A year in Germany - teaching or studying

Hey all,

I have a dilema and I need some help. I'm going away in October (Oct - May) on my year abroad to Germany. But, I'm not totally sure what to do. I was thinking of either being a Language Assistant and teaching English in a secondary school or going too a uni and studying for the year.

Either choice has pros and cons. To begin with the teaching option - Its only 12 contact hours a week and I get 700 yoyos a month (for 9 months). Other benefits are no need to have to do tests, go to uni etc. I'd also have lots of free time to travel and have a good fun year in Germany. The main downer i can see is that it may get lonely in comparison to going to Uni were I'd be with lots of other students. From speaking to others that have done it, they've had a great time and didn't want to leave. Not sure though.

As regards going to Uni - I'd be spending a year in Uni and have to do tests, go to lectures etc. From speaking to other Erasmus students it seems that the workload isn't that heavy. So I would probably have the time to have a good time. Also, I'd probably get a grant of €6,000 + other freebies such as free books and travel. Other pluses are that I'd be meeting lots of new people (45,000 students in LMU), and some of my classmates are going to Munich too. Another big plus is that It's Bavaria so lots places to vist, nice central location for going accross europe, warm in summer, snow in winter etc.

I lived in Munich for a while before and really enjoyed it. One problem with the Uni option is that they want to send me to Siegen. Got a couple of people telling me not to go as its nothing but factories and industry (anyone been here before?) So its going take a lot of talk and organisation on my part to be able to go to LMU.

One compromise I could do is go to Uni in Oct, come back and finish college at home and then do the language job when I finish my degree?

Any advice? Been trying to choice for 3 months now

well, there's lots to consider, but I wouldnt worry about being too lonely here with the teaching job. It make take a bit more effort to make friends, but it's not too difficult.

if anything, I'd say the bonus of a grant and more travel opportunities would be the biggest plus of going to uni here.

I'm a teaching assistant here now. It is a little more difficult to meet people... but in Munich it's definitely not impossible. I'm also enrolled at the University. I live in student housing and took a couple classes for fun last semester. So you may be able to have the best of both worlds. You'll also probably also have the opotunity to meet other TA's, in munich and everywhere else in Germany.

As far as the job goes... it's only 12 hours of teaching a week (although it ads up to more when you count the hours spent in between classes and such) so you'll most likely have three day weekends and Bavaria has lots and lots of school holidays, so plenty of time to travel. And no tests or papers to worry about

I've never been to Siegen before, so I can't say much about it, but it does get two pages in my Rough Guides guidebook. I pretty much judge a place by the length of its entry (if it has one at all) in the Rough Guide, and two pages is not bad at all for a town of 100,000 people. In other words, it has history and the setting is apparantly also rather attractive.

I think the main question you have to ask yourself is how much do you want to improve your German? In Siegen, you'll probably make some friends and they'll probably mostly be German. In Munich, you will make friends with other Erasmus students, and Toytowners if you choose to get involved with that. It is probable that you will make NO German friends, because it's easier to make friends with foreigners. You will speak to these friends in English, and so your German will not make substantial progress. But... you'll definitely have more fun.


Siegen

I presume you're still in college back home. If you're really set on a teaching career, then a teaching job over here might be useful. Otherwise, you're young (I assume) with a pretty generous grant (none of that in my day blah blah blah). I'd definetly choose uni over here. I'm sure it'd be better craic. If you want to meet Germans, enroll in some obscure lectures that foreign Erasmus students don't do. I enrolled in Uni for two semesters and studied Russian - small class and I was the only foreigner. Learning russian through german was also great for my german. If you're in uni, try and get a part time job in a bar or something. Again if you want to improve your german, don't try the Irish bars. Try and find something in a German bar or a beer garden or something. If you can speak german in a stressful situation when everyone is shouting at you, then you know you're making progress.

Good advice as always -

Much appreciated!

@ Disgusting surprise

First of all, you are very lucky to have the opportunity to work/study abroad. Don't ever forget that! I would have killed for a chance like that when I was in college. For me it was a question of simply not having the financial resources to make that happen. But I was eventually able to travel to Germany with my job and lived there for over 8 years and it changed my life. I really grew up during my time in Germany. I learned a lot about myself, and people in general as well as life in general. Living as a foreigner in another country does that.

My advice would be to do both. First come over and do the study program and once that's complete, go back home and finish your studies then come back to do the teaching or some other job. Trust me when I say you won't regret it and the experience will definitely change your life. Good Luck!