Brief report 1
My name is Laith and I have been living in Germany since 2015 to build a life here. That's why I decided to take this course. Why in Hohenheim? Because this language course fit my academic level expectations. The course has helped me a lot in my language development. It was an exhausting nine months, but in the end it brought me to my goal to pass the entrance test at the University of Applied Sciences in Stuttgart as a computer scientist, but also to be able to build up a social life. I am still grateful for that!
Of course, you still have language difficulties and make mistakes, even after the language course, but that's the way it is with any language. You must always learn and speak the language yourself and not have the expectation of being able to completely master the whole language after one course! (Laith, ISK 1)
Brief report 2
We (my brother and I) found out about the course through a German friend. The course was a great opportunity for us, because at that time we did not have a residence permit and unfortunately were not allowed to participate in the integration courses. Another advantage of this course was that most of the participants were young people around our age who wanted to study or enter the working world and, above all, were very motivated. This created a competitive atmosphere from which we all benefited. The course was very well organized. The experienced teachers and administration were very open to our suggestions and our wishes were taken into consideration. After the course, we were all ready for the next step in our professional life or studies, as we had a good command of the language. Personally, I then took and passed the technical language exam for pharmacists and subsequently took the licensure exam. Today I am the branch manager of a pharmacy in Stuttgart. Professionally, the course has been excellent in helping me to carry out conversations and consultations with clients such that they can easily understand me. To put it simply, my wishes after the course are completely fulfilled and I was very happy with the progress we made during the course. Here I would like to thank all those who helped us gain a foothold in Germany. (Sahel, ISK 1)
Brief report 3
From the very first day of the course, I could tell that starting the course is a great bridge between B1 level and B2 level, because I noticed some gaps in my language that you can't fill in normal language courses. The course was very interactive. We always discussed current topics and were made to talk without it feeling forced. Grammar also played a big role and strengthened our sense of language. Both aspects were beneficial for me and were very important for my future plans. Communication with the teachers was very easy and pleasant. We could see very quickly that they are very competent, which also had a positive effect on learning. My intention for the course was to take advantage of the opportunity to learn everything you can to master German very well, but also to pass the TestDaF with a very good grade. I was planning to study at the University of Hohenheim. But since this did not work, I tried Koblenz. I am currently studying business administration at the HS Koblenz and will write my Bachelor’s thesis next semester.
The course itself was extremely helpful, fun, and I made some friends. However, I would have liked all participants to be at the same language level so that a lot of time is not wasted on very simple tasks and explanations, at the expense of important content that we could not do at the end of the course due to a lack of time. Finally, I would say that I highly recommend the course and hope that many potential students had the chance to take this course. I would like to thank the DAAD and the University of Hohenheim as well as my language teachers and hope that they are satisfied with the current output of the participants. (Nour, ISK 2)
Brief report 4
My name is Nebal. I participated in an ISK refugee course in 2017. I improved my German in this course as well as learned how a presentation should be held. This course is not like any other, because you practice not only how to write, but also how to speak. It also contains a lot of presentations, exercises, and homework and I totally love that, plus there are discussions every now and then about topics that are interesting. In this way, you learn how exactly to use the idioms and you gather information about this topic.
My intention for this course was to have a good enough command of the German language so that I wouldn't have any problems with it at university. This happened thanks to this course and its teachers. I am currently studying mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University and I can say that I have no difficulties with the German language there. (Nebal, ISK 2)
Brief report 5
The course has helped me in many ways. My language has improved a lot and the fact that the course is at a university also helped develop my academic language. In addition, the academic environment in Hohenheim drew me back to the university and motivated me to continue studying, which was of course a very good thing for me personally. The teachers and the organizational team were very good and always ready to help. The teachers were very good at explaining the grammar, and the many discussion exercises in the course allowed me to try things out without worrying that someone would look at me stupidly because of my mistakes. What I would also definitely like to say is that the course at the university also showed us a different Germany, away from the job centers, the forms, the mini-jobs, and cleaning companies, namely the academic side with the many opportunities. This is really important because although many are academically educated, they didn't know how to proceed to get back to college. Help with applications and getting to grips with German work and university culture also helped me put together a good application, because today I'm successfully studying media design at a dual university and am about to graduate. The time at ISK was one of my best experiences in Germany and I like to think back on my time in this course. (Jamal, ISK 2)
Brief report 6
For me, the course has played a very important role. For two years before ISK I learned German in one way or another and also took courses, but unfortunately they didn't help much. But the ISK course changed everything for me in a very positive way in six months. I felt very well taken care of. Any info I needed, I always got. The teachers not only taught us, but also motivated us. The participants came from different countries, but were always treated equally. After the course I feel confident in the language. I work as an interpreter and also attend night school. I will always be grateful to my teachers and I am also indebted to the DAAD for giving me this chance. (Hossei, ISK 5)
Brief report 7
I had a good experience with the course, and it was helpful in all areas of my life, namely professional, social, and personal. It was actually an honor for me to be able to be a participant in this ISK course. My feelings cannot to be fully expressed for this.
My intentions for the ISK course were not only to develop the language and achieve university admission (Test-DaF), but also that the atmosphere of the University of Hohenheim was challenging for me, and the (teachers) staff were flexible, patient ,and very open-minded.
Thanks to the course they offered, I subsequently took part in two further training courses and found a suitable job for myself; without the course, it could have taken longer. The ISK course almost met my expectations. I think it would have been even more helpful if the course was even longer. Overall, it was very helpful and I hope you can offer more courses for refugees. Thank you very much for the great offer. (Samir, ISK 5)
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