Languages - Reviews of ETH Zürich (SWISS FEDERAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY IN ZURICH) | Switzerland

Useful | 2

Michele B

Università degli Studi di Pavia, Pavia, Italy
Engineering, Electrical, Undergraduate, University Agreement

Languages

Language of instruction: English

Local language was: Different than language of instruction

Was learning English a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my English

Was learning the local language a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my the local language

How much did you improve your English?

My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: At ease in most situations

How much did you improve your the local language?

My level before: Did not speak it
My level after: Basic phrases

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

The problem in Zurich (and deutsch switzerland) is that people speak a special "german slang" called Swiss-German. It's difficult also for germans to understand it so this can be a problem for social life. Regarding work and instruction, Switzerland is a cosmopolite and well organized country,therefore english is well spoken at any level. It must be reminded that italian french and german are the nation languages.

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dechauxnicolas

Ecole des Mines de Nancy, Nancy, France
Mathematics, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Languages

Language of instruction: German

Was learning German a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my German

How much did you improve your German?

My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: At ease in most situations

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

My academic semester at ETH Zurich let me improve my knowledge of both German (used in 2/3 of the University courses)and English (used at the student house with the other exchange students and for the finance-related courses)

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Luis P

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Transport and Traffic Studies, Graduate, Erasmus

Languages

Language of instruction: German

Local language was: Different than language of instruction

Was learning German a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my German

Was learning the local language a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my the local language

How much did you improve your German?

My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: At ease in most situations

How much did you improve your the local language?

My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: At ease in most situations

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

MY POINT IS ETH ZURICH TAKES REALLY INTO CONSIDERATION THE LANGUAGE TOPIC. IN THE BEGGINNING OF BOTH SEMESTER THEY GIVE FREE GERMAN COURSES (3 INTENSIVE WEEKS)TO THE EXCHANGE STUDENTS WHO DESIRE TO TAKE THEM.

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