Get HUMANS inside building.More options.The place has one person there,we came down from NorNorCal hoping to meet in person with a language/coordinating counselor & the few days the actual building is open she was not on-site? & no more on site classes???? I'll move to Austria & learn German through TELC faster, no thank you Goethe-the NERVE to use his name as well..-b read more

Came here to watch a German film "Cherry Blossoms" last night. I have always been curious about European culture and enjoy foreign films. I had no idea about the existence of the Goethe Institut until recent. It's actually located in Chinatown next to the dragon gate which is a little surprising. But it's super easy to find. It's a small but cozy space once you get inside. I suppose they host other German cultural events here also. Apparently they have free German movie screenings periodically with a suggested donation of $5 which in my opinion is well worth it. I was worried I would not understand the movie as much because it's in German. But fear not as all movies have English subtitles. There were quite a few attendees in the small movie theater but most were seniors. Maybe I just have an old soul. The film was quite interesting and touching. Despite being a bit more unusual than my taste, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I can deff see myself returning for another movie in the future. And this reminds me why I love a city like San Francisco where I can explore and enjoy so many different cultures. read more

The course is almost twice as expensive as a comparable course by the Alliance Francaise is for French. Other German courses are available online at lower course. I took this one solely because it was the only one available for a summer term. The online experience is poor with the format very hard to understand even for someone who has done other German courses online. There was no technical support. The instructor was okay but had little time to help me and offered no assistance with technical problems with the online homework and exercises. read more

Not suitable for complete beginners. Badly designed course and content. lack of online tutor time and really bizarre methods of teaching. Maybe if you studied German at school or have a good grounding you might just get through but otherwise stay clear. booked myself the online course a good month ahead, gave it up to the second week and then gave constructive feedback and asked for refund. No refund and not acceptance of my fair feedback. STAY AWAY!! read more

This is my first time taking German (B2) at Goethe and I am disappointed with the quality of the class. I had high hopes from Goethe which is a German organization that directly promotes German language and culture around the world. The class is online due the pandemic. The teacher does not explain grammar in the class at all. I had to learn the grammar myself - especially when we had to do the homework. The Aspekte textbook also does not explain the material in details. There is a big gap between the textbook material, the teacher's class material, and the homework. I felt like I had to learn everything myself. The online homework is also frustrating. It's all online, so it's graded automatically by the computer based on pre-determined answer keys. It's unfair because some of the questions are open-ended... You really have to guess what their answer keys are. I learned German before from a community college and I learnt so much more from their classes. They had a really good German teacher who gave me a strong foundation of the language. The class is also half the cost of Goethe, and free if you are a local resident! Do not waste your $$$ with Goethe! read more

I'm currently taking German classes here on Saturdays and I'm just about to kick off my third in their beginner's series. They have a really great system that is way more efficient than the 3 years of Spanish I took in high school! While German is a really difficult language grammatically I think that I'm picking up quite a good foundation that I can build on and practice as I go! One really nice thing about the Goethe Institute is that it's Germany's official language school. They can administer the exams needed for citizenship and other things needed to either live or work there. That's cool I would highly recommend them and their style of teaching! read more

Goethe Institut - Language Schools Near Me - San Francisco, California

Came to Goethe Insitiut for the 1st time ever, as part of the Berlin & Beyond Film Festival The movie entry was "MORE THAN HONEY" & it was a sad but powerful tale about the plight of the bee. The institut is a nice, open space that reminds me a lot of something you'd see in maybe a Frank Lloyd Wright building - lots of industrial steel & glass The meeting room where they showed the film was smallish but pleasant. The classroom seats they had provided were excruciatingly painful to bear but thankfully the documentary was only 1.5 hrs. And I thought it was nice that they brought in more chairs & even provided pillows so a few more people could come in & enjoy the movie - it was sold out Staff was super nice & everyone seemed excited to be there. I understand they offer German language classes & other kinds of German culture-related things & I'd be interested in checking out some more of what they had to offer So far, they offered a great ( but hard-chaired ) evening of Berlin & Beyond Film Festival & that makes me a fan! read more

I've taken two courses here, A1.2 and A1.3 (both in 2015). The good things about Goethe are small class sizes and the location is right downtown. However, I would not recommend classes there if you're wanting to really learn German. If you're just wanting to learn the basics for an upcoming trip, than Goethe might be a good option (albeit expensive $580). In one class, the teacher was so bad that Goethe gave all the students a $100 discount for the next course. Another thing is that Goethe doesn't ask students to take placement tests (unless you're brand new). I was in A1.3 but all the other students were at a much lower level. They didn't know basic possessive pronouns (mein, dein) or very commonly used verbs. Plus, everyone spoke in English so I felt I was not able to improve my conversation skills. I emailed Goethe about the situation, and they were responsive but said that people will always be at different levels, and they can't ask students to take placement tests. Goethe needs to make money and so I understand why they're hesitant to ask students to take tests before enrolling. However, I wish they were more concerned about the quality of the courses they offer to ensure students really learn German. read more

Fußball. I can't speak to the language courses since I don't know German (I do speak 8 languages though, so it's not for being a monolingual American!) but I can say with some authority that the Goethe-Institut SF is the BEST place in the Bay Area to watch the German national football team play in big international competitions. I'm surprised none of the other Yelpers have mentioned it so far but the Goethe-Institut SF hosts the most wonderful viewing parties, drawing German expats and Germanophiles alike who all gather to cheer on die DFB-Elf. Having watched Euro Cup 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 here, I must say nothing beats getting up super early (the time difference almost always guarantees some early morning matches) and watching Germany play live (on a huge projection) at the Goethe-Institut! There's no proper cover, rather suggested donations of $5, which not only gets you a seat (on a chair if you get here early, on the floor when it's packed!), but also the typically generous breakfast array (sometimes featuring authentic goods from the wondrous Esther's German Bakery in Los Altos) and drinks (such as beer!). Though abstemious myself, I totally see the appeal of football and beer in the morning. And what fun there is to be had: Raft of Deutschland scarves, flags and sundry football paraphernalia brought without fail by fans? Check. Germans yelling expletives at the screen? Check. Polite applause whenever Angela Merkel appears in the stands? Check. Scattered laughter whenever coach Jogi Löw picks his nose on camera for the nth time? Check. Good-natured crowd collectively groaning following missed shots, poor calls, obvious dives (always by the opposing team, natürlich), shoddy fouls and the like? Check. And of course raucous celebration whenever Germany scores/wins/proceeds to the next round? Check, check, check. Seriously there is no better place to experience locally the vicissitudes of German football than the Goethe-Institut! If like me, you love Philipp Lahm, Manu Neuer, Mats Hummels, Mesut Özil, Mario Gómez, Thomas Muller, Sami Khedira, Lars and Sven Bender, Lukas Podolski, Per Mertesacker, Jérôme Boateng (not his evil half-brother Kevin-Prince who cruelly ended Michael Ballack's World Cup dreams in 2010 with an atrocious foul), André Schürrle, et. al. and you're in the vicinity during international competition, you need to be here! In addition to football/soccer, the Goethe-Institut offers topnotch cultural programming including regular film screenings (both at the Bush St. location and the annual Berlin Beyond film festival), dance, art and literature events and roundtable discussions, truly bringing the best of German culture directly to San Francisco. read more

I have been a student at Goethe Institute since May 2016 and I would recommend them to anybody who wants to take learning German more seriously. Like many others, I was doing Duolingo German for a long time. Looking back, I have to say that Duolingo is not as effective at teaching one conversational skills than a traditional class. It is good at teaching vocabularies, but if you want to actually be able to talk to somebody, go register yourself in a class. So far I have completed levels A 1.1 to A 1.3 and is currently taking A 2.1. Unfortunately as people thin out during the course of a level, you might find the times each class is offered become less flexible. Some of my classmates had to pause for a semester or two due to this. I love the teachers here. All the ones I have had have been great. Very diligent and helpful. They always encourage everybody to speak up and try their best to make everyone have a great time while learning. Goethe Institute also hosts a lot of free cultural events (e.g. movie nights, football viewings, summer party, etc). I haven't gone to any of these before but definitely plan on doing so in the near future. read more

This place is pure awesomeness! I am having so much fun taking their A1.1 German course (the one for complete beginners). The course load has been relatively light, yet you are learning lots of new and useful things every class. They typically make up some kind of fun game for each class which helps you more easily absorb all the vocabulary being thrown at you (After we learnt how to count, we played german bingo and the winners (and everyone else) were given german candy)! Classroom size is relatively small, surprisingly diverse, and, unlike high school/college language classes, everyone here actually wants to be here and are pretty engaged in all the activities. For a 9 week course with such a small classroom size and such a high quality instructor, this is really cheap! If you have been trying to learn German on duolingo.com, you should know that the material this class covers is pretty different from the sort of things duolingo is good at teaching you. IMHO duolingo is awesome for great for picking up a lot of vocabulary from and helping you just practice. This place will teach you how to introduce yourself, communicate in a variety of everyday situations and will help you gain a much better grasp over german grammar. They complement each other pretty well! Fünf stars indeed! read more

my company transferred me to Munich and I didn't speak a single word of German. I contacted the Goethe Institute -- they set me up with semi-private lessons (with my partner) -- the schedule was designed to fit with MY schedule -- we had an AMAZING instructor (Thank you Henning Bauer!!!) With just a couple of months of instruction under my belt, I am by no means fluent in German, but i am definitely better prepared to fumble my way through living in a foreign country. I highly recommend the Goethe Institute for German language instruction. it's definitely a difficult language and there's no way any instructor is going to change that fact -- but the quality of the instruction you'll receive is top-notch, read more

Once my friend and I were at a cocktail party and the subject turned to Italy. Since she had just returned from three weeks there, she waxed rhapsodic, and the woman we were talking to, impressed, asked her, "wow, are you Italian?" Now anything is possible - the World gets smaller every day - but it's important to the story to know that my friend is Canadian by way of Jamaica. Without skipping a beat she smiled devilishly and said, "no, but I've had some Italian in me." Here's the appallingly bad segue: The Goethe-Institut is a place you must go if you've got some German in you, and are interested in having more, culturally and linguistically speaking. Or, judging by the number of spouses, girlfriends and boyfriends of Krauts attending the classes I took here, intimately speaking as well. I'm half German by birth, and I have always been the weak link in the Teutonic chain of conquest. My bro and sis both speak German fluently and I don't, so I took some intermediate courses hier (Entschuldigen Sie, here). The instruction was fun, interesting, and challenging. These are intensive courses though -- don't expect a joyride. The Institut also hosts film screenings, lectures, and other social events to promote cross-cultural exploration. read more

Hard to believe, but March will mark my 2nd year taking German language classes at Goethe-Institut SF. Goethe is a well organized language institute with a wide variety of levels/classes. There are also frequent cultural events that take place at the school (German movie viewings in their auditorium, guest speakers, artist installations, German card game tournaments, meet-ups, etc.) which are interesting to participate in for anyone who is invested in learning more about German culture in addition to the language. When I first decided to learn German, I enrolled in the SF German School, which is mainly geared towards children as a Saturday language school. They do offer a couple classes for adults, but they are best suited for people who already have some background in the language. The class was not really rigorous or structured well and I lost motivation and stopped going after a few classes. Then I found Goethe. It is a well oiled machine, and the teachers are all highly professional, conscientious, and dedicated. Classes definitely do not come cheap, (including text books, plan to drop about $440 every course, which lasts about 10 weeks) but if you are serious about eventually being fluent one day, I highly recommend the classes here. I've had 3 different teachers over the past 2 years and they've all been excellent. Goethe also offers certification tests ( B, C, etc.) which may be helpful or necessary for you to obtain employment abroad in Germany. Classes used to be 3 hours long and once a week, but they've recently switched to having 1.5 hr classes 2x a week. read more

My German Teacher. So, I volunteered at LitQuake. Well, I went to the Goethe Institut first and hung out there for a little bit. I harassed this artist and his wife for a few minutes. He had made these little bits and pieces that were actually musical instruments. Truly! They looked as if he'd taken apart a chevy and left everything there on the table, but in fact they were musical instruments! (Spoiler alert: I'm RUDE) At first I thought they would sound like there were going to be deformed dwarves playing in a sad band of lost woodland creatures. "Blatt! Hoot! (siiiiigh)" But no! They were actual musical instruments. They simply appeared to have recently fallen out of the ass of a '76 Impala. Amazing! I loved it. He wasn't German. Although likely his ancestry, from the look of him. His wife! A vision. She resembled Mary Steenbergen's (I must say, or she would murder me, right here, much younger sister). Lovely! And she spoke with this crazy, scraggly-bearded (while nicely dressed) chatty-cathy, while her husband nervously set up his deformed dwarf car part band instrument display. On top of that, I also had a lovely conversation with the ... curator? Person who ran the Goethe Institute?! Who can say? She was enchanting. Quite German, if you know what I mean. I'm sure she could have snapped my spine with a, "Dumkopf!" However, she stood next to me and she spoke with me like I was a normal person. I related how I had studied German in high school. And, amazingly, stupendously, I happened to drop into the convo a quick story, I don't know that I'd ever spoken to anyone else about this ever in my life, about how (one of) my German teachers from high school had kind of done me a solid. I was having a hard time my senior year, being a fat, quiet dork. These 2 guys, especially, were always giving me a hard time. And they'd taken to pummeling me on the shoulders during band class. (Scene: set) Just punching me on the shoulders throughout. Owie! My mom would ask me, "What happened to your shoulders?" "I fell off my bike." On both sides, multiple times. But whatever. I think my young (gay) band teacher was aware of this, and CONSPIRED with my German teacher to have me REMOVED on the last day (during which we were intended to be left as a class alone in the band room to do WHATEVER). I do not believe I was looking forward to that class period. Period. Anyway, I was removed to spend the time with my German teacher for some last senior class. I don't know why, I was at the top of my class. I was doing even better (Ha! much better) than my friend on whom I had a huge crush, Michael. Who was German! (Why the hell else would I have taken German for three years in high school? In Lubbock, Texas?! I ASK YOU!) But whatever, I got out of that hellhole (the band room, you will recall) and away from those two really cute guys for whom I positively ACHED! (One was poor and prob from a bad home and prob really needed a good BJ; one was a rich kid who LOVED seeing the poor mean kid do mean shit [so that he could, too] and would also have just loved a damn BJ; a good one, anyway). Oh, and all of that dimestore analysis, penny store, ha' penny, I don't have any qualifications, ZIPPO! are based on observations I am making now. I have no idea if they are correct. NONE. And so, I went and studied with my lovely, old dusty German teacher. (The one from the ... previous century. Vanity prevents me saying precisely which. "Bewitched!" joke, who said it?) She was doing me a solid. And I told all this to the Goethe Institut woman. "My german teacher." (Hardly a quaver in my voice. Barely hardly) "Oh, so there's some film we're meant to watch? I'm blabbering, I'll go do that." So then, I went and spent the next 20 minutes in the dark watching some film about ... hog farms? German industrialists? I had zero clue and paid no attention. It took me half that time to figure out that most of the documentary was in German, for the sake of the gods whom I don't worship. I just enjoyed the time in quiet. I mean, it was the Goethe Institut, and the event was about Marxism. I wasn't about to attempt to decipher whatever THAT was after what I had just done. SO. Toward the 20 minute mark I did start to chuckle a bit TOO much (even for a German documentary, amiriiite?) because pretty much as soon as I sat down I had started doing bad lip reading, which is not good for anything serious. AS I'M SURE YOU KNOW. Ugh. So, then I left. I ran into Crabby McDwarfHarpArtist, and said, "Good Luck" (lovely man! Looks like a young (--see that, Mary!) Josh Brolin. ISYN! He looked at ME as if to say, "Never have existed." (Which, Thanos, with the gauntlet. #veryincharacter) He was setting up for an exhibit. I would have wished Augustus Floop here shot out my own bunghole, too. No stress. So, then I went to say, "Break a leg" to Mary Steenbergen, who was, of course, a vision and a treasure. And I bounced! JD (sittin' heah like Lucy Ball) read more

I have been meaning to take German lessons for a very long time. I work in opera, and it's one of the more important languages. I started working one-on-one with Peter in early December 2017, and I've progressed way faster than anticipated. Everyone I encounter at the Goethe Institut is friendly, and willing to help me stumble through conversations. I'm really grateful for the amazing instruction here, and am looking forward to continuing my studies. read more

I took 4 classes and didn't learn squat. The teachers follow and use books that have no structure. Also, the books used and the teachers don't explain any of the grammar. In my case the teachers did not know the grammar themselves. The classes are boring and it is the same thing class after class. I have studied many languages at many schools and this was by far the worst experience ever. Don't waste your money. read more

If you really want to learn the German language, go to the Goethe-Institut. If you want to enjoy a wide variety of German and German-language-themed cultural events that are intelligent, beautiful, thought-provoking, and fun, and run the gamut from classical to contemporary, go to the Goethe Institut. First, language instruction: At the Institut, you get value for your dollar. Most of the people I know who study there find the tuition to be considerable, but worth it. (Check out the website, and decide for yourself, as "expensive" and "not expensive" are relative terms.) Last year I was called to be the pastor of the German-language Lutheran church here in San Francisco, and was hired with a long dormant, early intermediate grasp of the language. While I read well enough to conduct worship services (German, unlike English, is totally is phonetic), I needed a lot of work to get up to speed to write and deliver sermons. I was also very shy about speaking, and felt that my vocabulary was tiny (it wasn't really, but there's always more that you don't know!!) The church helped me pay for my classes, so I was able to dig in, and in the last twelve months I took four regular (twice weekly for ninety minutes) and one intensive (twice weekly for 150 minutes, including a break) evening sessions. I also have been taking 1-1 classes (individual instruction), which are designed to meet the students individual learning needs and goals. Since I was anxious to preach in German, my teacher taught me the grammar I needed to write more complex, "grown-up" sentences. He also taught me vocabulary, including, but not limited to, idiom usage that is virtually impossible to get right using only dictionaries and online sources. By reading what I write, he is able to zoom in on what I need to learn, and to present it in a lively, challenging, but fun way. And, of course, with private instruction I learned a lot faster than I would have learned in a larger class. I am writing my sermons faster, now, and, I think, better. Someone from the Institut is usually available to look over my completed texts before I preach, which is a big help, because I don't want to sound unprofessional in the pulpit. My speaking in German is much improved, I'm not so shy about speaking (and making mistakes) and my German parishioners and friends are favorably impressed with my progress. Second, cultural events: I've seen movies, live theater, museum-quality exhibitions, including visual art and interactive, educational exhibits. Sometimes a filmmaker will be present at a screening to discuss his or her work. The Institut hosts and co-sponsors a number of cultural and educational events around the area, including the annual Berlin and Beyond German language film festival, which I hope to finally attend this year. And, oh, yes! Their website is up-to-date with lots of info about all things German, and it deserves your attention. Best of all, the folks at the Goethe-Institut are helpful, kind, and friendly people. Everyone on staff there - teachers, administrators, and even the director -- is someone I would be proud to call my friend! read more

Danke fur seinen filmfest!

A few years back I started thinking about the German I learned in college and decided to start studying again. I had been to Germany a few times over the previous couple of years and remembered how much I liked the language, the country and the people. In researching the various options, including city college, Berlitz and private tutors, I found that the Goethe-Institut offers the best way to learn German. Sure, the prices were a bit higher than some options but I'd rather pay a bit more for quality education. Most of the teachers there are great and I've since become friends with a few of them. The students also tend to be more serious about learning German. If you're interested in learning German, the Goethe-Institut is the way to go! read more

First time at the Goethe Institut. It's a really nice open space/gallery. Taking a class on Berlin and it's super cool to see some art and talk to the artists. read more

I had taken the German beginners class taught by a non-native of Germany that had no prior teaching experience. I called the Institute after the first week of class and the phones were down. After three weeks of trying to communicate, no phones calls were received so I went to the office to talk to the staff about this matter and i was told no one else complained and that they would be sending him for training. I wanted to retake the class or have my money refunded. I was declined on both matters. To this day I will never recommended or support the Goethe-Institu since I was treated so poorly. read more

Having lived for 10 years in Berlin, it's nice to have a place to go that satisfies some of my Germofile tendencies. They offer a number of language classes (which I didn't find challenging enough for my level of expertise, but entertaining none-the-less) but more importantly they offer a variety of cultural events such as films, lectures and card games. Years ago they offered a fair amount of modern dance productions, but they must have changed directors since the current cultural emphasis seems to be somewhat less intellectual than in previous years. read more

Goethe-Institut is the best way to learn German for so many reasons, I don't know where to start! Everyone in my family speaks German, except for me, up till the moment I had to learn it for my professional realization. I signed up for the one-on-one personalized German classes, picked the most intensive schedule possible; my teacher was just great, he motivated me and pushed me to go further in my knowledge and by the third week of the program I was able to write critical essays about photography. My experience at the Institut was amazing, its staff is very professional and always helpful, the location is just at the edge of Chinatown on Grant & Bush St., it was literally 2 minutes from work, and the atmosphere is relaxing, stylish and, as it is a small private school, it is always quiet and immaculately clean. It is a wonderful experience, and an investment worth every dollar. read more