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August 2000
Hi Anthony,
You asked for my impressions of TREFF PUNKT.
TREFF PUNKT is a friendly,
efficient school in a lovely city. To put it in a nutshell, what you read
on the website is not just marketing, it accurately describes the school.
Now for the longer answer, in which I've imagined a conversation. (It
is more fun to write this way).
- Why was I learning German?
I met my German girlfriend while studying Italian at a private school
like TREFF PUNKT in Italy.
I'd been using my annual holiday to study Italian (for fun) over the
previous 3 years.
(If someday you decide to study Italian and you're looking for a really
good Italian School, I can really recommend ScuolaItalia)
- So why TREFF PUNKT?
Having found a German girlfriend, the next year, instead of learning
Italian, I went to the Goethe Institut in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
Rothenburg is a very beautiful, but dead, "museum" town that
has on average more Japanese tourists there than inhabitants. One weekend
my girlfriend and I visited Bamberg.
It too is beautiful, having not been bombed in the war, but it is also
alive. When I was looking for a school the next year, I looked for somewhere
in Würzburg, where my girlfriend was studying, but did not find
anywhere. I next tried Bamberg and found TREFF PUNKT.
- What was my impression of TREFF PUNKT?
TREFF PUNKT is a small school
run by Alexandra von Rohr. I have by now plenty of experience of Language
Institutes (I'm also a qualified TEFL teacher), and I would definitely
put her in the top division. If you just want standard classes, the
Goethe Institut is just as good (but you'll pay a lot more).
What you get at TREFF PUNKT
is real versatility. When discussing the course with Alexandra before
I arrived, she helped me to put together a mixed programme of one-to-one
and group lessons according to my needs. The price was also very attractive,
and the classes much smaller than I experienced at the Goethe Institut.
Alexandra also puts on a lot of events and trips and also provides the
students with a list of all the things going on in town each week (It's
usually on the Internet at http://www.learn-german.com/welcome/aktuell_en.htm.
Best of all is her stammtisch, where you get to go to a pub with the
teachers, other students, and some ex-students every Thursday and chat
(in German, naturally).
Alex has also arranged work experience (if you have a right to work
here) for students when that was required, though I have no experience
of this - You could ask e.g. Nicola
Vaughan who was at the school at the same time as me if you're interested.
- But was it really that good?
I think you only need to look at the number of people who come back
to know this. Alexandra keeps in good contact with her ex-students (provided
we keep in contact with her). Only this week I had an email from one
of last year's students who said she was coming back next week.
When you leave TREFF PUNKT,
you don't feel you're just leaving a business behind: you're leaving
friends.
I see you have a German email address. If you are not too far away,
can I suggest that you come along to a Stammtisch one Thursday evening
and meet the school? I'm often there - Alex's school made a big impression
on me, and you'll be able to talk to other students and I'm sure they
will convince you even better than this mail.
If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to ask me. If
you are interested in particular types of lessons, mail Alexandra, and
she'll tell you what she can do. This isn't a "fill in the form
and take what the school gives you" type of school. I'm sure she'd
gladly tailor any course to your requirements.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Nick
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