University and Education > The German language Learning German: Speaking from experience
Seven years of French in high school taught me one thing: I can’t speak French. Astounding, really, that I could sit through three one-hour lessons each week and manage to retain almost nothing. When I blamed the teacher my parents got me a tutor. Then I was up to four hours a week and learning even less.
 Alex Ionides kicks back with a book It’s been 15 years since I said goodbye to those classes and I still blame the teacher for my failings. I mean really, each year I managed to receive a passing grade, but I was never given the opportunity to hold a conversation. Could I learn under such conditions?
Non. I could not.
When I came to Germany at the beginning of 2005 I was now not only surrounded by German speakers, but I was also motivated to learn.
And I was here for the long haul. From a career point of view I wanted to be taken seriously. Even more importantly, I had a desire to get to know the German people and their culture, and I couldn’t see that happening if I were to only speak in English.
But despite my lack of passion for classroom learning, I realized it would have to start there. I had to get some sort of foundation, and so I turned to the Goethe Institute – Germany’s cultural institution operational worldwide – four evenings a week, two hours at a time.
It was not the easiest introduction to a country: Work all day, go straight to German class – then come home and hit the books for two more hours. It paid off in spades, however, and it taught me how powerful classroom learning can be when one takes notes and actually attempts to learn what one is being taught. This is especially true when it comes to the complexities of German grammar.
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