Proficiency in German is a mandatory condition for admission to medical practice in Germany
Intensive and expensive
As Deutsche Welle notes, such language courses are offered mainly within Germany. In addition to private language schools, communicative training is also provided by the Goethe Institute (Kommunikationstraining Deutsch für Ärzte). Depending on the duration of the course (from two to four weeks), classes are organized in cities such as Bonn, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Göttingen, Bremen, Freiburg, and Mannheim. The starting language level is B2.
In groups of 16 participants, they learn terminology in medicine, pharmacology, and anatomy. The classes also practice various communication situations between colleagues, doctors and patients. The curriculum includes rules for compiling medical documentation, as well as studying the features of the German healthcare system.
However, quite recently the course was removed from the program, as explained by the Goethe Institute, due to unforeseen reasons and only for a while. Current offers can be found on the website www.goethe.de/deutschland. The disadvantage of such courses is their high cost: two weeks of classes will cost 550 euros, with accommodation in a single room – 880 euros.
Even more expensive is the intensive course offered by the Berlin university hospital Charité. Six weeks of daily classes in a group of 8-12 people will cost almost 2000 euros.
Distance courses
An alternative option is online courses. One of them is again offered by the Goethe Institute. But the free program is aimed more at a beginner level of language knowledge. In a playful form, it allows you to learn basic vocabulary – for example, the names of items in a doctor's office. Standard exercises like "Complete the sentence" train grammar skills. And easy texts with comprehension tasks give a superficial idea of working as a doctor in Germany.
For those seriously considering taking a language exam in medicine, the offer from telc, a company that develops tests for language certificates, is more suitable. Its online course is designed for specialists with German at the B2 level and is preparation for the telc Deutsch B2 Medizin exam.
The course includes 25 lessons and more than a thousand exercises on vocabulary, grammar, reading, and listening. The cost of classes lasting three months is 120 euros. Interested parties can first familiarize themselves with a free demo version.
Summer courses with scholarships
Foreign specialists seeking to learn medical German have the opportunity to spend several weeks in Germany attending summer language courses at a German university. Such courses are listed in the database of the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD. DAAD provides scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students of medical faculties. Participation in such courses generally requires German language skills at the B2 level.
For example, one course is offered by the University of Freiburg. Three weeks of classes will cost 650 euros, including study materials, accommodation in a dormitory or student shared apartment, and a cultural and entertainment program. A similar course is also included in the educational package of Aachen University of Applied Sciences and the Institute for International Communication in Düsseldorf.
DAAD imposes the same requirements on candidates for a scholarship to attend language courses in medicine as for attending regular summer courses. Participants must be between 18 and 31 years old and must have completed at least their second year of study. The selection committee pays attention to the level of German language knowledge. Good academic performance and convincing motivation are also important. The scholarship is paid once, and its amount is 850 euros.