Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

flicker: GeorgePinecrest

Finally, my German class started this week. I’ve been waiting for a course to open up since I got here, and this Monday mine began. The course is three afternoons a week for two hours and fifteen minutes. Before I arrived in Germany I borrowed my good friend’s college textbook so I could start to learn some of the skills I would need to begin speaking German. At first I was quite diligent about studying, but as my life got busier and I became more settled I stopped studying the material as much I should have.

I’m really glad that I have this textbook though because the class is completely in German!! I understand that the teacher must only speak in German because the class is comprised of many different nationalities, but it would be so much easier for me if she could just give simple directions in English. I can tell that some of the other students in the class are completely lost, and I would be too if I hadn’t learned the basics before hand. Now that I have completed two classes I have decided that it will be best for me to study new material prior to the class beginning. This way I can define any words that I don’t know before we start our lesson and I won’t be completely confused during the two hours of German instruction.

For me the class is really going to be about practicing speaking. I get so nervous to speak in front of Germans, even simple things such as ‘ich heiße Eileen’. It’s really silly when I think about it. Why should one be embarrassed to introduce their own name?! I know the words, I just feel very intimidated speaking any foreign language. It is much easier for me to practice in the class in front of a bunch of other foreigners that are all in the same boat, and it definitely helps that our teacher is easy going, even if she is only speaking in German.

I’m also happy to finally be meeting some other foreigners. The class is filled with students from nations all over the world: Columbia, Greece, Afghanistan, South Korea and the list goes on. As of yet I haven’t met too many other people to go out with. I’m hoping that some of the students in my class will become friends in the future. In today’s lesson we will continue our introductions, I can’t wait to find out why all my other classmates have come to Germany.