Exam Prep telc B1 (German)

The classes were good. The teachers were very kind and nice. Everything was good

The teachers were kind and helpful, and the classes were fun. The location was convenient, though the fact that the room your class took place in changed every week was slightly annoying, especially as the sheet you check to find the room is located in the main lobby, which is located in a building that might not be the one your room is located in. The activities were a bit lacking in that there werent that many that often, though I'll admit I did only participate in the semi-weekly game nights, which were quite fun. The lack of activities likely had something to do with the fact that it was wintertime, though. The housing was alright. It was quite small with a lot of people in it. I had 4 roommates. We each had our own room save for one double room. The kitchen was probably my least favorite part, being incredibly small, likely not enough room for two people to try and cook at the same time, though I never did try to.

At the beginning, it was a little bit hard for me to follow all the classes in German. But after the first day in Germany, it became more and more easy to follow the class and to express my thoughts in German. It is true that my German isn't perfect yet, but with lots of practice, it will turn out to be perfect. But in one week, it isn't enough to see a huge change. In order to see that, you have to be there for months.
The staff of the school were very nice and they try to help you as much as possible. Whenever there is a problem, they help you and give you instructions on how to do so.
Regarding the teachers, they are very nice. What some classmates told me is that the teachers that we had that week aren't the usual one because she was on vacation. But the two teachers were very nice, and I felt like I was part of the class, and I was really welcomed by the teachers and the classmates. Although some classes were a little boring because there weren't many interactions between students. Despite this, I enjoyed all the classes.
I think that the school and the apartment where I was located are in a really appropriate place. I think it is a really safe place for people who travel alone. And also, there are cafés and shops around and good public transport.
I haven't had the opportunity to attend any activities organized by the school. I didn't have much information about that. But, before going to Düsseldorf, the academy sends students a PDF with interesting places to visit while they are there. So, every afternoon after the classes, I did a little tourism with the guide given.
The apartment was really well located. There is a café and a supermarket really near, and you can go visit other parts of Düsseldorf by walking. From the Altstad it only took me 30 minutes, and I also went to many natural parks that were really beautiful. Regarding the apartment, it was really welcoming, and my flatmates were really nice with me. Thanks to them, I could speak more German in the house, and I could improve it a little bit more. I really enjoyed living with them.

The school is located in a very good area of the city, easily accessible and good facilities. My teachers were experienced and knowledgeable and helped me a lot to integrate into my class quickly and start speaking the language immediately. I highly recommend it to anyone.

I was in Düsseldorf for six weeks, and I wish I had been there longer! I feel my German improved significantly since I was exposed to the language daily. I also enjoyed getting to know and making friends with people from different parts of the globe! Most importantly, we talked to each other in German even outside of class, so there were many opportunities to practice. The teacher, Pia, was very understanding and patient and logically explained the grammar. I enjoyed the open-minded classroom environment. I would have liked more outside-of-class social activities such as visiting more sites around Düsseldorf and organized weekend trips. I also wish I had been informed of who I would be living with before arriving in Düsseldorf, as I found out as soon as I picked up my key to go to my flat. In addition, before I came to Düsseldorf, I did not know that people could take the official B2 (or another level) certification, as I booked through Language International instead of directly through the school. I would have stayed in Germany until the official exam date if I had known. Nonetheless, my experience was very eye-opening and unforgettable!

I have absolutely no complaints. From the folks in reception to the instruction, everything was great.
I was moved from B2 to C1/2 class, and I think that was a good recommendation. Ruben and Karin were fantastic teachers. They each had very different styles, but effective teaching styles. I have previously taken classes at Goethe Institute (Boston) and I found the instruction at Go Academy far exceeded my Goethe Institute instruction experiences.

The location was very convenient. Easily accessible on the S6 one stop from Dusseldorf Hbf and easily walkable. Or take the S-Bahn 2 stops to be dropped off right in front of the school.

The facilities were very clean and comfortable. They provide free water (mit und ohne Spruhl) and cappuccino, espresso, and other drinks from a machine for a small price. (and it was GOOD coffee.)

I feel both my confidence and ability in German improved quite a lot in these few short weeks. If I could have stayed on, I would have. Ruben, Karin, and Thomas were all great. (We had Thomas for a few days, as well, though our primary teachers were Karin and Ruben.)

If I could have done so, I would have extended my time studying there. Alas, I had to travel back to the states and return to my job. I will definitely sign up for another course again in the future, though! No doubt. Maybe this will be what I do when I come to Germany for a couple weeks in the summer!

My apartment was really close to the school, with all the requirements i asked for. Teachers were professional, lessons were interesting and very helpful. I enjoyed my stay and learned a lot.

Exept communication mistake ( from both side) with organisation ladies, learning process was great, teachers, level of education was supreme. Would like to come back.

The teacher was nice. Very adaptable and knowledgeable.
The location was great.
The training material was good.
Size of group good (6 people). More had probably not been as good.
The teacher should have pushed for almost 100% talking in German. There was a lot of talking in English, especially from us students. We should have been pushed harder to communicate.

Regarding low rating of social activities. There were no social activities and therefore I rate it the lowest.

Ich war sehr zufrieden. In kann nur emphelen. Meine Zimmer war neu schön. Es war nur 15 min zu Fuß zu Akademie.

I found the location very easy to get to... I did find that the teacher could have spoken a bit more english to initially explain the meanings of things . . But that's just my overall preference.. the classes were intense and therefore there was alot to learn in one day... great school would reccomend

Classes: My morning class was really intensive, I liked this very much. The way of learning from the book was structured with a lot of variety. During the classes there also was time to discuss daily and personal things, which I found really helpful.

Teachers: Good connection with them and clear explanation style.
Location: Good and nice location in the city centre, sometimes with a car it was hard finding a parking spot.

Level A2
Teacher really good and pays attention to all the students
Very good accees to the school via transports
Party organized by the school and for free one evening. Topic about 5 continents.

1 week was too short but the school really helped to adapt fast and integrate easily!

Very good experience I recommend it!

The school was easy to reach, there is the U-Ban stop right in front of. The first day the girl at the reception (she is from Spain but I don't remember her name) was very nice and friendly. She showed me the school and my lesson room. Near the lesson room there were the services and a coffee machine, that for an Italian man is very important!

I choose an intensive course, and I have to say that the course was really intense. The teacher was friendly and well-focused on the lesson. I have been able to learn a lot, both grammar and vocabulary were appropriate for my level and well balanced. If I can make a suggestion, even if my German level is not so high, I think that a little part of the lessons dedicated to "conversation" would have been useful, in a way to fix in a real conversation the grammar concepts learnt end to make the intensive course a little bit lighter and effective.

By the end, I am really satisfied of the course and of the improvements that I made and I hope that I will be able to make it again, I hope next year.
Best Regards
Lorenzo

P.S. I put a vote to the social activity because is mandatory, but I did not do any. What I can say is that I saw the social activities program on the showcase of the school and they looked like interesting.

The classes were small which makes learning easier. Theres also a heavy focus on talking in the class. Great for both speaking and listening practice. The staff were all very friendly. The location was great, only 15 mins from the city centre.

Friendly and welcoming atmosphere and staff. The breaks were longer than announced and lots of time was wasted because people (a few of them) would start talking about their country and wouldn't know when to stop. Still I did learn some but had hoped to learn more.

It was a wonderful experience for my daughter to lea and the teacher was good .

Classes were very good. Mr. Michael Hoffmann is the best teacher. I had a good time. I’ve learned a lot from him. His way of teaching was very good. Location was easily reachable even from other cities. Over all it was a great experience which i am looking forward to repeat.

I enjoyed the classroom experience, the teaching and the school location. It was a shame that there were no 'after school' activities, but this mainly or partly due to students not taking these options up. A significant number of the students were resident in Dusseldorf so had other interests or family responsibilities.

The housing was not especially good, it was only just acceptable in terms of cleanliness and facilities. Though a private house it was run more like a student hostel and there was no opportunity to speak German in the evenings.

Classes are intensive and practical but also interactive and fun. Teachers are experienced and handle class dynamics exceptionally well, making sure that students are not afraid to make mistakes. Location is good and staff is very helpful. The number of students per class is small so they are given personal attention. Unfortunately there was also some turnover of students and this slowed down progress when new students joined the class later in the week.

The school was situated in a good place. All teachers were professionals and their attitude to our students was very good. Our students were enthusiastic about your individual approach and the education was really entertaining and interesting as you used non-traditional methods of teaching. All the facilities were on a good level and your free-time activities were really enjoyable. The atmosphere of your school and town were so wonderful that students did not want to return home. Perhaps the accommodation was not that suitable for secondary school students. Sometimes they found it a little dangerous.

The school is very well organised. I was there for 2 weeks and my German improved a lot.

Excellent teacher and class of the correct level.School very convenient to reach by transport

The school is good. The pace of the intensive course was very slow for me, however switching to classes with higher levels is possible and I did that twice. The courses are made to learn German in about 9 months.
All of the teachers are native speakers and most of them are qualified. The location is good, not far from the central station and with good parking possibilities.
One activity was organized in the 5 weeks I stayed in the school and that was visiting Christmas Market.

I booked one extra week at the school however I missed two days for reasons beyond my control. Unfortunately it was not possible to catch up the missed lessons.

The Sprachcaffe Dusseldorf met my expectations. I had 6 hours of intensive German exposure each day, with lots of opportunity to practice conversation and grammar. All of the teachers I had were experienced and very competent, and determined to get everyone through each section of the level they were teaching. There was homework every day, based on the days' lessons, but it was not onerous. The classrooms were all comfortable, and the groups were reasonable in size. The students in my groups were diverse in the age, backgrounds, and origins, and it was enjoyable to meet them and learn about their cultures and their lives. It seemed that the younger students were the most unreliable in terms of both attendance and doing their homework.

The housing I was offered was just around the corner from the school, and was very convenient, and just a 5 minute walk to school and a local grocery store. The apartment was quiet, safe and secure, and on the 5th floor, accessed only by 77 stairs. There were 4 bedrooms that were all rented out, and each had locks for security. The room I had was fairly spartan, with a comfortable bed, a desk to work on, and a generously sized closet that was more than adequate to my needs. The wifi worked fine, but the password was not written in any of the communal areas (only on a modem that was in a livingroom area that was often also one of the bedrooms (and therefore inaccessible). The shared bathroom did not supply any towels, body wash or shampoo. The hot water supply was fine for showering. The shared kitchen had a communal fridge, a sink, a small table, and a cooktop, which were adequate but not more. There were two very old frying pans that did not look safe to use and should be thrown out.
There was only one social event of substance in the 3 weeks I was there (an evening in a local pub where ordering food was an option), and most of the instructors did not show for it. There was a welcome social at the school over the lunch period, but it lacked energy to promote it, and was also not well attended.

I had a good experience, the teacher asked me what i want to learn.
And she addepted to that, so that was very helpful.

I liked everything about this school: excellent teachers, helpful staff, tasty coffee e.t.c. The classes were very useful in that I improved my speaking significantly. The discussions we had were really interesting.

The class was very good, we had a lot of fun together. The teacher was good but I would have liked to do more grammar and pass speaking. Anyway it was a great experience . In my opinion if we'd done more grammar the way to understand the structure of the sentence I would say now that the shoop worth it.

In general I should say that it is a very good Institute. The groups are not too big (most of the time) and teachers are good (most of them).
However i must tell that during 3 months of studying I had 4 teachers and that is not good for learning purposes. I started with a teacher who spoke English every time she wanted to explain something and also had certain preference to some students; most of the time she asked the same students to read/talk. After a while the group become too big and some of us were voluntarily changed to another group. This new group was smaller, nicer and we had a WONDERFUL teacher named Sabrina. She is the best in every sense. As a person, as a teacher, everything. I studied with her 2/3 weeks and I learnt more withing those 2 weeks that I learnt month before. Unfortunately she was transferred to other group (in the middle of the course!!) and we got a new teacher who told us: I am only for 1 week!!!
After that week we got our fourth teacher who spoke too fast and most of the time talked about fussball. It was very hard for me to follow her class since I was the only one who was not already living in Germany for at least 2 years and had difficulties talking and understanding.
The institute is very good and we had an extracurricular activity that I enjoyed very very much.
I would definitely come back.

The classes were pretty nice, the teacher was very kind and she tried to explain everything very well and I liked the number of students we were, it was quite good and we could all follow the class very well. The location of the school for me was a bit far from home. But just because I was staying in Dortmund (because of University studies) and I had to go everyday by train to the school in Düsseldorf and then come back. Anyways it was close to a train station. The school had plenty of facilities, I'm happy about it and all the activities they offered me were very nice.

The experience was fantastic. The teachers has good attitude, well prepared and very friendly team.

During my week in Düsseldorf I took an one-on-one German course for one week, four hours a day. For me, four hours a day was enough since one-on-one can be very intensive. The teacher asked me a lot like what I would like to do, and on which aspects I would like to focus on, which was good. I would like to have a bit more structure in the classes and this could have been established if there was a sort of intake before attending the first class. So the teacher knows what I would like to do the whole week and what my level is. Now we needed to sort that out during the first and second day, which is a pity. All together I talked a lot in German with my German teacher which was really helpful. I definitely improved in this week.

The classes were a little bit of a disaster, because we had different teachers each day. The location was good
The level was correct but as I said the teacher's organization was horrible, we had different teachers so they couldn't monitor our progress.

The school is really quite small with nothing fancy, but the atmosphere was really nice. The teachers were all very friendly and helpful (and patient, which was very important!.

My only issue was that the placement test was multiple choice, so if you had any basic recognition of the language, you could get placed into a much higher level class than you should be, as recognition is very different to understanding! (I was put in A2 but after day one I asked to be moved down 2 levels to A1 beginners which suited me much better!)

Overall, it was a really positive experience and I wish I could have stayed longer than 2 weeks.

The teachers and students are very nice. Everybody is very friendly and it is easy to make friends!

I have learned a lot of things. I have visited three language schools in Germany, and Sprachcaffe is the one I would recommend to you guys. I had an intensive course for two weeks, and it is easy to reach school. The surroundings are good too - near the supermarket, cafe and bookstores.