Starting to learn German is an exciting journey: you’re about to step into a whole new world of opportunities. From new friends to new career possibilities - the progress you make now is your ticket to a new life.
What should you look for in a German language school? Alpadia Schools are accredited, have a high student satisfaction rate, and offer excellent extracurricular activities!
However, with these new opportunities come new challenges. You need to figure out how you’re going to learn your new language and which school you should choose to help you on your way. There are a lot of language schools out there vying for your attention, so a little bit of research goes a long way. What exactly should you be looking for?
Here are three things you should look for in your next German school - and how Alpadia Language Schools meet these quality standards:
Accreditation exists to ensure that a language school adheres to very particular and prestigious criteria that make them qualified to teach a language. It is therefore important to make sure that your school is accredited, no matter what your course is.
Accreditation is essentially a guarantee of quality that your chosen institute has managed to adhere to these strict standards, so you know you’re getting the best of the best.
Alpadia Berlin and Alpadia Freiburg both hold several accreditations and are qualified to teach exam preparation courses, so you can rest easy, knowing that your teachers adhere to the highest of standards.
While accreditations are vital to measuring the educational value of a school, they don’t tell you much about the overall student experience. So, who better to tell you this than a former student themself?
Reviews are a great way to figure out how things really are on the ground, in a way that accreditation can’t always pick up on. For example, what if a school has an impeccable educational record but classes are boring and dry? A school examiner may not pick up on this, but a former student sure will!
Often you can find reviews for schools on their Google Business profile, or on a third-party site like Trustpilot. However, many schools measure their own student impressions, in order to make improvements, and they will gladly provide you with these results. If the reviews are particularly glowing, a school will generally display this proudly.
All Alpadia Schools report a 96 - 97 percent student satisfaction rate, a fact they’re very fond of repeating!
Learning methods, teachers, accreditation - all of this is extremely important for classroom learning, but do you really want to learn exclusively in the classroom? Learning a language is a far more fluid process than learning maths or science. You absorb it from your surroundings and practising outside of the classroom in organised activities can give you a lot of motivation, as it puts your knowledge in a real-world perspective.
Overall, a good language school should give you a strong balance between language practice, host-country culture (the context of the language!) and, most importantly, fun - why you made the move in the first place!
Each Alpadia School has a rich activity programme that will see you make new friends with your fellow students, take trips around Germany (both within your chosen city and to nearby hotspots), and participate in fun events to practise your language skills in a more genuine setting.
On top of Alpadia’s official accreditations, satisfied student reviews, and multifaceted programme, here are a few other reasons why Alpadia could be the right language school for you:
Ultimately, the language school you choose should fulfil some of the basic criteria outlined above, but most of all, it should feel right for you! Before making a choice, it’s a good idea to speak to the school, with a pre-prepared list of questions.
If you think Alpadia could be right for you, then get in touch to discuss any question you might have - without any commitment to book - and you might find your language adventure is right around the corner.