Where to learn German in NYC?
 

Not sure where to post this but hopefully someone reads this that can help. Does anyone know where I can take German classes in NYC? The New School has classes but they are spendy ($500 for 10 weeks).

In my travels I always encounter Germans and would like to know something other than english and my rudimentary high school french (I can barely put a sentence together). Any suggestions?

This is a topic more suitable for TravelBuzz! Please continue the discussion therein. :)


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essxjay
FT Community moderator

Goethe
 

That's a brilliant idea!

Learning languages should always be encouraged. Unfortunately in certain English-speaking countries people are somewhat ignorant on this front.

I did a degree at Goethe-Institut in Helsinki a few years ago alongside my studies. I'm quite sure they are funded by the German gov't. In any case, their standards are high, and I would strongly recommend them.

http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/ney/enindex.htm

At the very least they will be able to help you get started.

okko

I would second the Goethe Institut. I know many who have really enjoyed their courses. Some even have travelled to other countries (including Germany) to attend the classes.

Just make sure you're pronouncing Goethe correctly ;)

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out. I agree its a shame the US doesn't encourage learning foreign languages beyond the 2 years of high school, but I think its largely because we don't need to. Our neighbors speak english (sort of) and with only 2 weeks of vacation a year most don't go beyond Hawaii or Mexico for vacation.

I had taken 3 years of french in high school and was able to read and write fluently at the time. Beyond the few and far between trips to France I have very little opportunity to use it and in my travels encounter very few French. So perhaps German will provide to be more useful as I travel more these days to places where I think I could use it.

Another recommendation for the Goethe Institut. It was more expensive than the Graduate School USDA, which is where most people in DC go. However, the instructors were native speakers and motivated to teach. More than that, the students were motivated to learn, and not because of a paper job qualification or university breadth requirement-- rather, their fiancé was from Leipzig, or they had been appointed head of their company's Vienna office. Plus it was less expensive and more social than tutoring, and we got to see our teacher's bemusement if anyone used an expression that turned out to be Swiss.

Also for those who like irony, it was the most prominent cultural institution in Washington's "Chinatown." ;)

You can always go to Berlitz.

I have a friend who runs a language school (W26th) - i took spanish there and thoroughly enjoyed it and the teachers were fantastic:

http://www.language-exchange.com/

We can all speculate as to why. I'm inclined to think that the foreign language departments in the schools don't want their teachers teaching 4 full years of french, german, spanish, italian, latin.... That would mean hiring more teachers.

My french has gotten very rusty. I might look into refresher courses too. I like this thread!!

My high school taught four years of foreign language, on top of one or two more in middle school.

Unfortunately, I didn't keep it up during college.

Cooper Union has continuing ed foreign language classes for $230 for 10 weeks but its only french, spanish and italian. Here is the link:

http://www.cooper.edu/ce/language.html

I think foreign language in HS was like taking trigonometry... did we really think we would use it in the 'real world'? I can barely do long division without some help!

My grammar school made latin mandatory. That was really helpful as you can imagine for a first and second-grader.

Anyone have any expereince with the German Language School at St. Mark's Church? Seems less formal, and well, much cheaper than Geothe Institute.

I asked a German lawyer in New York this question today. His response was that he knew a nice German girl who was an "exotic dancer" in NYC who wouldn't mind giving lessons. (Maybe he was joking, but who knows.)

On a more serious note, doesn't the German Consulate/government have some kind of affiliated institute/academy that teaches German (at low or no cost)?

http://www.germany-info.org/relaunch...nlanginst.html

http://www.germany-info.org/relaunch.../dtkurs01.html