Hello all

I am learning german in Klubschule in Oerlikion intensive course and I am 5 weeks in really finding it difficult really am struggling, I am so stressed out in my personal life and on top of all that. I am just feeling blinking stupid and useless. I sit in class and get some things and then go blank in other things.

I know german is hard to learn but nothing is explained, all in German and I am grasping bits here and there. I really feel like going back the Uk but a part of me wants to stay as i would the feel defeated to back to the UK

On top of that my teacher had said to me maybe its too much for me and that I should only have two or three classes a week.

Maybe i am dumb because thats how i feel in class everbodys in there own click and i feel like a big dodo. Plus half of them can speak really well hello its beginners and people have been in Der Schweiz for years..

Any suggestions should i go for private tuitions?????


if thats the way then where ??

I am having a bad day and my head is cabbaged !!!!

Don't be so hard on yourself! learning a new language is always like that, even when you are completely submerged in it. At first it all sounds like meaningless babble where you can hardly hear the individual words. Then slowly words start dropping out of the babble and you begin to identify. Then within a given context you find yourself being able to understand but mabe not speak, then you find yourself beign able to utter phrases and sentences.

Although I'd love intensive courses, I did twice a week (3 hours). It really helped enormously. You know what's best for you, but don't pack it in because it's getting to your intellect. I see you don't speak any other Germanic languages so go easy on yourself.

Imagine your German teacher trying to learn Hindi...

Take Homer's advice and aim low, that way you are never disappointed. I'm kidding there, but there is a certain amount of truth. I think you are expecting too much of yourself.

in short: STAY!

you're right in the natural "crisis of confidence" phase. Don't worry about mistakes, try and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Thank you I am very stressed out , i miss my friends and family, and ontop of that my husband is not supporting me and i need a job fast otherwise I will have to go back to the uk so you can understand why the pressure is there.

Thanks again for you advice much appreciated !!

Welcome to the club! Don't be so down, a lot of people are in the same boat as you. Hell, I've been here (10 years 1 month and 2 days) and probably will never speak that damn language as well as english. Anyway, I speak german only when I'm forced to because I get treated much better when I speak english in Basel. Good luck!

Thank you Jeff I am being hard on myself i know we are our own worst enemies at times.


Thanks for everybodys support !!!

Hi Sangi,

I know how you feel. I am in Klubschule as well, 5 weeks into the beginners class. I had the choice of the intensive or semi intensive classes, but just a look at the intensive schedule made me realise I wasn't going to manage it.

The 2 days a week option is good because it leaves you spare evenings to learn vocab and prepare on your own. I am doing a full time day job as well and knew that committing nearly every evening to the Klubschule would have killed me!

It was really frustrating when some people in the class could already communicate in pigeon german, and seemed to monopolise the teachers time. Luckily they have now been moved out of the group.

Personally I think you get more out of course with less classes and more time to study and practice on your own and out in town. Plus, it is cheaper!

The private lessons are really expensive and don't seem like good value for money. I think it was 88CHF for 50 minutes, and at the end of the day, there is only so much that a person can actually learn at nearly 2 francs a minute!

Good luck with it all, and hope you find a job.

At last someone at the same school understands !!! yes i am not the only one !!! and to all others who are trying to learn this backward language.

P.s. if anybody has any ideas of how i can get a job none deutsch please let me know it doesnt matter what i do as long as i mix with people and interact, as in March I am taking a break to look for a job .. and digest..

Thanks

Sangi

What do you do?

I am a complementary therapist by profession, I do Reiki, Reflexology,
Hypnotherapy, Past life Regression, Hot Stone Massage, Indian Head Massage. I am not sure but i am open to suggestions as long as it not wierd or perversed.

hey there,

i know what you mean, but mate... hang in there. Im also 5 weeks into Hoch Deutsch Intensivkurs! It is crazy for sure, but isnt it great when you understand a sentance! Or better still, when you piece 3 words together!

Have you spoken to the teacher? If the teacher isnt giving you enough assistance say something to him/her. You are paying them remember.

Im at Benedict. I reccomend it.

As for the language.. I believe that it isnt all about getting your sentances 100% perfect at the beginning. Being understood is the what is most criticle.

take it easy, and enjoy the sunshine and speak Deutsch to yourself! Place 'post-its' on everything and have fun with it. You should see our Kitchen! der Tisch, der Stule, die Lampe!!!

see you around

Past Life Regression ? Does that mean I can start going out every night painting the town red again and waking up in strange apartments ? Sign me up.

dave

I did 4 months intensive - stopped 3 weeks ago at Klubshule Oerlikon, A2 and B1 (with Ivan who is the reason I managed to do 4 months!very good), the first two months were ok, but after that it was really getting a pain, every morning at 8:30 is a bit brutal to be forced to do german, and very frustrating.

In all the classes there was a wide range of ability, the main thing was that the people like me, here for a few years but in A2 can speak ok and have a good sense of how words should sound and be spelt but can't do grammar for d!ck. So while some sound better the reality is that they just have a bigger vocab, but not really the ability to use it...

I was falling behind badly towards the end mainly because I didn't do enough homework. You really need to do everything and search the internet each day for any grammar stuff you didn't understand, it really helps.

As for the job front - not sure if this is really helpful - but I think maybe 1 of the 6 people at the end of my B1 class could really speak german on a level to get a german speaking job and for you that would still be 5 months down the road, so really nothing to stress about if you need a job before that since (unrortunately) your level will likely still be less than conversational, or very confident (sorry!).

Its crap but it's unfortunately true - I remember at the beginning of A2 one of the girls in the class telling me she was chatting with her neighbour who is swiss but taking english classes at the A2 level as well and they could have a conversation perfectly well in english, but not in German. Its just a hard language.

That said with my A2 german yesterdeay morning the locksmith came unannounced and I was able to figure out what was going on and did my best to 'chat' a bit...I just wish I wasn't hungover smelling of beers at 10am when he woke me up!

Don't worry about DaveA here, he is our resident.......(enter your own preferred term here), perhaps should I say, resident 'keeps us all level headed' kind of guy .

Hang in there...I am in the exact same boat at another Klubschule. I dropped back to 3 days insted of 5. I use the Local library in Baden and check out language CDs and CDroms there. The library has been helpful as I dont really like the given text. My husband was born and raised here and does not help or encourage me with the difficult language. I can really relate to what you are saying.

I did a few months at Klubschule at Kalkbreit and it was great fun, although you're right about the homework being a pain. Its pretty informal though, and a good mix of backgrounds (Brazilian housewives, Turkish waiters, Finnish students) rather than crammed full of unemployed IT hacks.

dave

if you want too. haha

Hello to all Sufferers

If you wanna meet to suffer the ordeal together why dont we arrange it we could call it Suffering Together or something.

Main thing i need is to practise, practise, and practise .....

So when would be good to do this ??? any suggestions feel free

How about "Suffering along with the Swiss"
But wait, I'm sure that already exists...

dave

deutsch only!