victz:
The book you are talking about I don't know if it is the same book that is sold here in Germany for 25Euros. The language book used here is different from the one they sell at Goethe Institute in Nigeria. Anyone coming to Germany who still have the time to learn the language should please do so. Life can be difficult here without the language, I have missed a lot of good opportunities here because of language barer. Germans are so proud of their language that they would never want to speak English to you despite the fact that English is their second language. The only means of communication here is German. Sometimes I began to wonder why they are teaching some courses in English when it seemed as if they don't what to promote any other language apart from their own.

michlan:
My application for MIP at stuttgart was just refused and most of the programs I really love after the MIP course are offered by Universities of Applied Sciences. I need advice on the prospects of masters degree from UAS as i've read that they are not equivalent to universities. Can one secure a placement for PhD with a masters degree from UAS. Thanks

Williamso:

This couldn't be further from the truth. While the language is very important, I have hardly met anybody who could speak English that deliberately refused to, even people with very poor English were almost always willing to try. I think this depends largely on the city you are. That said, du solltest Deutsch lernen...


If it's a PhD you desire, Yes! a Masters from a UAS can secure that. Make no mistake, your chances of getting into Max Planck will be very slim, but take solace in the fact that it may not be any better if you went through a traditional university. That said, the major difference between both degrees (as has been said a million times) is the practical orientation of the UAS, which has its cons (and pros).

lakesidepapa:


Henhen, I thought it's applicable to every school cos i haven't come across any sch that requesting for it for bachelor course.

dprinz99:

bros are u already in Hamburg uni of app science,days my dream skull after studienkolleg.
can u tell me abt d skull

victz:
It's not that people here do not understand English. There are things you will like to do here that language barer will prevent you from doing it. E.g student jobs, Employers here insist that you must be able to speak the language for you to be employed. The commands in the school computers are all programmed in German, All the letters that I have received so far from the School, Studieredewerk, Employers and Banks are all written in German language. For how long will one keep looking for someone who can help in translating it?

victz:
It's not that people here do not understand English. There are things you will like to do here that language barer will prevent you from doing it. E.g student jobs, Employers here insist that you must be able to speak the language for you to be employed. The commands in the school computers are all programmed in German, All the letters that I have received so far from the School, Studieredewerk, Employers and Banks are all written in German language. For how long will one keep looking for someone who can help in translating it?

crowns2:


Many times I want to come here to say this but i don't know how people will react. From my experience in Germany I would say please don't get on that flight to Germany if you do not know how to speak or read German. In the past people just post and say: Learn the language without giving concrete and convincing reasons why. Let me explain like this:

From the airport you need to get to where you will be staying. You go to information desk to ask how to get to your destination. The people you may meet there hardly understand your question. You get on the train, tram or bus the announcements at the station, digital screen for bus stops are in German. There was i time i was alone on the track because everyone left the place and i didn't know the trip had being cancelled and the announcement over the air was in German. Some Naija people I know have been left alone in trains because everyone disembarked and they didn't understand the announcement. The train hasn't come at the time it should, you need to ask people around is it still gonna come? Sorry no one understands what you are saying. Okay sorry I am typing in a hurry. Lastly avoid with all your might Nigerian non students especially assylum seekers. They are like the devil to steal and to destroy

ceemac:


That's pretty cool... Details from you have just done the needful... We keep looking up to your frequency with such electrifying revelations... Danke!

crowns2:

Many times I want to come here to say this but i don't know how people will react. From my experience in Germany I would say please don't get on that flight to Germany if you do not know how to speak or read German. In the past people just post and say: Learn the language without giving concrete and convincing reasons why. Let me explain like this:

From the airport you need to get to where you will be staying. You go to information desk to ask how to get to your destination. The people you may meet there hardly understand your question. You get on the train, tram or bus the announcements at the station, digital screen for bus stops are in German. There was i time i was alone on the track because everyone left the place and i didn't know the trip had being cancelled and the announcement over the air was in German. Some Naija people I know have been left alone in trains because everyone disembarked and they didn't understand the announcement. The train hasn't come at the time it should, you need to ask people around is it still gonna come? Sorry no one understands what you are saying.

You need to unblock your account. The bankers don't understand you. They will help you scout for an English speaker. The poor English speaker tries his best to understand you. He is limited in explaining to you. He pauses many times to try to think how he will convey his message to you. He will say i erm erm..sorry I don't know the English word for it.

Then comes your letters. 100% all written in German. This are important letters. With some times urgent information. Someone got a letter from the doctor to take some drugs and to go for a life saving procedure. Everything in the letter was in German. Google translator very limited. Ended up in Emmergency room. Doctors says in his poor and limited English why didn't you do what we wrote? Patient says NO I couldn't understand it. The nurse and hospital were supposed to explain but couldn't because they don't know how to pass the message to you. They can't speak English.

You want to ask a passerby, please how do I get to so and so place? Do I turn left or am I to go right. People keep passing no understands you. Germans are unbelievably nice they always ALWAYS want to help or assist you. But you limit them because they don't understand what you are saying. Believe me the last place you should get lost is in Germany before you will find your way eh! God help you.
The emphasis has always being on learning the language to get Jobs. I am not talking about that. I am talking daily everyday life. At my Auslander office NO ONE speaks English to you. You must go with a translator or speak the Language. You know they are the key to your stay here.

You need to call some offices to get vital info or to make an appointment, the reciever cannot understand you. You then decide to visit the office, the receptionist doesnt understand you. They help you look for a colleague of theirs who could understand. Then you ask please can you speak English, the person says a little bit. Explanation begins, you get limited in explaining, the person gets limited in understanding because they cannot understand you fully.

When I first came here I used to shop, get to the cashier, they tell me the amount and I drop all the money in the wallet on the table . They select their own and give me the rest. Thank God they are honest. Sometimes I think ah! this must be food, you buy it and its NOT
The person next to you wants to discuss with you, and they are smiling at you to gist with you but you cant understand and sadly you tell them: Ich spreche kein Deutch Bitte.

This is the little I can explain but please please and please again do not come here without learning the Language please. You may ask me why I didn't. 3 reasons: I was occupied with work but I should have taken a Leave to learn for atleast a month. secondly I never envisaged it was gonna be spoken by everyone everywhere here and all the time, every blessed day. Thirdly I have a compulsory course in my school for Deutsch Language from A1 to the end for a full year. Then I thought no need . I am learning but it takes time. You cant start speaking immediately. Many schools do ont have this offer. And then you have to pay for it. I tell you it is expensive. The 36k charged in Goethe is worth it.
And please don't come here to tell me its because of where you live because I have been in 3 of the 16 states of Germany and its the same experience.

Okay sorry I am typing in a hurry. Lastly avoid with all your might Nigerian non students especially assylum seekers. They are like the devil to steal and to destroy

Williamso:

Must've been a very bad experience for you... I am truly sorry, but I will partially disagree with you on some parts.


Thank God I got a map of my city and the Fahrplan the day I got here, so getting lost has been very minimal, and when I did have enquiries, all the helpdesks I went to had at least 1 English speaker! Besides, I have always asked someone besides me for the meaning of an announcement, and if they didn't understand me, I would simply ask the next. The young people are more likely to understand English than the elderly.


Unblocking my account was easy as telling the banker "I want to unblock my student account", maybe it's luck, but he understood perfectly.


Well, again, maybe I was fortunate to make friends with my neighbours who help me with translations. However, my letters are not 100% Deutsch, more like 60-70%. And I agree with you that Google Translator is scheiße. I also agree with concerning medicare. The doctors almost always have poor English. However, my only encounter with a doctor (well, dentist actually) was wonderful as the consultant, the receptionist and the interns all spoke good English. Again, maybe I was lucky.


When I called my Auslander office to book an appointment for registration/extension, I simply said "Guten Tag. Entchuldigung, ich hätte gerne einen termin für anmeldung, aber mein Deutsch ist sehr schlecht. Sprechen Sie Englisch?" and he immediately switched to English and that was it. Again situations like these are what made me say it is city dependent.


This is spot on! I had a very very bitter experience with vodafone because of this!


Well, I always looked at the screen as the numbers are adding up then pay before I learned to count in German.


Well, when I came here, I knew little more than "Guten Morgen, guten tag and guten abend", and it has been terrible at times, but not as terrible as you have painted it here. That being said, Deutschkurs in my school is free and part of the program. I still wish I had learned it before coming, and would advise anybody coming here to do so.
And you have been to 3 out of 16 states, not bad, but as long as you have not been to Kiel, then you can't speak for me! Heck, even the trains in Hamburg give announcements in German and English!


Hahahaha!!! Truth!

crowns2:

Some parts you say its good to learn and some parts you disagree. Whats your point exactly? Fyi my first city in Germany was Hamburg. Thats the problem with people they paint this hory dorry stories of abroad. This is not my experience alone but the experience of anyone coming to a country whose language is differrent from the one you speak. Even if its a holiday you are going for anywhere in the world, you gotta learn the basics of the Language.

Williamso:

Madam no be quarrel naa. I agree that it's absolutely necessary to learn German before coming here, but I disagree on the severity of the consequences of not learning it and hold the opinion that it varies from city to city. You can't possibly hold the opinion that a non-German speaker in München will go through the same hurdles as he/she would in Chemnitz. Or na crime to hold contrasting opinion from you

crowns2:

A while ago someone came on this forum to say he arrived Germany and in his city everyone speaks English. That its a so called international city. That he has offers everywhere.
I met this same guy here and he told me privately that he is now paying a lot of money to learn the language that Life is hard without it. Employees dump him because he cant speak Deutsch and take others over him. He cant just get by. But he came on nairaland to say the opposite. I say things the way they are. No apologies.
BTW i hope you know Eke47 lives in Munchen and he still came here to advice on learning the Language.

Jus4c:
As regards learning of German, is/are their any textbook(s) or site(s) one can buy or visit for self-studying? Even if this mode of studying would limit me to level B2 proficiency for now, I wouldn't mind. I am asking because the nature of my job may not allow me to enroll at the Goethe Institute before the commencement of my programme come Winter 2016.

crowns2:


Many times I want to come here to say this but i don't know how people will react. From my experience in Germany I would say please don't get on that flight to Germany if you do not know how to speak or read German. In the past people just post and say: Learn the language without giving concrete and convincing reasons why. Let me explain like this:

From the airport you need to get to where you will be staying. You go to information desk to ask how to get to your destination. The people you may meet there hardly understand your question. You get on the train, tram or bus the announcements at the station, digital screen for bus stops are in German. There was i time i was alone on the track because everyone left the place and i didn't know the trip had being cancelled and the announcement over the air was in German. Some Naija people I know have been left alone in trains because everyone disembarked and they didn't understand the announcement. The train hasn't come at the time it should, you need to ask people around is it still gonna come? Sorry no one understands what you are saying.
You need to unblock your account. The bankers don't understand you. They will help you scout for an English speaker. The poor English speaker tries his best to understand you. He is limited in explaining to you. He pauses many times to try to think how he will convey his message to you. He will say i erm erm..sorry I don't know the English word for it. Then comes your letters. 100% all written in German. This are important letters. With some times urgent information. Someone got a letter from the doctor to take some drugs and to go for a life saving procedure. Everything in the letter was in German. Google translator very limited. Ended up in Emmergency room. Doctors says in his poor and limited English why didn't you do what we wrote? Patient says NO I couldn't understand it. The nurse and hospital were supposed to explain but couldn't because they don't know how to pass the message to you. They can't speak English.
You want to ask a passerby, please how do I get to so and so place? Do I turn left or am I to go right. People keep passing no understands you. Germans are unbelievably nice they always ALWAYS want to help or assist you. But you limit them because they don't understand what you are saying. Believe me the last place you should get lost is in Germany before you will find your way eh! God help you.
The emphasis has always being on learning the language to get Jobs. I am not talking about that. I am talking daily everyday life. At my Auslander office NO ONE speaks English to you. You must go with a translator or speak the Language. You know they are the key to your stay here.
You need to call some offices to get vital info or to make an appointment, the reciever cannot understand you. You then decide to visit the office, the receptionist doesnt understand you. They help you look for a colleague of theirs who could understand. Then you ask please can you speak English, the person says a little bit. Explanation begins, you get limited in explaining, the person gets limited in understanding because they cannot understand you fully.
When I first came here I used to shop, get to the cashier, they tell me the amount and I drop all the money in the wallet on the table . They select their own and give me the rest. Thank God they are honest. Sometimes I think ah! this must be food, you buy it and its NOT
The person next to you wants to discuss with you, and they are smiling at you to gist with you but you cant understand and sadly you tell them: Ich spreche kein Deutch Bitte.
This is the little I can explain but please please and please again do not come here without learning the Language please. You may ask me why I didn't. 3 reasons: I was occupied with work but I should have taken a Leave to learn for atleast a month. secondly I never envisaged it was gonna be spoken by everyone everywhere here and all the time, every blessed day. Thirdly I have a compulsory course in my school for Deutsch Language from A1 to the end for a full year. Then I thought no need . I am learning but it takes time. You cant start speaking immediately. Many schools do ont have this offer. And then you have to pay for it. I tell you it is expensive. The 36k charged in Goethe is worth it.
And please don't come here to tell me its because of where you live because I have been in 3 of the 16 states of Germany and its the same experience.
Okay sorry I am typing in a hurry. Lastly avoid with all your might Nigerian non students especially assylum seekers. They are like the devil to steal and to destroy

crowns2:


Many times I want to come here to say this but i don't know how people will react. From my experience in Germany I would say please don't get on that flight to Germany if you do not know how to speak or read German. In the past people just post and say: Learn the language without giving concrete and convincing reasons why. Let me explain like this:

From the airport you need to get to where you will be staying. You go to information desk to ask how to get to your destination. The people you may meet there hardly understand your question. You get on the train, tram or bus the announcements at the station, digital screen for bus stops are in German. There was i time i was alone on the track because everyone left the place and i didn't know the trip had being cancelled and the announcement over the air was in German. Some Naija people I know have been left alone in trains because everyone disembarked and they didn't understand the announcement. The train hasn't come at the time it should, you need to ask people around is it still gonna come? Sorry no one understands what you are saying.
You need to unblock your account. The bankers don't understand you. They will help you scout for an English speaker. The poor English speaker tries his best to understand you. He is limited in explaining to you. He pauses many times to try to think how he will convey his message to you. He will say i erm erm..sorry I don't know the English word for it. Then comes your letters. 100% all written in German. This are important letters. With some times urgent information. Someone got a letter from the doctor to take some drugs and to go for a life saving procedure. Everything in the letter was in German. Google translator very limited. Ended up in Emmergency room. Doctors says in his poor and limited English why didn't you do what we wrote? Patient says NO I couldn't understand it. The nurse and hospital were supposed to explain but couldn't because they don't know how to pass the message to you. They can't speak English.
You want to ask a passerby, please how do I get to so and so place? Do I turn left or am I to go right. People keep passing no understands you. Germans are unbelievably nice they always ALWAYS want to help or assist you. But you limit them because they don't understand what you are saying. Believe me the last place you should get lost is in Germany before you will find your way eh! God help you.
The emphasis has always being on learning the language to get Jobs. I am not talking about that. I am talking daily everyday life. At my Auslander office NO ONE speaks English to you. You must go with a translator or speak the Language. You know they are the key to your stay here.
You need to call some offices to get vital info or to make an appointment, the reciever cannot understand you. You then decide to visit the office, the receptionist doesnt understand you. They help you look for a colleague of theirs who could understand. Then you ask please can you speak English, the person says a little bit. Explanation begins, you get limited in explaining, the person gets limited in understanding because they cannot understand you fully.
When I first came here I used to shop, get to the cashier, they tell me the amount and I drop all the money in the wallet on the table . They select their own and give me the rest. Thank God they are honest. Sometimes I think ah! this must be food, you buy it and its NOT
The person next to you wants to discuss with you, and they are smiling at you to gist with you but you cant understand and sadly you tell them: Ich spreche kein Deutch Bitte.
This is the little I can explain but please please and please again do not come here without learning the Language please. You may ask me why I didn't. 3 reasons: I was occupied with work but I should have taken a Leave to learn for atleast a month. secondly I never envisaged it was gonna be spoken by everyone everywhere here and all the time, every blessed day. Thirdly I have a compulsory course in my school for Deutsch Language from A1 to the end for a full year. Then I thought no need . I am learning but it takes time. You cant start speaking immediately. Many schools do ont have this offer. And then you have to pay for it. I tell you it is expensive. The 36k charged in Goethe is worth it.
And please don't come here to tell me its because of where you live because I have been in 3 of the 16 states of Germany and its the same experience.
Okay sorry I am typing in a hurry. Lastly avoid with all your might Nigerian non students especially assylum seekers. They are like the devil to steal and to destroy

Jus4c:
As regards learning of German, is/are their any textbook(s) or site(s) one can buy or visit for self-studying? Even if this mode of studying would limit me to level B2 proficiency for now, I wouldn't mind. I am asking because the nature of my job may not allow me to enroll at the Goethe Institute before the commencement of my programme come Winter 2016.

cahnellven:
I live in Munich and I dare say German is only important for economic reasons (like getting a job)
I've not met a munchner that can't speak English, and their English is pretty good too.
At the foreigners office, you'll be asked if you speak English or German. Almost all, the docs here can speak English . Train signs and announcements are translated into English.

Maybe my experience, but as Williamso rightly pointed out, it depends on the city

Learning the language is important, but life can still be relatively easy without it in the big cities

cahnellven:
I live in Munich and I dare say German is only important for economic reasons (like getting a job)
I've not met a munchner that can't speak English, and their English is pretty good too.
At the foreigners office, you'll be asked if you speak English or German. Almost all, the docs here can speak English . Train signs and announcements are translated into English.

Maybe my experience, but as Williamso rightly pointed out, it depends on the city

Learning the language is important, but life can still be relatively easy without it in the big cities

Pauluche:
Hello house it's been a while since I've been here, been very busy.
Please promise2, ritze, Ayohbk, JJCE and LargeBreed kindly resend your emails my mail box kinda got overly croweded as such I deleted everything in it (it's an old mail though).
Enjoyed all the comments about language issue. All these guys are saying is true.
I spend at least 3 hours in the shopping mall because I just can't read the signs and the labels but thank God it's getting better now.
BTW Has anyone seen Apple or Damatol hair cream in Germany? Lolz omo e be like na only shampoo them get for here o! If I use that one, whenever I travel go 9ja people go run o

victz:
Visit the nearest Aldi Süd you will get nice tablet soaps there at the rate of 25cents per soap. The soaps are quality soaps. It's cheap because oyibo no dey use tablet soap na only bath foam and shampoo them dey use baff. Some of them self fit even stay 2 weeks without taking their bath yet if them come out their body go dey shine. Make black man no baff come out him go be like wetin them use do sacrifice.

Visit African shops for hair creams.

victz:
If what you said about Munich is true it means that cities differs. I live in Tübingen and Tübingen is a university town where two out of every three persons you see in the streets of Tübingen are students that is to tell you that almost every student here understands English. But, life could be hell here without German. Sometimes some of them would not want to speak English with you even though they understood what you are saying perfectly. The train, bus signs and everything here are all in German they are not translated in English. All the letters I've received from the school, insurance company, bank, employers, studierendenwerk etc are in German. When I say German I mean 100% German. The commands in the computer systems provided by the school are all programmed in German this includes the printers, photocopy machines etc. Infact, from the beginning of the city to the end you can never find any sign in English.

cahnellven:
I live in Munich and I dare say German is only important for economic reasons (like getting a job)
I've not met a munchner that can't speak English, and their English is pretty good too.
At the foreigners office, you'll be asked if you speak English or German. Almost all, the docs here can speak English . Train signs and announcements are translated into English.

Maybe my experience, but as Williamso rightly pointed out, it depends on the city

Learning the language is important, but life can still be relatively easy without it in the big cities