I would like to spend the summer in germany?

Question

I would like to go to germany for the summer to help improve my poor german skills. I would also like to study a year abroad but wasnt sure weather to do it my junior or senior year. which one is best? Austria would be alright as well. Can anyone recomend any programs for me to do this? I am 14 and will be until after summer. I think that it is to late for me to apply for this summer, but i want to look at my options for next. I am in my first year of german this year, and will take another next year. I want to do a homestay program, and want to stay for a little over a month. Also, please dont recomend any websites where you first have to input personal information in order to get all program information. Does anyone have any personal experience of studying abroad?

thanks in advance, and sorry for all the questions!

taylor:]

Answer 1

I took German for 3 years at my highschool when I was younger, so jumped at the opportunity to visit Germany, Austria, and Switzerland over the summer.  I signed up to tour for several weeks, and I thought that visiting would give me a chance to master German.  The only problem is that they speak English in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, due to their rigorous training in school.  Studying abroad is a great idea, but I would do it during the school year- get in contact with your school's guidance counselor, because they should know what program for you to enroll in that would be safe.  The reason I suggest doing the studying over the school year is because in the German classroom, it is either "sink or swim", and you would have to learn German to communicate in the classroom.  Student exchange (where you spend the year in a German home and the German child in your home) is pretty great.  I would also encourage you to sign up for a German penpal through your German teacher at school (I think it's called "Luftenposten"?).

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I think that AFS ( http://www.afs.org/afs_or/home ) would be a great program for you. Many of my friends have gone through this program. With this, you stay with a family in a foreign country (of your choice). It's more of a personal preference, but I recommend going your junior year just because senior year you should be home with your friends before you leave. Plus, putting that on your resume for colleges would look really nice.

I studied abroad to Spain during the summer after my junior year and it was amazing. I went through Summer Discovery ( http://www.summerdiscovery.com ). On my trip, I stayed on a college campus and took some classes (and gained some credits!), which really helped ease my fear of going to college this fall. Now I know what to expect in college!

If you have any questions, just let me know! Have fun!

Answer 3

Rotary International has an amazing study abroad program.  If you apply and they accept you (and they most likely will), they pay for pretty much everything.  You stay with a Rotary member's family in your chosen country (in this case Germany) and go to school.  It's an amazing program-you should definitely look into it.

Answer 4

Studying abroad is an awesome thing! I'm german and I spend a year in Canada. It was really fun. Our school is very open to any exchange students and there are hundreds of organisations you could make your trip with... If really want to spend a year, I suggest you do it in Senior. German school is pretty hard if you don't know german very well. We already had a lot of students here and most of them were in class, but didn't mind having bad grades etc. It was not at all about school! You go out after school with friends, see your friends at school etc... That is why you dive into another culture... To get to learn the culture, nice people etc. Almost all the students went back with an impressive knowledge of the german language. So you have fun here! The language comes along without you even noticing it! - Thats why you should do it in Senior.. you can do more things then...

But anyway... If you want to come over for the summer... Just drop me a line... I'm sure I can keep my eyes open for anything interesting in the region... We're in the suberb of Hamburg, second largest city in Germany... So there are things to see here... :)

Just drop me a line