The Institute for German language and culture

The Institute for German language and culture is a non-profit association affilliated with Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg and works more than 24 years as a German as a foreign language course provider. The Institute is based in Lutherstadt Wittenberg and is mainly focused on customer made study-abroad programs for international universities and colleges from USA, Japan and China as well as on international summer programs for students and German language learners from all over the world and last but not least on international teacher training programs. The summer courses and study - abroad - programs range from 2 to 15 weeks and cover not only language courses, lectures, internships and homestay or guided tours but also a whole set of travel and free time activities. For all course offers the Institute is aiming to present an overall "Germany experience" which allows to fully immerse oneself into language, culture and society. During regular times around 250 people from nearly 30 countries participate in course offered by the Institute throughout a year. The small city of Wittenberg which is located in an UNESCO World heritage environment in the state of Saxony-Anhalt and famous for Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon and the reformation, welcomes people from around the globe and appears as a perfect place to study German and dive into history, culture and modern German daily life. The capital Berlin and other bigger cities are within a stone throw away. Along with the Institute's staff international volunteers are part of the team for mostly a year and help to accommodate international students by providing fun free time activities, accompany tours and excursion as well as to set a perfect setting for intercultural learning among the participating countries. While being away from home too, international volunteers better understand the needs of students while studying aboard and can moderate cultural differences and misunderstandings more easily. During a voluntary project at the Institute volunteers participate in German language courses, gain knowledge and experiences while traveling with the course groups and attend ESC seminars together with volunteers from various German areas to reflect field experiences made in their hosting organization.