feuervogel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
feuervogel) wrote2009-12-19 02:07 pm
feuervogel) wrote2009-12-19 02:07 pm
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Hmm.
The Goethe Institut in Berlin will cost E1465 ($2100) for the 4-week intensive course, including a homestay.
I was looking at the Vienna tourism info page, and they list a bunch of learn German institutes, some of which are cheaper. (For example. Also housing.)
I *really* want to go back to Berlin, because it's my favorite place in the world, but since I haven't had work since October 2, money's kind of an issue. The Goethe Institut is highly regarded, of course, but a cost differential of E400 ($570) or more? Yeah. Cultura Wien offers the Austrian Language Diplom; I'm not sure how that rates compared to DaF or the Goethe Zertifikat. (Though there are only certain dates available, and I won't be there for any of them. Well, May 7, but that's at the beginning and I'd totally bomb.)
There are also other places to learn German in Berlin; the first I found was more expensive. ... It looks like the other Berlin-based courses cost as much as or more than the Goethe Institut.
Damnation. I'd really love to spend a month in Berlin, and go see the stuff I missed before (and make a day trip to Dresden). But if I can save close to six hundred bucks... argh.
sabeth, do you have any opinions? (Hey, I could learn some Austrian terms. And, ooh, be surrounded with Austrian accents all day. *puts another mark in the Vienna column*)
I was looking at the Vienna tourism info page, and they list a bunch of learn German institutes, some of which are cheaper. (For example. Also housing.)
I *really* want to go back to Berlin, because it's my favorite place in the world, but since I haven't had work since October 2, money's kind of an issue. The Goethe Institut is highly regarded, of course, but a cost differential of E400 ($570) or more? Yeah. Cultura Wien offers the Austrian Language Diplom; I'm not sure how that rates compared to DaF or the Goethe Zertifikat. (Though there are only certain dates available, and I won't be there for any of them. Well, May 7, but that's at the beginning and I'd totally bomb.)
There are also other places to learn German in Berlin; the first I found was more expensive. ... It looks like the other Berlin-based courses cost as much as or more than the Goethe Institut.
Damnation. I'd really love to spend a month in Berlin, and go see the stuff I missed before (and make a day trip to Dresden). But if I can save close to six hundred bucks... argh.
sabeth, do you have any opinions? (Hey, I could learn some Austrian terms. And, ooh, be surrounded with Austrian accents all day. *puts another mark in the Vienna column*)
no subject
... you did say you could guess my preference! :P
Seriously though, I'm not sure what to advise. I don't know if any one of the courses is superior to the others. I'm surprised housing is cheaper in Vienna, because the cost of living in general is a bit lower in Berlin.
It seems strange that they should be offering an Austrian Language Diplom -- surely they'd be teaching standard German, which is the same everywhere. Maybe you could do some research into how the certificates compare. Also, I think there's a Goethe Institut in Vienna as well. (Though I'm guessing that would be as expensive as the one in Berlin.)
I think it really depends on why you're coming over in the first place. Do you mostly want to improve your German (then pick the cheaper option/the Austrian accents :D) or do you mostly want to spend time in Berlin (then pick Berlin, because elsewhere would probably be a disappointment)?
When are you looking at coming again? May, right? Would you reschedule in order to be able to get a certificate? (If there are only certain dates available, I mean.)
(I deleted your comment on FB just because I don't want to tip people off about my online whereabouts. Not that I think "DW" really means anything to anyone, but some of my RL people are exceedingly nosy. Just FYI in case you're wondering where it went!)
no subject
I just checked the GI's site, and they don't list a site in Vienna, sadly. I can, however, take the C1 test at a site here in NC or down in Atlanta, or the TestDaF up in DC.
Mostly I want to get my German back to the level it was when I finished college, or close to it (or better?) Since I've heard of the GI, and a friend of mine took a summer class at one, I looked at their sites, and was like, whee, Berlin! Though I considered Dresden for a bit, because I'd never been there. I've also never been to Vienna, but we're going there for a week afterward anyway (yay, 10-year anniversary.)
I think the re-immersion combined with didactics would be a big help, and, really, spending a month where I really darned well ought to be speaking German would help.
I'm mainly looking at May right now, though it's still kinda flexible. It'll be warmer and less dark in May than in April, so that's a bonus.
Berlin gets a big "yay, I love the city" in its column and a smaller "ack, expensive" beneath it. Vienna gets a medium "yay, cheaper," a medium "yay accents," and a medium "never heard of these schools." So they're fairly balanced. -_-
(I guessed that's what happened! Silly nosy people.)