I'm keen on taking German courses, and have been recommended to check out the Migros language…read moreschool. The greatest thing about Migros is that it's bucket-loads cheaper than private schools, and, this, in large part, is due to the fact that the Migros parent company subsidizes costs at its school. If a course at Migros Language School were to cost around 700 CHF, then a course through a private school could cost somewhere around 1500 CHF, or so I've been told.
I recently met with an adviser in order to gauge my language level. We chatted, I took a short written test, and from there we looked at the course catalog together. All of this effort was gratis, and that was fab. Mind you, she came up with the same course that I did, but also suggested that I enroll in a grammar course. One may enroll in the grammar course only after having passed a slightly more rigorous test that one must pay 30 CHF for the pleasure of taking. I made an appt. to take the test the next afternoon, and, upon completion, was told that a teacher would contact me via phone to check my level of spoken German. I hadn't been told that there would be a spoken component to the written test. Had I known that, then I would have sorted out getting a phone before popping into Migros, guns blaring. In any case, I left an email address which may yield a phone no. from the instructor. 'Fingers crossed' we'll get to chatting sooner rather than later. It's been almost one week since the test-taking fun, so I'll either wait a tad longer in the hopes of hearing from her, or decide to enroll in the course that I initially chose for myself.
All around, the interface with the school has been nothing but polite and friendly. I can well imagine that folk having difficulty with the language would be put well at ease by the service they receive at Migros reception.
This particular Migros Klubschule is in Oerlikon, just outside of Zuerich City proper and easily reached via tram. From central Zuerich, trams 10 and 11 will take you to Oerlikon Hauptbahnhof, directly in the vicinity of the school. If you're keen on taking the 'fancy train', then hop on at the Zuerich main train station and get off at Oerlikon main station.
**as of 2/8, I received an email from the instructor who corrected my test stating that I am eligible to take Grammatikkurs 5. -never having heard nor read about this particular class, I was a bit confused. I wasn't sure if this course corresponded to the C2 course I was aiming to take, or not. I called the helpful gals at Migros reception for some clarification. Turns out that Grammatikkurs 5 is equal to the C1 class (as competency level in German here is marked by the letters A, B, and C, then divided into two sections per letter). Ex.: A1-A2, B1-B2...etc. I did the maths, and C1=5. Woot.
Let's hope that the actual class I'm slated to take in Sept. is less confusing. :)