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Learning a Language - Beyond Grateful Survival by Linda R Living in Germany is like permanent survival training, if you don't speak German. You are minimally equipped to meet the demands of negotiating an unfamiliar terrain. If your meager tools are insufficient for the task at hand, as they usually will be, then improvise, improvise, improvise. You are on constant alert for danger (What if someone talks to me?) and have to stay strong, calm, and clear-headed. Most of us go through it. We struggle through a basic German course, maybe even reaching the Mittelstufe (intermediate level). We settle into a routine of sorts, learn by watching and through trial and error. Still, everyday life remains an effort in many subtle ways. Why? A woman who managed the English program for foreign spouses of university guests told me once that the most difficult step in acquiring a foreign language is moving beyond the intermediate level. It's a lot of work, and people are relieved, even grateful, finally to be where they can "get by." Do you recognize yourself? I sure do; it took me a good year until being grateful wasn't enough anymore. Intermediate language skills aren't enough for adult conversation. They aren't enough to watch TV, to read a book, to discuss symptoms with a doctor. They aren't enough to make friends with Germans, unless you meet an incredibly patient soul. I took a deep breath and signed up for advanced lessons two evenings a week. [Note: see school information below.] And as motivation, I set my sights on the Goethe Institut's Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom. On average, it takes one year to prepare; I took one and a half years. Excuses are beside the point. The main thing is, my German has improved exponentially. At the same time, I have learned to be much more gentle with myself. An advanced test does not equate to speaking like a native. There's always room to grow! If you, too, want to grow beyond grateful, the exam is offered twice a year, in May and November. It has both an oral and a written component. Here is a quick breakdown of the test:
The only Hamburg school which administers this exam is the Deutsch-Institut. A Mittelstufe certificate is enough to get you into the advanced course; failing that, a quick placement test will show whether you're ready. Every aspect of the exam is practiced in the course. In the three months prior to the exam, I dove deep into German and hardly came up for air. It was worth it. My first essay was too short and left me trembling and utterly exhausted. By the time the test came around, I had to hold myself back from writing too much! Results aren't back yet, but I can tell you this much. I'm reading books now, a little slowly, but so what? News and nature programs are usually a cinch. My doctor seems better every time I see him, now that I can understand things in more detail. Panic and rage are no longer my frequent companions, because I'm living instead of just surviving. And I've regained a freedom that previously went unrecognized: being distracted and muddle-headed now and then is a sheer delight! I wholeheartedly recommend this school: Advance Courses two evenings per week, from 6 - 8:30 p.m. A daytime intensive course is sometimes offered.
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