Mini-Group Course

The welcome at BWS Germanlingua Köln was very warm and friendly from all the staff. The teachers were attentive, listened carefully to what we had to say and created an atmosphere conducive to learning. The general atmosphere was excellent. The school was a little difficult to find at first, but the building is very well located, just opposite a store and close to many other businesses. As for the accommodation, I stayed in a private rental, so I have no comments to make on that. The activities on offer in the town are very varied and allow you to do lots of things throughout the week.

I really enjoyed the experience. The classes were entertaining and easy to follow the contents, the teachers helped you whenever you needed and explained everything clearly.
The location of the academy is good, you have good places near.
I only went to one of the activities, a trip to Maastricht and I loved it.
I went with a host family and it was great, she was really nice and I felt very comfortable. The house and the bedroom were perfect.

I enrolled in 1 week of semi-intensive study but was not interviewed to determine my level or needs. I was put in a class that should have been about the right level but the other students were clearly not at this level. The other students were also all enrolled on an intensive which meant that I was given the same homework as them. But i was leaving the class 1 hour early since I was only on a semi-intensive. I practice this combing of intensive and semi- intensive did not work well. We spent much of the time on the second day going over homework exercises that the other students had been given after I had left the day before.

There was also a fiasco with the replacement teacher on the second day, she arrived 20 minutes late to class and said she would make it up to us by going 20 minutes over the hour at the end but I had to leave at my usual time to start my full-time job. She also seemed completely unprepared, spent a lot of time scrolling through her computer files to find things, gave us group or partner exercises the were not well defined, and spent much of the time on grammatical exercises which were quite basic for me.
Several of the other students were late coming back to class after the break by she insisted that we all wait for them.

All up, I got very little instruction that day. It put me off coming back to the school since i had he feeling of my time being wasted. I did not attend any rof my remaining 3 classes.

The textbook was also really boring and seemed selected for very generic school leavers with little life experience. The content was banal and focused on employment, travel and socialising. As someone older and with many intellectual interests, it was very ininappropriate for me.

The group classes were really good. I was with a teacher called Mauritz who was a really good teacher and could approach the class from every single angle. He could teach grammar, vocabulary, he would always organize fun games so the students could actually practise the language. He corrected written assignments from one day to another.
THe private lessons were not that well organized... perhaps because one of the teachers got Corona Virus and they had to cover my classes with the teachers who were available. Nevertheless I could take advantage of them and actually learnt quite a lot.

The facilities were allright. Sometimes the classroom was a little bit too small in times of CORONA. But there was always hot coffee, the people were really friendly and everything worked out just fine

The location was perfect, just a 20 minute walk from where I had rented an Arbnb so it was perect for me

I spent 2 weeks in Köln and it was an unique experience. BWS Germanlingua is a really good school, the teachers and staff were all very nice and helpful. Classes were interesting and very cultural. The teachers were all native German speakers, which I think is very important to learn the correct pronunciation and specific details about the language that others probably would not know. The students came from all over the world. I met some people from Ecuador, Mexico, Switzerland and Brasil there. Location of the school and housing was perfect, very close to the U-Bahn (metro) and to cafes, stores and supermarket. Studio apartment and shared apartment were clean and well equipped. At first I was in a shared apartment, which I think it’s really good for making friends and having a new experience. But if you like to have your own privacy, the studio apartment is just perfect. My room in the studio apartment had an amazing view to the city and was very cozy. I am very grateful for having this experience and would like to thank BWS Germanlingua and Language International for that!

The school is very well located close to the Starbucks, Subway, cafes and supermarkets. The lessons were varied and interesting. If you are at the forefront of classes or may not be able to fly, you can still change the level. Outside the size of the school, I am very satisfied with this experience.

I did not learn anything new at school. Too bad that if we did not understand something we spoke English!
We are in Germany !!!
Good relationship with the people of the school and the nice teacher.
The family was very kind.
The activities were canceled because too few people registered (museum)
I did not like the city of Cologne !!

This is a small school on the second floor of a building off the Ring road in Cologne. It's easily reachable by tram/subway; there is even a nearby grocery store if you need to pick up lunch (or quick serve restaurants if that's your thing). Teachers were friendly and the school was open to switching levels to find the right one ("Don't write in your books the first day, in case you change.") I was just there for a week, which wasn't enough to do much, but it reinforced what I needed to work on and helped bring a lot back.

Work was a mixture of reading, writing, vocabulary work, etc. with excellent books which incorporated both reading and exercises. Homework was helpful but not overwhelming. I took the standard course; it started at 9:30, which seemed a bit late, and ran til 1. Intensive would have been an additional hour a day; as I wanted to play tourist, going til 1 was about perfect. Cologne is not a big town; you can pretty much do the tourist parts in a fairly heavily-laden afternoon, so that was helpful as a student. I didn't do any tourist activities through the school; with only a week I figured I'd be better off on my own.

I stayed with a homestay family, as I wanted to speak German once I got home too. They were right off the tram route and friendly and outgoing. I was considerably older than the other students, which seemed to make exactly no difference; good mix of different nationalities. Lots of Spanish speakers; if you're a Spanish speaker and don't want to be tempted, you might want to go somewhere else.

I had a very good classes. The location was the best because I need only 10 minutes to get to school it’s really comfortable. Everything were excellent I met a lot of incredible people from all around the world and played chess with my teacher.

I am very pleased with my course and the tutors. All very professional.

The one critique es that the seats are very Close to each other and too many so it is not a cozy room.

It would be Great to have more than one toilette cause during breaks the Line is endless.

Nevertheless, super Great experience and Learning,

I have zero knowledge in Deutsch language... (probably just hi and bye). After enrolling for a month here, intensive course, i can order in restaurant using Deutsch language:)

I had a very good teacher, whom was very nice and interesting. The classes, however, was not what Ihad expected. I had expected that I would be placed in a class form the start with pupils at the same level as I. However, the students there had either been there far longer than me or where far more experienced. I felt like the test I had made before coming, had not been accounted for when I was placed in the class. It was more, like I was simply placed at a seemingly appropriate level after a brief talk in German with the coordinator. I found the class very difficult. I had the opportunity to switch to an easier level, but at that point I had become quite fond of my class and teacher. I did understand more, but the gramma was very difficult and and i hadn’t been schooled in it. I was just thrown into the deep end with exercises. I later found out that this was because I had been placed in a group that had followed eachoither through all of the explanations, before I came, at a lower level. I think they should be more thorough when placing students that come with a certain level of experience.

The location was very difficult to find the first time. The only way to see where it was, was on the plaque by the door. There was also construction going on inside, which didn’t really equal school. The facilities were fine. The school were good at planning various activities.

The house where I stayed was fine and my host very nice. It was great that it was so easy to get to the school and back with the train. I enjoyed staying with Katja.

The school was located in the center of Koln, easy to reach from the main railway station.
The teacher was really nice and the lessons were interesting, varied and sometimes full of humor...it is a pleasant way to learn German. We were 9 students in the class. Ì had difficulties to understand the Asiatic students when they speak German. What I appreciated the most was the skills from the teacher. I really improved my knowledge of German.

When I first arrived in Cologne, I was quite lost. I thought it would be nearly impossible to speak well. Now, after four months, I completely disagree with myself. I learned a lot and I didn’t expect it that fast. The teachers are very nice and helpful, when you need extra excerices or anything else they will always be there to help you. The classes are small (5-10) students so you speak a lot.

I was very well received, I really liked the way in which the teachers passed the subject, I also liked to see that all students are treated equally (new or old). Very good material provided. Not a minute was wasted, varied activities that encourage students to speak and think in German. The teachers were great. I have nothing to complain about. I hope someday I can come back and do it for a longer period. The location is good, and the whole staff very helpful.

Our group was excluded in the building next door, humid, class room on the street side and no AC or fan
While there were 2 per classroom in the main building.
3 different teachers in one week. Some of them unprepared. No variety in methodology. Following a book only.
Lack of interactivity.

Well,the classes were perfect especially for speaking and writing and also the teacher helped me when needed and
she made us to speak, that was a good point.
But I think the activities could be better. For example I just liked 2 activities in 3 weeks!
I don't know about other families but my family and the activities that they had chosen for me were so cool. However I didn't like what they eat.

I studied in BWS Cologne from January till September 2016. My experience was excellent. Now I can speak free and clear German, because their system was brilliant. The atmosphere was warm too. I recommend BWS to everyone who wants to improve their German or learn it from the beginning.

I can list down few positive things about the school. They had very good teachers, offered great activities and a nice location
Although having three different teachers for a two week course, and no smooth transitions between the teachers is favorable for me. They also had very basic teaching facilities.

The location is so good, it's easy to get there.
Teachers were good.
The class size was small which consist of 4-6 student.

I have one comment though, the number of toilet was not enough.

I was very lucky because the class was very small, 6 students in total. I was the oldest, but it was not a problem as I am a teacher and I usually deal with students. The teachers were very good, as I was in a beginner course, I needed clear explanations and patience. This is what I found with my teachers.
The school location is excellent, I used the U-bahn and the station is nearby. I liked everything. I would like to repeat the experience.

Classes: open and clean
Teachers: friendly and patient
Location: accessible, next to the metro
Facilities: good
Activities: not interested
Housing: great host family