I‘m an american applying for master‘s programs in Germany. One requirement for the primary study scholarship offered by the DAAD, is the “Sprachnachweiß”, which is essentially a brief interview that you must take with a professor who teaches German. Prior to this interview, I had only spoken with my girlfriend (who is also learning), and with some people I occasionally have “Deutsche Frühstuck” (german breakfast) with, but these breakfasts always left me feeling mostly anxious, inept, and frustrated.
The interview: I studied a fair bit prior to the interview. I basically spoke to myself in german non stop for a whole week, and did my daily ritual of duolingo/german youtube.
We conducted the interview over facetime, beginning with greetings in English, but prompty switched to German. I was nervous going into it, but something possessed me. I can’t explain it exactly, the words just seemed to begin flowing from me so naturally. This was truly the first moment when I really felt like “i can speak german” and not just, “I know some german”. Every question he asked, I answered fluidly, and without many mistakes. He began pressing me harder, he asked a few questions which I could tell were intended to truly test me, to push me further. And I answered those. I eventually collapsed when he pressed into politics and I couldn’t muster up the vocabulary to continue.
At this point, he gave me a reprieve, and we started in english again. He was highly impressed with my skills, and was shocked when I told him that I’d never had formal classes. He also told me that my accent was impeccable, and that he would mistake me for a native german if I had better grammar and vocabulary. Finally, he told me that I was certainly A2 level, and that I might even be B1 level.
The interview ended, and I looked at myself in the mirror, confused about what had just occurred, but finally happy to have confirmation that I am progressing.
I know this isn’t the biggest achievement in the world, but only 2 years ago I was the kind of person who would say “I can’t learn a second language”, an attitude I developed after nearly failing every Spanish course my state required me to take. Apparently, I am the kind of person who can learn a new language. No matter what has happened to you in the past, you can learn another language.
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via Learn Online English Speaking
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