Mixed Reviews on Collegium Palatinum
After talking to several of the people who are taking classes at Collegium Palatinum there seems to be some mixed reviews. Some of the students feeling they are getting a great deal from the classes, while others feel they are wasting their time and would have been able to learn much more in a different environment. Some of the students are also complaining that the information they received prior to choosing this language school was either exaggerated or completely incorrect.
Personally I am not quite sure what I think about the school yet, but I am sure of one thing…I feel totally lost half the time, and like I am excelling the other half. I do just fine with most of the reading and writing, I am passing all the tests with decent scores, but I feel like when I am in class I have no idea what is going on. The teacher speaks in German and most of the people seem to understand her, but the rest of us are completely clueless, and if we say we don’t understand she says it slower…which does not help. I think I know how every tourist and immigrant must feel in America when they try to ask for help and the people shout at them in clear slow English… no matter how slow or how loud it is said, if you don’t know the meaning of the word, it just will not help!
Sometimes I question if this is the right class setting for me, as another girl pointed out this program is primarily for speaking German and is not focusing on the written language very much, which is what I really want and need. Several of the students are considering leaving the program early because they simply feel they are not getting enough out of the experience. Others who are here for only a short time like a 2 week course are highly agitated because they feel they are not getting the services as described.
The programs here are set up so you pay different amounts based on the amount of time, 20, 25, 30 or 35 hours per week. The problem is you do not get that. For a basic 20 hour week the classes start at 8:30pm and run until 12:00pm with a 30 minute break – which is 20 hours, except that the first day you lose the entire day for placement and orientation. So a student there for only 2 weeks loses 4 out of 40 hours – which is 10% of their lesson! If you pay for 25 or more hours you stay at 12 when the others leave, you take a 15 minute break, then return to class until around 1pm for most classes, some let out even earlier it seems. This adds only 45 minutes to your day, leaving you short over an hour each week. Additionally if part of the class leaves for this final 45 minutes of class then your remaining class simply works on reviewing homework and such, instead of learning anything new. If you pay for the 30 or 40 hours you then have a 1 hour break and come back for an afternoon session several days a week, which you practice speaking in German with a tutor and a few other students. I considered adding additional time and paying for the additional hours, but I am not sure sitting around and just talking will help me right now.
