Alpha Aktiv

Heidelberg, Germany

"A1.2 and A2.1: Very little conversation training, we basically only did all the exercises in the course books, one by one (except the conversation and phonetics exercises which we actually all needed). Even though the pupil capacity is large, all classes are very small, 3-8 students, mostly very young. Minimal social life among students, one activity a week with very little attendance. Social media groups on facebook and such are not active. Arabic speaking students were a larger group, so I reckon they had a better time socially. Accommodation: I stayed in both the centrally located residences in Rohrbachstrasse 61. One room had not been washed at all, the next had been superficially cleaned on the visible surfaces, but under and behind everything it was extremely dirty. Poorly maintained rooms, wobbly and dirty furniture, worn out and very uncomfortable beds and mattresses, see-through curtains on ground level right where all residents were passing by. Electric faults in both rooms; melted wires, broken sockets, noisy fridge. No fire extinguishers in either buildings. No sockets for the laptop by the desk, so bring an extension cord. No work light. Zero kitchen equipment, and none for rent. No coat hangers, no peg to hang your coat by the door, or a towel in the bathroom. No toilet paper provided, and nowhere to buy toilet paper if you arrive late or on a Sunday. No paper basket or garbage bucket. No weekly cleaning, no cleaning equipment that you can borrow. The end cleaning that you pay 50 euros for, takes them less than five minutes. No blankets or linen, and none for rent. Both residences have tenants that are not language students, so it can be noisy at night. A quiet backyard, no garden, no outside furniture. Residences not suitable for wheelchair users, elevators out of order all the time both there and at school. WiFi functioned most of the time in one of my rooms, not in the other. Most students were frustrated about not having WiFi for days in a row. Also, there was a serious ant plague in both buildings all of May and June, also a hefty number of spiders. If you complain about that, the maintenance guy will spray your room with poison without telling you, so that you'll breath in the poison. You'll notice afterwards by the hundreds of dead ants that appear in heaps along the walls. But no effort was made to extinguish the ant colonies on the patio, so the problem just continues anyway, which you can see from years of reviews mentioning the ant problem. Read the critical reviews - I wish I had done that, because they are true. This school is seemingly the cheapest option, but since you'll have to pay or buy everything, and since there is no cooking,cleaning, laundry etc. equipment, it turns out to be a more expensive option after all. For instance; despite having a kitchen nook I had to eat all meals in restaurants for two months, due to the lack of kitchen equipment. There are no second hand shops or cheap shops where you can buy kitchen equipment in Heidelberg. I recommend that you choose another school if you can afford to, because the unwelcoming, crappy living conditions and the uninspiring teaching makes it hard to stay motivated. If you must choose this school, then choose a host family rather than the central residences.

"A1.2 and A2.1: Very little conversation training, we basically only did all the exercises in the course books, one by one (except the conversation and phonetics exercises which we actually all needed). Even though the pupil capacity is large, all classes are very small, 3-8 students, mostly very young. Minimal social life among students, one activity a week with very little attendance. Social media groups on facebook and such are not active. Arabic speaking students were a larger group, so I reckon they had a better time socially. Accommodation: I stayed in both the centrally located residences in Rohrbachstrasse 61. One room had not been washed at all, the next had been superficially cleaned on the visible surfaces, but under and behind everything it was extremely dirty. Poorly maintained rooms, wobbly and dirty furniture, worn out and very uncomfortable beds and mattresses, see-through curtains on ground level right where all residents were passing by. Electric faults in both rooms; melted wires, broken sockets, noisy fridge. No fire extinguishers in either buildings. No sockets for the laptop by the desk, so bring an extension cord. No work light. Zero kitchen equipment, and none for rent. No coat hangers, no peg to hang your coat by the door, or a towel in the bathroom. No toilet paper provided, and nowhere to buy toilet paper if you arrive late or on a Sunday. No paper basket or garbage bucket. No weekly cleaning, no cleaning equipment that you can borrow. The end cleaning that you pay 50 euros for, takes them less than five minutes. No blankets or linen, and none for rent. Both residences have tenants that are not language students, so it can be noisy at night. A quiet backyard, no garden, no outside furniture. Residences not suitable for wheelchair users, elevators out of order all the time both there and at school. WiFi functioned most of the time in one of my rooms, not in the other. Most students were frustrated about not having WiFi for days in a row. Also, there was a serious ant plague in both buildings all of May and June, also a hefty number of spiders. If you complain about that, the maintenance guy will spray your room with poison without telling you, so that you'll breath in the poison. You'll notice afterwards by the hundreds of dead ants that appear in heaps along the walls. But no effort was made to extinguish the ant colonies on the patio, so the problem just continues anyway, which you can see from years of reviews mentioning the ant problem. Read the critical reviews - I wish I had done that, because they are true. This school is seemingly the cheapest option, but since you'll have to pay or buy everything, and since there is no cooking,cleaning, laundry etc. equipment, it turns out to be a more expensive option after all. For instance; despite having a kitchen nook I had to eat all meals in restaurants for two months, due to the lack of kitchen equipment. There are no second hand shops or cheap shops where you can buy kitchen equipment in Heidelberg. I recommend that you choose another school if you can afford to, because the unwelcoming, crappy living conditions and the uninspiring teaching makes it hard to stay motivated. If you must choose this school, then choose a host family rather than the central residences.

"Lack of cleanliness

"Lack of cleanliness

"Lack of cleanliness

"Dirty, noisy, very bad wifi (WiFI is considered as an "extra" by the school, it operate really bad and nothing is done to correct it). I recommand Language Course to delete Wifi in facilities in accomodations, it can really just not work.

"Dirty, noisy, very bad wifi (WiFI is considered as an "extra" by the school, it operate really bad and nothing is done to correct it). I recommand Language Course to delete Wifi in facilities in accomodations, it can really just not work.

"Dirty, noisy, very bad wifi (WiFI is considered as an "extra" by the school, it operate really bad and nothing is done to correct it). I recommand Language Course to delete Wifi in facilities in accomodations, it can really just not work.