Goethe-Institute Berlin

I took an intensive German course here and also an exam. All the staff are very professional and friendly. The price/quality ratio is very good. There is also a wide choice of free (or almost free) learning materials and culture programs available. All communications are carried out clearly and timely, all issues are also resolved on time. Everything is as expected from a world-renowned institute. Highly recommend to everyone.

I had a very positive experience at the Goethe-Institut. Our teacher, Jennifer Schrodt, who works as a freelance instructor, combines clear explanations with a structured and effective approach. The lessons were always well prepared and tailored to individual needs. At B1.1 level, I made noticeable progress in a short time. She also shared a lot of practical, up-to-date everyday German, which was extremely helpful. Very kind, friendly, and approachable — highly recommended.

[B1 exam on computer] The woman who was helping us throughout the exam was truly great, very kind, patient and organized. The rooms were well-suited for the exam, and overall experience was less stressful than I'd expect. I passed with gut+ grades :) Despite Goethe exam being a bit more expensive, I can recommend it!

I had an A2 exam here recently. The exam room located at 5th floor and the elevator operates. The examiners were very friendly and helpful. The lady for my Schreiben session was cheerful and she checked all the sound systems work well. The bathroom located inside of exam area, so if you really need to use toilet before the writing session, you shall need to visit 1st floor office. Speaking session also examined well. The room itself is soundproof, so there was nothing to care from what outside speaks or noise.

My son and I had the pleasure of attending a two week private German course at the Goethe Institut Berlin with Frau A. B. as our teacher. She was an outstanding instructor deeply knowledgeable, engaging, and inspiring. Her ability to explain the historical roots and etymology of German words made each lesson both educational and fascinating. Frau A. B. also drew on her rich international experience, which brought a global perspective to language learning and made us feel immediately comfortable and motivated. Thanks to her teaching, we gained an excellent introduction to the German language and I (completely beginner) have already begun to understand and enjoy listening to German conversations. We are sincerely grateful to Frau A. B. and to the Goethe Institut for this exceptional learning experience.

I had the absolute best experience in my B1.1 course with Jennifer Schrodt at Goethe! I have been living in Berlin for over a year and couldn't really use my German knowledge until I took this course, and now I can at least handle day-to-day conversations and understand German-speaking friends much better! Totally worth it - had a blast!

I recently took the B1 exam at Goethe and received my results in just one week, which was very convenient and efficient. However, I think a big and reputable place like this should handle noise during the exams better. While we were taking the test, some people were speaking with the staff member responsible for our group, and her shoes made loud noises as she walked. This was distracting and could be improved with better noise management. In the speaking section, we had to leave our belongings in a room where the next group was preparing. This meant that when leaving after our test, we disturbed those who were getting ready, as we had to collect our things. It would be better to organize this process in a way that avoids interruptions for other participants.

I can’t recommend this place. I took 17 classes from b1.1-c1.4 at a Goethe-Institut, then moved to Germany. In all those classes, we never practiced the actual structure of this place’s own exams. In Berlin, I booked a b1 test and stressed for over a month about it; practiced with AI; googled the test structure myself. It should not be that you pay thousands to take 17 classes and then stress whether you can pass b1. (I did, but not thanks to GI.) THEN, after paying hundreds for their test, they can’t even send you a tailored boilerplate response (z.B., you’ve passed all four modules! Or, thanks for playing, but come back again for a and b; they just send everyone the same message.) the annoying thing is that GI is pretentious/hochgestochen, like they are the most elite german instruction place around. I built a better German learning group (one in which the participants actually practice speaking German, not by reading trivia games but stuff with targeted learning objectives, and my group was/remains free). Don’t waste your money on this place. I’ve heard good things about GLS in Berlin, but honestly there are so many good — and free! — online resources these days that at least GI is just a dinosaur that treats its learners like cattle.

Several German professors from my University told me how the Goethe Institut is one of the best language institutes to study at for German, so my friend and I decided to take a trip to Berlin to study for one month at GI, with hopes of becoming more fluent in German. I'll let you know right now this place is pricey, and I wish I had known about other credible language schools before deciding upon Goethe. I learned from several locals, whose first language wasn't German, that there are language institutes in Berlin that are much cheaper and better than GI. Also, if you're going to be taking courses at GI for a month, you might not be assigned a tandem partner (so much for wanting to improve my speaking skills!). We showed up on orientation day where we took placement tests which consisted of multiple choice and essay questions. After, we were interviewed by some of the teachers. My interview went very well, and the woman who interviewed me became my teacher for the B1-Level Intermediate German course. On the other hand, my friend didn't enjoy her interview and thought her interviewer was a jerk in the way he asked questions and made negative remarks on her attempt to speak in German. That's the last thing you want to experience when learning a language! My class had about 20-25 people, all were from different countries. Although my teacher was nice and helpful at times, I didn't enjoy her teaching style. We often worked in groups then presented our answers to exercises to the class. She would correct us or offer suggestions, but I didn't think this helped with my learning. Her explanations didn't meld well with my mind. We also had to do a presentation on any topic we wanted. Some of the students in class were arrogant and made rude remarks about some of the topics presented, and the teacher didn't even bother to correct this problem. GI provides learning materials to students, such as workbooks and worksheets. Maybe I'm used to reading and doing work from a textbook, but I found the workbooks to be useless. There wasn't any valuable information pertaining to grammar, which is a MUST KNOW. Knowing German grammar at an intermediate level will greatly help if you decide to invest in these courses. The workbook only consisted of a bunch of corny stories that failed to illustrate valuable concepts...if any. We only used them in class because many of the exercises required listening to audio recordings. The worksheets were a little more helpful, but there were hardly any instructions. There were a few things that I liked about this class: 1. We played all sorts of learning games to help retain vocabulary and information. 2. We took field trips to historical sites in Berlin. The class was divided into small groups and given worksheets with questions to answer. The following week we'd present our findings. I didn't attend the last two weeks of class because it wasn't beneficial, and I still received a certificate. Overall, I wouldn't suggest taking courses at GI. It's expensive, overrated, and the quality of education is terrible.

the teachers in Goethe Institut are not serious about courses. They use their handys during the courses und let students read the article and write the tasks in books self. In addition, they taught the wrong Grammatik and can not explain clearly about Grammatik. I sincerely recommend not to learn German in Goethe Institut because it is at least twice price than any language school but the quality is really bad.

Though pricey, the Goethe Institut has several strengths making it worth considering if you are serious about learning German: - Great, new facility, with dining area, WLAN throughout, and huge, well-stocked mediathek - Great location in Mitte, easy access from Hackescher Markt or Alexander Platz S-bahn and Weinmeister Str. U-bahn - Professional, well-prepared instructors (mine was, at least) - Apparently very active social/cultural program (I never did any of the events). - Afternoon courses (1315-1545) great for those also interested in exploring Berlin's nightlife - Same groups of students for a month (some schools add and move people continuously) The courses are SO expensive, though, that you will want to shop around. GLS on Kastanienalle has a beautiful facility, too (I had a coffee there, not classes) and Neue Schule in Wilmersdorf was fine for the brief period of evening classes I took.

If I could negative reviews I would. This so-called "Institute" is horrible. Way overpriced and they are NOT a university or even a school of any sort. Where their teachers come from and their qualifications to teach German are totally unknown and never even disclosed to students. They don't know how to teach German here, or any language for that matter. A total rip off. What they TRY but, always fail at doing, is teaching real German. I studied German for 4 years at a University and spent over two months on a work program living and working in Germany. I learned a very high level of fluency. Living here is a necessity to really speak the language well. Admittedly. But, what the Goethe Institute is trying to do is the impossible- teach German as fast as possible (over 2 or 4 week periods at a very high price). It's not going to happen. A student might walk away with knowing how to request a bus or train ticket or even being able To order a meal in a restaurant, but not much more. Worthless. I qualified for the C2 course because of the true extensive study I underwent BEFORE even knowing what the Goethe Instiute was. After traveling to Frankfurt and spending thousands on their most advanced course, which I expected to do to refresh my German (with all of 2 other students in the class who spoke terrible German ), I quit the course after the first 6 days (I had enrolled for 2 weeks). I was leaning NOTHING of any value. So I cut my losses and left. Translating complex marine biology essays into the German passive voice is a total waste of time. No one, not a sole, in Germany talks this way or does this or would use this so-called "skill." Do yourself a favor: if you want to really learn real German enroll in a University class and be prepared to spend 4 years learning the language (grammar, vocabulary, speaking, pronunciation, the whole bit. ) And in the last few years, take courses taught native German speakers with doctoral degrees who know what they are doing. You'll be reading real German literature and discussing it. You learn a language by hearing it spoken and speaking it. NOT by doing silly exercises in Goethe Institute books. If you can live in a German speaking county consider it a blessing. The study will still take a long time but it will go faster. Avoid the German Institute like the plague. They are a rip-off and worthless.

Be aware if you are a real beginner this is not for you. they teach at a very fast pace and most people are not really beginners they being studying german for years ( at different schools) i can't understand how they still in level A1 im so disappointed. i already paid so i will continue but so far this is so frustrating!!! i will update when i finish my course.

Totally overpriced. Out of a one month course, you won't have lessons on the first Monday as well as during the last two days, which means it's more of a 4 days a week course rather than 5, even though it it's sold as such. Plus, it costs twice as much as any other school in Berlin and you have to spend another €120.- if you want to pass an exam at the end. Gave me the feeling of a real rip-off.

I loved Germany but my classes at Goethe Institut were very frustrating and disappointing. It was as if they had no intention of teaching us German. Our teacher spent alot of time each lesson (until the last 2) telling us everything she hated about her life, the town (Schwabisch Hall), the local accent, her housing, the walk to school, getting up in the morning, and her career. Apparently she hates teaching, but thinks she is a good teacher because her family has several teachers. She would give us a scattered blast of information about a grammar topic, including exceptions and jokes; then tell us to write 5 sentences using it. We then turned to our table-mates and told each other our sentences. We not only never had them corrected, but we had to listen to the other incorrect German in bad accents. Even if we had managed to pick up the right principles about the topic during the lecture, we now had to drill it wrong. I was lucky I had already learned most of the grammar, but unlucky that I needed to hear correct German, because I never heard it except for her complaining, her shotgun lectures, and from wonderful people in the streets and stores. I asked for a link to recordings from our book and was mis-directed three times until she finally just shrugged her shoulders. She probably thought me one of those ugly Americans who expect you to tell the truth and actually follow up on information. I ended up with a notebook 2/3 filled with notes I couldn't review because they had not been corrected. I got a 72/80 for the course (A2) and a 59 (fail) on the A2 exam. Oh, by the way, on my entrance exam, I showed I could take either the A2 or B1 class and I opted for the A2 because my listening was my weak point. They have no intention of teaching anybody German. They just sidetrack you and entertain you with trips to pubs and castles. Stay home and study with a professional. Or go there and walk the streets and interact with the locals.