Intensive & Non-Intensive German Courses (1-13 Weeks)

The atmosphere is very welcoming. The center invites volunteers from all over to participate in internships, language classes, the teaching program or the journalism program. Many of the people I worked with were in the "Teach English, Learn Arabic/German" program. My original plan was to arrive the summer of 2020 for the Refugee Resettlement Internship. Unfortunately, due to covid, I was not able to. Instead, my plan was to return when it was safer to do so, which I was luckily able to do this summer.

The activities at the center were great. I came in unsure of what my daily life would look like. My first day was calm, and I was quite jet-lagged. The next few days, I spent with my roommates. The next week, a number of new people arrived, who were eager to spend time together. Our first day, the center arranged a tour for us to explore the city. During the tour, we were instructed to get to know each other, with ice breaker questions. We all became so close within that day, and that closeness felt like it had developed weeks or months earlier. Halle is close to many great cities and I was lucky enough to arrive during the 9-euro ticket initiative, where it was cheaper to travel. With my center friends, I traveled to Leipzig (20min away) and Dresden (2hrs away), and also got to visit someone in Plauen.

This year, I will be doing a year-long volunteer service in Berlin, so I wanted to improve my German before doing so. I could only stay for 3 weeks this time, but my teacher Muaz was one of the best I’ve ever had. Not only did we practice grammar and vocabulary exercises in class, but we got day-to-day experience exploring Halle, meeting people, testing vocabulary on the street, in a grocery store and cafe, and having cultural conversations. It’s not what I would have expected for 3 hours a day, but so much more helpful than anything I’ve ever experienced.

Halle is a beautiful city with lots of great qualities. The architecture is beautiful while also older. Unlike some of its neighbors, Halle wasn’t destroyed in the second world war. The city community is vibrant, and community-like. Walking with center staff, everyday we’d run into someone they knew (or two or three). It’s not a tiny city, but not overwhelming and huge. I would highly recommend this program to anyone that wants to travel somewhere new, meet new people and help others!

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

I came to Halle to learn German. I had not studied it previously, so I decided to make the most of my time here by taking the intensive course. I really enjoyed this option, and at the end of the month I was here, I feel a lot more comfortable with the German language. Halle is a beautiful city, with a lot of old architecture and interesting history. It is also a 30 minute train ride away from Leipzig, another beautiful city. Overall, my experience here was great and I recommend that you come and see for yourself. Rafat was attentive to all of my needs and made sure I was happy during my stay.