Thanks. I'll check it out as soon as I get a spare 5 minutes.
I did think that when I posted it haha. I'm in Dortmund but can feasibly travel anywhere semi local. I currently work in Duesseldorf too so I'm there often.
I'm from Dortmund, though I'm rarely there atm.
The best way to learn a language is (imho) through being there & socializing.
You're here, you got your roommates, your job. Now you need to get a gf / bf.
I've known / seen (okcupid) some women who are specifically looking for Brits / Americans, so there's that.
Now ideally you would also be studying rather than working since universities offer a wide variety of language courses which are practically free, tandem learning and then you'd also meet people, etc..
Even though you're working (full time, I'm assuming), you could still look into enrolling in a "Teilzeitstudium" (part time study) which you can do next to working full time (studying full time requires you to limit your work to 20h/week, thus working part time).
At state universities (Hochschule) or unis of applied sciences (Fachhochschule) this should cost around 250-300 euros per semester and would give you:
- access to free language courses.
- access to a so called NRW ticket which allows you to use all sorts of public transport in NRW
- cheap meals at their canteens & sport courses at their facilities
Your language skill would limit you to some English-only courses or simply English ("Anglistik") where German proficiency is not required (hopefully).
As for the courses: for the most part they are in high demand so you need to pay attention to the formalities, enrollment deadlines & quotas. Also unlike at VHS the schedule will likely clash with your working hours.
If you are interested in that, I'll look up some of the offers in & around Dortmund.
Regardless of whether or not this type of studying is your thing, you could look into uni tandem programs. Even though I feel like most are limited to students, some may very well be open to outsiders. I certainly remember English native speakers being in high demand for tandems. Again, if you are interested I could look around.
Though even when said programs are for students only, you could still:
- put up your tandem request around campus. Your ideal tandem partner would a Eng / Ger teaching student (Lehramt).
- Look into FB groups around that topic, e.g.:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/382053931844854/?ref=br_rs
https://www.facebook.com/groups/541052609317327/?ref=br_rs
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ltduesseldorf/?ref=br_rs
And now back to VHS. Here's VHS Dortmund courses for "Deutsch als Fremdsprache"
http://vhs.dortmund.de/webbasys/ind...atvaterid=32&katname=Deutsch+als+Fremdsprache
Talk to them if you're not sure about your proficiency level:
Beratungstermine für alle Angebote "Deutsch als Fremdsprache" jeden Montag, Dienstag und Donnerstag von 14.00-17.00 Uhr und Mittwoch von 14.00-19.00 Uhr, in der Volkshochschule, Hansastr. 2-4, im Beratungszentrum.
If you can't make sense of that, you're probably at "Niveaustufe A1.1
(but I'm sure you can)
For that level (Niveaustufe A1.1) 36 hours divided between 18 lessons cost 79,20 EUR (+ books). Not too bad.
Btw.: there's a million expat groups on FB. In Düsseldorf alone:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/29225065722/?ref=br_rs
https://www.facebook.com/groups/130933687020586/?ref=br_rs
https://www.facebook.com/groups/205159336220824/?ref=br_rs
Some more potentially interesting groups:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1445540465724417/?ref=br_rs (some of them have German names -> tandem)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/564137500382000/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/226717644029637/
Post your request there and they'll tear you apart.
