German Language & Volunteering

I really liked the teachers and the teaching system, the accommodation in the Creon CoSpace was perfect, after a couple days I asked for a balance and the day after they gave one. I think that the confidence with german that this experience really helped my to improve the language. The teachers really teach us german form the basic to harder grammar.

I stayed for two weeks at Alpadia and during this short period of time I attended two courses: the B2.1 and the B1.2; both had friendly teachers that were able to do lessons which weren't boring or stressful.
The location of the school was easily accessible for me since I lived only 20 minutes by foot from it. Near the school there are many places were the students can buy lunch (supermarkets, bakerys, small restaurants), in addition there are parks where the students can go to eat.
I only did two of the activities that the school offered (the botanic garden and the Stammtisch), I both enjoyed them and the "staff" was on time. Also the people working at the reception were always helpful and friendly and I really appreciated that.
Finally the housing was perfect in my opinion, I stayed with two men that gave me a lot of space: I didn't have to tell them what I was going to do or my timetables.

I am a mature student from Scotland ( 60 years old!) and was made very welcome throughout. I only attended for two weeks in an effort to improve my German purely for my interest in the language. It has been very beneficial, both in terms of increasing knowledge and also giving me enthusiasm to continue

There are lots of positives;

--really enthusiastic teachers who were all clearly experienced in teaching and mentoring.
--Teachers all had different backgrounds with varying accents and styles which gave an interesting variety.
--it was nice that some were able to share some of their teaching lives and backgrounds with us.
--Mellisa from Indonesia was especially helpful and had a lovely cheerful positive way of encouraging us. Her notes were so useful. She needs to be commended as a great teacher.
--Class lengths and breaks were just about right.
--I felt that the initial assessment done on-line led to an appropriate grading of my skills as the class I was in was pitched at a good level; stimulating and not too difficult. I was able to learn a lot.
--I felt that the course books were stimulating and useful and gave a good mix of listening, reading , writing and speaking.
--Meeting area with tables and coffee machine was very welcome.

Could have gone better.
--It was winter and it would have been useful to have a quiet room to use to study between some classes rather than the meeting areas. Perhaps there was such an area, I was only there 2 weeks and did not discover it.
--My schedule meant that I was unable to attend the weekend social activity, however I understand that this would alter after some weeks ( I was only there 2 weeks ).

The location was good, I appreciated the kindness and the professionally of the teachers.
The lessons were productive. Maybe I would just add more activities after school.

I liked the pedagogy style, not putting a huge focus on grammar points and cases, but rather focusing on being able to speak, even if with some grammar mistakes. It helps becoming more confident in speaking, and not thinking too much.

I liked that we change teacher, so that we hear different way of speaking and of teaching.

I like the speaking lesson, but it's a bit short. It happened that because of a technical problem or little issue, the course is almost pointless.

I really enjoyed the mood and spirit of the teachers.

I think what we lack the most is speaking to "real" Germans outside of school, because we speak together, but all make a lot of mistakes. But I know there is this possibility when living with a host family. It was for me just a little expensive.

The teachers are really amazing, they approach each student individually and give usuful feedback. The environment of the school is beatiful and the school itself is pleasantly located. If I went to Berlin once again, I would for sure choose Alpadia. When it comes to family, there is nothing bad I can say about them. Both of my hostparents were super talkative and took proper care of me. Their apartment was spacious and clean and my room had a balcony and was neat and tidy. I loved my stay there!

I didn´t expect the fun that I had during the classes. The amount of students in the class was great to speak your mind whenever you wanted. The teachers where great too; passionate on what they where doing and having the patience explaining several times. The social activities where nice, but somehow the students (myself included) weren´t motivated to assist to most of them.
Overall I loved the school and would definitely recommend it!

I really liked the teachers and classes and also the availability of the staff.

The only thing that I did not really liked was the family. I stayed with Jana and Sebastian, they were not that bad but it was very stressful to be with them.

In the morning they complained that I was making too much noise in the bathroom even when it was 9 a.m. Finding the bathroom free was really difficult and when I could use it I had to hurry, once I even had to use it at the school.

I understand that I was not in a hotel but I have been in other host families and I didn’t have these problems.

Jana most of the time was nice to me when I did not understand something in German she explained it to be better, the house was clean and they let me use the washing machine so I thought that those were problems that we could solve.

But it did not feel like being in a family at all.

So I would absolutely do this experience again and for more than 4 weeks but I would have changed the family because I was not well at all, I understand they did for the money but they are offering you a service and I expect a minimum of patience.

the location was good because it was close to transport, the structure was quite new and clean, the classes with few students worked very well because the teachers were able to follow us very well. the teachers were good and willing to repeat in case of difficulty

Teacher was great and organised her program around what I wanted to study.
Facilities were easy to find and spacious.

My host family was claudia and she was fantastic, so friendly and made amazing food for ud
the school lokation made it easy to see all of berlin
the teachers were all very sweet
such a good experience all in all

At first it was a bit chaotic because of corona, but after we all got used to the social distancing, masks etc.. it was a lot better. I liked the intensive part of my course the most, I’ve learnt loads of new words and phrases. The “normal” lessons were also great, but I had the afternoon classes and sometimes it was really hard to stay concentrated for 90 minutes without a pause. I liked most of the teachers. They were fun and they taught me a lot. The location was also nice. There were many cafes and restaurants nearby. Sadly I didn’t manage to take part in any activities, but my friends did and thay said it was great. I could only recommend the school.

Classes: Great except from one little detail that one class has a strange shape so not everyone can see at the whiteboard clearly.

Teachers: All of them were very nice and made you participate all of the time.

Location: Alpadia was very good located. I always could have time to get something to eat on breaks.

Facilities: Good.

Activities: Great activities! We always played games at the end or in the middle of the class.

Most teachers were really good and made the lessons interesting. Classes were very mixed which meant we were all forced to speak german which was really good practice. It is very central and the accommodation provided was excellent. Some of the Saturday trips I found quite boring and I didn’t really enjoy the karaoke but the Stammtisch every Tuesday was fun.

amazing locations, great organization, amazing hosts. The teachers were very different between them: some lesson were more playful, some frontal. Overall I learned a lot.

I like the teachers and classrooms, I think it would be better if all people in the class start at the same time, because I found it hard to make friends when there were people coming and going all the time.

I thoroughly enjoyed my two weeks at Alpadia in Berlin. The writing course I was placed in was too easy and the instructor noticed and informed me that I could ask at office to switch into a higher level writing course for the following week, which I did. I enjoyed (re)learning what I forgot about the German language as well as interacting with faculty and teachers. One recommendation would be to improve the wifi speed. Wifi was slow.

The class was varied, it was possible to communicate in German thanks to the activities proposed by the teachers, who were engaging and competent.

The structure was well organized and the staff was very willing to meet our needs regarding school hours.

The classes were well organized and the teachers were very good at their job.
The school was a bit hard to find with all the scaffolding around it but was in a rather convenient location for where I was staying.
The activities that the school offered were fun and i wish i had been able to participate in more of them.
The women I was staying with was extremely welcoming and made my first alone international trip much more comfortable.

The building and classrooms were adequate and the used method was fine. I was in a small class, so that was nice.

They work with a system where two teachers share a class, so you can benefit from different styles and personalities. One teacher just did her job plain well, the other teacher also did his job well but also created a great atmosphere.

I would have liked a short personal introduction when a new person enters a group, as I think some personal connection helps the learning process.

I didn't do any of the activities so I cannot tell anything about them.

At the end of the course there was a small celebration where the certificate was handed out, this was quite nice.

Summarizing everything I would recommend the school.

Amazing school, amazing teachers, amazing friends!

Everything was great and better than anticipated. I like the rotation of teachers and the curriculum. Everyone in class was friendly and classes were small which facilitate better learning.

teachers prepared
adequate level assessment
classrooms ok
Spartan apartment
cost for excessive cleaning, € 40 for a week!

During this trip I had the chance to stay in a wonderful family,two grand parents who were really kind with me : they were always here to make dinner, even when I was getting late, they were willing to speak slowly with me when I was asking me ...
Moreover, follow the German course was a great experience, the lessons were incredible, the teacher always here to help us , engaged and pedagogue. I have also made some friends which I am still in contact with.
An experience to do again! Thank you!

I found the classes very intense and I liked them a lot. The teachers, without exception, were excellent and with a great spirit of individual accompaniment in language learning. The classrooms are comfortable and with the necessary resources and adequate for teaching. The activities were varied and that made the learning situations more enjoyable. I am very satisfied with my stay at Alpadia. I do not have any kind of objection or observation to do and I can only thank for the beautiful time that I have spent in those two weeks between you.

+ Great facilities, good and friendly teachers, always available

The building was located in a very convenient area near public transportation, shops and restaurants. The classrooms were neat and clean and had plenty of light. I really enjoyed the opportunity to stay until 18:00 in order to use the Internet and prepare for the next day of lessons.

The teachers were all excellent and fun. They related well to all of the students, who very young compared to myself. It didn't matter because I enjoy being around young people and they were all very helpful as was the staff.

I was "thrown" into an A2 Deutsch section in what I thought was an erroneous placement, but I soon discovered a few things about myself. First, I discovered that I knew more German than I thought. I also found that I could follow the conversations between the teacher and other students fairly easily if given the context first. Third, I really enjoyed myself and had fun.

Afternoon/Evening activities occurred almost every day. Monday - Film in German; Tuesday - Stammtisch in a nearby establishment; Wednesday - Tour of the Berlin Victory Column (Siegessaule); Saturday - Visit to the Berlin Jewish Museum. I took part is each of these except for the Film showing. In addition to the Alpadia sponsored activities, I went on my own to the Brandenburg Gate (Tor) on Thursday and the Bundestag on Friday.

My host family was awesome. Klaus, I was told, has been hosting students for years and I had a fantastic experience. Breakfast was simple but the suppers were "made from scratch" culinary treats. I told the Director of Alpadia that if I came back for another course that I would be staying at Klaus' house!

There wasn't anything wrong with this week. Traveling by train and commuting throughout the week on the U-Bahn, buses and the S-Bahn was extremely efficient and invaluable to my language learning experience.

Classes are more modernized than they look in photos. Friendly stuff. They were very kind to me. Helped me with all problem i had. During my stay, i was tаught by several teachers. Each has a different approach and that makes student to learn a lot.

Good classes with good teachers! The location was very good, with U-Bahn and S-Bahn near the school.
With more than 10 students in a class was more difficult to learn fast.
The activities were good.

I really liked my teachers. They're opened and very nice. I was very lucky with my location, cause it was a good woman, she was alone and so kind. We've got a lot of transports in Berlin, so that's more easier for coming to the school. The activities were nice, I really appreciated the "stammtisch", interesting and talking to the others from lots of nationalities was so an incredible experience, even if my stay was short in Alpaca Berlin, I really think coming again to this school.

I don't have much things I didn't like.

Location was good and there were good connections by puplic transport. I had home stay accommodation and it was really nice too. I also participated to some of the weekend trips and there were nice way to get to know other students. I liked too the gym that was near the school and I got better price for the gym because of being Alpadia Student.

In the teaching methods there was too much "creativity".I mean that teaching methods concentrated too much on things like: "Imagine how this sentence continues" or: "Tell 10 words that you need to find out before you move to live alone in your own rented flat" etc.. Sometimes I felt I was in kindergarten where teacher tried to force you "imagine" things and to be more "brave" and "creative". During my 4 weeks of stay we wasted hours of time this kind of a uselessness. All of the people there were over 18 years old and they already were brave enough to come to different country alone to learn the language and they are intelligent nice people who have brain to imagine things when needed.

This "creativity" problem was only in "standard course" where in my opinion teacher should concentrate on teaching the grammar and not on being "creative"!

Also the Alpadia-made school books are bad because sometimes it was difficult to understand what you need to do in the exercises. The book was also a bit childis and I would rather use another course books. Many of the exersices in the book needed too little a bit too much "creativity" and it was really, really frusfrating.¨

One thing more I did not like was the attitude that some teachers had for the English language during the lesson. What is more important: That people understand the words and grammar or that only language that is used in the class room is German?

I paid altogether around 3700 euro for the month of learning German language in Berlin and I really think it would have been more important to understand and learn the language than follow some totally senseless attitude of using only German language! Yes, "you can always ask" but it feels stupid to ask all over again something that the teacher kept explaining everything in German so that you didn´t understand. English was reagarded as a "bad thing" and it was definitely not accepted in the classes. There were many nice teachers too who used English when it was the best way to explain some word. I appreaciate those standard course teachers!

First of all the school wasn't far from my guest family . Second the classes was really entertaining and fun . The teachers are great they are really helpful and they way they teach is interseting . The activites are alot and thats a good thing for people who wants different type of activites . The Guest family are really kind and fair .

A very good course. I had two good teachers. I learned a lot. We had a good studybook. The class had a good suize, 7 people. I SAS on a field trip a very fun and good afternoon.

I had very good teachers.
On the second week we were too many and so I felt we learnt less that we should have.

The activities are nice.

The wifi connection is too weak.

The teachers are very skilled and the material is appropriate, interesting, and useful. The location is excellent, the facilities are efficient, and my housing is fantastic and much better than I had expected.

There is nothing I didn't like.

I will start by saying how grateful I am to the school and teachers of Alpadía. They were always attentive and willing to help at all times.

The classes were most interesting and understandable. The school is in a very good area and near everything. We are talking about a very large city. Also, classes were very interesting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, as we had classes about culture. We visited different museums in Berlin and rode to other cities in Germany. We had a great time and met many students around the world.

I am sure that everything I learned about language and culture will be useful to me for my performance with the language and with talking to German people.

My main teacher (Claudia) was really great. She taught us some things in a playful way, so it was nice to go to school. The school 's location is pretty good; my family lived 10 minutes away by foot. The proposed activities were enough. There were no internet and no television in my apartment. I would have liked to be able to have that benefit . My "mother of hosts" was adorable and cooked well. I had a great stay in Berlin and made beautiful meetings.

The teachers were really helpful and friendly. The location was also quite nice and was close to most of the famous spots. The housing was rather costly but sort of worth it. There were two things I was not very happy about. Firstly, when I was already in level A2/2, we were forced to be mixed with level A2/1, which resulted to an unfairness to both of the classes. For A2/2, we spent a whole week to review what we had already learned and for A2/1 they were forced to skip a few lessons because the school needed them to catch up with us. Secondly, I had no idea that I might share the apartment with a guy. I thought it was only for girls. That's why I was quite shocked when I was informed that a guy was moving in. Other than these two things, everything was fine.

Is it perverse to call a week of German classes a vacation? It was a vacation for me. I loved the classes. The instruction was excellent. I think I can say that the teaching is great at ESL PROLOG across the board because I worked with four of the PROLOG instructors. It's not just that the pedagogy is sound; these instructors also speak beautiful German. It was a pleasure just to listen to them.

I learned a lot of German in one week, but I was not overburdened with unnecessary homework assignments. I appreciate that. Thank you. Less is definitely more when homework is concerned. It's as if the instructors trusted that I would take what was being presented in the classroom and use it during the free time I had in Berlin - and that is exactly what I did. If we learned in class what a "Rosinenschnecke" is, I asked for one in German the very next morning at the Bäckerei, and presto! Now that word is mine forever. Also, I've come to like them.. A lot.

My classmates were awesome: a diverse group of uniformly enthusiastic, bright young people. I was much older than all of my classmates, but they were so welcoming and friendly. There was a terrific vibe in the classroom.

I like the location of the school - easy access by U-Bahn. (There's a charming coffee shop on the walk from the U-Bahn stop to PROLOG called Double Eye. Are the baristas at Double Eye on the PROLOG payroll? It feels like they might be. They were so unfailingly good-humored about my attempts to order in German.)

Basically, it was a great week. I came home reluctantly, but with a new enthusiasm for learning German. Thank you. I hope to return.

All the classes were very intense and professionally prepared. We practiced a lot of vocabulary but also focused on speaking. I really liked my teachers, the classes were differed and never boring. The school was located in the city centre, in a nice area full of restaurants and shops. It was only a few minutes by bus away from my house. I loved my host family, they were very friendly and made me feel like at home. I wish I could have stayed for longer. The only thing which I can mention as a disadvantage of the school is the arranged activities. There were too few and not very interesting. During the week there was one movie afternoon (watching a German movie in the school), an excursion to the Berliner Mauer Museum (you can as well go there by yourself). I wish they arranged something more interesting and socializing the group. Well, there was a meeting in a nearby Pub arranged but you couldn't take part if you were less than 18.

The school is located downtown, very convenient, and has a different activity every day. The teachers are great. I met a lot of new friends from different countries. I love Berlin.

The classes, at first, were very small and personal. The pace was very slow, but I guess that is how they have to go. After a while, things got very repetitive and got boring pretty quickly, but it only lasted until we advance to the next level. With more students we got more out of each class, there were more partner exercises where we got to practice our German with each other. The games always make the class more fun, but sometimes you have to deal with the grammar of the language without any fun. Although boring, it is very necessary and I think that the teachers in this school did a very great job with teaching the grammar. Overall, the classes remained at a rather slow pace as once you get the hang of it, you feel like you can move on quicker, but the teachers do not see that sometimes.

There was a time in the B1 level where I had a friend who was in my class leave somewhere and come back a week later. She got placed in the same level as me but in a different classroom. About 2 weeks later, I find out she is 6 or 7 sections ahead of me which really shocked me.

Anyway, ever since beginning B1 the class fun just went downhill. It was boring and repetitive and coming into class was a chore, although you feel you have to because you paid a lot for it. It just does not seem worth it. The only reason worth coming in was to practice your speaking, and hopefully do some good exercises to practice the grammar.

The location is rather easy to get to and the facility itself is very large and clean (though the classes sometimes felt crowded with 12 people).

Overall, if I were to learn a new language again I would only stay for 3-5 months rather than 6.

Quality of teaching really fluctuated, some were fives. Most of the time, I had a three, so if you get lucky you may get awesome teachers.

Now what I can say about my experience. I wish to come again. It was far too short; I had a wonderful time
It is also a little difficult to say what I liked and did not because I was only five days at school, but I had some experiences. I will gladly recommend the school with other people.
For me, everything there was organized so good, and you did find for me accommodation, half board. I stayed in a really wonderful place.
It is difficult for me to find any negative details, since I was there such a short time.
Thank you for offering me to participate in this program.

In a short time in the Premium course, I had 10 teachers, everyone was good. The location is good and easy to reach. The institute was comfortable and mostly with enough resources. The activities where interesting and there were plenty.

The thing I miss were a library with books to improve learning and a microwave to heat the lunch, just to be more comfortable.

The housing was really good, the host was a really nice and helpful person, the room was comfortable and big. I had access to the kitchen internet, and other services, including laundry.

the school is really good, really good teachers and a lot extra acivities... the student really learn german there, but the best is that in this school the students can make really good new friendships and berlin is an amazing city to stay

On the whole, I liked the course a lot.
The school location was convenient.
The teachers seem to know a lot and can teach students well, with certain personal approach to each.
The classes were mostly speaking-oriented, which I actually wanted.
I liked extra-curriculum activities, too, especially a trip to Leipzig.
As for the host family and housing, the place and living conditions were fine, though one could expect a bit more hospitality, and a bit less restrictions and nagging every other minute.
Still, generally I see it as a rather positive experience, for I spent most of my time at school and in the wonderful Berlin.

I believe the school is really good, the books are great and the quality of the teachers is great. I even enjoyed that there are so many social activities and there is more about learning. The only thing that I could say is that it is expensive, that's the only reason I didn't come back. :)

I was very impressed with the curriculum, as it presented a very direct method for learning how to speak German. Having multiple teachers was a great way to practice under different teaching styles. My classmates were very interesting and I enjoyed learning alongside them. I could not have been more pleased with my living situation. I stayed with the Kapps family, who accepted me into their home and treated me with the utmost hospitality. I had roommates who I spend my afterhours with, practicing and exploring the amazing city of Berlin. It was easily the most exciting six weeks of my life.

Me and my business partner atended the course,I felt it was too intence 4 h a day + for beginers,
The main disapointment for me was that my partner got very sick after 4-5 days and could not attend , I too had to miss clases to look after him, I approached the school and asked them after a week or so to please give me a refund or a vaucher to do the course at a nother time.
They asked me for the Doctors certificate, we didnt have one because we didnt request one at the time we went.
They wernt easy and helpfull and this put me off the contact with them,I know there are regulations but I did expect a bit of trust and sympathy.
At the end we I left the course and missed all together more than 7 days

The school is very good, just what i expected. The teachers are very helpful, no complains really. The location is good, it's great that there are so many shops nearby, and it's very doable with public transport. The social activities are good, but the quality varies with the teacher/person leading them. I like the one evening at the 'stamtisch' but maybe some more activities like that would be fun. Like going to dinner, or see a play, or something like that.

The only problem i've had so far is that my host isn't really nice. She has a lot of rules, and she's not very sociable. She never showed me around the neighbourhood, never showed me where the local shops are, where i could do my grocery shopping. or anything like that. I don't really get why she is renting out a room to international students. She doesn't speak english, and most students don't speak german that well in the beginning.

The school was great. The people were really friendly. We switched between two teachers every week. The immersion experience was great, we weren't allowed to speak English in the classroom, and that helped us practice a lot.