Any advice out there about attending a language school in Vienna, Austria?

Question

I am planning on going to Vienna, Austria next summer to learn German. I will preferabley, be lodging with a family. Has anyone out there done this before? What should I know? Any advice? Please feel free to share any experiences you may have had while being a student of this sort! Also, for all you Austrians out there, what are some must sees in Vienna and Salzburg. :-)

Answer 1

I have done an exchange year from Austria to the US last year and i just got back (10 days ago). I don't know how language schools are but I would be very interested in that! ;)

I lived with a family. I got them 2 weeks before I left Vienna and we emailed but I didn't really know them. I guess it sounds like I did something similar to what you're going to do, so I might be able to help you! ;) I'm not sure, what you want to know... there are many things about living with a host family and studying abroad (I attended high school) but I'm not sure what you want to know and what you already know.

I guess the most important thing is, that there are so many differences, even the small things. That really surprised me even though I expected some things to be different. Don't be shy is important too.

Your German is very good (at least what you wrote!!) so I guess that you won't have that many problems there.

Answer 2

I've been there quite a few times, and I would suggest that you get a little book of the German language and study it for simple every day niceties.  They all say good morning when they see you (like we do here)  or good evening, they are very friendly, and they appreciate it when we try to say things to them.  It really helped me to get a little book with the German words for things, they got a kick out of me trying, but don't go knowing nothing, this shows no effort, and some won't understand why you did'nt try to learn something if you knew you were going there!