German courses in Germany for children?

January 4, 2012 9:06 AM

I'm hoping to visit German or Austria in the summer of 2011 and would like my two children, aged five and eight, to enrol in a language course while we're there. The Internet isn't turning up much, at least on English language searches. Any ideas/recommendations for schools/locations would be gratefully received.
posted by Holly to education (3 answers total)

I assume you mean "summer of 2012." Will your eight year old be nine by that time? That's the low end for the Goethe Institute's children's courses. The Goethe Institute is one of the best programs for German as a foreign language, and it has lots of locations all across Germany.

For younger kids it's going to depend on where you are, exactly.

A search term that may help is "Deutsch als Fremdsprache" ("German as a foreign language").
posted by jedicus at 9:13 AM on January 4, 2012

There is no shortage of language schools, so you won't need to choose your destination based on their availability. Choose the town first then either (1) call the local Goethe Institut or (2) check Toytown for up to date personal recommendations.

Every large town in Germany has a Goethe Institut, which offers (rather expensive) language instruction. Toytown is an expat forum.
posted by caek at 9:16 AM on January 4, 2012

This is all very useful. Thank you! And yes, jedicus - I did indeed mean "summer of 2012" :-(
posted by Holly at 9:36 AM on January 4, 2012