master German

I speak German very well, actuelly, but in September I started a new course leading to the Grosses Deutsches Sprachdiplom. This certificate allows to teach German abroad or to work as a teacher in a German school. I’m not sure if I’m going to take the exam at all, because I don’t really need it and it’s 350 Euro, but I want to get to the niveau it requires.

We are doing a lot of literature, Rilke, Duerrenmatt, Mitscherlich, Recih-Ranicki,... I enjoy it a lot, as I didn’t go to school in Germany, I don’t know much about the literature and I’m pleased to close the holes in my education.

I still have problems with writing, though. I don’t like what I write and am not best in giving in my papers, I definitely need to get better at it. I have 5 papers due in two weeks and I hope I’ll manage to write them all (some are quite short actually). I’d also be happy to correspond with anyone learning German on a high level.

No mercy..

I’ve finished Berlitz’s Level 2 in 21 one-to-one lessons (21×45 mins). In January I’ll begin Level 3. I’ve 33 lessons more to go.

And I know why my teacher kept checking her watch and mobile phone all the time. She bumped into some guy who fell in love with her and has been sending her flowers, love messages, promising her the earth etc since. She admitted to me recently that this was turning her life topsy-turvy and that’s why she couldn’t really concentrate on her work.

It’s me. I bring love to people’s lives. (ha ha)

I wondered if one of the teachers somehow found out about my complaints about her time-watching. She didn’t look at her watch more than once the last time and when the time was up, she said that she really enjoyed teaching me because I was a very good student…Let’s hope that this lasts!

I have signed up for 54 one-to-one lessons with Berlitz. And I have since attended 4 of them.

For 50 Euros each lesson, I find it irritating that the 2 teachers I’m having should keep looking at their watches, they do not teach fast enough and the lessons have been too easy so far. I like a lot of grammar when I learn a new language and they do not seem to be very good at teaching it.

Will I be able to speak German by the end of my course???

Now that I’m living in Germany I’ll have to learn German. And I dislike not doing it properly. I’m lucky that I’ve gotten past the stage of getting confused with the different languages I know. I just need to find the time to learn the language.

I must be careful not to lose the ones that I already know though. Currently my language count stops at English, Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew), Malay (1st language I started speaking but as my Malay Nanny said, once I returned home to my parents and started eating pork, I’ve forgotten most of the language), French and Spanish. I would like to be able to consolidate my French and Spanish though.

In fact, if I could, I would like to re-learn everything I already know to make sure that I really have it right.