Students Find an Internship to Work with Refugees in Germany

The German Studies Department is introducing an internship with the Excellence Center in Europe, located in Halle, Germany. Halle is located in Germany's East and is neither a world-class metropolis nor an expat hub, which makes it very different from our main off-campus program destination, Berlin. The internship is unpaid but newly eligible for funding through the Build Your Own Internship program administered by the Dickey and Rockefeller Centers, with the caveat that it must be no shorter than 8 weeks to be considered for funding. We first learned about the internship from our students, Aidan Pretti'25 and Grace McGinley'26. They tried it out on their own, and their experience now serves as an example of how student independence and interest in making connections between classroom and life – working with refugees rather than only learning about them – can influence what the Department does. Yuliya Komska, who looks forward to helping future applicants with their funding proposals, asked Aidan and Grace to share their impressions and advice. The Excellence Center (EC) is a language school and community center serving refugees and migrants of Arab backgrounds as well as other groups displaced in Africa and Europe. EC's main goal is to build bridges, further understanding, dispel misconceptions, and create constructive dialogues between the Arabic, German, and international community in Halle (Saale). To learn more, click here.

Q: What do you study at Dartmouth and what drew you to the internship?

Aidan Pretti (AP): I study Economics and Government with a minor in German. I was drawn to the Halle internship because it allowed me to gain real-life experience in continuation of a project on refugee language integration for Professor Komska's Belonging in Germany class. I also liked that it allowed me to teach others, utilize my German language skills, and familiarize myself with a variety of cultures.

Grace McGinley (GM): I study Economics and German with a minor in Quantitative Social Sciences. I came across the internship while looking for a program abroad over the winter interim, and part of what is so unique about the Halle program is that start- and end-dates were flexible, meaning I could work it into Dartmouth's unique calendar. I also was eager to travel to Germany and improve my language and cultural understanding.

Q: How would you describe the Excellence Center in Europe?

AP: The Excellence Center is much more of a community center than just a language school. There is a community breakfast every morning before lessons start and many informal activities outside of the school (soccer games, barbecues, etc). The flexibility in internship length and timing means you will constantly meet new people throughout your stay.

GM: I found the Excellence Center to be a wonderful place in my short time there. I immediately felt welcomed into the group of other volunteers from the first day, when two volunteers met me at the train station and helped me get home. I'd spend lots of time in the Center itself, even when I wasn't actively teaching or taking classes, as I enjoyed simply hanging out with my peers.

Q: What was your first day there like? Did you get an introduction to the internship or some basic training? Did you get a chance to meet other peers or colleagues?

AP: The first day was somewhat nerve-wracking, as I just arrived at the school on the arranged date with my suitcase. That day I was introduced to the staff and shown to my apartment. Over the next few days, I was given some basic training on language teaching methods and mentored by some of the volunteers who had been there for a while.

GM: On my first day in Halle, two volunteers, one of which was my roommate, helped me get to my host, and then we all made dinner together, while a few other guests joined. It was great that right off the bat I met so many new faces. The next day was my first full day at the Center, where I met everyone else. We went out for a group dinner that night, with a bunch of people who other volunteers had met throughout their time in Halle.

Q: What tasks did you get assigned? Did they stay consistent or did they change over time?

AP: The task assignment is variable based on your level of experience, language skills, and the needs of the center at that time. Tutoring sessions are always 1 to 1.5 hours in length with one or two students. These students vary considerably in age, language level, and learning goals, so it is necessary to be adaptable in your lesson plans and teaching style. The center also provides you full autonomy in crafting your lesson plans, which can feel overwhelming at first but is quite enjoyable once you develop your own unique teaching style.

GM: As a tutor it was my job to prepare lesson plans for my students. Depending on their learning styles, age, etc., this varied from student to student - for example, I taught two young boys, for whom I prepared games, picture books, and flashcards. When working with an older lady who wanted to practice conversational English, I prepared short excerpts for her to read about and then discuss with me. As I was only there for two weeks, they did not change over time, but from what my peers who were there for longer said, their plans would evolve as their students' skills progressed.

Q: What did you enjoy the most about your work?

AP: My favorite part of the work was getting to meet both students and colleagues with such a great diversity of life experiences. I taught students from Syria, Ukraine, Somalia, and many more countries and gained a lot of perspective on how their migration and integration processes had impacted them. Beyond this, they were all incredibly kind and enthusiastic people who I enjoyed getting to know.

GM: I enjoyed of course getting to know my students, but also being able to test the bounds of my German skills. Aside from one, all of my students were at beginner level English, and I had to try and instruct them on the concepts, give instructions, translate accordingly, etc. in German.

Q: What was your level of German before the internship? Were you able to improve it and how?

AP: I was at about a C1 level of German before the internship, so the improvements can be somewhat hard to measure. Halle is a great place to learn German because there are far fewer English speakers than in a place like Berlin. I received German lessons about every other day from one of the school's German teachers. We would walk around Halle and utilize German in real-life situations (talking to shopkeepers, bakers, etc.). These lessons and interacting with Germans in my everyday life improved my informal, conversational German in a way difficult to achieve in an academic context.

GM: I would place my German at a B2 before the internship. Again, as I was only there for two weeks, my German didn't improve greatly, however I do think there are certain vocabulary themes that are important for everyday life that we don't tend to learn in a formal setting. For example, things like transportation, ordering in a restaurant, or just making casual conversation were all things that I felt like I improved upon during my time there.

Q: What did you like about living in Halle and what were its challenges?

AP: I became very close friends with some of my colleagues at the center and students from the local university. Being able to explore Halle with locals made me feel like I was really immersed in the culture rather than just passing through the city. The city is beautiful and I enjoyed spending time in the park and restaurants along the Saale River. However, the center gives you complete freedom in your time off, so you must be independent enough to figure out how to navigate the city and live in a foreign country.

GM: I would say Halle was my first real exposure to a city with a great public transit system, coming from Hanover and growing up in the suburbs, which I loved. I felt like I had a lot of autonomy when it came to traveling. I was amazed at how easy it was for me to just take the train to Leipzig on one of my free days. I would say it was quite cold when I went in December, but nothing too bad compared to Hanover.

Q: What was the living arrangement like, and how did you secure it?

AP: Almost everyone obtained housing through the center as part of the internship program. Quality housing is guaranteed by the center, but living situations are tailored to your experience. Volunteers learning Arabic were placed with Arabic-speaking host families and generally the same applied to German learners. I was housed in an apartment owned by a staff member with one or two other volunteers for my time in Halle. It is important to coordinate with the center ahead of your internship to find out what you need to bring and what is provided.

GM: My living arrangements were provided through the Center, and I was staying with a host and a roommate. My host was German, and I would attempt to speak German with him, however my roommate spoke only English, so oftentimes that would be the default language. My apartment was only about a ten/fifteen minute walk from the Center which was great.

Q: What was the cost of living like? How much, approximately, did you spend on food each week and could you make your own meals? 

AP: The cost of living in Halle is very reasonable. Breakfast is provided at the center and I would usually plan the other meals with my roommates to save money and make cooking easier. I had access to a kitchen and would usually eat out once or twice a week. The prices for groceries and restaurants were cheaper than I have found in any of the major German cities.

GM: I would make lunch and dinner usually for myself and my roommate. I found the cost of groceries to be quite cheap, both in comparison to America and, now having been to Berlin, to Berlin as well. I believe I would spend around 25 Euros on groceries for the week. Train tickets were not too expensive, but it would definitely be worth looking into the monthly pass as opposed to single use tickets if staying for an extended period of time.

Q: Would you recommend the internship to others and why?

AP: I would absolutely recommend this internship because I was able to improve my educational communication skills, cultural competency, and German fluency while making lifelong friends and memories. However, I would offer the caveat that Halle is a smaller city, so it won't quite offer the expansiveness or nightlife of a larger German city (though you can visit these places on the weekends).

GM: I definitely would recommend this internship to other Dartmouth students. Not only does one gain valuable skills and experiences, but I also find the mission of the Center to be extremely important and admirable. The group of people I was with was certainly eclectic, of various ages and nationalities, but they were all lovely people, whom I otherwise would never have met.

Q: What should other applicants keep in mind?

AP: The traditional path for Dartmouth students is to do a corporate internship in a city like Boston or New York. These have their own merits but they are not the only options, and an internship like this one can provide a really unique set of skills and experiences for both personal and professional purposes.

GM: I would say that the internship requires a lot of independence. Arranging flights, travelling, cooking, etc., are all our own responsibility, and there is no guide or program heading telling us precisely what to do. Additionally, there's no knowing who else will be working with you in Halle, unlike on a Dartmouth LSA/FSP. But that said, I think embracing independence and the unknown can lead to a great, unique experience.