TANDEM Hamburg Blog

Language studios – in German: Sprachateliers

For the coming year, we have added new courses to our portfolio; students can now add 3, 6, 9 or 12 hours per week to their standard 20-hour course in our language studios.

These workshops of three teaching hours in the afternoons will help you to deepen your knowledge of German. Moreover, you will learn a lot about Hamburg and the region, about culture in Germany and the Germans. You will get active in small groups, you will go on guided walks through the town, to museums and events.
In our studios in the house we are giving you assistance with regards to grammar, phonetics, reading and writing.
Above all, it’s your chance to speak and write and take an active part. All Language Studios can be booked in addition to your German course; it’s possible to have 3 to 12 extra teaching hours per week.

Here’s the current topics list for download (PDF).

Questions?
Get some answers – contact us!

More than ‘just’ learning a language…

We believe that a language is learnt best when it is presented ‘cohesively’ – therefore a cultural offer for our students is of great importance to us. This might be a walk to a local pub (with or without a Karaoke contest), an excursion to the neighbouring towns of Lübeck or Lüneburg or to the North Sea, a visit to an important place in and around Hamburg, or a trip to Berlin, the ca-pital. We are changing and adding to the pro- gramme regularly, thus guaranteeing the highest possible up-to-dateness.


We offer tailor-made programmes for student groups from abroad! You tell us when and for how long you would like to come to us with your group, and what especially you are interested in, and we will put together an offer for you consisting of the following:

• Accommodation and Catering
Single rooms with host families, bed & breakfast or half board; or hostel accommodation on request (free stays for accompanying tutors)
• Pick-up, Transfer and Welcome
We are meeting you at the airport / station / port and take you to TANDEM; there your host families will be waiting for you. • German language course + TANDEM exchange We are integrating your students in our language courses or opening up special classes for you – including TANDEM partners.

• Hamburg Culture Programme
In addition, there will be a varied cultural programme in Hamburg of 2-3 items per week. A selection: Canoeing on the river Alster, tour through the city hall guided by a member of parliament, stroll through St Pauli (the ‘Kiez’) and scenic Blankenese, a guided tour of the concentration camp memorial Neuengamme, visits to the Holsten brewery and the Air- bus plant, a walking and boating tour through the port, the harbour city, the historic warehouse district Speicherstadt, to the beaches of the river Elbe or on our fun “Mission Impossible“ – an exciting city safari with many questions.

• Further Options
- Bus trip to Berlin, 2 nights in a centrally located friendly hostel (shared dorm, half board), visits and guided tours through Bundestag (our Federal Parliament), the Jewish Museum and a bicycle tour through the centre of the capital.
- Weekend day trip to Büsum at the North Sea with a guided mudflat hiking tour, followed by a dinner and beach life.

We like groups!

What a great fun fair!
The DOM, part of Hamburg’s tradition, is the biggest and most famous fair in Hamburg, guaranteeing adventure and excitement. The DOM is the perfect place for fun and thrilling experiences! Come and enjoy it!
The spring Dom aka ‘Frühlingsfest’, from 19 March to 18 April  just opened; it will be back in Summer from 30 July to 28 August and in autumn from 5 November to 5 December 2010. They all have one thing in common: for a period of about 4 weeks in each case, “Heiligengeistfeld” turns into the single most bustling fairground from the afternoon until late at night (from 03:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.).
Rollercoasters, roundabouts, ferris wheel, and an additional adventure area are the typical attractions, as well as a gigantic fireworks show which attracts the attention of countless locals and visitors every Friday at 10:30 pm.

And while you’re here: Take a German Course at TANDEM Hamburg!

The annual Cherry Blossom Festival, a “must” in Hamburg, features an amazing fireworks display along the shore of Outer Alster ever since 1968. This gift from the Japanese community, which commemorates the first commercial links between Hamburg and Japan, brings hundreds of thousands of people to the Alster every year. Festivities include the election of the Cherry Blossom Queen, whose main duty is to represent the city of Hamburg in Japan, an amazing fireworks show, as well as other activities.
For the Japanese, cherry blossom is an important symbol of their country’s culture, marking the beginning of spring and standing for emergence from winter, for beauty and transience.
And while you’re here: Take a German Course at TANDEM Hamburg!

Auf einmal stand er in der Tür: „Mir hamse mein Zelt geklaut“. Vaclav Gänsel, Weltenbummler seit sage und schreibe 36 Jahren, läuft, seitdem der Zirkus, bei dem er beschäftigt war, abbrannte, zu Fuß durch die Welt. War schon ‘überall’, hat schon auf indischen Teeplantagen, in kanadischen Wäldern, südafrikanischen Diamantenminen, und auf Kaffeeplantagen in Südamerika gearbeitet – „Alles, was so kommt“, sagt er. Und jetzt fehlen ihm noch 25 Euro für ein neues Zelt.

Nachdem ich ihm einen Kaffee angeboten habe, packt er seinen Aktenordner aus, voll mit Fotos, Zeitungsartikeln und Briefen von Leuten, denen er unterwegs begegnet ist, darunter viele Bürgermeister, Lokalpolitiker und andere Prominente. Von diesen Ordnern hat er in einem Archiv noch zweihundert.

Ich frage ihn, ob er Lust hat, in einem unserer Deutschkurse ein bisschen zu erzählen und Fragen zu beantworten: „Klar, kann ich machen“. Und dann geht er so fix vor mir die Treppe in den ersten Stock hoch, dass ich kaum hinterher komme – der Mann ist 74 Jahre alt, aber fit wie seine Turnschuhe.

Seine Geschichte, die er in der Klasse erzählt, klingt nach Abenteuer und der großen weiten Welt, aber auch nach einem harten Los: Seit 1974 marschiert Gänsel durch die Welt, hat dabei mehr als 130 Länder bereist und über 380 000 Kilometer zurückgelegt – zu Fuß, auf Frachtschiffen und im Zug. Als Achtjähriger wurde er bei einem Bombenangriff in einem Berliner Kinderheim verschüttet. Sein Vater kam im Krieg ums Leben; seine Mutter war Krankenschwester an der Ostfront und blieb vermisst. „Mein Zuhause ist die ganze Welt.“ sagt er, und lässt keinen Zweifel daran, wie er sich sein Essen verdient: „Arbeit find ich überall – na ja fast überall, nur in Deutschland findste in meinem Alter nichts.“ Deshalb macht er sich jetzt wieder auf, Richtung Hafen, um sich einen Frachter Richtung Brasilien zu suchen. „Da gibt’s genug zu tun.“

Gute Reise, Vaclav Gänsel, wir bleiben staunend zurück.

Weitere Infos gibt es unter anderem hier.

What a great end-of-summer event. Five runners representing the language school TANDEM Hamburg took part in this year’s Team Relay Run, initiated by the local paper ‘Hamburger Morgenpost’. After a great run a year ago, we managed to reach a decent ‘middle-field’ position. A super day, we had great fun, and my thanks go out to my fellow runners Adrian, Christine, Justin and Maik. Well done, guys – what would I have done without you?

Henning
Click on this picture to see some more:

Here’s another group exploring the city and taking photographs of themselves. They are taking part in one of our German language courses (20 hrs per week plus cultural programme) in Hamburg in July, and by the look of the pictures seem to be enjoying themselves. Well done, ‘Mission Impossible’ Team!

Fore more pictures, go here.

Bei TANDEM Hamburg fand gestern ein spanisches Fest unter dem Titel “¡Valencia!” statt.
Unser Gast Fernando Batalla von unserer Partnerschule Taronja TANDEM Valencia hatte den ganzen Nachmittag in unserer Küche zugebracht und uns dann wundervolle Tapas, eine Gazpacho und, natürlich, Sangria serviert. Der unermüdliche Fernando gab uns dann in einer tollen Präsentation Einblicke und Überblicke über Valencia, die Festivals, Kultur und (wen wundert’s) die kulinarischen Attraktionen. Anschließend bekamen wir einen super Eindruck von der Schule und ihrem Programm. Vorher hatte unsere Spanischlehrerin und Künstlerin Cecilia traditionelle Tangolieder (natürlich auf Spanisch) aus ihrem Heimatland Argentinien vorgetragen. Herzlichen Dank an Euch beide – und einen Sonderapplaus für unsere Praktikantin Anouchka aus Toulouse für die exzellente Vorbereitung! Hier zeigen wir ein paar Fotos von der Party; mehr Infos über TANDEMschulen und über Valencia gibt es nach Klick auf diesen Link: TANDEM Hamburg

TANDEM Hamburg hosted a Spanish evening entitled “¡Valencia!” last night.
Our guest Fernando Batalla from our partnerschool Taronja TANDEM Valencia worked hard in our kitchen all afternoon and prepared wonderful Tapas, a Gazpacho and, of course, Sangria. The never tiring Fernando then gave a super presentation on Valencia, its festivals, its culture and (obviously) its food. An insight into the language school’s programme followed. Before that, our Spanish teacher and artist Cecilia sang traditional Tango songs (in Spanish, of course) from her home country Argentina. Thank you both and a big round of applause – not least for our intern Anouchka from Toulouse for the excellent preparation! Here are some pictures from the event; for more on TANDEM schools and Valencia don’t hesitate to click here: TANDEM Hamburg

What a great funfair!
The DOM, part of Hamburg’s tradition, is the biggest and most famous fair in Hamburg, guaranteeing adventure and excitement. The DOM is the perfect place for fun and thrilling experiences! Come and enjoy it!
The summer Dom, Hummelfest, in July 24.07.2009 – 23.08.2009, the winter Dom, Dom-Markt, in November, and the spring fair, Frühlingsfest, in March have one thing in common: for a period of about 4 weeks in each case, “Heiligengeistfeld” turns into the single most bustling fairground from the afternoon until late at night (from 03:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.).
Rollercoasters, roundabouts, ferris wheel, and an additional adventure area are the typical attractions, as well as a gigantic fireworks show which attracts the attention of countless locals and visitors every Friday at 10:30 pm.
And while you’re here: Take a German Course at TANDEM Hamburg!