A language learners’ forum

Oh! I found a German group! This is something nice for me. I was looking for a forum focused in German to keep going with my challenge to improve this language.

I have been living in Berlin for more than 7 years, but I have been working more in English than German. I got a C1 test years ago, but I am feeling that I am losing the language, I dont know what to do. Actually I started a personal project in German, just to have this daily contact and push me to keep improving, but it's not easy. Let's see.

Vin wrote:Oh! I found a German group! This is something nice for me. I was looking for a forum focused in German to keep going with my challenge to improve this language.

I have been living in Berlin for more than 7 years, but I have been working more in English than German. I got a C1 test years ago, but I am feeling that I am losing the language, I dont know what to do. Actually I started a personal project in German, just to have this daily contact and push me to keep improving, but it's not easy. Let's see.

Ich wünsche dir viel Glück mit deinem Projekt und Ziel, dein Deutsch zu verbessern Vin. Du lebst gerade in einer (laut was jeder mir erzählt, weil ich bin dahin noch nie gewesen) der geilsten Städte Europas, und was für ein toller und großartiger Platz dein Ziel zu schaffen. Einfach Perfekt. Viel Erfolg und Spaß weiter!

Vin wrote:Oh! I found a German group! ... I have been living in Berlin for more than 7 years ...

A few questions just occurred to me. I am planning to study in Germany, either next year as a study abroad year (I am starting my second year of university this year) or for my master's if my German is good enough by then. Possibly both. I had a couple of German-related questions I was hoping some of the experts here could answer:

1) Is there a particular university/city that you personally think I should try to experience in my study abroad? My main options are FU Berlin, Humboldt, and Leipzig, but I'm pretty sure I could study abroad at pretty much any major university I chose. Obviously depending on what I decide to do for my master's my decision will be very different, but if I am just studying for a year in my bachelors program I just want to learn more about German language and literature. Does any university have a particularly good reputation for that, or are all the big unis good choices?

2) What should I expect in terms of dialect? Obviously it depends on where I study, but if I went to, say, LMU München, would the professors and all the students speak Bayrisch, would there be a mix because of the diverse student population, or would official university things like lectures mostly be held in Hochdeutsch? If I want to live in Germany, which I do, I would likely need to learn a dialect, but I don't have a good idea of how the diglossia functions in universities.

Sahmilat wrote:A few questions just occurred to me. I am planning to study in Germany, either next year as a study abroad year (I am starting my second year of university this year) or for my master's if my German is good enough by then. Possibly both. I had a couple of German-related questions I was hoping some of the experts here could answer:

1) Is there a particular university/city that you personally think I should try to experience in my study abroad? My main options are FU Berlin, Humboldt, and Leipzig, but I'm pretty sure I could study abroad at pretty much any major university I chose. Obviously depending on what I decide to do for my master's my decision will be very different, but if I am just studying for a year in my bachelors program I just want to learn more about German language and literature. Does any university have a particularly good reputation for that, or are all the big unis good choices?

2) What should I expect in terms of dialect? Obviously it depends on where I study, but if I went to, say, LMU München, would the professors and all the students speak Bayrisch, would there be a mix because of the diverse student population, or would official university things like lectures mostly be held in Hochdeutsch? If I want to live in Germany, which I do, I would likely need to learn a dialect, but I don't have a good idea of how the diglossia functions in universities.

Don't know if it is of any use to you, but according to the World University Rankings, the German universities with the highest scores are LMU Munich, Technical University of Munich, Heidelberg University, Humboldt University Berlin and Freiburg University.

At least historically, Freiburg has had a strong position in the humanities, several great historical linguists were from there I believe.

Does the city itself have any bearing on your decision? It is very different living in a big city like Berlin compared to living in Freiburg or Heidelberg, both rather "modest" in size. It is of course a personal thing, but from my own student days at least I had the experience that socialising and getting to know other (native) students was easlier in a small university town than in a big city (Madrid), where i would more easily end up with other expat students rather than with the natives.

Ogrim wrote:Don't know if it is of any use to you, but according to the World University Rankings, the German universities with the highest scores are LMU Munich, Technical University of Munich, Heidelberg University, Humboldt University Berlin and Freiburg University.

At least historically, Freiburg has had a strong position in the humanities, several great historical linguists were from there I believe.

Does the city itself have any bearing on your decision? It is very different living in a big city like Berlin compared to living in Freiburg or Heidelberg, both rather "modest" in size. It is of course a personal thing, but from my own student days at least I had the experience that socialising and getting to know other (native) students was easlier in a small university town than in a big city (Madrid), where i would more easily end up with other expat students rather than with the natives.

I think that's a really good point. When I visited Berlin in high school one summer, I heard more English than German. I would probably have an easier time "immersing myself in German culture" in an, I guess, less international city than Berlin.

Thanks for the ranking list, that is helpful.

I lived in Freiburg (outskirts) for three months and then a few more stays for two weeks each. The city is beautiful and the countryside is even prettier!

cjareck wrote:I lived in Freiburg (outskirts) for three months and then a few more stays for two weeks each. The city is beautiful and the countryside is even prettier!

I agree. Freiburg is really nice, statistically it is the sunniest and warmest city in Germany, and also one of the greenest (in the ecological sense of green). And then you have easy access to the Black Forest with its stunning nature and nice little villages.

That said, Heidelberg is also great, especially for students. The university is Germany's oldest, founded as early as 1386.

Sahmilat wrote:A few questions just occurred to me. I am planning to study in Germany, either next year as a study abroad year (I am starting my second year of university this year) or for my master's if my German is good enough by then. Possibly both. I had a couple of German-related questions I was hoping some of the experts here could answer:

1) Is there a particular university/city that you personally think I should try to experience in my study abroad? My main options are FU Berlin, Humboldt, and Leipzig, but I'm pretty sure I could study abroad at pretty much any major university I chose. Obviously depending on what I decide to do for my master's my decision will be very different, but if I am just studying for a year in my bachelors program I just want to learn more about German language and literature. Does any university have a particularly good reputation for that, or are all the big unis good choices?

2) What should I expect in terms of dialect? Obviously it depends on where I study, but if I went to, say, LMU München, would the professors and all the students speak Bayrisch, would there be a mix because of the diverse student population, or would official university things like lectures mostly be held in Hochdeutsch? If I want to live in Germany, which I do, I would likely need to learn a dialect, but I don't have a good idea of how the diglossia functions in universities.

I lived in Munich for six years, and taught at LMU München - you’ll be fine in an academic context with Hochdeutsch, although you’ll have some folks with stronger accents. Learning Bairisch is neat for the surrounding areas, but you won’t actually need it in the city. You’ll pick up some from who you hang out with probably. LMU München has a really good germanistik program too, fwiw.

Systematiker wrote:

Sahmilat wrote:
2) What should I expect in terms of dialect? Obviously it depends on where I study, but if I went to, say, LMU München, would the professors and all the students speak Bayrisch, would there be a mix because of the diverse student population, or would official university things like lectures mostly be held in Hochdeutsch? If I want to live in Germany, which I do, I would likely need to learn a dialect, but I don't have a good idea of how the diglossia functions in universities.

I lived in Munich for six years, and taught at LMU München - you’ll be fine in an academic context with Hochdeutsch, although you’ll have some folks with stronger accents. Learning Bairisch is neat for the surrounding areas, but you won’t actually need it in the city. You’ll pick up some from who you hang out with probably. LMU München has a really good germanistik program too, fwiw.

Unless you seek it out, Bayrisch, Kölsch, etc... will not be present in the Uni literature programs. Expect slang from the students and happy mixture of accents but really everyone mostly speaks Hochdeutsch at the major universities. Munich itself is highly influenced by Germans from elsewhere in Germany but very quickly switches to more local dialect once you leave the city. I lived in Strasslach (10 km south of Munich) and both my mechanic and butcher only spoke Bayrisch with me. My team assistant switched from one to the other without difficulty, depending on her audience.