German Studies

At Bard College Berlin, German Studies is an integral component of the college’s academic, student life and professional preparation programs. Our courses provide students with indispensable language skills and cultural competences for gaining work experience during their studies and for entering the European labor market or post-graduate programs.

About the German Studies Program

Students in our program become fully proficient in German, and we are committed to making German a keystone of our students’ college experience. With its genuine multicultural atmosphere, Berlin is one of the most vibrant and inspiring places to learn the language. We believe it is important for all degree-seeking students to learn German to an intermediate level or higher during their studies. Being proficient in German enables students to complete internships, work off-campus, and navigate the capital of Europe’s largest economy with ease and confidence. Language skills are essential to access career opportunities in the public, private, and non-profit sectors in Germany, as well as European institutions and organizations.

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About Us

Our team has a combined background of teaching and research experience on several continents. All instructors teaching in the German Studies Program have earned degrees at high ranking universities. Areas of special expertise include language acquisition methodology, literary theory and history, and translation, as well as academic and creative writing. Our shared teaching philosophies promote a communicative approach emphasizing in-class interaction, while our ever-evolving curriculum fosters individual course design and the development of learning resources specific to our German Studies Program.
About Us
Language Courses

Students at Bard College Berlin are required to achieve German proficiency up to B1 level. All German language courses in our program are designed to foster skills in the core areas of language acquisition: speaking, writing, reading and listening. Language course levels correspond to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL), starting at A1 and leading up to C2. Beginners to advanced level courses encourage students to reflect upon linguistic structures and situate literature, films and music within Germany's rich intellectual tradition and complex political history. We teach in small groups of usually up to a dozen students, which allows for intensive communicative interaction.
German Studies Courses

Each semester we offer additional courses dedicated to German cultural and literary history, critical theory and public debates, or reading, translation, and communicative competence. German Studies courses in our program reflect the various routes of European integration and global affiliation that Germany has followed in the recent past. Subjects are explored through seminar-style discussions in German, as well as in guest lectures and field trips. Recent courses include “Art and Culture in Weimar Berlin,” “Jewish Berlin from the Enlightenment to the Present” and “Menschen-Tiere and Tier-Menschen: Creaturely Perspectives in German Literature and Culture.” Current additions to our program are the DAAD-funded course “The German Public Sphere,” “German Conversation,” and “German for Reading Knowledge.”

How We Teach German

All our language classes are structured around topics of daily life, culture, work, and professional and academic life in Germany. In addition, we offer courses focused on specialized linguistic skill building and topics from the fields of German literature, culture and philosophy or current debates in the public sphere. Through partnership and cooperation, we promote exchange with other cultural and political institutions in Berlin, as well as with the German Studies Program at Bard College, New York. Various courses and activities in our German Studies Program are funded by the DAAD (Integra and STIBET).

Curriculum Visualization >> German Language Resources >>

"DerDieDas Haus"

Are you ready to immerse yourself in German?
"DerDieDas Haus" is a learning and living project for students. Our goal is to create a community by learning German together. Native and non-native speakers live as flatmates in a Residence Hall on the BCB campus. By using German as your everyday language, you build friendships with your peers and share learning experiences. You expand your communicative and academic skills. Together, you make a home for yourselves in Berlin.
Extracurricular activities on campus and in Berlin, such as movie nights, theater and museum visits, or themed excursions combine learning and leisure.

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What Our Students and Alumni/ae Say

Muhammed Sayed

Current BA Student
"A great benefit of learning German is that it opens up a whole new literary and artistic world that is as beautiful and colorful as any other. From reading the quotes and poems on the Berlin Wall to an obscure poetry book from a Flohmarkt, all of these hold a little story and have something to say."

Muhammed Sayed

First coming to Germany and Bard College Berlin was one of the biggest changes I had made in my life. I remember the absolute culture shock of a new language, especially. However, very quickly, the German program and its instructors at BCB helped me get over this shock. From the outset, my instructors did everything to immerse me and my peers in German. I very well remember my first class being completely in German, but the instructor made it understandable and accessible. Now my German has gotten to the point where I am confidently able to communicate fully in the Bürgeramt without having to use English.

The German skills I have been able to attain at BCB have also been particularly helpful in traveling around the German-speaking world. From the Austrian Alps to the North Sea, there are many beautiful cities, people, and sights to see that become far more accessible with learning German. Knowledge of German has opened so many more people and places up to me and allowed me to experience things that would otherwise be inaccessible.

A great benefit of learning German is that it opens up a whole new literary and artistic world that is as beautiful and colorful as any other. From reading the quotes and poems on the Berlin Wall to an obscure poetry book from a Flohmarkt, all of these hold a little story and have something to say. Thanks to the German program at BCB, I have been able to learn and grow my German abilities, which has opened so many new things up to me.
Rowdy Kram

Current BA Student in the
Humanities, the Arts and Social Thought Program
"Now that I’ve been living at DerDieDas Haus for almost 7 months, I can truly say that I‘ve made the right decision because I speak German not only at my job (Concert House Berlin at Gendarmenmarkt), but also at home with my flatmates!"

Rowdy Kram

Before I came to Bard College Berlin, I already knew that the classes would be in English except for my German course. Therefore, I was a bit worried because I thought that I wouldn’t be able to use German a whole lot on campus and even in my everyday life. But a couple of months before I started at BCB, I saw that they posted something about the DerDieDas Haus on their Instagram account. I heard that it was a fairly new concept and that it would start during my first semester which got me so on board! Now that I’ve been living there for almost 7 months, I can truly say that I‘ve made the right decision because I speak German not only at my job (Concert House Berlin at Gendarmenmarkt), but also at home with my flatmates!
Andjela Despotovic

Alumna (2024)
"Leaving my original home was a necessary step towards securing a brighter future... I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to learn German up to the C2 level at BCB, as it has granted me access to parts of Berlin that resonate with my sense of home."

Andjela Despotovic

A sense of home holds significant importance to me, especially since leaving my original home was a necessary step towards securing a brighter future. Upon arriving in Germany, I immediately felt that Berlin would become my new home, making learning the language a priority. This was my initial step in grounding myself in an unfamiliar environment and reducing the feeling of being an outsider.

I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to learn German up to the C2 level at BCB, as it has granted me access to parts of Berlin that resonate with my sense of home. These areas, predominantly immigrant neighborhoods, offer a sense of familiarity not only due to cultural similarities but also because they encourage communication, because there is no hierarchy of "correctness". Everyone is allowed to make mistakes as German is not their native language.

In my thesis, titled "In Search of a Mother's Tongue: Dinçer Güçyeter’s Unser Deutschlandmärchen as a Writing in a "Postmonolingual" Condition", I delved into the topics of communication, multilingualism, and the concept of "mother tongue" in a globalized world. I explored the issue of monolingualism within the German context, focusing on German language and "Migrationsliteratur," with the aim of challenging the notion that only a specific group can claim authority and "possession" over a particular language. A linguistic exchange that occurs upon acquisition of a new language is a treasure that BCB cherishes through their many German-language courses and activities that I was lucky to take part in.
Hanna Bargheer

Arts and Aesthetics Alumna (2020)
"The German professors at Bard College Berlin place an emphasis on furthering your German in all respects – whether this is learning how to order a coffee in basic introductory German, or dissecting and being able to interpret a German theater piece. . . ."

Hanna Bargheer

Although being half-German myself, I have never lived in Germany, so it was only until I enrolled in German classes at Bard College Berlin where my language abilities developed into something useful that I was able to truly engage with the language and the city of Berlin around me. My first year at BCB I decided to take a C1 German class which, through its more rigid structure, massively improved my grammar, as well as helping develop my spoken and written word. Once comfortable, I moved on to German literature and political classes which were more discussion-based and explored both historical as well as contemporary written texts to develop the knowledge and vocabulary of the students enrolled. The beauty of the German Program at BCB is that they offer a range of courses to build your German knowledge, as well as explore further interests in German if your language skills have already reached a point of comfort. Being able to choose from more grammatical classes to literature classes provides choices for students with a range of German knowledge, as well as helps guide beginner students. I only have the warmest things to say about the German department and believe that anyone, whether you are A1 or C2, can learn from the German language classes at BCB.
Nato Gonashvili

Literature and Rhetoric Alumna (2020)
"I believe that the key to the culture, history and peculiarities of the people is the language, the place where it all is buried. When I first came to Berlin three years ago, I could barely speak German. Once I heard people talking, I was immediately obsessed with the way it sounded."

Nato Gonashvili

Then I took a German class at BCB and started to observe how well-structured and powerful the language was. Learning languages is my passion, which made the process of learning German a very delightful experience rather than a tiresome one. I am majoring in literature, so reading German authors' original texts was my other motivation to learn fast. First, I started to read fairy tales and poems and found out how beautiful, poetic and incredibly smooth German language can be. Lately I fulfilled the C1 proficiency level which helped me to become more confident and to overcome the fear of talking with native speakers. However, I always find that there is something to improve. I read the German dictionary for pleasure and enjoy delving into the roots of the words. I am always fascinated by the fact of how German never stops amazing me.
Bono Siebelink

Ethics and Politics Alumnus (2019)
"When I came to Berlin four years ago I was immediately set on learning German to become part of the city through speaking the language. Not knowing a lot of German, I started off taking German classes at BCB, from which point I could notice my progress going really fast."

Bono Siebelink

My first German classes were focused on creating a solid foundation in grammar, writing and speaking, which was very necessary for my later advancements. At the same time, these classes went beyond the merely linguistic aspect and involved learning about contemporary German culture, including music, books, films and even current political discussions. Furthermore, classes engaged with the city of Berlin through museum visits or other excursions, immersing the students in their living environment.

Once I started taking an advanced German language course, the focus was not only on learning, but also applying our German skills. Through frequent essay writing and tests, we were asked to keep our progress up and also create our own opinions and “personalities” in German. More room was given for presentations about specific topics related to German(y), and a lot of the time was reserved for class discussions and speaking in general. This was the time I started to actually feel fluent in German.

After taking language classes, I had the appropriate level to take German literature courses at BCB. These courses were centered around a certain theme, such as the Weimar republic, the relation between human and animal, and the German public sphere. Through reading novels, academic texts and poetry, watching films, news videos and TV debates, these classes were focused on deepening our understanding of very specific topics that are best understood in the original German language. Students could learn from each other in these classes; the different proficiency levels of the students required careful attention to what everyone had to say, also because these classes were meant for students speaking German not as their native language. These classes prepared me better to have difficult discussions and to speak German in a more academic context.

After taking German for around 3 years at BCB, I am currently working as the school's German tutor, helping students learn German with grammar, speaking and writing. All the grammar and general language skills I learned during my time at BCB, I now teach to the students who are studying the same as I once did. I think the strength of BCB's German language department is finding effective teaching strategies to make students understand rather complex grammar, through for example visual representations or other creative approaches. These strategies showed me at least that there is a logic to the German language!