QUOTE (Eironeuomenos @ Sep 26 2007, 10:42 am)

Ah thanks for that advice. I don't mean I want to just learn the language ASAP in the shortest time period available and get the hell out.. if I could really get to the advanced level (thanks Vicar for clearing up the framework/levels) in a reasonable time (i.e. before I use up all my $), and if I could find work over there relevant to my undergrad/grad studies, I would probably end up staying there for many years.
I guess my primary concern is also what you mentioned - I am a bit shy so I don't know how long it will take for me to totally immerse myself into the German culture/lifestye, find a German partner for example. But anyway.. outside the lessons I was going to try and watch all of my fav. German movies without having to resort to the subtitles.. lol. And find more neat movies/music in German. And try to find random cool restaurants that I could start going to every now and then.. where I could sort of hear a lot of German being spoken (outside of classroom). I dunno, haha I guess I will have to think more about plan B and the things I would do outside of my intensive language classes!
p.s. I have been googling a lot lately, and I read someone saying the German spoken in say, Leipzig is less pleasing to the ear (?) than the German spoken in Hannover or something.. is this true? Is it because of the difference in accents in different regions?
So, how are you getting a visa to stay that long? PM me if you need advice on that part... lots of experience... ;-)
I got my ZD from the VHS where I live, and my German is awesome according to my German friends. There were all different levels in the class - I had zero knowledge when the course started. Our teacher was awesome, and the course only costed about 100 Euros per month. We used Berliner Platz from Langenscheid too, and it was a really good text book.
I also live in former East Germany, in a village where a very unusual thick dialekt is spoken - I think it's an advantage - I speak high German, but I understand the local dialekt, something that almost no "wessies" can do. :-) Pretty much no other Germans for that matter...
When I was in Leipzig for 3 days in September 2007, I found the people totally easy to understand, and very nice and friendly. That is the difference between a larger center in the former East, and the former West in my opinion. I find that the people in the former East are perhaps a little more down to earth, a little friendlier, and a little kinder. I might be biased, because I just like it here.
If you are thinking about staying longer, you might want to look around for a club - a Verein... If you get invited to join, it can be a great way to meet people... I was in one already, and this past week, I have branched out and joined 2 more. :-) Your level of integration you acheive depends on how much you want to plunge into German life and how lucky you are when it comes to meeting people. Maybe you used to sing in a choir back home? Maybe you belonged to your local church? Perhaps bowling?
Try wearing artsy or interesting jewelry to meet other girls in your age group. And when nice elderly people want to talk to you, don't brush them off - like someone else said, they often have time and like to teach people German on the fly. :-) I never turn anyone down in the street where I live when they want to chat. It was a hard adjustment after coming from a busy metropolis, where you try to avoid making eye contact at all costs and NEVER talk to a god-forsaken stranger if you can help it... After a life time of avoiding human contact out of self-preservation, this is a different experience.
I know a couple of really nice people who live in Leipzig if you want to know there is a relatively safe place for you to go out in the evenings - they have a little place in the old downtown... you can pm me if you like about this too.
Went to an awesome cabaret in Leipzig - there was a comedy troupe there - and even though my German at the time was only B1 level, I understood it, and laughed loads. I was so surprised by the universality of the humour...
There is noone where I live with whom I can speak English at a normal pace using my normal vocabulary - and this is ideal for learning German and plunging into German culture. Limit your time with English speakers if at all possible. But don't count on other foreigners to help you learn German. You need to hear it from German mouths...
You can check out the internet for German online learning - Deutsch Welle has an awesome little free course, and you might enjoy checking out this link for German pronunciation either at the beginning or later when you have a knowledge base.
http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/#Good luck in whatever you decide. For me, it was simple math - one year at private language school = 12,000 Euros for fewer hours of instruction versus one year at the Volkshochschule for 1200 Euros. Plus I got work teaching at the VHS as soon as my course was over...
I feel like I got the most awesome bargain in the world! :-)