I know this has been asked many times before. I have a different variation
on this question. Based on previous threads on Migros Klubschule, it seems
like there are a lot of refugees or unemployed people in the Migros Klubschule
German classes. Is that true? What percentage of the students would you
say fall into that category?

And do the Berlitz classes have the same type of people? Or the
unemployment office send the unemployed only to Migros? I would much
rather be in a class room with other paying students who are motivated to
learn German.

Thanks.
DavidSJC

The students in Berlitz are mostly people with quite good income and job. I haven't met any unemployed people, except for some housewives studying german, but also with a good potential to be employed.

Refugees or the unemployed can be pretty motivated to learn German, you know.
Motivation to learn languages is a very complex matter. Why would you assume that paying for the course is the single motivating factor?

ZHW (Zürcher Hochschule Wintherthur), if more precise, their language center is the absolutely best school for learning German in Zurich.
However if you have to choose between Migros and Berlitz, then you are better off with the latter one. In my case all the biases have proven true, the German course at Migros was lousy.

But I have to admit that the French courses at Migros were great. So there must be something with the students... Not many refugees go for French in Zurich, perhaps.

I heard that the Migros intensive German course is pretty good. I don't think motivation to learn has anything to do with your employed or unemployed status (even less for refugees). Just saying what kind of people I met at Berlitz.
And I have to say that for me the most important and motivating factor is the teacher. On the previous level in Berlitz I had a boring/lousy teacher, but now it is much better. Never tried at Migros, so I cannot judge how are the courses there.

Hi,
Might I get a recent opinion of anybody who has used Bellingua? Yes, from the previous email threads, I can see there are many variables that can influence the experience.
Thanks
Rich

I have been at Bellingua since January and have a mixed opinion. I have had enjoyed the company of the other students and have found them to be mostly interesting and motivated.
I have had a very mixed experience with the teachers, one good, one absolutely appaling and one currently who I find really good. With the bad teacher I found fewer and fewer people turned up to the class. Apparently she no longer works for them- saddly for me I stuck it out with her to the bitter end as I was none the wiser. I know now I was right and should have complained _ I think the problem would have been addressed.
I do feel a bit annoyed as Bellingua is not exactly the budget option and that period was essentially a waste of money for me as I failed to make any progress at all.
Minus that period I have enjoyed it and would recommend it.

AFAIK the prices for courses in Berlitz are way higher than in Migros, that's probably why many unemployed or people with less money decide to the latter.

Some friend in the pharma industry was assigned a budget for German tuition, which happened to be one short course in Berlitz or five at the Klubschule.

Berlitz has a good reputation all over the world, if I had the money I would go there.

Having been to various language schools for trial lessons & regular lessons I settled for Migros Oerlikon.

My experience has been that people who attend the course for "free" (paid for by their employer, or by the Migros for their employees) (generally) tend to be less motivated than those who pay for a course themselves.

Given the course fees at some of the language schools you have mentioned, people attending these courses are often sponsored by their employers -- can confirm that from first hand experience (put 2 and 2 together).

It finally boils down to your motivation and your teacher's skills, and to a lesser extent on the motivation of your fellow students.

As regards Migros:
Plus:
1. Not too expensive
2. Teachers generally motivated (mine is!)
3. Good infrastructure

Minus:
1. Large classes (8-10)
2. Tends to drag at times

My wife has been using Klubschule to learn German for the last year and it's working really well for her. She elected to join a small group (which costs a little more) and is lucky to have a great teacher. Her German has come a long way. When she was researching language schools the costs of Klubschule was significantly lower than Berlitz.

As a teacher who has taught both groups (refugees and unemployed people and expats on the other hand) I'd say it really depends on the person. I have seen super motivated refugees and unmotivated expats and vice versa.

Also, you can find really good teachers at Migros and really bad ones at the expensive language schools. Sometimes just a matter of luck.

When I was teaching in a facility similar to Migros, a (expat) student came up to me after class and said: 'I can't believe this. My company paid for really expensive classes and the teacher was really bad. And now I am paying almost nothing and this class is really good'....

Ask for trial lesson... then decide.

Couldn't have said it better. It's not the school that makes the difference, but the teacher.

Also it depends on the group of students.

It's possible that you'll get real pain in the ar** know-it-all in either school.

If the teacher is good they may have to slap 'em down... or you may have to do it.

Be warned