Languages

The population of Jena is made up of people from more than 70 different countries. They all bring their own languages with them to the city. A basic knowledge of German is essential not only in order to get employment in Jena, but also to manage everyday living. The Make-it-in-Germany portal gives a good overview on the level of German language skills you need under different circumstances in Germany. If you want to learn German in Jena, or improve your German language skills, there are many courses to choose from locally.

For most businesses in Jena, it’s important that their employees have a good command of German, particularly if they are employed in customer-facing roles. In some industries or jobs, for example in businesses in the digital sector, or in international companies, the workforce may communicate in several languages, most often in English. Nevertheless, a good level of German is recommended in order to communicate with colleagues. A selection of companies with an international focus can be found in our Welcome Blog.

Incidentally, linguistic researchers have found nine distinct and different regions in the Thuringian-Upper Saxon dialect area – Jena is part of the Ilm-Thuringian dialect area.

Language and integration courses

Online language courses

Even before you come to Germany, you can get to know the German language with the help of numerous online offers.

You can learn German with Deutsche Welle‘s free German courses: via e-learning on the computer, with videos, audios, podcasts or worksheets.

The Goethe-Institut has numerous locations worldwide and also offers online courses. In addition to a lot of information about living in Germany, free online exercises can also be used.

The Deutsche Volkshochschul-Verband (German adult education association) also offers free digital options for learning German.

Work-related German courses

In order to find employment and be successful in your job, it’s important to have a good command of German, in particular with regard to your specialised field. Hence specialised courses are available where you can learn German for the workplace.

Integration courses

If you move to Jena from another country, you either can or are obliged to, under certain circumstances, take an integration course. This consists of an orientation course and a language course, and they are subsidised. Attendance can be part- or full-time. The Federal Office for Migration website outlines the pre-conditions for attending an integration course.

BAMF Integration Course Finder

Special integration courses

Special integration courses are available for people with similar interests or needs:

• literacy courses for people needing support with reading and writing
• women’s integration courses, open only to women and geared towards their particular needs
• parents’ integration courses, which address parenting and education issues
• young people’s integration courses, which prepare young people for training/apprenticeships or university
• remedial courses for people who have been living in Germany for a while and require specialised language support
• integration courses offering a 430-hour intensive course for fast learners

The contact for these courses in Jena is the Thüringer Volkshochschulverband TVV.

Learning German in Jena