Why I Randomly Decided To Learn German
So my girlfriend got offered this job in Germany. Like out of nowhere. And she took it. Just packed up and moved. I was sitting at home for like a week after she left just feeling completely lost. We’d talk on the phone but I couldn’t understand her when she spoke German. That’s when I realized I needed to find the best German language school in India and actually take this seriously. My girlfriend kept telling me to go to the best German language school in India so we could communicate better.
Just kept telling myself maybe one day I’ll learn it. Kept putting it off.
Then I was bored one night watching Netflix and there was this German crime show. I watched like the first episode. Couldn’t understand a word obviously. But I kept thinking like you know what maybe I should actually try this.
Downloaded Duolingo And Hated It Within Two Weeks
Next day I’m like okay I’ll download Duolingo. It’s free right? And everyone says you can learn languages on it.
I did the lessons. Das. Der. Die. Learning German words. That little green character was annoying me constantly.
Two weeks in I was opening the app like once every three days. The lessons were so stupid. Like pointless. “The cat is on the table.” Who cares? What am I supposed to do with that?
I deleted it. Thought okay this isn’t working.
Then my girlfriend called. She asked “Are you learning German?” I said no. She was disappointed. You could hear it in her voice. She was like “You’re not even trying.” That made me feel bad honestly.
She was like “Get actual classes. Like real ones. Not some app.” So I thought okay maybe I should actually look for something proper.
Found Berliners Just By Searching
I searched Google for German schools in Delhi. Like best German language school in India. First few results were sketchy websites.
Then I saw Berliners Institute. Their website for German language courses looked okay. Not fancy. But organized. You could understand what they’re offering.
I was looking at the courses and they had different options. Some for people who want to study in Germany. Some for people who just want to speak German. Different levels.
Called And This German Dude Told Me To Just Come
I called the number. Guy picked up. He was definitely German. Had that accent. Speaking English with a German accent which was kind of cool actually.
I told him I want to learn German because my girlfriend lives in Germany. He was like “Ah okay. That’s nice motivation.” He didn’t try to sell me anything. Just said “Come to a class. Just sit in. See if you like it.”
So I went.
First Class Was Scary And Intense
I showed up at their Delhi location. Walked into this classroom. There were like ten people sitting there already.
Then this German woman walked in. Heidi. Older woman. Stern looking. She looked at me and was like “You’re new. Okay. Today we speak German. Only German.”
I was like okay cool. But inside I was freaking out.
She started speaking German. Really fast. Making everyone repeat after her. She’d say something and we’d all have to repeat. “Guten Morgen.” Then she’d say it again. Different way. We’d repeat.
There was this guy Rahul next to me who had a terrible accent. He’d say things completely wrong. She’d make him repeat. Over and over. “Nein. Again. Different.” He’d keep trying.
I was just sitting there intimidated honestly. But also thinking like okay this woman knows what she’s doing.
Classes Were Actually Brutal
Three times a week. Two hours each time. That’s a lot. Your brain hurts after.
She would speak German the entire time. If you tried to ask something in English she’d be like “German only. You understand German.” And make you figure it out.
Homework was tough. Writing German. Listening to German audio and writing what you hear. Reading German articles.
I’d go home after class and my head would be spinning. But I was learning. Like actually learning. Not just memorizing random words.
After Three Months I Called My Girlfriend And Spoke German
One day I called her. Just started speaking German. It was slow as hell. I was thinking about every single word.
But she understood me. And I could understand her.
She was like “Oh wow. You’re actually learning.” There was surprise in her voice. Like she didn’t think I’d actually stick with it.
We talked for like twenty, thirty minutes in German. It was really slow. But we were communicating.
Did Another Course And It Got Harder
The first course ended so I signed up for the next level. It was way harder. Grammar stuff. Case system. Why is everything masculine or feminine?
Heidi made us read German news. Like actual German news articles. We had to understand them.
One day she put on a German film. No subtitles. Just German. I understood like maybe ten percent in the beginning. But after a few weeks of doing this I was understanding like fifty, sixty percent.
Girlfriend Visited And We Spoke German The Whole Week
She came back to India a couple months ago. I was terrified honestly. Like what if I forgot everything?
But we spent the whole week just speaking German to each other. It was slow. I made so many mistakes. But we were having actual conversations.
She was impressed. She kept saying things like “Your German is really good.” And I was like it’s okay. Not good. But okay.
We went out to dinner and I could actually order food in German because Heidi made us learn that stuff.
Now I Can Watch German Shows
I’ve been learning for like six, seven months. I’m nowhere near fluent. But I can watch German shows and understand like most of it without subtitles.
There’s still words I don’t know. Sometimes the accents are hard. But I can piece together what’s happening.
I can read German articles. I follow some German accounts on Instagram and understand what they’re posting.
It’s been genuinely interesting learning German from an actual school instead of just an app.
What It Cost Me
The courses weren’t cheap. I think each level was like 20000 rupees or something. Could have been less. I don’t really remember.
Going three times a week is actually necessary though. If you just go once a week you won’t learn anything. You have to be consistent. You have to go even when you don’t feel like it.
But it worked. I learned German. So worth it.
Seriously Go To Berliners If You Want To Learn German
If you actually want to learn German properly then go to https://berliners-institute.com/german-language-courses/.
Don’t waste time trying apps. Get real classes. Get a real teacher who will push you and make you speak German even when you’re terrified.
Berliners is honestly the best German language school in India that I know of. The teachers are German. They speak German. They don’t let you be lazy.
Learning German at the best German language school in India made me able to talk to my girlfriend in her language. That’s honestly the best thing that came out of it.