My Experience with Intesive German Course at The Excellence Centre

Hey, my name is Andrey Grant, I am a Software Engineer from Australia, and I found Excellence Centre whilst looking for opportunities to study German intensively in Germany. I really wanted to experience Germany, improve German language as well as just to travel and see the world after the Global Pandemic. Given that I travelled alone, it was not only important for me that there is an excellent language program, but that there is an inclusive culture in which I would feel at home despite not knowing anyone in Germany. Reflecting on my experiences over the last 6 weeks in Halle, I can confidently say that the Excellence Centre has satisfied me with all of the above, and in fact much more.

Learning German: Originally, what attracted me to the Excellence centre was their cost effective Intensive German course, with very flexible timelines. The biggest advantage over mainstream German options was that I could adjust exactly when I wanted to start and finish my course, whilst being affordable. I was also hesitant because at A2 level I wasn't certain if I will be able to learn when my teacher taught in German. However, these worries were extinguished on my first day of German lessons. Muaz, my German teacher, has been nothing but amazing and accomodating towards my learning goals. His ability to convey meaning of German words, sentences and grammar in German is superb. I felt like Muaz was invested in my progress and experience in learning German, employing a variety different technqiuese and exercises across speaking, writing, listening and reading, both free form and from conventional textbooks. Furthermore, he was extremely encouranging in me pushing my boundaries, whilst helping me fix my mistake along the way. And all of this all the while following (mostly) with B1 standard topic choice, which means that if i chose to continue with German further, I have B1 background. In summary, I find that learning German at the centre has only strengthened my resolve to continue learning German in future.

Halle and German Culture: Another reason I chose the Excellence centre was its location in Germany. Large cities like Berlin has a strong reputation for being English speaking hubs, where a tourist need practically no German to live. Halle on the other hand, is a relatively small (whilst still being modern) city, where fewer people are able or have desire to speak English. You can still get around by using English, but in my experience only young people will speak English with you unless absolutely necessary. The downside is that even you're somewhat fluent with Hochdeutsch, local accents can be challenging to understand. However over six week period I found that I can somewhat confidently order foods, shop at the supermarkets, get around through the city etc. Additionally, Halle contains a few things to do, such as museum, and historical locations. There is a lot of gorgeous nature around, and I have enjoyed multitude of walks through the city and surrounding forest. The final mention is that German has an amazing public transport system, which enables you to travel between Halle and other cities such as Berlin, Leipzig, etc which you can explore in your time off. I would have to say that whilst Halle has some nightlife, if you're looking for that kind of entertaintment, Berlin or Leipzig have much more to offer.

Day to day things: In addition to paying for lessons, the price of the course also included the stay at an apparentment for six weeks, which made it an even better offer. Rafat and Radwan have been extremely accomodating in helping me settle and purchase several things that the appartment was missing, getting correct public transport tickets and various other things.

The cultural exchange: I think the best way to describe my time at the centre is as Cultural Exchange with German language learning course. I come from Melbourne, Australia, a city known for its multicultural atmosphere, but during my time at the centre I have met an even greater breadth of people. It really serves as a place of multitudes of people coming together: Volunteers,students and teachers from Australia, Palestine, America, Egypt, England, Syria, Morocco, Canada, Mexico and others, coming together to learning and teach various languages as well to share their culture around. I have personally attended 4 Iftars (my best so far), and have eaten more Arabic food than was necessary. In general, everyone at the centre was more than hospitable, and made my stay with the centre feel like being at home