pre-Intermediate), Mittelstufe Deutsch (Intermediate), Wirtschaftssprache Deutsch.
Grundstufe Deutsch, GD (Elementary):
The candidate is able to communicate in everyday situations on an elementary level. Understanding skills (reading and listening) are more important for this exam than production skills (writing and speaking). After completion of Elementary 2. The GD certificate follows the A2 / Waystage level of the Common European Framework as developed for the most common European languages.
Zertifikat Deutsch, ZD (Pre-Intermediate):
The Zertifikat Deutsch is a joint certificate of OSD, the Goethe Institute, WBT, EDK and University of Fribourg. At this level the exam puts as much emphasis on the candidate's production skills as on their understanding skills. After completion of Elementary 3. The ZD of OSD follows the B1 / Threshold level of the Common European Framework and is widely recognized by employers as sufficient evidence of proficiency in German and improves your chances of success on the job market.
Mittelstufe Deutsch, MD (Intermediate):
The candidate is supposed to be able to handle subjects beyond everyday situations. Not only linguistic but also pragmatical and intercultural knowledge is expected. The exam can be taken after completion of Intermediate. MD certificate follows C1 level / effective-proficiency of the Common European framework and corresponds to "Zentrale Mittelstufenprüfung" of the Goethe-Institute. The OSD-Mittelstufe examination is a
basic requirement for the entry to universities in Austria and some universities in Germany.
Wirtschaftssprache Deutsch, WD (Business German):
OSD in conjunction with the Austrian Chamber of Commerce. For students who are conversant with business topics after completion of Intermediate 2. The candidate will show that he can express himself in written and spoken German to an advanced level in the areas of business and commerce. The WD follows C2 / mastery level of the Common European framework and is a basic requirement for the entry to universities in Austria and some universities in Germany.
European Language Certificates
The European Language Certificates Zertifikat Deutsch and Zertifikat Deutsch für den Beruf certify linguistic competence at internationally recognised levels and follow the framework of the Council of Europe.
Zertifikat Deutsch für den Beruf:
The candidates can handle professional situations, negotiate with their collegues and business partners, compose business letters, emails and faxes, understand relevant texts (news articles, ads and interviews,..) and react to cultural characteristics. This certificate examination is offered after completion of Elementary 2 and 100 - 120 lessons of Professional German. Zertifikat Deutsch für den Beruf is internationally recognized and improves your chances of success on the job market.
