Friendly and open learning atmosphere at DIALOG
Ciaran is an English trainer from Melbourne, Australia. At DIALOG – our language school in Vienna – he started learning German at the A1.1 level and continued the intensive courses up to B2.2. Respect for that! This year he would like to practically apply and at the same time deepen his German knowledge in the conversation course for advanced students (B2/C1).
As a trainer, Ciaran is of course always interested in new information about languages and therefore enjoys learning new words and expressions from the German language, of course also from Austrian German and the Viennese dialect.
Do you also want to learn a new language? Find out here how Ciaran benefited from the German course offered at our language school. Let’s go!
Atmosphere & learning in the intensive course
DIALOG: How did the personal support at DIALOG – DER SPRACHCAMPUS help you and what influence did it have on your success in learning German?
CIARAN: From the first lesson the atmosphere at Dialog was warm and friendly. My teacher, Alia, was great. I studied with her from the beginning of A1.1 to B2.2, and enjoyed every minute.
DIALOG: How did the trainers support you in learning German? What specific aspects of the course did you particularly enjoy?
CIARAN: Alia was friendly and open, and always had time for me when I had a question about grammar. I have a personal interest in linguistics, so sometimes my questions were a bit unusual, but she was always interested and happy to explain any point I brought up.
The mix of tasks and exercises in class and at home worked well for me, and I always felt challenged but not overwhelmed.
Learning tools & additional offers
DIALOG:Which technical aids helped you improve your German skills?
CIARAN: I used quite a few apps. ‘Quizlet’ for vocabulary, ‘Der Die Das’ for learning and looking up the genders of words, and ‘Linguee’ as a general dictionary. I rarely used Google Translate, because I think it can be a bit of a trap because it takes away a lot of the important work a student needs to do when learning a language – particularly at the beginning.
DIALOG: Did the German courses and the additional program (such as workshops or “Feierabendbier”) help you to feel more comfortable in the new city and to apply your language skills in real-life situations?
CIARAN: I very much enjoyed the pub-nights at Down Under. It was great to get to meet the other students and teachers and practice my German (even if sometimes other students wanted to practice their English with me!). I can very much recommend this activity.
Learning German in Vienna
DIALOG: What are your favorite words or phrases in (Austrian) German? And which do you find more funny?
CIARAN: My favourite phrase is one I learnt at a pub-night and is Viennese: “Du Nudelaug.” Literally ‘you noodle eye,’ it means someone who is sweetly naïve, and is so absurd I couldn’t help but laugh. Also, for reasons I’m not really sure, the verb “entwickeln” (to develop) is very funny sounding to my English speaker’s brain.
DIALOG: Is Vienna a good city to learn German?
CIARAN: I love the city. The public transport is excellent and it’s so easy to walk and cycle. The winters can be a bit long, but the summers are lovely and a welcome relief from the scorching Australian heat.
Zu kompliziert? Wir können helfen!
Melde dich jetzt für einen Deutschkurs in Wien an und lerne effektiv Deutsch in Kleingruppen und mit hochqualifizierten Lehrkräften.
If you would like to get to know DIALOG as a language school and experience Ciaran’s experiences for yourself, click here to get started. We wish you as much success learning German as Ciaran had.
Here you can get an insight into our additional material: Präteritum (Exercise with solutions here)
February 2024
