[dianne]

Hello to all out there! I’m writing because I need some advice on a specific topic. My son has been studying German in school for a couple of years now and we are thinking about letting him take a German course Berlin soon in order to help the development of his language skills. My husband and I are convinced that this could really improve his German and would be a valuable experience for his further life.

Unfortunately our son doesn’t share this opinion. I guess a seventeen-year-old has different ideas of spending his time in the summer. Normally he spends his time hanging out with his friends doing sports, playing video games or Poker (which he could still play online from Germany!). I don’t have anything against it because his friends are all well-mannered and they all obviously have a good time together. But now I would love to convince him of the benefits of such a stay abroad. Therefore, has anyone ever taken a German course in Berlin? Can anyone recommend me some interesting activities for teenagers to do there? It would be great if he could see how much fun this would be!

Another reason why he doesn’t want to go is the fact that a couple of friends of my son are going on vacation to Tenerife this summer. And of course he would like to go with them. So I was thinking maybe we can combine that. If he could do a German course there and his friends would also be there for a certain period on their vacation, I’m sure it would be a lot easier to convince him. Though I know that a language course in a country where the language is actually spoken would be better, I would concur with this idea. Can anyone recommend a good language school on Tenerife? And has anyone experiences with that?

Thank you in advance for your help!