In January, two years ago, I enrolled in a German course at the Goethe Institute in Lima. The course was the upper level (Oberstufe is his German name), and lasted eight weeks. Classes are held on Saturdays from 8:30 am to 12:00 noon with a thirty minute break.
We had fourteen students enrolled, of which six were girls. Our teacher was a German named Markus Maier, a journalist by profession, then Goethe’s teacher.
The cost of the course was approximately one hundred and fifteen dollars, plus the cost of the book which was about twenty dollars.
Students in the Oberstufe they had the right to use the library for free. Otherwise, the right to use the library costs about twenty dollars a year. We also had the right to use the Self-Learning Center, which is a room where there are computers and audio equipment for practicing the language. Many exercises were offered to solve on the computers and this helped in learning. On the audio equipment we were able to listen to the pronunciation of the language and exercise in it.
The method used by our teacher, Markus, was the choice of topics that were discussed in class and we expressed our opinion about them. We also read articles, not so long, in order to learn new words and expand our vocabulary.
In that course a new innovative method was introduced: Learning Platform (Lernplattform), in which all the students were connected to each other through the Internet and also to the teacher. This meant that we would not only learn on Saturdays, but also other days of the week and it kept us busy. Markus on Sunday gave us an assignment to solve in the space of four days. This task consisted of reviewing a topic and sending our opinion in writing to the professor, all through the platform. Then he sent us corrections, a day before class, that is, on Friday, and there we could see what mistakes we have made and recommendations from the teacher to correct them. All the students saw these messages and comments.
One of the tasks of the platform was to write a short script. The students formed partners, each of whom had to create and write a story. Naturally, in this case, except the teacher, any couple could see what the other wrote. I wrote a story with Adriana, who has been learning German here for four years. She pronounced it well and spoke it fluently. He has not yet been to Germany and acquired all his knowledge at the Institute. Some of the other students had not yet reached this high level of knowledge and it could be seen, especially when they had to speak German. The best story was chosen by student vote and we came in second. First place was won by Johanny and Freddy. Johanny came from Well, a former colony of German immigrants in the middle of the Peruvian jungle.
In the break we went to the cafeteria that had an outdoor terrace where we sat in groups to have a chat. The Institute facilities were comfortable. Much of the furniture has been brought directly from Germany. It also had an auditorium where they could watch films in German, listen to lectures and see plays as well as artistic groups, some of which were German.
Finally, at the end of the course, after receiving our certificate, I noticed that my German had improved and expanded my knowledge.