"A" Deutschkurse sind fertig!

I (Lindsay) am finished with the first 4 months of my intensive German language courses!  I've been studying at the Internationales Kulturinstitut Wien (IKI) since March and have just this week completed the "A" or "Basic Speaker" level.  Here's a breakdown of the Common European Framework of Reference for Language or CEFR:    

A Basic Speaker

A1 Breakthrough or beginner

A2 Waystage or elementary

B Independent Speaker

B1 Threshold or intermediate

B2 Vantage or upper intermediate

C Proficient Speaker

C1 Effective Operational Proficiency or advanced

C2 Mastery or proficiency

At IKI the intensive course schedule is as follows: the A Level is 4 months long, B Level is 6 months long, and the C Level is 4 months long.  So, in theory, one could become a mastery or proficient speaker within 14 months if they had the money and time to stick with the intensive language program.  What a thought!

David's been taking evening classes at the Deutsch Institut.  He just completed the B+ level.  This means that he's finished the Threshold or intermediate level.  He's quite impressive -- which surprises none of you, I know.

I've had the pleasure of learning German from some fantastic teachers at IKI.  I've also really enjoyed learning along side of some really amazing people (i.e., African priests, South American musical prodigies, a Russian Oil executive, an Italian Opera singer, a Filipino nurse, a Greek doctor, a Spanish fisherman, an Australian Olympian and on and on. . . Over these past 4 months we've become each others cheerleaders, teammates, and friends.  Here are the faces of meine Kollegen:

March - A1.1 Kurs

April - A1.2 Kurs 

(Here's the view from our classroom window.  I missed the last week of class so I didn't get a photo of our group.)

 

 May - A2.1 Kurs

 

June - A2.2 Kurs