German exchange 2012

[gotty19]

I am in year 11 and doing german for VCE. At the end of this year I will be going to germany. Is 4 weeks enough to get above 40+ in german. Also I have a german neighbour with whom I speak with about 2 times a week. is that all i can do with her? should i also get a tutor?? How long should i go on the exchange without it affecting my VCE next year???

[MJay1993]

In all honesty, it's not really the amount of time that you have in Germany that's the important point, rather how well you make use of that time. I went over with MHS at the end of 2010, and basically freaked out because I thought I'd make a mistake and barely spoke a word of German, and is probably one of my only regrets from VCE (although I kinda made up for it during the return trip last year). If you feel you could apply yourself for an extended period of time to the German language and not get bored/burnt out by having too much exposure to it, then I'd say go ahead and head over for longer than 4 weeks. I don't know if you're referring to 40+ as raw/scaled, but pretty much everyone who went over to Freiburg got 40+ scaled. And in terms of your neighbour, ask her whether she'd like to speak with you more. If you let her know that you need help to improve your German, then I'd assume she'd be willing to comply, Germans are a really friendly bunch!

If you do want to go down the tutor way as well, I'd recommend Goethe Institut. Any of their programs are really helpful, and was probably what saved me from getting a woeful study score in the subject.

[Lolly]

Any amount of exposure you get to German is going to help, I think. I went on exchange to Germany last year. Like your trip though, it was only for a month, but when I got back I felt at least six months ahead of the curriculum.

Try to speak as much German as possible and don't be afraid of making mistakes - they are inevitable, they are forgivable, and you'll learn way more than the perfectionists who choose not to speak up. ( this was definitely me, at times. ) Don't expect yourself to understand everything you hear, but try to listen carefully. Also, demand that the Germans actually speak German to you; they will want to practise their English and it's so easy to fall into complacency since it's your mother tongue, but don't let them! I actually found that the Germans were really surprised when I attempted my less-than-fluent Deutsch - they appreciate the effort you make, since they're so used to speaking English to foreigners .

In the meantime - and this is what I'm currently doing - expose yourself to as much German as possible! Read magazine articles and books, watch Inspector Rex episodes without subtitles, follow blogs in German. When I was in Marburg I bought a book of Brother's Grimm fairytales; at the moment I'm slowly working through those.

 In any case,  it sounds like you're really passionate about German and that's what brings real success in anything you do in life. In reality, your study score is just a cold, feeling-less value established for societal convenience; it doesn't always account for the raging, intrepid enthusiasm some of us feel for school subjects....  Hopefully this kind of attitude will be reflected in your mark, but if it doesn't work out that way, well, I like to think that if your heart is set on something nothing can really inhibit you from pursuing your dreams.   In short, I wouldn't worry about study scores. Focus on enjoying learning and achieving the best you can.

I really hope you have a great trip and that you learn not only a lot of German but about culture and the world in general!   

Oh by the way don't forget to go to parties. The Germans love to party!

[Starlight]

I had a friend who went to germany that actually scored 29 in german, whilst my other friend who went to germany got late 30's. Just don't abuse the language when you're there is my advice, ask them for useful phrases, tell them to write perfect german sentences for you with good grammar so you can bring that back for year 12. Grammar is so important in german!!

[MJay1993]

Oh by the way don't forget to go to parties. The Germans love to party!

I can't tell you enough how true that is! Plus (I don't know how true it could be for you) but being slightly intoxicated actually helps you to speak German more fluently 

[dou0014]

SPEAK GERMAN! as simple as that. At the beginning you'll be nervous and not want to make errors, but after a while you'll become so comfortable you won't care and you'll learn so much, trust me. It's the most amazing experience that will help you not only for VCE which is a small part of our lives that seems so BIG now, but for the future.

[FlorianK]

just come on irc and talk in german to me