Volunteer to Teach English & Study Arabic in Germany

My accommodation was about a 15 minute tram ride away in Neustadt. It was a tiny student apartment which was designed to be for 1 person, however there were 2 of us staying in it. We did find the apartment in a tragically unclean state and spent the Sunday we arrived cleaning it. I did let Rafat know and he was prompt in organising a cleaner to come the next day to give it a once over. The fridge in the apartment had a ring of black mould, which meant I couldn't keep any unsealed food in there. I also found some mould in my pillow. I do think the centre should provide photos etc of the accommodation, so that volunteers can have a choice of finding their own place in the city. What was also incredibly concerning was the lack of any safeguarding procedures at The Excellence Centre. There was nothing in place to protect the young students that come through. I really hope this changes in the future in line with German law. I would also urge other future volunteers to ask for a breakdown of where the £300 per week actually goes as it seems a little extortionate for Halle and that you're paying so much to volunteer your own time. On the positive side- Ali was a fantastic arabic tutor- I learnt more from him than I did at S0AS classes in London. He and Muaz were also so welcoming and social with the other volunteers. Ali's family also made us fresh falafel one morning- best ever! The other volunteers were all from different places so it was a great experience meeting new people and getting to know them, everyone was very kind and we had some great times. The experience overall was amazing, it's truly the the people that make the place. I loved teaching the students I had for the 3 weeks I was there, one of whom gave me some delicious Syrian coffee before I left.

I spent two weeks teaching German and studying Arabic at the Excellence Center. (I would have taught English as well, but there were enough other volunteers at the time.) Everyone at the centre is really nice and friendly. Even though there was a significant age gap between the other short-term volunteers/students (all of them 19 or 20 years old) and me, everybody was happy to chat about this and that. Also Salma, Nargis and Ali, who work at the centre long term, were incredibly welcoming and created good vibes. I taught a lovely Syrian lady every day, an almost complete beginner, and it was very rewarding to see her use the simple words and sentences we covered. As all the regular Arabic teachers were busy or away, Nargis (herself an intern) became my Arabic teacher. She was extremely helpful and patient and I got a lot of speaking practice (always my main concern when I take lessons). My suggestion for the centre would be improved communication in organising stuff, like having a staff handbook with the basics about who is who and how the centre is run, and giving teachers more info about their prospective students before their first lesson. I liked the fact that everyone gives presentations once in a while (about teaching methods, about themselves, and Salma about the situation of refugees in Halle) and found it really interesting to listen to them. Halle itself is a nice, not overwhelmingly large city, which makes it easy to get around, with great cafés and beautiful architecture in the centre. Thanks, danke and shukran everyone!

I can’t emphasise enough how glad I am that I decided to come to the Excellence Center. It was a step out of my comfort zone, but definitely worth the experience. I stayed in Halle for 4 weeks, teaching English and studying Arabic, and I can honestly say it has been one of the most interesting, fulfilling, and educational experiences of my life. The atmosphere at the Center is really relaxed and friendly, with the lovely staff making an effort to ensure that your entire experience in Halle is enjoyable, as well as looking out for your well being and helping out if you have problems. They don’t feel like your employees, teachers or colleagues, but like your friends. We all made and ate breakfast together every morning. In my last week at the Center it was the beginning of Ramadan, and I was invited to eat Iftar with the other volunteers and staff. Halle probably isn’t the first city you’d think of visiting if you came to Germany, but there’s lots of friendly people here and it’s easy to visit bigger cities like Leipzig and Berlin on the train for a day trip. I found that the lack of tourists and English speakers made it a great place to practise speaking German, which is something you don’t get in most major German cities. It also has a large Arabic speaking community, so I ended up hearing lots of Arabic being spoken: at the Center, around the city, and when spending time with people I met at the Center, who often had Arabic as a first language. This was super useful for immersion and for practising what I’d learnt in classes. This immersion continued where I was living, as I stayed with a Syrian host family, who spoke the same dialect of Arabic which I was studying. They were also really lovely and I enjoyed talking to them. I don’t know if this is the case with all the host families, but I wasn’t offered food every evening, and often organised my own, which was fine, but is something that future volunteers might want to make sure they’re aware of. I taught 7 students English, mostly in one-to-one classes, and they ranged a lot in age and English ability. There’s no set course, so I decided with the students what to teach them and for how many hours per week. The students were all from countries other than Germany, and many were refugees, so it was really interesting talking to them about their experiences, and differences between their home countries, Germany and the UK. I think I probably learnt as much from them as they learnt from me. I also had one-to-one Arabic lessons with Muaz, who is both a brilliant teacher and a really friendly guy. We had traditional classroom-style lessons, but would also go into town to visit Arabic shops and restaurants, which was a good way of practising spoken Arabic in a real-life context. I spent lots of my free time with the other volunteers at the Center, as well as with other local young people from Halle, who I met through Center staff and students. We went out in Halle in the evenings, and also visited other cities in the area on the weekends. I met so many different people, from different countries and with different life stories to me, and formed friendships which I’m sure will continue into the future. Coming to the Excellence Center is not just studying at a language school, but a cultural and social experience, which you don’t come across often in your life. I really enjoyed my time here and would definitely recommend the program for anyone who wants to do something useful with their English skills, learn about new languages and cultures, meet some great people, or just do something a bit different for a few weeks. I can’t thank the Excellence Center enough for the great experiences I’ve had over the last month!

I am really glad I found out about this opportunity. There are not many places like this that allow people my age to teach English and learn a critical language like Arabic. I think the center is a great place for cultural exchange and to develop cultural competency. The staff was very helpful and if I had a problem, I felt comfortable discussing it with them. I taught around 7-10 hours and received 2-3 hours of Arabic lessons a week. My teacher, Muaz, introduced me to Arabic-speaking countries, the different dialects, and helped me learn the alphabet to be able to read some Arabic. I also learned some basic phrases and practiced them outside the center. He even took me to a falafel shop, and I learned about his experience as a refugee. It was a really moving story. As for my English students, they were a range of ages from 8 to 32, some regular German students, others refugees from Ukraine/Syria. I really enjoyed listening to their experiences and understanding how Halle is an ideal place for those who have been displaced. Another thing that was great was that I had a lot of creativity with my classes and how I taught them; a majority of them were English conversation classes, but with my oldest student I had him give me a tour of Halle in English to practice it outside the classroom, and with my younger students I taught them the names of countries on different continents in English (a fun activity). Most of the students come in with a good understanding of English grammar and vocabulary, but I wish I had been able to explain things about the English language that did not make sense to them (i.e. varied pronunciations). Here are some things I think would be helpful to know before you come: January is the quietest time of the year to come. I met two volunteers my first week, but was the only one left for the remainder of my time. There was nothing wrong with that, but sometimes I wish I could have done activities/traveled with other volunteers. I think summer is the most ideal time to come. Another thing is that you may have to get your own dinner when living with a host family. Breakfast is covered at the center and then lunch/dinner are on your own. I think this was the most surprising thing for me because it had not been like that with other host families I had stayed with. I was able to eat with them on weekends but not weekdays because my host mom was not able to prepare as much food. I can understand this, but it was a little lonely eating dinner by myself in my room. However, the family I stayed with was very nice and the younger sister gave me my own room. So, I think if you are going to stay with a host family, just know that it might only just be for accommodation purposes, and it is up to you to interact with the family and feel included. I wish I had practiced my Arabic with them more often and had been less shy, but towards the end I started to feel less isolated. It takes time to adjust to being in a new country, and just when you starting making friends and feeling settled, you have to leave. This was a positive experience and I hope to return to Halle in the summer. Thank you Rafat, Radwan, and Muaz for this unique experience. P.S. You get bonus points if you can make Radwan smile :)

I visited the Excellence Center with the aim of learning more about different cultures as well as some conversational Arabic. It was a truly unforgettable experience. I met amazing people, ate amazing food and came away feeling truly inspired. Rafat has a gift for bringing people together and the Excellence is a hub for a diverse range of lovely folks. At the time of my visit, the other volunteers were mostly American and we had a lot of fun talking even talking about our own cultural differences (I was trying to teach them proper British pronunciation…). I was incredibly lucky with my host family who were so friendly and of a similar age. They were very generous with sharing their traditions; including films, music and of course more food! Teaching English was also very rewarding and my students were always keen to learn - even if they had just worked a night shift at the hospital... My Arabic teacher was very informative and really tailored the lessons to my level. We had a book, provided by Rafat, which helped to structure the content too and has given me something to look back over. It was also good to be surrounded by German because you couldn’t help picking up little bits of that too. I would highly recommend the Excellence Center to anyone looking to explore Arabic and German cultures simultaneously and connect with wonderful people.

My summer in Halle was an enriching experience that will remain with me for a long time to come. The management is competent, helpful and sensitive to the needs of each participant. Volunteers are well taken care of and the hospitality of the broader community surrounding the Excellence Center is exceedingly warm. The language instruction is strong, the work itself is rewarding, and the mood is both positive and relaxed. I wholeheartedly recommend this program to anyone interested in languages, whether teaching or learning. Students and young people should especially consider this program.

My experience at The Excellence Center in Europe was fun, enlightening and very worthwhile. When I first arrived in at the center in Halle, I was warmly welcomed and was able to start working the day I got there. As I was given a tour of the facility, I started to realize that I was about to be apart of a pleasantly tight-knit group of people who care about the wellbeing of the community and its inhabitants through means of intercultural-change and understanding. While working there, I was very in control of my schedule, who I wanted to teach, and how I wanted to teach it. My boss, Rafat Shantir, was very understanding of people who wanted to take a little time of to do things like travel. He was also very accommodating of the things we would want to teach. My coworker, for example, started a class that taught people who were interested in learning how to do computer programming. The relationships that I built were probably the most important takeaway from my experience at The Center. I mainly taught in a one-on-one setting, and I really got to know my students throughout the 3 months that I taught there. As most of my students were Syrian refugees, I was given an opportunity for an intercultural dialogue, the likes of which I had preciously been exposed to, especially coming from the US. Overall, my work at The Center was a great life experience and has opened my eyes to new cultures and the importance of all of us sharing and exchanging our cultures. Through these intercultural dialogues, we can build a world of tolerance, harmony and mutual understanding.

While teaching English was certainly the most challenging part of my trip, it was also the most rewarding. My first-day teaching was the hardest, as I had never really led a class by myself before. By the third day, however, I could already see my teaching abilities improving and the students seemed to be getting a lot more out of my classes. Seeing this improvement and learning about teaching was extremely gratifying. In my classes, I also got to hear from my students about their stories coming to Germany and about their cultural customs. They taught me a lot about Syria that I did not know before, and they were super eager to discuss it. Seeing how much they loved their home country was very saddening, but it only further inspired me to learn the language and the traditions. Getting to know the students was an incredible, once in a lifetime opportunity, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in language and culture.