Back to School (Again)

 

The Margarete Steffin Volkshochshule, Lichtenberg

 

When I first came to Berlin, one of my goals was to achieve a basic competence in the German language.  I enrolled on a course at my nearest Sprachschule and completed four modules, to A2.2. I found the course incredibly tough and there were elements that I just couldn’t comprehend so I decided to take a break and go back over everything I’d done before continuing further. I was also running out of spare cash at the time and the modules were quite expensive. It was around this time that I started teaching at the language exchange and I also embarked on an online TEFL course which I hoped would result in more teaching work. I was writing a lot as well so my commitment to learning the language began to falter and I never did open my books for my intended recap.

Then, last November, a Spanish friend told me about the Integrationskurs which can be taken in any of the city’s Volkshochschulen. I already knew about the course but I wasn’t aware that for EU citizens it’s possible to take it at a reduced fee and receive a 50% refund on completion. The course comprises an intensive German language element up to B1.2 level and an integration module focusing on German society, culture and law.  I went down to the Volkshochschule in Lichtenberg and took a test which determined that I was at level A2.2 and then, just before Christmas, I received the official approval to take the course at the special rate.

One snowy afternoon in January, as I was on my way home from a session with my tandem partner, I decided to call in at the Volkshochschule to find out when the next course would be starting. I’d decided to start with the A2.1 module as I’d forgotten most of what I’d learnt two years before. I had imagined that I would be placed on a waiting list and would have some weeks to prepare so I was slightly stunned when I was asked to come back at 9.00 the following morning as the next course was to start then and a place was available. So I paid the module fee and at 8.30 the next morning I found myself rumbling through a wintry East Berlin landscape, on an M8 tram bound for the school, A4 pad and pencil case at the ready.

The lessons run from 9.00 until 1.15 daily and each module takes four weeks to complete. There is also about two hours’ worth of homework to do every day so by the time I’ve written up my class notes and done my homework, most of the day has disappeared. It’s intensive and time-consuming but I’m learning much more than I did at the Sprachschule as the modules there only took two weeks to complete and nothing really sank in.

In true DDR fashion, the school is named after Margarete Steffin, a writer and actress who worked (and had an affair) with Bertolt Brecht. Our teacher is also a DDR original, and Lichtenberg native. In the first week she set up a ‘Kaffee Ecke’ bringing in coffee, sugar, a range of teas and a kettle so that we can make our own drinks as the school doesn’t have a canteen. We pay 50 cents a day, which means that besides the extra convenience, it’s a lot cheaper than fetching our break-time coffee from the bakery across the road. She also regularly brings in cakes and biscuits for us all.

My classmates are from more proletarian backgrounds here too. At the Sprachschule my fellow students were Prenzlauer Berg professionals: graphic artists, architects, and even a composer.  Everyone spoke English so that was the language we used during our breaks in the nearby bakery. The students at the Volkshochschule are mainly from the Vietnamese and Eastern European communities of Lichtenberg. There are a couple of Syrian refugees, two Italians, and a beer-loving Japanese student. Hardly anyone speaks English which forces us to converse in German and I’m finding that much more beneficial.

The A2.1 module ended last Tuesday and our teacher had asked that we each bring an item of food typical to our native country. Once the blind panic had subsided, I decided to make a bread and butter pudding. I reasoned that no one would be any the wiser if it failed to turn out as it should but I bought a couple of large bags of salt and vinegar crisps as a stand-by. The lesson finished early and we each brought our offerings to the table. There was home-made pizza, all manner of sweet items and some delicious salads. My favourite was a Ukrainian speciality made with potatoes and beetroot.

Two days later, the A2.2 course started and a few newcomers joined the group. On Wednesday it was our teacher’s birthday and she brought in cakes for everybody so once again a bout of communal feasting took place. During that day’s break, one of our classmates organised a collection for her and popped across to the shopping centre for some chocolates and flowers.

When this module finishes I won’t be able to start the next one as I’ll be in England for three weeks and, although the school will be closed for one of the two Easter holiday weeks during that time, I’ll still miss too many lessons so I’ll have to start the B1.2 module in May with a different teacher and new classmates. I’ll be sorry not be a part of this little group any more but I’m looking upon it as another new adventure!