The International Summer Academy

Before properly starting my year abroad in Mannheim, I participated in the International Summer Academy run by the university. It's essentially an intensive German-language course for the whole month of August, but was also the best way to meet people and make friends and involved a lot of activities and socialising!

Practical information and advice

The ISA isn't particularly cheap at first glance, but given the opportunities it offers you and the sheer amount of intensive language teaching you're getting, it's definitely worth the money. Your university might be even to help you out with covering the costs if you're lucky!

For those of you moving into student accommodation, it's possible to do so at the start of August if you're taking part in the ISA. For those of you looking for private accommodation, you can find somewhere with a contract starting in August or alternatively, stay in an Airbnb or hostel for the month and search for accommodation from there when you're in Mannheim. 

It's also possible to do the ISA without staying at Mannheim afterwards for an exchange period! 

Language course

Don't be afraid to do the ISA even if you're a complete beginner with German! In fact, I'd recommend it even more in that case. You're put into classes of about 10-20 people of the same ability as you, based on an assessment you complete before going. 

Classes are Monday to Friday, 9am to 1:15pm with a half-hour break in the middle. Your teacher will also speak (almost) entirely in German, even for beginner classes so that you get the maximum amount of practise time. They cover a combination of grammar, vocabulary and topic content. It sounds a bit intense, but it's the best way to develop your language skills and you learn so much during the month! Classes also tend to be quite fun, so it doesn't feel like such hard work most of the time.

You can miss a maximum of three days of class if you still want to get the certificate at the end of the month, so be aware that classes are compulsory and registered!

Towards the end of the month, you'll have an exam for whatever level you've been put into. This involves listening, reading and writing skills (and speaking in the form of a short presentation for those with pre-existing knowledge of German). It's absolutely nothing to be worried about, you'll be more than prepared by this point so should be fine! If you pass, you'll get an official certificate for that level, so it's a pretty useful thing to have.

Trips and social events

The ISA is by no means just a language course. It's a really great way to make friends and get yourself settled in Mannheim before lectures start in September. There are plenty of meet-ups, social evenings and outings planned by the ISA that you can take part in. I would recommend going to as many of these as possible!

Some of the trips I went on during the ISA were to Frankfurt, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Schwetzingen, Heidelberg, a wine-tasting evening, and a city tour of Mannheim. The trips are great value for money, a good way to see new places and do new things without having to worry about organising it yourself, and an amazing way to make friends. 

They also organised a BBQ, a farewell party at the end of the month, social evenings every Monday night (Stammtisch at L3 cafe), film evenings, sport activities, and much more.

Definitely worth doing!

I am so glad that I took part in the ISA. It helped me to settle in to Mannheim before the stress of uni starting properly, improved my German massively, allowed me to visit some pretty cool places, and introduced me to loads of great people. If you're on the fence about whether to do it, I can't recommend it enough!

Photos

Trip to Frankfurt

Trip to Rothenburg

Trip to Heidelberg

Trip to Schwetzingen