German courses 

German courses before you come to TU München

If you and your family wish to improve your language skills prior to your stay in Germany, apart from the language schools and institutes available in your home country it may be worth trying the following providers of online or interactive German courses or, if you already have a basic knowledge of the language, to learn and practise your German purely through reading, listening and understanding:

• Deutsche Welle (Selection of interactive courses and plenty of texts, audio material, videos, news, etc.)
• Deutsch Uni Online - DUO (Online German courses)
• www.babbel.com (Communication platform that enables individuals learning the language to converse with native speakers)
• Goethe Institut (Range of correspondence courses using books and paper or modern web-based programs)

 

German courses at TU München

While you are staying in Munich, whether you are employed or a scholarship holder, the Language Center offers you the opportunity to take part in the regular "German as a foreign language" courses for students during term time or in intensive or crash courses in German in the semester breaks. In addition, you can also use the language self-study centers to supplement the language course or to learn German independently with the help of appropriate software programs. 

New term-time courses begin twice a year during regular semester periods, i.e. mid-April and mid-October and last approx. 13 weeks until the end of July or the end of January respectively. Courses on different levels are usually held once or twice per week on all three campuses, i.e. in Munich, Garching and Weihenstephan. Please note that the courses may also be held in the mornings and afternoons, as they are primarily designed for students. Participation is free provided you obtain a place in one of these courses. We regret that members of your family are unable to attend these courses unless there are any spare places. Enrolment for these courses is possible via the TUMOnline platform where the detailed information on all offered courses is available approx. 3-4 weeks before the courses start. The assessment test that is mandatory for the enrolment is only possible online via the E-Learning platform of TUM. To access both platforms you need a mytum.de or tum.de e-mail address. You will receive it automatically together with your employment documents when you become a member of staff or are handed out by the department IT officer concerned if you are a scholarship holder. The enrolment period is always in the first 2 weeks of April and October. For the summer semester 2011 the courses will exceptionally start only on May 2nd 2011, the enrolment start has not been defined yet. It is always wise to enrol as soon as possible after the platform has been set up – particularly for beginners' courses.

The German crash courses take place in March and beginning of October and last 5 or 2 weeks. Different levels are available and classes are held on three evenings per week (Mon., Wed. and Thur.) from 5 to 8.30 p.m. in Munich for the 5 weeks course and for one week full time and one week half day for the 2 weeks course in October. The next available course will take place in March 2011. The enrolment is already until February 15th latest. Each course covers a total of 60 hours of instruction and costs 200 EUR per person. These courses are also open to members of your family. Enrolment for these courses, including an assessment test, usually begins one month prior to the commencement date. For further details on these courses please consult the webpages of the Language Center or look for information in February or September issue of the monthly newsletter for international researchers.

We also wish to draw your attention to the self-study centers complete with appropriate software and teaching materials which are at your disposal on the TUM campuses Garching and Weihenstephan, and where you can learn German or another language in your own time. Details of opening hours, location and software available at the self-study centers in Garching and Weihenstephan are set out on the web pages entitled Language Center.

For all up-to-date information on German courses please refer to the Language Center section. If you have any queries about the German courses, you can also send an e-mail to Sprachenzentrum@zv.tum.de.

 

For further details and information on other languages you can simply look up the Language Center homepage.

Selection of commercially run German courses in Munich

There is also a wide range of privately-run language courses to choose from. Click here for an alphabetical list of language schools and institutes in Munich which offer classes in German or other languages.

Alternatively, you can look up Language duo or consult the TUM notice board to find a tandem partner with whom you can practise your language skills or just hold conversations. The idea is that you teach your tandem partner your native tongue or another language that you speak well while he/she helps you with German.

Besides reading daily newspapers or magazines in German we would like to point out the especially for learners of German as a foreign language developed magazine Deutsch-perfekt, that is issued monthly and costs 5,40 EUR. In the magazine and on the corresponding website of Deutsch-perfekt.com you will find interesting texts about the German speaking countries for different levels of German learners. The magazine is avalaible in well-assorted newspaper stores or can be subscribed to as well.

For details of online or correspondence courses please refer to the section headed German courses before you come to TU München.

contact: eberle@zv.tum.de