feuervogel: photo of the statue of Victory and her chariot on the Brandenburg Gate (Default)
feuervogel ([personal profile] 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.

[personal profile] 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*)
sabeth: X-Files: Mulder and Scully in the sun (Default)

[personal profile] sabeth 2009-12-19 11:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Opinions, I have them! They are basically this: Vienna is awesome and clearly our accents > German accents. Also we have lots of very useful terms and phrases that Germans usually miss out on.

... 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!)