Emigration to Austria: how to live in Austria without knowing German?
Communication in a German-speaking country. ÖIF and German integration courses. Issues of language learning in different situations. Read about this in the 2nd essay by the emigrant. A series of essays on emigration with observations, recommendations, and useful links.
The Russian version is here
Emigration to Austria: is German a necessity?
There can be many different answers to this question, depending greatly on the circumstances in which people find themselves. But in short, it’s possible. It is unlikely that it will be easy, but still possible.
As I wrote in the 1st essay about emigration, upon arrival in Graz, our German was 0, but we communicated confidently in English, I had a level B2. Many people in Austria speak English, and this still helps us a lot. And where English did not help, sign language and humor often saved.
A couple of months after our arrival, we found a washing machine on the Willhaben website. We corresponded with the seller in English or with Google Translate. But when we came to look at the washing machine and negotiate the price and reservation, it turned out that the owners spoke only German. Luckily, we already had a basic understanding of German, and the owners’ children were learning English at school. We managed to come to an agreement, but after we left, the parents probably had a lot of questions for their teenage sons about what they were doing in English lessons.
In our chats, the employment issue was actively discussed from the first days. And I contacted a person who promised to forward my resume to the IT company where he worked. It turned out that he was from Belarus. In our dialogue, it was said that he had been living here for 6 years, and had changed 3 companies, but did not know German at all, and spoke only English. I’ll be honest, this calmed me down a lot, but it didn’t stop me from learning German.
I also know several people from different professions who got jobs without knowing any German at all. It was very difficult for all of them, but they learned the language. Everyone found their own solution to the situation in which they found themselves. Some spoke using Google Translator, some took courses, and others simply learned common phrases while working.
ÖIF and German courses in Austria
We were told everywhere and a lot that Ukrainians have the opportunity to study German without paying. And, naturally, it would be stupid not to take advantage of this opportunity. Realizing that the situation in Ukraine was only getting worse and that I would have to stay in Austria, I decided to sign up for courses. This was my first experience interacting with the local bureaucracy.
Registration for German language courses for immigrants is handled by the Austrian Integration Foundation (Der Österreichische Integrationsfonds (ÖIF)). Having reached there at the phone number indicated in the information booklet, I made an appointment. There, after filling out a form, I registered for testing to determine my level of German proficiency. And we had to wait about a month for testing.
Then I had to go through all the partner organizations offering courses by the ÖIF to find something that suited me. Only in 1 institute did I find a course that suited my level and time, which started in 1.5 months. Having left my details for them to start the registration process, I went into “active waiting” mode. That is, I continued to learn German on my own using lessons on the Internet, fortunately, there are a lot of them there.
So are the courses paid or not?
Then, I did not get into the courses; they forgot to send my application to Vienna to confirm payment for courses. Yes, all classroom German courses from the ÖIF are paid, and expensive. But for us there was a special program under which the cost of the was covered through the ÖIF, and for each funding was requested individually.
After 4 months, I decided to sign up for courses again and structure my already accumulated knowledge of German. To do this, I took the test again. Back then you could still choose where you wanted to study. And based on reviews from friends, I turned to the institute “Sprache und Kultur” in Graz, where I was comfortable with the time, and the courses provided an individual approach to students. And I am very grateful to its director Gabriele Cloos for the attention and responsiveness that she and her colleagues showed to us.
It is worth recalling here that I live in Graz and am describing what happened here in 2022. Fortunately, then everything turned out well, and I managed to complete the courses before the unpleasant innovations of the ÖIF in 2023, which significantly complicated the process of registering for courses. I know that in Vienna the choice of courses is much easier. But in other regions, and especially for those who live in small towns, everything turns out to be more complicated.
I didn’t have enough patience to overcome all these bureaucratic obstacles in the fight for free courses and exams. In my opinion, in terms of time and nerves, it ends up costing too much. And after learning about how lessons on courses from the ÖIF in different cases go, I decided to refuse them, and thus save a lot of money for local taxpayers.
How to learn German without courses?
I have heard many times from beginners that it is impossible to learn German on your own. I believe that this is a misconception, because… a lot depends not only on abilities but also on motivation and discipline.
I wrote above that upon arrival in Austria my German was at level 0. And from the first days, I began to learn it by myself. Considering that this is my 4th language, and the ways of learning each of them were different, I already had a good understanding of what didn’t suit me at all and what gave results.
I know many examples of when people study individually with a teacher. But in my case, it would only be more difficulties and anger at myself. Any teacher will not remember words or speak for me. And for a long time, it was physically painful for me to pronounce German phrases; they did not work out for me for a long time despite my persistence.
New languages are not easy for me, and therefore, based on my own previous experience, I looked at what was available on the Internet for beginners in German. Creating a personalized plan for learning a new language was easy for me, someone who has worked in the education sector, directly or indirectly, almost my entire life and as a professional coach.
I’m also okay with discipline and motivation, so my daily classes took at least 1–3 hours with almost no gaps. I wanted to start understanding and applying German in life as quickly as possible. Even during the courses, the teachers were surprised at my persistence in mastering the language. And since my goal was to pass the exam at level B1, I studied really hard.
I will describe my plan for mastering German and the path to its implementation in the following essays. And now I’ll give you a few links that will help even beginners practice at a convenient time and in a way that suits you.
Learn German online without payment or obligation
Choose a convenient time and level of German.
Daily online seminars ÖIF (in German) level A1-B2
Course “Nicos Weg” A1 in German. Find lessons of your level, and there is also the series “Nicos Weg” (A1-B1).
Inspiration and success to you. To be continued.
