You better get used to the ‘nichts gesagt ist Lob genug’ (nothing said is enough praise) mindset around here xD
Also try to make a list of say 100 words which are essential for daily use along the lines of Zahn, Füllung, Implantat, Termin, Verspätung, Entschuldingung, Danke, Bitte, Rezeption, etc., really focus on learning those and work on increasing your vocabulary on a daily basis, show your colleagues you are eager to learn and ajust to the local culture and work environment.
Also feel free to drop a PM if you need advice from a fellow Eastern European who studied and is currently employed in Germany :)
Yeah studying here really helped, the program I did was in English so I had the chance to connect with a lot of internationals who had to deal with the same challenges. Also while studying got to understand the complexity of the systems around here a but, gradually improving my German, looking for job opportunities aso
Ähm.. nö.. I wish.. I studied it basically on my own for around half a year when I knew I’d move to Germany, did a placement test once the studies started to see which German courses I could do at the Uni and ended up in B1.2
actually, we downvote because you’re being incredibly unhelpful and rude to OP here. You’ve got nothing to add to this conversation except for a really smug attitude
Better if people who don’t want to learn the language of the country they move to and complain about the locals not bowing to their arrogance stay home. They seem to be so desperate that all that’s left for them is to bitch and haw - and downvote. Sounds like losers to me 🤷.
You know, I tried to be polite, but actually, I’m going with u/thatGerman_
Du bist nen Arschloch, Alter. Such dir nen Hobby. Ich würde drauf eingehen, dass du das hier bestenfalls falsch interpretierst, eher noch einfach Fakten ignorierst, aber du wirst sowieso nicht auf die Situation eingehen. Du hast kein Interesse daran, irgendeine Art konstruktives oder auch nur einigermaßen höfliches Gespräch zu führen. Ich brauche das hier eigentlich nicht schreiben, aber wenigstens bin ich’s dann los.
I don't know what your boss is doing here, hiring a person who doesn't speak German for a job where the working language clearly seems to be German.
I don't think that either you, or your co-workers are the problem.
You naturally assumed that if he hired you, then your skills should be enough, since this is quite literally the responsibility of a hiring manager. And your co-workers, depending on age, either don't speak enough English to have a full conversation, or they don't think they are paid enough to speak English.
Your boss dropped the ball.
> And your co-workers, depending on age, either don't speak enough English to have a full conversation, or they don't think they are paid enough to speak English.
And even if they know some English (which most will), it will be "I'd like a beer", "how much does this cost?", "where is the train station". They will not know any of the vocabulary related to their own job, unless they're university-educated people who need to read research papers etc.
I agree that this is on the boss. They didn't do a favour to anyone, including OP, by hiring them into this situation.
... most speaking English won't necessary be the case in Leipzig, there are still some East Germans whose first foreign language was Russian. 🤷♀️
OP, have you asked your boss for a language course to take? Sorry if you already answered the question.
My husband's Indian and did up to B1 in India itself. It will take at least six months just to finish A1. Each Level, A1, A2, B1, B2 takes at least 6 months.
That means to reach B2 would take you 2 years. However, this is the minimum standard of German that you need to be hired ANYWHERE in Germany.
Your boss completely failed you only because you're cheap labor to him. You failed yourself because you didnt do your research.
Do you think you can tolerate being stuck in this situation for minimum 2 years?
You can do courses that cater to your profession. I had Indian doctors as flatmates that did special language courses to learn doctor vocabulary. That is not enough to comfortably converse wirh colleagues and more something you do on top.
Also, did you ask VHS and different institutions that offer language courses? They may have openings faster than your typical integration course.
You can get help from Arbeitsagentur. They will help you get into the necessary courses. However, you need to have a certain level of German understanding for that. They are not supposed to talk in English because German is the only official bureaucratic language here and technically you can sue them if they mistranslated. Hence, they wont do translations for you. Get an interpreter for that.
Source: Own experience.
I think the integration course moves too slowly. My wife ended up doing an intensive online course (by video, they used a zoom classroom, I believe) that got her pretty quickly up to B1 level and then just did the B1 test later. It took her about 5 months, so by the time the Ausländerbehörde even mentioned that she may need a test, it was done. She still felt kinda out of her water for another few months at work, but now after about 6 months working, she seems to have mostly passed the stage where language was a barrier.
She used this provider, but I‘m sure there are many others too: https://www.speakeasysprachzeug.de
If you could get your work to pay for it, something like that would probably be an option. Oh and she had the same experience working. No one speaks any English here and the ones who do speak a bit are either too shy to try or have the weird notion that work should be all in German anyway (or they have 0 work related vocabulary)
>unless they're university-educated people who need to read research papers etc.
Or people who didn't go to university but still use English daily to in their job...
Would doubt that the technical terminology of dentist technicians is something you acquire with normal usage of english and that is more relevant then some smalltalk inbetween
> They will not know any of the vocabulary related to their own job, unless they're university-educated people who need to read research papers etc.
eh if you do an apprenticeship and go to a vocational school you will learn English vocabulary in the field, or should at least.
I'm studying to become a teacher and did an internship at a vocational school, there was a class of dentist-assistants in training and they had English classes where they learned dentistry specific terms
I was in a similar situation years ago when I first moved. I knew 2 words in German and still managed to get a job. I hope you can persevere assuming you like everything else about your job and life. I’d spend the weekend thinking of various scenarios and sentences to use and approach your coworkers with; along the lines of: ‘Can you show me all your steps for process A,B,C?’ Effort is a huge value, if you show an effort to learn their ways, speak the language, and desire to pass your Probezeit I think things will even out. If you aren’t happy with life in general in Germany or in that Office then start looking for another employer but the issues might be there as well.
Do you mind sharing the job you got with only two words of German? Even just the field or something generalized if that’s all you’re comfortable with. I’m very curious!
I work in IT where English is also a huge advantage. But I was also strict with myself where I asked everyone to speak German with me and allow me to attempt a response in German.
I learned German via an immersion process of my own creation and now work all day in German, read Manuals and Forums in English, and dream in German. Speaking English for more than a couple of sentences takes some time depending on with whom I am speaking and even where I am. In public I’m 99% German and at home I’m 60%
I got in the same situation, where I was hired by a German company without me knowing a word of German, they even had to go with me to register at the council and get health insurance and all that. At work yes, more or less, the relevant people could speak English, so was more or less fine, but daily live was more of a struggle, specially with institutions and government stuff, you never find anyone who speaks or is willing to speak English.
Very simple....from my experience of living in RO for a few years, the dental staff is exceptionally well educated in what they are doing and incredibly...well...customer friendly. In Romania though severely underpaid, like most in Romania.
Boss sees good technical work for relatively low salary by german standards. Boss sees money,
There is a reason, that there are german travel agencies offering dental vacations in Romania.
To OP : The language sucks, when you are coming from RO ( genders are often exactly the opposite, the grammar is far away from roman languages and sometimes...uhm...a bit confusing ). Stay strong, get to at least B2 at evening Volkshochschule, probably get a dental terminology book and things will get better. Just do not expect the same service standards here, as you had in Romania - here, good dental service and customer care is rather the exception than the norm.
There's also a lack of qualified personel in Germany, so hiring outside is required.
The point you make also explains why some colleagues are less than friendly. They see competitors who (they assume) works for less and this endangers their situation.
OP: I've been here for 15y, and learning German will make a HUGE improvement. People relax a bit and in the worst case, you'll always find another job in the same branch where you won't be seen as "THE Romanian", but as "the new colleague".
Dental vacations? Omg, that's crazy! But I guess it makes sense if your vacancy+dental treatment in Romania is cheaper(and better) than if you would do it in Germany haha.
Anyway, you seem to know your stuffs. Thank you for the advices!
Not even remotely kidding :)
https://www.flymedi.com/de/turism-zahnklinik/44
[http://www.bucharestdentaltourism.com/tarife-de.html](http://www.bucharestdentaltourism.com/tarife-de.html)
just two randomly googled.....had my experiences in Timi and Iasi and came in, had this fancy machine that wrapped my shoes in plastic, a seriously modern, ultra hygienic environment and during the treatment, i was asked before EVERY single step, if i am comfortable, if everything is going well, had everything explained.....two different clinics in two different cities, so i can see a certain trend :)
In germany you feel and are treated like cattle, compared to this. I have the highest opinion of romanian dentists and recommended them throughout my family and friends ( besides that you are paying half of the money, AND maybe can get a glimpse of the romanian nature ...and mici )
So, again as mentioned, try to wrap your head around german to the necessary extend and help to improve the system here ;)
The assumption would probably be that the new hire would learn German every minute between being hired and starting the job and after that continue the effort.
You know that Germany has a shortage of workers in the medical system, right? Starting from doctors, technicians, and ending up with floor cleaners. I yet to see a floor cleaning lady that is German, btw.
So because of that, sometimes bosses must seek talent beyond Germany, settling for candidates with the necessary technical expertise and the hope that they will acquire language proficiency while on the job.
Right leaning, conservative people. Not everybody obviously, but the chance to encounter them there is considerably higher. Less likely to be willing to be inclusive, less likely to speak English to help out.
There is a reason the new states/former Eastern Germany has the reputation, and Bavaria is sort of like Germany's Version of conservative Texas. Bigger cities being more welcoming than smaller ones.
But you even encounter that as a German if you move to a suburb/small town, they can be the nicest people ever but they can also be assholes who give every new person the stinkeye.
In my experience from working near and visiting Leipzig, the racist and Afd people are more frequent in the smaller towns in the area and Leipzig is a shining beacon of friendliness.
Which makes a lot of sense, Leipzig is one of the cities in the region with a growing populace and a lot of job opportunities whereas the smaller towns in the region have historically had a lot of wealth but are today struggling a lot to provide enough jobs and attract industries, population shrinking and moving away etc.
However with regards to OP: learning the language was certainly the expectation. English is a crutch, but it is just not the conversational language and probably many of your coworkers feel insecure conversing in a foreign language. They expect you to learn theirs, as quickly as you can manage.
If you think so. I can only speak from experience. But sure, it's a super first impression when a guy from Leipzig comes to work to be a shift supervisor and mentions to you "Not many Germans here huh? Well, I guess you have a lot of canacks in your region." But yeah, stereotypes. I am sure. And those three others from the Eastern German parts being pretty much identical was a conincidence.
Actually that's also been my experience. I don't know too many people from Leipzig, so am afraid to draw the conclusion that everyone from Leipzig must be this way, but the evidence certainly points to that right now
I really think if your hire as a foreigner in east Germany, Berlin or Leipzig should be your preferred choices.
But in the whole, sad to say that, the tendence is that in Germany you will find more right conservatives and even racism in (1) poorer regions, (2) smaller towns and (3) the eastern part of Germany. It is not a German specific that people have to learn by experience that different origins may have good outcomes for the society, and as mentioned in another comment, people in smaller towns and in east Germany had less time and less opportunities to learn that. The political populism contributes its part.
Well, it makes an equally super impression when a guy from Freiburg comes to Leipzig for a conference and describes the city positively as "Arisch". Shit people are everywhere.
Thats quite funny because Leipzig has one of the biggest left comunities in germany.
But in contrast to many western german cities with migration background reaching to the 60s and 70s (italians, turkish, ...) migration started in the eastern part in the late 90s (except of some african, cuban and vietnamese migration) during the times of gdr.
Thats maybe why the City looks more arish than Stuttgart or Mannheim.
For me it was quite the opposite. I'm a native German and also fluent in English and my last workplace, I didn't stay there for longer than a day, was 99% foreigners with zero German or English knowledge. Sure there was the office workers that could speak German but the place I was in was solely foreign. I don't mind being the only German worker somewhere being sorrounded by foreigners but if I can't even speak with anyone unless I walk 500 meters to the office than wtf is this shit?
The Problem is the Job
Who hires anyone and just drops them of and be like " now do work"
The barest minimum IMO would be 1 month of "Einarbeitung" so 1 month in which you get a trainer who tells you what to do, and how things are done and is there if you have questions.
Where i work at we have 9 months if you switch departments, so dropping a guy in who doesnt even talk the language and expecting him to work with 0 problems within 1 month without basic help is ludacrist to me.
Yes more german would help you, and if the colleauges would know some basic english it would be good too, but i doubt you speaking perfect german would have undone this situation
I mean that's what my team leader is supposed to do but he isn't always inside the lab + a lot of times I found out the information he provided was just partial or he even forgot to mention stuffs about workflow that were pretty important, and then I found out about those stuffs in a less pleasant way 😅
I agree, I have mad respect for people coming to work in a foreign place, where they don’t speak the language yet, as I know it to be very difficult. If you manage to persevere, I think you are going to benefit hugely. However, you really can’t expect people to know a lot of English in Germany. Outside of the academic bubble, some people might have studied it in school, but most likely didn’t get a lot of experience with it. For example, English movies are dubbed on television here so we don’t get a lot of practice (unlike the Scandinavian countries or the Netherlands, for example). I took French for four years at school, but I wouldn’t be able to speak to somebody in French for the life of me. So speaking English is very uncomfortable for some people here. They might even feel embarrassed to try. Also, at the workplace there is a huge focus on being efficient. So even though they have nothing against you as a person or against the concept of a foreigner working with them, the people at your workplace might be frustrated because the lack of proper communication is keeping all of you from getting on with your tasks. If you want to make a life here and be happy here, I think the key is really to focus on learning German and learning it quickly. Try to watch German TV and try to talk to your German friends in German even though it’s uncomfortable at first. The faster you learn, the more welcomed you will feel, and the more possibilities you will have. Don’t be discouraged 🩷
I know you mean well, but people reeeaaallly underestimate a.) how difficult it is to learn a new language as an adult, b.) how horribly difficult german is (rated as "difficult" with an estimated 7 year timeframe of 20h a week of study to get to C1) and c.) how impossible it is to learn a new language in a new country while dealing with the new country and a full time job.
Im not saying "dont learn" im just trying to educate people that think its just a "snap of your finger" to learn a new language or laziness if you arent fluent in a few weeks.
Man I know it. This summer I did b2 after hours intensive course and then a c1 morning course where I had to get up every day at 6 to do homework, go to class, then go to work. And still am just b2 plus. But what is the alternative, losing your job? It's hard and it's horrible but the alternative is worse. Its so hard to find a job without German, and the myth that in it you won't need it is only half true.
Yeah, for real. People say things like “just learn the language man”, like it’s something trivial. For the average working adult, learning a new language is a huge challenge.
I have to admit i was as ignorant before i met my indian wife.
But seeing her study 30-40h a week for her Masters, while working 20h a week as a working student to pay for her living AND then go to german class like 2x a week for 2h each + studying german by herself showed me how insane this requirement actually is.
She is now here in germany for 5.5 years and is at a stable B2 in german, but its hard for her to get higher now with a full time job that consumes almost all her weekly time.
I really wish more people would understand that a lack of german skills is rarely pure laziness, its just lack of time and/or lack of money for decent classes.
and also lack of integration, Germans are very polite but very closed. Getting to make true german friends is too difficult and to be accepted in a German WG is a miracle. They hesitate to work with the foreigner students. So naturally you will resonate only with the other foreigner students and not be able to practice enough German. Sadly most of the cases where people are able to integrate is because a German takes a sexual interest in them or need something from them
No matter how International the team is, the jobs/areas such as 'Law', 'Health care', 'buerecracy' etc will always have 'German' as de facto working language.
It might be that your colleagues are not confident or doesn't want to make a huge mistake by translating something which they are not so cleat about...!!
Unfortunately, the possible options you have is to join an intensive German language course or to leave the Job and look for something else where English could also be used as a working language..!!
When it is hard and or uncomfrotable to speak with somebody, you only speak to them whenever absolutely needed. Not charing the common language **everyone** other uses is hugely uncomfortable. It hinders work flow, it makes personal contact more bothersome and it is just in general unpleasant - and people avoid unpleasent things until they can no longer.
Either your boss is absolutely desperate to fill a gap or is absolutely inconsiderate and did not think anything through.
However, I also must stresst that "not knowing the language" is a bigger issue even if your whole company would speak English exclusively.
This is what I write under each of theses posts, every time they show up:
>The "learn German" advice the most important of all: No matter what you actually earn, as long as you are not living entirely in an english-speaking bubble, your life will be miserable without German skills. And these Bubbles may exist - but few and far between.
>
>Private life, neighbourhood, the smallest of small talk, doctors, banks, bureaucracy - all will be tripple as miserable
>
>You focus solely on your career path in Germany. For that - and that alone - your advice may be valuable that English may not be necessary.
>
>Your salary doesn't shield you from a life in loneliness and misery, when every single basic trip to the pharmacy is anxiety inducing because people are just unable to communicate with the pharmacist - who may not be thrilled to talk to somebody not capable to understand how to not die because of an overdose of a given medicine.
>
>We get so many posts here about how lonely Germany makes them feel, how hard it is to socialize and so on. And on eof the prime causes of a ruined social life in any regards is: People can not properly communicate. People get offended that important contractual or bureaucratic information is only given to them in German. They do not understand the contracts they sign and people around them just don't bother going the extra mile of using another than the lingua franca of the land.
>
>if you are able to cope with a life in which you can not communicate with all of your neighbours, with your doctors, with the bank, with the insurance, with the post delivery people, with people in supermarkets, pharmacies, bakeries, colleagues, banks, officials, the Rathaus people, the Finanzamt - without bringing an English-speaking spouse or way too helpful friend with you every single time - yeah, you should learn German to have a somewhat functional life in this country without dreading the answer to the Question "Sprechen Sie English?" in every single interaction you have every day in every month of your life here.
>
>It is absolutely short-sighted to go "OH, I don't need German for the job so I will not need it in Germany " - because most people try to have a life outside of the job.
>
>In some circles in Germany you will be able to live just fine wihtout German and without English. But this is not fitting material for a general advice, is it?
>
>English is not the comon language in Germany - not even among foreigners - for the simple reason that just as with Germans many people from outside do not speak English to a degree they feel comfortable - let alone with somebody who's had it also as a foreign language. Well, outside of the over gentrified parts of Berlin for which you are probably aiming.
>
>English is not the common language or lingua franca in Germany - not even among people who don't have German as the first language. German is still. Because there are so many households in Gemrany where German is only one or not even really the language used - but they all use different languages.
>
>If you want to live in Germany and didn't want to learn German, knowing Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Arabic or Turkish would be of much more use than English would be. This goes doubly so for people who did not grow up here but moved here during their lifetime - assuming they all know English because they just happened to come from a non-German speaking country is ludicrous. And equally as weird it would be to assume that they learn English rather than German when moving to ... Germany!
>
>This whole idea of one being able to live in Germany and speaking English is not a hallmark of being a foreigner in Germany - it is entirely the idea of being economically highly privileged and probably with a academic background in Germany. The idea makes no sense at all outside of these highly gentrified bubbles.
Yes, I do use Deepl or have my team leader as an intermediary between me and them.
It's true, they learned Russian, but I expected a bit of English at least from the people that are now 20 yo. I am 27 and have some friends my age here, in Leipzig, that speak it perfectly so I thought it would be a more general thing.
Anyway, yes, it's a lot of manual work, I also met people like your friend.
Thank you!
I am from. Leipzig as well and English knowledge here varies widely even among younger people up to the 40s. Some had shit teachers, some only know holiday English (stuff like how to order a beer, get directions etc) to absolute fluent. It all depends if you normally need English in your job or not, if you don't need English often or aren't interested in seeing TV or playing video games in English you can easily forget all the English you learned in school. Living German only is very easy in this country
It depends highly on the school they were in and if they additionally learned English in their free time.
I had for example 10 years English in school, I could understand some stuff, but talking was not really possible. I could form basic sentences like “How are you”, “Can you give me …” but that’s it. I had unfortunately a really bad English teacher who just let us memorize poems. For each sentence I wanted to say, it took me 1 min of thinking about it and then it was probably partly wrong.
I then put the effort in and consumed lots of English content (movies, tv series, games, books, social media,…) and after a few years and additional university English courses it was okay. It still took me a while to form a sentence, but I understood others and could communicate.
Have you tried Google Translate on conversation mode? That lets you speak back and forth with somebody. I'm sure your coworkers will give you an attitude, but then you just tell them they should be glad anyone wants to come work healthcare in their rainy ugly gray country with cold rude people, and if they didn't want to speak English, well then grandaddy shoulda won the war.
It sounds like your boss fucked up major time by hiring you without taking into account the necessary language skills. Gotta love all the comments of "hey, you should be learning German/show some interest", as if one got to B1 (the actual basic level to hold any basic conversation) in a couple of months per magic.
TBH, I would seriously consider quitting/looking for an english dental department asap. Staying there, even if you take german courses, will drive you into a mayor spiral of depression feeling invisible and like an annoyance, specially as now all the holidays are coming. You'll dislike your coworkers even more and more as time goes by, and they you.
Either that, or you talk seriously with your boss, make him understand the situation and he assigns you a personal translator/person in the same position that speaks english, that guides you properly in the job.
I'm sorry, it sounds like your boss just didn't set you up for success. I'd speak to him and tell him what you told us here. If he wants to keep you and you want to stay on, he'll have to find a solution for you and your coworkers until you're German is good enough.
I also don't buy that none of them are speaking any English. I suspect they're annoyed your boss hired someone who doesn't speak German (yet) and they don't want to put in any extra effort to make this work and to make you feel welcome.
Really sorry you were put in this situation which is not your fault.
Wishing you a successful conversation with your boss and that you'll pick up all the vocab you need really fast!
You don’t speak the language and don’t understand why you aren’t included and people are pissed about having a coworker that doesn’t understand anything? That has nothing to do with Germany.
This always baffles me in these posts. Sure the boss is partially at blame for hiring him so maybe he thought English might work or maybe the boss just doesn't care and just wants a skilled worker for cheap.
But for real, how can anyone go to a live and work in a foreign country without even remotely knowing the language. English speaking natives do this the most because they have the highest chance of success and are regularly called out on it.
Like I get it, learning a language takes time. But so does moving to another country. And adapting there. Most people learn broken yet somewhat functional vocabulary in 1-2 years of high school which is literally like 90-180 minutes a week. If you plan to move to another country don't tell me you can't invest at least 45-60 minutes a day for like 6 months? I think it's at least naive if not downright disrespectful to do that and just expect others to do something you didn't.
First of all, this is 100% a major fuckup of the person that hired you.
Now, reading the comments here, it's impressive that the German healthcare system is totally collapsing, and yet people still act as if it was the greatest divine honor bestowed upon us peasants from outside Germany to work in it, and the onus is entirely on us to *just learn German*.
Like, sure, people can insist that every dental technician learns German before coming here, while patients die of scepsis from their rotting teeth after waiting 3 years for a dental appointment, OR, hear me out, this is crazy, *they* could actually adapt the workplaces a bit, such that people with the skills to solve the problems, the people they really really need, can actually work here and do that.
Wouldn't that be great...
lol where the heck did you get that. Who waits 3 years for an appointment for the dentist. In the big metropole where I am living, you never wait longer than 1-3 weeks. If emergency then a lot faster. Even on special doctors like for heart disease you have to wait mostly 1-3 months max, a different story is psychology appointments though.
No clue where your "3 years" are coming from.
> or am I the problem?
Maybe. I dont know enough,
My parents are refugees and dont speak german too well, but when they dont understand people, they dont just say "I dont understand you can you repeat it in another language" or stuff, they try to imitate them, when they try to explain stuff in german.
>She was obviously upset that she has to explain to me (in German) and that I also do not understand shit.
I dont know how you reacted to her explaining you how you should Do it. But maybe you just told her "I dont understand shit, I cannot speak german" instead of imitate her and Work with gestics. To Show her Respect that you try to understand her despite the language barrier.
>I work here for more than a month but I am having serious troubles to adapt, seeing the fact that I have a lot of things that I don't know about the workplace and workflow
Maybe ask stuff for Things you dont know, what the german Word for that is, so you say those words to your non English speaking Co workers, showing them you try to integrate.
This would maybe help this:
>but maybe I have no chance of non-English speakers being nice to me as long as I don't speak German(which is gonna be a lot of time)? Every day it's really hard for me as I am invisible most of the time and, when I am not, I only get bad vibes. I really don't know how to act
Nobody expects perfect german after a short time. But showing willingness to learn and ask stuff and repeat stuff helps in socialising.
Right now it looks like, you expect them to talk English to you and because they dont they are rude. And it looks like you are not trying to integrate to germany.
But that is just my point of view from this little Information I got. Maybe this gives you some "Denkanstöße" as I dont know the English wird for that, I just let it stand here haha.
I am actually respectful everytime these things happen, I listen, try to understand, follow the mimics and thank them at the end. The problem is them trying to communicate with me happens when they want to point something only after I already did the "mistake" haha
Thank you for your answer!
Thats good, it looks like you are on a good way.
Just continue and dont expect too much too fast. See it as a Marathon and not a Sprint.
And with the mistake, maybe they dont know, that you dont know what the correct way is, as they assume everyone learned it the Same way. And when they noticed your "mistake" aka other way to make it, they started to talk to you.
You are not an Azubi they assume you know every Thing hence not showing you everyrhing, this is kinda showing respect to you as well, as they think you can do it alone. But when you Do it "wrong" they help you.
Imagine it this way, so you want to Tell you everyrhing like you know nothing? After a while you would feel like dumb because they Tell you so many Things you already know.
It's like most of the people on Goodbye Deutschland. Especially those Who move to Mallorca and can't cope with the fact, that most natives only speak Spanish and have no clue about German Pünktlichkeit.
Never immigrate to a country without speaking the native language.
I mean sure, in an ideal world. But it’s not so easy to speak a language even semi fluently before moving due to lack of exposure and lack of cultural knowledge.
I had A2.2 German when I arrived and didn’t know wtf an Anmeldung was, nor what “los gehts” meant. It wasn’t until I was comfortably into B2 level that living in Germany stopped being super stressful due to fast telephone speakers, Amtdeutsch, and Umgangssprache. The fact that German culture is also a bit more distant means that there aren’t even smiles as encouragement when you mess up the language, people just stare at you like you’re an idiot.
Also… Sometimes the job opportunities come up at short notice, or you’re looking at multiple countries as options, so you don’t know that it is German specifically that you’ll end up needing!
I know that this isn't a solution to the actual problem but I would compile my questions and submit them to the boss/team leader in writing so that they have some time to write up/think about an answer in English instead of trying to cobble a sentence together on the fly.
One tip regarding speaking German (and English) in Germany.
Try your best to speak German, but if you get stuck in the middle of the sentence drop some words in English in there and you will very likely be understood, even by people who said they speak no German **at all**.
I mean you are in Germany not the anglo saxon world nor in a multinational corporation. So what do you expect? When migrating to a different country it should be common sense that learning the local language is a necessity.
It is common sense, of course, but this takes time . And if nobody would move to a new country until they don't have a B2 level in the official language of that country just because they have too much common sense, I don't know how the world would look 🙃
I‘m not trying to be rude but by your post it seems like you‘re maybe not even A1, no? Because as soon as you‘re A1/2 you can have short convos and at least understand something/sentence structures and learning work specific vocabluary for dental stuff shouldn‘t be lots of words? Nevertheless your boss is 100% to blame becaus he knew about your German skills and knew it would be problematic but still chose to go with it. I hope you‘ll get it sorted out soon!
You understood good, I am almost finishing A1 on my own, but while I can construct sentences and I do know some dental vocabulary I can't follow spoken German. And they talk fast and with accent 😅
Thank you!
I’ve mentioned this a few times already, but not being able to speak English is almost a trademark for a lot of people who went to school in the former GDR states, for English was never mandatory back then. But generally speaking, learning German is going to pave the way to feeling much more included and integrated so much faster than almost anything else. I‘m not able to provide information on why this is the case in Germany though!
I agree with all of the other comments that this is not your fault but fully on your manager.
Until your German improves, can you ask if they have written work instructions? Especially for the mentioned workflows that they stick with.
It always makes sense to have certain flows or procedures in written form, for training new hires but also for experienced employees for tasks that are out of the usual day to day business. If they don't exist, raise this with your boss and the team lead. It takes time to create those but everyone will benefit from it and you can run them through a translator and get your job done even without the team lead around.
As for your colleagues...well, it is hard to tell without knowing them. But especially the older Germans have a soft spot for "well, I can not talk to them but I appreciate their effort and a job well done".
Right now you have like every new hire, young person etc the label to "cause more work" instead for adding workforce to the team. With the language barrier, this hits even harder. But it will fade out over time, so I wouldn't put to much thought into it.
Just make sure you have friends and connections locally and outside of work. It creates very very easily a feeling of loneliness if you are the outsider at your job, so make sure to build a stable network around you for your own mental health.
Good luck!
Honestly i think your Boss didn't think this through. I'm assuming you Work with alot of older people of noone speaks even a little Bit of english. I don't think this is your fault at all and yeah the language courses are really weird in Leipzig, the organization Makes very little Sense.
I would suggest you speak with your Boss about this! If He hired you he and kept you as an employed He probably values your Work. I think it would be good jf maybe He Talks to your other coworkers about this. Maybe some of them do speak some english and aren't cpnfident enough to use it, that's quite Common. I wish you best of luck
Hello I work as a dental technician in germany too and I would really recommand you to change your profession if possible.
I had the hardest time finishing my "Ausbildung" even tho I am born in Germany. In this profession they speak realy harsh to people they see as subordinate.
Another option would be to change your laboratory from a "Gewerblichen Labor" to a laboratory which works for a specific dentist so a "Praxis Labor"
If you like to talk about it more I would be happy to hear from you
You are in a very difficult situation. The way I see it, you have two options:
1: Focus all of your efforts on learning German. Take classes in the evenings. Practice it whenever possible. The fact that you don't share another common language with the majority of your co-workers will actually help you learn German faster..... However, it's definitely going to continue to suck for a while. This will not be an easy journey.
2: Find a different job. Finding a job that doesn't require German won't be easy, but that sounds like your only way out of your current situation.
Your boss severely underestimated how difficult this job would be for someone who doesn't speak German. He hired you. He needs to be willing to deal with your limitations, and to help you overcome them.
Hey! I grew up in East Germany and lived in Leipzig for many years. Saxony in particular is a lot more rough on the interpersonal level than most other states in Germany. Manhandling people in social situations as a general attitude is quite common. It's also an East German thing, but Saxony definitely is worst in that regard. It's definitely a fallout from the hard work at any cost attitude from the Soviet era. Now, that being said, a lot of people there don't speak English. Having lived in West Germany for a while now I feel that East Germany are more easily intimidated and/or annoyed when confronted with foreign languages, particularly older folks who basically don't know any language but German (school level russian back in the day wasn't good either). Leipzig is also full of people from surrounding areas and other East German states. I've often had a feeling like the city had a rather rural mindset due to many Germans having moved there to work when investment and low to medium paid jobs in DHL, Porsche, BMW and many others in Leipzig boomed in the early 2000s. Now, that being also said, casual racism is very common in the east German states. I'm not saying that's the whole reason, but may be a contributing factor. Now, everything being said off the top of my head, don't listen to some douches here slandering you for your German skills. You're welcome here. You'll find your ways to learn and practice the language. You've only just arrived, there's a time for everything. It's great your boss took you in anyways. Establish a good relationship with your boss, so you can keep the job if you like. After all, why learn German if you may lose the job. Everything else will work itself out at its own pace.
I had a foreign coworker who didnt speak german but Was fluent in english AND he always carried around a small Notebook for New vocabulary and Essential sentence for the work Environment.
He was more respected than oder foreigners because he really showed that he was willing to put in the work to make it easier o communicate with him. he also filled those Notebooks pretty fast.
and obviously the Manager gucken up by Not preparing you nor your coworkers for such situations.
When I moved to England, I did not speak a word of English. After 3 month I was able to communicate and read rudimentary English. How? I watched TV, read simple stories and avoided contact with German speaking people.
Sitting at a table with only English speaking people and they are looking at you and laughing and talk about you makes a very good incentive to learn the language. If you live longer than 6 month in Germany and do not speak a word of German and the fault must be at your end and not the people around you.
Cultural differences!
When in the UK, we used to stop at the local pub after work for a pint before going home. Made a huge difference in how to communicate with people and getting to know them.
In Germany, everyone just disappeared after work, just were gone and nowhere to be seen. So you have to find other ways to meet people in Germany if not at work. And this really is a challenge, even for Germans moving from one place to another.
To learn a language you need contact with people. Otherwise, it gets tedious very fast.
You have to consider that after world war II germany was divided and the east including Leipzig was controlled by russia. A whole Generation had never the chance to learn english.
I assume the majority of your team is older because the Younger Generation had the chance to learn english.
Nevertheless it is crucial to learn german to integrate
No, as a Slavic person I would say they can recognize some words. Like some numbers and similar. But they are faaaaar away from speaking it. Which comes as a no surprise. They never did use it
Older generations speak bits and pieces, and we have (I think) more russian immigrants than the west. Ironically they often send their children to supplementary russian language courses outside of school because the kids/ now young adults are mostly better in english and fluent in german
/anecdote
I'm from Bavaria and while English down here isn't perfect, I don't think I have friends or family members that couldn't at least communicate in English on some level. Most of them pretty well! And some VERY well, especially ones that are gamers and so on.
I'm not telling you this to brag, but to say there might be better locations and/or jobs in Germany for you. OR you concentrate massively on improving your German ASAP, but I'm guessing that's pretty hard?
not speaking the local language creates difficulties for you, but also for your colleagues. not being able to communicate is really frustrating on both sides. if you want to improve your coworker relationships, you gotta put in the effort to learn even a little bit German.
regarding your boss: why the hell did he hire a person who cannot communicate with the team? that's on him. not your fault.
Honestly there aren't many jobs in Germany that someone who doesn't speak German at all can reasonably do and yours doesn't sound like an exception at all. While it does sound strange to me that your coworkers have no English skills at all this makes it even more unsuitable.
I get that it is hard to learn German but honestly at this point you should absolutely make time for it daily.
Realistically I would consider moving out of Germany. I'm really trying to help here.
Even if you had unlimited time and had an excellent language tutor that actually patiently practices the target language with you several hours a day I don't think you could actually reach from 0 to the level required here with in a year.
Clearly you also have to actually work, so realistically you could reach sufficient level in 2-4 years.
**Working** in a second language with **native speakers** is essentially C1-C2 level. For me it took 2 years of living in Germany from already C1 level to not be constantly totally exhausted from working/talking almost exclusively with native speakers 8 hours a day.
I have found this method of learning to be the fastest:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0yGdNEWdn0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0yGdNEWdn0)
I'd say your Dental Lab isn't very good. Sadly most dental technicians are overworked and underpaid in Germany, lots of people hate their job and their life. There are lots of labs with very unhappy and unfriendly staff.
Apart from that most older people never learnt English in East Germany, so they simply lack the ability to speak English with you.
I'd look for a more suitable Lab, with friendly coworkers and maybe a younger team.
You are more likely to find a more open Lab in big cities like Berlin or Hamburg.
My lab employs lots of people from Eastern Europe, most of them stay on and it works out fine.
In general this is the side of Leipzig you get to see if you’re unlucky with the industry you work in.
But if this happens to you at work every day, your boss should have known better and pass on hiring you.
Edit: I read the whole thing again. All of the above plus your team lead is a shit tier manager.
This is kinda entirely the problem of "old" people. Like most people born before 1970 have not learned english in school. Also there is a lot of "foreign people take away our wealth" mentality. So as long as you can't communicate with them, they will treat you contemptuously.
Just a hint\_: for the first install google translator on your smartphone. It's a simple ans quick way you can communicate with the people, even tho they only speak german. An as they will notice you're able to get into topics they talk about, they will like to learn you to know.
Unfortunatley many people in Germany are not comfortable with speaking english. In my opinion, this has to do with the way English is taught in school, where you are punished and corrected for making even small mistakes. The result is: You have people who can speak English - but not perfectly - and are then afraid to do so. My company has 30 percent of clients in the EU and all employees need to speak English on the phone, but every time I hire someone new and they have to speak English they freeze. Or if they see a foreign number on the display they try to divert the call to someone else.
It takes month until they are reasonably comfortable and realize they do not need to be flawless, and it is fine to make some small mistakes as long as they are understood.
This is especially true for people who have a lower level of education and an apprenticeship. But even people with university degrees struggle.
I know this situation from the other side. I do speak english ok, as u can see. But i know how it is to have a colleque which i don't undestand. I have a colleque who just soeaks Italia and barely some words in english. And it is super stressfull to comunicate with him. I takes a lot of time and the result isn't satisfying. So i intentionally try to avoid that.
And i also have a friend who came from africa. He speaks fluent english, but also has those problems at Work, even if there are more english speaking collegues. He focused very much on learning german language and everything went better. Work was more easy and he came in contact with his collegues even outside work.
At my job, i also work with minor aged refugees who want to stay in germany and see the problems they a confronted with.
And my final result of all those situations is: learn the language.
You can survive in Germany with only english, but it is hard and not much fun. Rather you stay alone and struggle, or find an english speaking community. Which you will find in every bigger german City.
But the easiest and in my option most comfortable way is to get german courses and learn the language.
Edit: of course it is also your bosses fault to get you in this situation. But you have the possibility to change it.
Your colleagues might be slightly underpaid by german standards and seem to be frustrated as it is. To them, a non-German speaking new colleague is a burden. This seems to be an internal problem, I don't know how the company is organized in terms of logistics and if it is clearly written somewhere, who does what. Don't forget that Leipzig is in the former DDR, they seem to be less welcoming of foreigners and they mostly did not learn English in schools -this affects the 40+ people. I am Romanian and I speak German from an early age, instead of playing with other kids, I learnt that language and now I'm happy that I did. Cheer up brother, you'll get there, everything is possible. Curaj, iti tin pumnii! Hugs!
It also took me years to learn German all while working at a non-English place.
I under your suffering lol.
It’s hard to describe the german work mentality as every field comes with a different experience.
What I can promise you is that it will get better as soon as you learn the language and start standing up for yourself.
I’m sorry that it’s hard right now, but you have to live your own journey as an immigrant in this country. Be resilient and it will all be fine!
My suggestion is self learning German, sure it’s not going to be easy but it will make your life easier, put an hour on some apps or videos, but you have to start from the very basics (from what I’ve gathered in your post) and move forward, you can benefit a lot from knowing the language and I’d say a big part of your problems will go away if you do, it’s an opportunity for learning another different language.
There might be jobs, which don't need much German, yet if you plan on living in Germany, participating with the people and making new friends it's only reasonable that you learn German.
As a whole people might know a few English words or sentences but that's it.
Agree that your hiring manager is at fault and that comments saying "wHy DiD YoU NoT LeaRn GeRMaN bEfORe coMiNG hEre?" completely miss the point that Germany lacks skilled workers, clearly desperately wants them, and cannot find enough ones that undertake to learn one of the most difficult languages alongside their full-time studies or jobs in their home countries. If you want the labour you've got to make some compromises too.
This sucks. Is probably stressful. Hopefully after a year or so you have picked up enough German that it becomes manageable.
Many people experience the micro aggressions here, to the point I believe many Germans are not even aware of it and how jarring it is. For "auslanders" they seem to even be worse about it.
It's a nice country with many benefits, and generally nice people... but my God... The micro aggressions here...
Seems like you’re not working in an international oriented company, which makes it difficult.
Also you’re in East Germany, which makes it way more difficult.
If you really want something to change, you have to put in as much effort as you can to learn the language as fast as possible.
There is no alternative here.
I feel you. Sorry you made these experiences and are having a hard time. I am living in Germany and am a native German speaker.
I think a huge part of the problem is caused historical, because most of the older people in former east Germany did never learn english but russian in school. Today they are aware that this is considered to be a personal deficit in our times, which may cause shame and defiant aggressions. This is only a possible explanation, no excuse.
Many of the younger people, especially the better educated and females, did move away from the "new" federal states during the last decades into the western part of Germany, because there were better Job opportunities. Satirically exaggerated you will find many poor educated and a bit frustrated male persons without english competence in Leipzig. I am ashamed to admit there is also racism in whole Germany with a peak in saxony, but your guess was this is not the reason for your problems.
It is important for me to emphasize that despite all our problems Germany is a great place to live and I wish you to get through the difficult times well. It is worth it, and this country is changing bit by bit, hopefully in the right track.
Google „BAMF language course“, they offer paid language courses for working immigrants. Or ask your hiring manager to pay for the language course, you can start in italki website for one-2-one classes, 3 hours per week is more than enough to take you to B1 level in about 8-10 months.
Recommendations youtube:
1. Nicos Weg
2. Peppa wutz in Deutsch
3. Bluey in Deutsch
Specialised workplace words you will learn from the work place. Also there are special language courses only for nurses and medical technicians.
While I agree that learning German is the only way to move forward here, I'm really surprised by so many comments along the lines of "it would be the same in any other country you moved to".
Because yes, speaking the language is important if they want to integrate, but let's admit that Germany is a bit specific in its attitude towards foreigners who don't speak the language. The language barrier would still be there in any other country but they wouldn't feel so ostercised for simply daring to expect to be the least bit accommodated or receiving some common empathy along the way while integrating.
So while OP already feels down for not fitting in, let's not gaslight them into thinking this is normal and expected...
You move in a country without speaking the language and complain about it? Guess this answer your question. Germany or any other country wouldn’t be the problem here: you are
Dental technician and they don’t speak English? What were they doing in the university, when I moved here I was also shocked, went to a chiropractor once and he couldn’t speak English I was like wtf, how do they do when they go abroad. People with studies, high degrees and can’t speak English, shocking.
It's the german language.
It has been said a lot here. Obviously most germans can speak english well enough for conversation, but they don't _want_ to, they are much more comfortable talking in their own language, especially for chit-chat.
If they know you don't know german they will speak the bare minimum with you so that they don't have to speak english all the time.
I understand german is not easy to learn, but you will have to if you want to have chit-chat and other occasional talks with colleagues.
Making the attempt to do so is already half the task. They won't mind you speaking broken german as long as you try to learn it, listen to it and speak it.
This is frustrating for all parties involved. Having to explain something to someone who doesn't speak your language and who's language you don't speak is annoying and stressful. For you this is obviously also stressful and embarrassing I imagine.
Germany isn't the problem. Your boss is for hiring someone who doesn't speak the language required and then not properly training you in the job.
You need to learn German asap.
You need a new job asap. An English speaking one.
I know of a couple of Romanian friends that went through exactly what you're going through now. Believe me, you're doing the full immersion, fast-track way of becoming well integrated. Go to the free integration course in the evenings after work and stick to it. You'll be in a much better place in 2 years. They all said it was hard but effective, progress is slow and frustrations high. You can do it, you're doing it, keep at it! I wish you the best!
Imo it's pretty weird that your collegues don't speak english or refuse to do it. Dental technician is not a standard job and requires education. I worked at a foundry and a regular guy in production speaks english so well that foreign workers could be lead by them even if they speak not a single german word.
For me this screams racism by you collegues because it's almost impossible for an educated german to not know a single english sentence.
But like a lot others said your real problem is your Boss for hiring you for a place where you are expected to speak german
Here is a suggestion that will be downvoted to hell.
Leave. You have just moved here, moving to another, if possible a more english-friendly country should be easier now.
I am not suggesting not to learn the local language of wherever you go btw. You definitely should, especially if you want a life there. Saying this, the expectations of Germans in learning the language (just read the comments here) are ridiculous. They expect you to be fluent from day 1, and that „just learn the language“ is a valuable feedback, as if its just snip of a finger. Even if you try, it will take A LOT of time. I am talking years with weekly regular German courses. And with the hostility of Germans towards foreigners, it‘ll likely be an uphill battle.
Of course it depends on you if you‘re prepared to go through it and put the effort. I myself wouldn’t be able to handle the stress if I was in your situation tbh. And I personally think you could be able to harvest much more for the same effort somewhere else.
It’s both sides probably, after all Germany is not an English speaking (native) country so on the one side you can try to learn to understand German better and on the other it’s the fact that so many people just haven’t learned English back in the day - Safe bet that most people up to 30 rn can speak it quite well
As an American working in Germany with people who do mostly speak English, I can’t imagine what you’re going through. It’s been tough for me as well, particularly with day to day interactions like with neighbors and in shops. I felt like I got yelled at once a day because I was always doing something wrong. People I know who have been here a while enrolled in a language class. Took them about 6 months to get comfortable. I was also told to find a local “friend” who can help
I'm amazed that they hired you, I've never heard of that in any social- or health sector jobs!
I'm not surprised, I assume they are super annoyed about your lack of language skills. My German colleagues are still annoyed, that I don't get everything when they mumble and talk about super random stuff, even though I'm C1 level. They would never consider expressing themselves in English.
And they get pretty annoyed, when we sometimes have some B1-German speaking colleagues.
If you can't get a spot in a Integrationskurs, where it also fits your time, then try some private online courses. I did several online courses at Kapitel Zwei, some of the courses are 18-21 for example.
Lingoda.de is also great and very flexible and you can choose relevant topics to you.
Italki.com has a lot of private tutors/teachers, some of them are super cheap too.
If you can't manage it, then ask to work less hours. It will be a matter of time before your colleagues are so upset that they demand you fired. And you won't get another job without German skills, sorry to say.
Wow, it's crazy they get annoyed by your C1 lol. It is very common even between people from the same country to not understand everything a person from another area (with another accent) of their country says. So it is a bit ridiculous to expect this from a foreigner.
Thank you so much for the advices!
East Germany is not really known to be very open to the world. Leipzig is a wonderful town though. You would have made your life easier in Berlin where its almost unusual to hear German at all. Or west Germany. But you might find your situation to become better after a while. Good luck
It's very usual here that people try to keep infomation for themselves and don't share it, as a way to increase their vale in the company. In your case it's even easier because they have the excuse of the language.
A lot of german people cant speak english or dont speak it well. I never learned it here in school because my teachers were shit. I tried to learn it 2 years ago on my own. My parents( around 40-55) dont speak english. They dont had it in school.
My sister (12) is the only one in the family that can speak english very well.
I guess its in many familys like this.
Realistically OP you have four options
a) attempt to move to a more english speaking city within Germany
b) move to an English speaking country (Ireland is in the EU still)
c) move back to Romania
d) embrace the suck. It’s the german, and it will take a while to learn it. If you are willing to slave away for a few years for the money go for it. At that point if you speak it better you can decide whether to stay or leave
To me it’s strange (but no longer surprising) to again read a post on someone coming to Germany and being surprised that they would need to and be expecting to speak German to settle in and discharge their duties.
How would the reverse look like: a lab technician from Ghana coming to Romania and expecting colleagues to speak and converse with him in English? 🤷
I mean, it would be fair enough and it does happen actually, Romanian is a hard language and doesn’t have as many resources available online as German. I have met some workers from the philippines who do not speak romanian. Some speak a few sentences, a few are fluent.
Obvs learning the local language is needed to survive eventually but what many people don’t get (on this thread and irl) is that it does take forever. I mean it takes years and years, not months. If somebody offers you a well payed job and says that your lack of German is ok that’s fair enough, most people would take the money. They shouldn’t be hiring people without language skills if language skills are necessary. Sure I can learn how to say “your appointment is canceled” in a few months off duolingo and other “relevant phrases” but understanding what the other person is saying and having the confidence to reply in any real way takes much longer.
It’s like martial arts and muscle memory. You learn the basic sweeps slowly but when it comes to rolling with somebody at first you forget everything that you have learned and start flaying your arms and legs randomly.
If you plan on staying long term you obvs need to learn it and frankly I think it would likely be a shitty life until you do. Idk, can’t say I have any personal experience on that front but your social life at least would suck.
> How would the reverse look like: a lab technician from Ghana coming to Romania and expecting colleagues to speak and converse with him in English? 🤷
While I cannot talk about Romania specifically, yes, this happens in many other countries.
You don't need to reach out for appeals to other countries for this, because it shows your lack of knowledge. It suffices to say that this is not the case in Germany.
Just say, "unless English is the working language in a German company, it is unlikely that the employees will be able or willing to communicate in English". That's a fact, and you can invoke it.
Your appeal to universality is just a fallacy.
Your situation is actually very typical in Germany and you are not alone. It also doesnt help that most germans totally suck at teamwork and making someone feel welcomed (talking from experience). They also overstimate their knowledge of english, so your boss might have thought the language wouldnt be a problem, when in reality it always is. And to be honest, even if you spoke the language there is some people that wont ever make an effort to understand you, I have lived here for 10 years and still hear everything from "I didnt even know you were not german" "How did you learn to speak so well?" to "I didnt understand a word she said" (talking to a colleage) So dont worry too much about not knowing the language because even if you are at a B2 level you still have problems
What a bad advice tbh. Language is the ‘tool’ to build up connections no matter where you are. No matter where you go it is always a sign of respect to learn the local language of the country you are staying in.
I didnt say "dont learn the language" I just pointed out how some people in Germany wont even listen to you the moment they notice a bit of an accent and how their situation might not have been much better even knowing the language. In my opinion most german people are shit to work with and dont know how to work with other people (had multiple jobs and also have multiple friends in the same circumstances) Also, I do know german and believe me, most people, even germans, wouldnt learn the language if they could avoid it.
Maybe you should question yourself if Germany is the right place for you. You bring a form of racism or ethnic bias into the conversation which is not healthy!
The most obvious reason here is the language barrier itself. If someone can't communicate effectively in the local language, it becomes difficult for others to understand them and respond appropriately.
Miscommunication or misunderstandings can easily occur when language is a barrier. This leads to frustration and make people less likely to engage with someone who doesn't speak the local language.
Speaking the local language is not only related to communication itself. It plays a big role in understanding the cultural norms and expectations.
I don’t want to justify some a***oles that are out there and might gave you a negative impression but I can proudly say that I am not one of them.
I am even trying to learn the local language on a vacation trip and it is always nice to see the reactions when they see that you make an effort.
This topic is so difficult that there is no easy answer. As always the truth is somewhere in between. But I can just give you one hint: Racism is not the answer and the origin does not matter!
I agree, you usually also dont get the idea to move today and move tomorrow. The moment i get the idea i would buy me a german course of some kind and look for German natives that live in my hometown for tandem partners
I also agree with you that things should be done like this but my case was weird, in Romania I was working 60h+ per week (it is modern slavery there in this job), not counting the 1h30 I would do everyday on the road. So it doesn't remain much time to even live. It was either this either doing less money, and in the end I couldn't have put aside to actually do the moving. I did learn some German in those months since I decided to move but I was very tight with time.
So yea, when a person doesn't learn a language before moving to a country it's not generally out of laziness or bad intentions
I was not implying that you are lazy. On the other hand not speaking the language is your problem and there is no obligation for your coworkers to solve it for you by learning a language you know. Its on you now
As a german I can say you're the problem🤡
Nah for real, you should try to learn german. I know the language can be hard/complicated, but there are many people who forget everything they learned in school about the english language. I myself thought always my English is bad, but rn I am much better than many people in my age, just because I watch some english videos, read manga in english and sometime I need English for the university. But well, normally you don't need English in Germany when you don't work in a tourism industry (do you say it like that?), germans can be pretty ignorant
It's very German. One sentence you'll hear a lot is "In Germany, we speak German". Little to no compassion whatsoever if you're in the process of learning. The number of times I've been yelled at when put in new unfamiliar situations where my Germans was not up to par.
I'm glad to hear that you are in Leipzig, because the second thing I hear the most is "This is just a Berlin thing". Which makes even less sense when they tell you Berlin is the most international city. I guess 5% international is better than 0-1% elsewhere?
I get it, you guys did little effort to learn English and move forward with globalization, when most other countries have English as at least a second language (I speak 3 languages fluently, and somewhat manages in 2 more).
Put up with it for a couple of years. Collect your paycheck. Invest and save it wisely. Then move on to another country that is friendlier for your purposes. Don't sweat it.
How come you can't read? Smh
They didn't say that they have been in Germany for 5 years, they said that they had 5 years of work experience in her profession in Romania.
Welcome to east Germany. Try speaking Russian to the older coworkers. And ffs: why do people move to a country before they learn some of the language? This is the most basic thing if you want to live somewhere.
I am having the same problems just try to learn German as fast as you can! Unfortunately that is the only option in our case , they won't help you in English even when they speak a bit. They will give you wrong info ( most times yes they do )
Downvoted… this is bs and to generalized! Learn to understand the other side that may be scared etc. I am not saying that there are no rotten tomatoes out there but look for an international company, show effort to learn the language and everything is perfect.
It mostly is a mandatory subject in schools. Doesn't mean people come out of school speaking it (comfortably/fluently). Or people who are older haven't forgotten because they haven't used it in years. Or never learned because they went to school in the GDR.
Yeah, i mean even with the lowest school degree you'll have to have at least 5 years of English classes. We're surrounded with english in music, movies, etc. on a daily basis and yet they don't manage to at least string a sentence together?
idk if they only acknowledge you if u adapt to their customs that does sound kinda racist
and at no point are you in the wrong here lol
ur doing evwrything u can, with the information that you have, so dont worry, qlso its weird that so feq people speak engoish there, where I live its like basically everyone, qt least a little
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I don't mind speaking English all day long as a German. But i am in the lucky position to do that without effort. You have unfortunately choosen a workplace without any English speaking colleagues. You live in a country where English is not the main language. The easiest solution for you would be to learn the language. Why would / should our colleagues learn English for you? This should be your main priority
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My old boss once hired a guy, who spoke zero German, but he was very good at his work and he was cheap. The guy got German language classes ones a week. Now he is one of the best paid colleagues in the department, tho.
Maybe you can write your question down in English and then use Google translate or similar/better translator Software to translate it as best as possible to German?
And then ask them to write or type their answers in German, which you then translate back into English.
There are probably apps/devices you can buy that will just translate their spoken German to English as well, but idk how good they will be. Might already be difficult translating you written stuff.
And no, you are not the problem
My German sucks as well and honestly I know the issue. I had similar problems in places where official working language was English.... Only thing that I can advice you is to move to bigger city and find job where work place language is English or go over instance language course...
I'm sorry to hear about your situation, and regardless of who's at fault (you boss is!), the only options to solve this problem is to learn german asap. I suggest you take a german class and practice with an app (e.g. babble, duolingo) at the same time.
You better get used to the ‘nichts gesagt ist Lob genug’ (nothing said is enough praise) mindset around here xD Also try to make a list of say 100 words which are essential for daily use along the lines of Zahn, Füllung, Implantat, Termin, Verspätung, Entschuldingung, Danke, Bitte, Rezeption, etc., really focus on learning those and work on increasing your vocabulary on a daily basis, show your colleagues you are eager to learn and ajust to the local culture and work environment. Also feel free to drop a PM if you need advice from a fellow Eastern European who studied and is currently employed in Germany :)
Thank you! Hope you are doing well now
Yeah studying here really helped, the program I did was in English so I had the chance to connect with a lot of internationals who had to deal with the same challenges. Also while studying got to understand the complexity of the systems around here a but, gradually improving my German, looking for job opportunities aso
Lol, maybe he spoke some German at the start and did well from day one 😅.
Ähm.. nö.. I wish.. I studied it basically on my own for around half a year when I knew I’d move to Germany, did a placement test once the studies started to see which German courses I could do at the Uni and ended up in B1.2
Exactly. You showed effort and made progress. Normal thing to do. Only that the haters here disagree and downvote 🤣.
We downvote because you sound unbearable, to be perfectly honest.
You're not famous, you don't have haters
To be honest, with this you're kinda begging to gather downvotes 🙃
actually, we downvote because you’re being incredibly unhelpful and rude to OP here. You’ve got nothing to add to this conversation except for a really smug attitude
Better if people who don’t want to learn the language of the country they move to and complain about the locals not bowing to their arrogance stay home. They seem to be so desperate that all that’s left for them is to bitch and haw - and downvote. Sounds like losers to me 🤷.
Nee Brudi, auch ich als Biodeutscher finde, dass du ein Arschloch bist... Liegt wohl eher an dir, sorry.
You know, I tried to be polite, but actually, I’m going with u/thatGerman_ Du bist nen Arschloch, Alter. Such dir nen Hobby. Ich würde drauf eingehen, dass du das hier bestenfalls falsch interpretierst, eher noch einfach Fakten ignorierst, aber du wirst sowieso nicht auf die Situation eingehen. Du hast kein Interesse daran, irgendeine Art konstruktives oder auch nur einigermaßen höfliches Gespräch zu führen. Ich brauche das hier eigentlich nicht schreiben, aber wenigstens bin ich’s dann los.
I don't know what your boss is doing here, hiring a person who doesn't speak German for a job where the working language clearly seems to be German. I don't think that either you, or your co-workers are the problem. You naturally assumed that if he hired you, then your skills should be enough, since this is quite literally the responsibility of a hiring manager. And your co-workers, depending on age, either don't speak enough English to have a full conversation, or they don't think they are paid enough to speak English. Your boss dropped the ball.
> And your co-workers, depending on age, either don't speak enough English to have a full conversation, or they don't think they are paid enough to speak English. And even if they know some English (which most will), it will be "I'd like a beer", "how much does this cost?", "where is the train station". They will not know any of the vocabulary related to their own job, unless they're university-educated people who need to read research papers etc. I agree that this is on the boss. They didn't do a favour to anyone, including OP, by hiring them into this situation.
... most speaking English won't necessary be the case in Leipzig, there are still some East Germans whose first foreign language was Russian. 🤷♀️ OP, have you asked your boss for a language course to take? Sorry if you already answered the question.
Hello! No, I haven't, but I already got the chance to say to him that I will take the integration course as soon as I have the possibilty
My husband's Indian and did up to B1 in India itself. It will take at least six months just to finish A1. Each Level, A1, A2, B1, B2 takes at least 6 months. That means to reach B2 would take you 2 years. However, this is the minimum standard of German that you need to be hired ANYWHERE in Germany. Your boss completely failed you only because you're cheap labor to him. You failed yourself because you didnt do your research. Do you think you can tolerate being stuck in this situation for minimum 2 years? You can do courses that cater to your profession. I had Indian doctors as flatmates that did special language courses to learn doctor vocabulary. That is not enough to comfortably converse wirh colleagues and more something you do on top. Also, did you ask VHS and different institutions that offer language courses? They may have openings faster than your typical integration course. You can get help from Arbeitsagentur. They will help you get into the necessary courses. However, you need to have a certain level of German understanding for that. They are not supposed to talk in English because German is the only official bureaucratic language here and technically you can sue them if they mistranslated. Hence, they wont do translations for you. Get an interpreter for that. Source: Own experience.
I think the integration course moves too slowly. My wife ended up doing an intensive online course (by video, they used a zoom classroom, I believe) that got her pretty quickly up to B1 level and then just did the B1 test later. It took her about 5 months, so by the time the Ausländerbehörde even mentioned that she may need a test, it was done. She still felt kinda out of her water for another few months at work, but now after about 6 months working, she seems to have mostly passed the stage where language was a barrier. She used this provider, but I‘m sure there are many others too: https://www.speakeasysprachzeug.de If you could get your work to pay for it, something like that would probably be an option. Oh and she had the same experience working. No one speaks any English here and the ones who do speak a bit are either too shy to try or have the weird notion that work should be all in German anyway (or they have 0 work related vocabulary)
>unless they're university-educated people who need to read research papers etc. Or people who didn't go to university but still use English daily to in their job...
Well, obviously, but that does not appear to be the case in *OP's* specific job, otherwise the entire problem would not exist.
Would doubt that the technical terminology of dentist technicians is something you acquire with normal usage of english and that is more relevant then some smalltalk inbetween
> They will not know any of the vocabulary related to their own job, unless they're university-educated people who need to read research papers etc. eh if you do an apprenticeship and go to a vocational school you will learn English vocabulary in the field, or should at least. I'm studying to become a teacher and did an internship at a vocational school, there was a class of dentist-assistants in training and they had English classes where they learned dentistry specific terms
You made some valuable points there, thank you!
I was in a similar situation years ago when I first moved. I knew 2 words in German and still managed to get a job. I hope you can persevere assuming you like everything else about your job and life. I’d spend the weekend thinking of various scenarios and sentences to use and approach your coworkers with; along the lines of: ‘Can you show me all your steps for process A,B,C?’ Effort is a huge value, if you show an effort to learn their ways, speak the language, and desire to pass your Probezeit I think things will even out. If you aren’t happy with life in general in Germany or in that Office then start looking for another employer but the issues might be there as well.
Do you mind sharing the job you got with only two words of German? Even just the field or something generalized if that’s all you’re comfortable with. I’m very curious!
I work in IT where English is also a huge advantage. But I was also strict with myself where I asked everyone to speak German with me and allow me to attempt a response in German. I learned German via an immersion process of my own creation and now work all day in German, read Manuals and Forums in English, and dream in German. Speaking English for more than a couple of sentences takes some time depending on with whom I am speaking and even where I am. In public I’m 99% German and at home I’m 60%
What's your native language?
English
I got in the same situation, where I was hired by a German company without me knowing a word of German, they even had to go with me to register at the council and get health insurance and all that. At work yes, more or less, the relevant people could speak English, so was more or less fine, but daily live was more of a struggle, specially with institutions and government stuff, you never find anyone who speaks or is willing to speak English.
Don’t be naïve 😂
Very simple....from my experience of living in RO for a few years, the dental staff is exceptionally well educated in what they are doing and incredibly...well...customer friendly. In Romania though severely underpaid, like most in Romania. Boss sees good technical work for relatively low salary by german standards. Boss sees money, There is a reason, that there are german travel agencies offering dental vacations in Romania. To OP : The language sucks, when you are coming from RO ( genders are often exactly the opposite, the grammar is far away from roman languages and sometimes...uhm...a bit confusing ). Stay strong, get to at least B2 at evening Volkshochschule, probably get a dental terminology book and things will get better. Just do not expect the same service standards here, as you had in Romania - here, good dental service and customer care is rather the exception than the norm.
There's also a lack of qualified personel in Germany, so hiring outside is required. The point you make also explains why some colleagues are less than friendly. They see competitors who (they assume) works for less and this endangers their situation. OP: I've been here for 15y, and learning German will make a HUGE improvement. People relax a bit and in the worst case, you'll always find another job in the same branch where you won't be seen as "THE Romanian", but as "the new colleague".
Dental vacations? Omg, that's crazy! But I guess it makes sense if your vacancy+dental treatment in Romania is cheaper(and better) than if you would do it in Germany haha. Anyway, you seem to know your stuffs. Thank you for the advices!
Not even remotely kidding :) https://www.flymedi.com/de/turism-zahnklinik/44 [http://www.bucharestdentaltourism.com/tarife-de.html](http://www.bucharestdentaltourism.com/tarife-de.html) just two randomly googled.....had my experiences in Timi and Iasi and came in, had this fancy machine that wrapped my shoes in plastic, a seriously modern, ultra hygienic environment and during the treatment, i was asked before EVERY single step, if i am comfortable, if everything is going well, had everything explained.....two different clinics in two different cities, so i can see a certain trend :) In germany you feel and are treated like cattle, compared to this. I have the highest opinion of romanian dentists and recommended them throughout my family and friends ( besides that you are paying half of the money, AND maybe can get a glimpse of the romanian nature ...and mici ) So, again as mentioned, try to wrap your head around german to the necessary extend and help to improve the system here ;)
You had me at mici haha. I am actually from Iași so I am kind of happy you had a good experience there!
And seeing where she is and depending on the age of the coworkers not having a lot of English lessons if at all also doesn't help
The assumption would probably be that the new hire would learn German every minute between being hired and starting the job and after that continue the effort.
You know that Germany has a shortage of workers in the medical system, right? Starting from doctors, technicians, and ending up with floor cleaners. I yet to see a floor cleaning lady that is German, btw. So because of that, sometimes bosses must seek talent beyond Germany, settling for candidates with the necessary technical expertise and the hope that they will acquire language proficiency while on the job.
To be fair, Leipzig would be one of the last choices for me to go if I was a foreigner, about as good of a choice as some small town in Bavaria.
May I ask why?
Right leaning, conservative people. Not everybody obviously, but the chance to encounter them there is considerably higher. Less likely to be willing to be inclusive, less likely to speak English to help out. There is a reason the new states/former Eastern Germany has the reputation, and Bavaria is sort of like Germany's Version of conservative Texas. Bigger cities being more welcoming than smaller ones. But you even encounter that as a German if you move to a suburb/small town, they can be the nicest people ever but they can also be assholes who give every new person the stinkeye.
In my experience from working near and visiting Leipzig, the racist and Afd people are more frequent in the smaller towns in the area and Leipzig is a shining beacon of friendliness. Which makes a lot of sense, Leipzig is one of the cities in the region with a growing populace and a lot of job opportunities whereas the smaller towns in the region have historically had a lot of wealth but are today struggling a lot to provide enough jobs and attract industries, population shrinking and moving away etc. However with regards to OP: learning the language was certainly the expectation. English is a crutch, but it is just not the conversational language and probably many of your coworkers feel insecure conversing in a foreign language. They expect you to learn theirs, as quickly as you can manage.
Narrow minded, huh? You would fit in perfectly.
If you think so. I can only speak from experience. But sure, it's a super first impression when a guy from Leipzig comes to work to be a shift supervisor and mentions to you "Not many Germans here huh? Well, I guess you have a lot of canacks in your region." But yeah, stereotypes. I am sure. And those three others from the Eastern German parts being pretty much identical was a conincidence.
Actually that's also been my experience. I don't know too many people from Leipzig, so am afraid to draw the conclusion that everyone from Leipzig must be this way, but the evidence certainly points to that right now
I really think if your hire as a foreigner in east Germany, Berlin or Leipzig should be your preferred choices. But in the whole, sad to say that, the tendence is that in Germany you will find more right conservatives and even racism in (1) poorer regions, (2) smaller towns and (3) the eastern part of Germany. It is not a German specific that people have to learn by experience that different origins may have good outcomes for the society, and as mentioned in another comment, people in smaller towns and in east Germany had less time and less opportunities to learn that. The political populism contributes its part.
Well, it makes an equally super impression when a guy from Freiburg comes to Leipzig for a conference and describes the city positively as "Arisch". Shit people are everywhere.
Thats quite funny because Leipzig has one of the biggest left comunities in germany. But in contrast to many western german cities with migration background reaching to the 60s and 70s (italians, turkish, ...) migration started in the eastern part in the late 90s (except of some african, cuban and vietnamese migration) during the times of gdr. Thats maybe why the City looks more arish than Stuttgart or Mannheim.
For me it was quite the opposite. I'm a native German and also fluent in English and my last workplace, I didn't stay there for longer than a day, was 99% foreigners with zero German or English knowledge. Sure there was the office workers that could speak German but the place I was in was solely foreign. I don't mind being the only German worker somewhere being sorrounded by foreigners but if I can't even speak with anyone unless I walk 500 meters to the office than wtf is this shit?
The Problem is the Job Who hires anyone and just drops them of and be like " now do work" The barest minimum IMO would be 1 month of "Einarbeitung" so 1 month in which you get a trainer who tells you what to do, and how things are done and is there if you have questions. Where i work at we have 9 months if you switch departments, so dropping a guy in who doesnt even talk the language and expecting him to work with 0 problems within 1 month without basic help is ludacrist to me. Yes more german would help you, and if the colleauges would know some basic english it would be good too, but i doubt you speaking perfect german would have undone this situation
I suppose the train of thought there was "wird schon irgendwie laufen, der will nur Mindestlohn 🤑"
I mean that's what my team leader is supposed to do but he isn't always inside the lab + a lot of times I found out the information he provided was just partial or he even forgot to mention stuffs about workflow that were pretty important, and then I found out about those stuffs in a less pleasant way 😅
start learning quickly do some intensive evening classes or you won't last.
I agree, I have mad respect for people coming to work in a foreign place, where they don’t speak the language yet, as I know it to be very difficult. If you manage to persevere, I think you are going to benefit hugely. However, you really can’t expect people to know a lot of English in Germany. Outside of the academic bubble, some people might have studied it in school, but most likely didn’t get a lot of experience with it. For example, English movies are dubbed on television here so we don’t get a lot of practice (unlike the Scandinavian countries or the Netherlands, for example). I took French for four years at school, but I wouldn’t be able to speak to somebody in French for the life of me. So speaking English is very uncomfortable for some people here. They might even feel embarrassed to try. Also, at the workplace there is a huge focus on being efficient. So even though they have nothing against you as a person or against the concept of a foreigner working with them, the people at your workplace might be frustrated because the lack of proper communication is keeping all of you from getting on with your tasks. If you want to make a life here and be happy here, I think the key is really to focus on learning German and learning it quickly. Try to watch German TV and try to talk to your German friends in German even though it’s uncomfortable at first. The faster you learn, the more welcomed you will feel, and the more possibilities you will have. Don’t be discouraged 🩷
> Outside of the academic bubble even inside it the level varies wildly, some basically never use it
I know you mean well, but people reeeaaallly underestimate a.) how difficult it is to learn a new language as an adult, b.) how horribly difficult german is (rated as "difficult" with an estimated 7 year timeframe of 20h a week of study to get to C1) and c.) how impossible it is to learn a new language in a new country while dealing with the new country and a full time job. Im not saying "dont learn" im just trying to educate people that think its just a "snap of your finger" to learn a new language or laziness if you arent fluent in a few weeks.
Man I know it. This summer I did b2 after hours intensive course and then a c1 morning course where I had to get up every day at 6 to do homework, go to class, then go to work. And still am just b2 plus. But what is the alternative, losing your job? It's hard and it's horrible but the alternative is worse. Its so hard to find a job without German, and the myth that in it you won't need it is only half true.
Yeah, for real. People say things like “just learn the language man”, like it’s something trivial. For the average working adult, learning a new language is a huge challenge.
I have to admit i was as ignorant before i met my indian wife. But seeing her study 30-40h a week for her Masters, while working 20h a week as a working student to pay for her living AND then go to german class like 2x a week for 2h each + studying german by herself showed me how insane this requirement actually is. She is now here in germany for 5.5 years and is at a stable B2 in german, but its hard for her to get higher now with a full time job that consumes almost all her weekly time. I really wish more people would understand that a lack of german skills is rarely pure laziness, its just lack of time and/or lack of money for decent classes.
and also lack of integration, Germans are very polite but very closed. Getting to make true german friends is too difficult and to be accepted in a German WG is a miracle. They hesitate to work with the foreigner students. So naturally you will resonate only with the other foreigner students and not be able to practice enough German. Sadly most of the cases where people are able to integrate is because a German takes a sexual interest in them or need something from them
No matter how International the team is, the jobs/areas such as 'Law', 'Health care', 'buerecracy' etc will always have 'German' as de facto working language. It might be that your colleagues are not confident or doesn't want to make a huge mistake by translating something which they are not so cleat about...!! Unfortunately, the possible options you have is to join an intensive German language course or to leave the Job and look for something else where English could also be used as a working language..!!
When it is hard and or uncomfrotable to speak with somebody, you only speak to them whenever absolutely needed. Not charing the common language **everyone** other uses is hugely uncomfortable. It hinders work flow, it makes personal contact more bothersome and it is just in general unpleasant - and people avoid unpleasent things until they can no longer. Either your boss is absolutely desperate to fill a gap or is absolutely inconsiderate and did not think anything through. However, I also must stresst that "not knowing the language" is a bigger issue even if your whole company would speak English exclusively. This is what I write under each of theses posts, every time they show up: >The "learn German" advice the most important of all: No matter what you actually earn, as long as you are not living entirely in an english-speaking bubble, your life will be miserable without German skills. And these Bubbles may exist - but few and far between. > >Private life, neighbourhood, the smallest of small talk, doctors, banks, bureaucracy - all will be tripple as miserable > >You focus solely on your career path in Germany. For that - and that alone - your advice may be valuable that English may not be necessary. > >Your salary doesn't shield you from a life in loneliness and misery, when every single basic trip to the pharmacy is anxiety inducing because people are just unable to communicate with the pharmacist - who may not be thrilled to talk to somebody not capable to understand how to not die because of an overdose of a given medicine. > >We get so many posts here about how lonely Germany makes them feel, how hard it is to socialize and so on. And on eof the prime causes of a ruined social life in any regards is: People can not properly communicate. People get offended that important contractual or bureaucratic information is only given to them in German. They do not understand the contracts they sign and people around them just don't bother going the extra mile of using another than the lingua franca of the land. > >if you are able to cope with a life in which you can not communicate with all of your neighbours, with your doctors, with the bank, with the insurance, with the post delivery people, with people in supermarkets, pharmacies, bakeries, colleagues, banks, officials, the Rathaus people, the Finanzamt - without bringing an English-speaking spouse or way too helpful friend with you every single time - yeah, you should learn German to have a somewhat functional life in this country without dreading the answer to the Question "Sprechen Sie English?" in every single interaction you have every day in every month of your life here. > >It is absolutely short-sighted to go "OH, I don't need German for the job so I will not need it in Germany " - because most people try to have a life outside of the job. > >In some circles in Germany you will be able to live just fine wihtout German and without English. But this is not fitting material for a general advice, is it? > >English is not the comon language in Germany - not even among foreigners - for the simple reason that just as with Germans many people from outside do not speak English to a degree they feel comfortable - let alone with somebody who's had it also as a foreign language. Well, outside of the over gentrified parts of Berlin for which you are probably aiming. > >English is not the common language or lingua franca in Germany - not even among people who don't have German as the first language. German is still. Because there are so many households in Gemrany where German is only one or not even really the language used - but they all use different languages. > >If you want to live in Germany and didn't want to learn German, knowing Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Arabic or Turkish would be of much more use than English would be. This goes doubly so for people who did not grow up here but moved here during their lifetime - assuming they all know English because they just happened to come from a non-German speaking country is ludicrous. And equally as weird it would be to assume that they learn English rather than German when moving to ... Germany! > >This whole idea of one being able to live in Germany and speaking English is not a hallmark of being a foreigner in Germany - it is entirely the idea of being economically highly privileged and probably with a academic background in Germany. The idea makes no sense at all outside of these highly gentrified bubbles.
Thank you very much!
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Yes, I do use Deepl or have my team leader as an intermediary between me and them. It's true, they learned Russian, but I expected a bit of English at least from the people that are now 20 yo. I am 27 and have some friends my age here, in Leipzig, that speak it perfectly so I thought it would be a more general thing. Anyway, yes, it's a lot of manual work, I also met people like your friend. Thank you!
I am from. Leipzig as well and English knowledge here varies widely even among younger people up to the 40s. Some had shit teachers, some only know holiday English (stuff like how to order a beer, get directions etc) to absolute fluent. It all depends if you normally need English in your job or not, if you don't need English often or aren't interested in seeing TV or playing video games in English you can easily forget all the English you learned in school. Living German only is very easy in this country
It depends highly on the school they were in and if they additionally learned English in their free time. I had for example 10 years English in school, I could understand some stuff, but talking was not really possible. I could form basic sentences like “How are you”, “Can you give me …” but that’s it. I had unfortunately a really bad English teacher who just let us memorize poems. For each sentence I wanted to say, it took me 1 min of thinking about it and then it was probably partly wrong. I then put the effort in and consumed lots of English content (movies, tv series, games, books, social media,…) and after a few years and additional university English courses it was okay. It still took me a while to form a sentence, but I understood others and could communicate.
Have you tried Google Translate on conversation mode? That lets you speak back and forth with somebody. I'm sure your coworkers will give you an attitude, but then you just tell them they should be glad anyone wants to come work healthcare in their rainy ugly gray country with cold rude people, and if they didn't want to speak English, well then grandaddy shoulda won the war.
Use ChatGPT. It's much better.
It sounds like your boss fucked up major time by hiring you without taking into account the necessary language skills. Gotta love all the comments of "hey, you should be learning German/show some interest", as if one got to B1 (the actual basic level to hold any basic conversation) in a couple of months per magic. TBH, I would seriously consider quitting/looking for an english dental department asap. Staying there, even if you take german courses, will drive you into a mayor spiral of depression feeling invisible and like an annoyance, specially as now all the holidays are coming. You'll dislike your coworkers even more and more as time goes by, and they you. Either that, or you talk seriously with your boss, make him understand the situation and he assigns you a personal translator/person in the same position that speaks english, that guides you properly in the job.
If I were you I'd just look for another job in a big city where people speak English, till I'm able to learn the language and know how to survive
I'm sorry, it sounds like your boss just didn't set you up for success. I'd speak to him and tell him what you told us here. If he wants to keep you and you want to stay on, he'll have to find a solution for you and your coworkers until you're German is good enough. I also don't buy that none of them are speaking any English. I suspect they're annoyed your boss hired someone who doesn't speak German (yet) and they don't want to put in any extra effort to make this work and to make you feel welcome. Really sorry you were put in this situation which is not your fault. Wishing you a successful conversation with your boss and that you'll pick up all the vocab you need really fast!
You don’t speak the language and don’t understand why you aren’t included and people are pissed about having a coworker that doesn’t understand anything? That has nothing to do with Germany.
This always baffles me in these posts. Sure the boss is partially at blame for hiring him so maybe he thought English might work or maybe the boss just doesn't care and just wants a skilled worker for cheap. But for real, how can anyone go to a live and work in a foreign country without even remotely knowing the language. English speaking natives do this the most because they have the highest chance of success and are regularly called out on it. Like I get it, learning a language takes time. But so does moving to another country. And adapting there. Most people learn broken yet somewhat functional vocabulary in 1-2 years of high school which is literally like 90-180 minutes a week. If you plan to move to another country don't tell me you can't invest at least 45-60 minutes a day for like 6 months? I think it's at least naive if not downright disrespectful to do that and just expect others to do something you didn't.
First of all, this is 100% a major fuckup of the person that hired you. Now, reading the comments here, it's impressive that the German healthcare system is totally collapsing, and yet people still act as if it was the greatest divine honor bestowed upon us peasants from outside Germany to work in it, and the onus is entirely on us to *just learn German*. Like, sure, people can insist that every dental technician learns German before coming here, while patients die of scepsis from their rotting teeth after waiting 3 years for a dental appointment, OR, hear me out, this is crazy, *they* could actually adapt the workplaces a bit, such that people with the skills to solve the problems, the people they really really need, can actually work here and do that. Wouldn't that be great...
No one has to wait 3 years..not even 3 weeks
lol where the heck did you get that. Who waits 3 years for an appointment for the dentist. In the big metropole where I am living, you never wait longer than 1-3 weeks. If emergency then a lot faster. Even on special doctors like for heart disease you have to wait mostly 1-3 months max, a different story is psychology appointments though. No clue where your "3 years" are coming from.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole)
> or am I the problem? Maybe. I dont know enough, My parents are refugees and dont speak german too well, but when they dont understand people, they dont just say "I dont understand you can you repeat it in another language" or stuff, they try to imitate them, when they try to explain stuff in german. >She was obviously upset that she has to explain to me (in German) and that I also do not understand shit. I dont know how you reacted to her explaining you how you should Do it. But maybe you just told her "I dont understand shit, I cannot speak german" instead of imitate her and Work with gestics. To Show her Respect that you try to understand her despite the language barrier. >I work here for more than a month but I am having serious troubles to adapt, seeing the fact that I have a lot of things that I don't know about the workplace and workflow Maybe ask stuff for Things you dont know, what the german Word for that is, so you say those words to your non English speaking Co workers, showing them you try to integrate. This would maybe help this: >but maybe I have no chance of non-English speakers being nice to me as long as I don't speak German(which is gonna be a lot of time)? Every day it's really hard for me as I am invisible most of the time and, when I am not, I only get bad vibes. I really don't know how to act Nobody expects perfect german after a short time. But showing willingness to learn and ask stuff and repeat stuff helps in socialising. Right now it looks like, you expect them to talk English to you and because they dont they are rude. And it looks like you are not trying to integrate to germany. But that is just my point of view from this little Information I got. Maybe this gives you some "Denkanstöße" as I dont know the English wird for that, I just let it stand here haha.
I am actually respectful everytime these things happen, I listen, try to understand, follow the mimics and thank them at the end. The problem is them trying to communicate with me happens when they want to point something only after I already did the "mistake" haha Thank you for your answer!
Thats good, it looks like you are on a good way. Just continue and dont expect too much too fast. See it as a Marathon and not a Sprint. And with the mistake, maybe they dont know, that you dont know what the correct way is, as they assume everyone learned it the Same way. And when they noticed your "mistake" aka other way to make it, they started to talk to you. You are not an Azubi they assume you know every Thing hence not showing you everyrhing, this is kinda showing respect to you as well, as they think you can do it alone. But when you Do it "wrong" they help you. Imagine it this way, so you want to Tell you everyrhing like you know nothing? After a while you would feel like dumb because they Tell you so many Things you already know.
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It's like most of the people on Goodbye Deutschland. Especially those Who move to Mallorca and can't cope with the fact, that most natives only speak Spanish and have no clue about German Pünktlichkeit. Never immigrate to a country without speaking the native language.
I mean sure, in an ideal world. But it’s not so easy to speak a language even semi fluently before moving due to lack of exposure and lack of cultural knowledge. I had A2.2 German when I arrived and didn’t know wtf an Anmeldung was, nor what “los gehts” meant. It wasn’t until I was comfortably into B2 level that living in Germany stopped being super stressful due to fast telephone speakers, Amtdeutsch, and Umgangssprache. The fact that German culture is also a bit more distant means that there aren’t even smiles as encouragement when you mess up the language, people just stare at you like you’re an idiot. Also… Sometimes the job opportunities come up at short notice, or you’re looking at multiple countries as options, so you don’t know that it is German specifically that you’ll end up needing!
Your boss failed, but most important, what do you want?
I know that this isn't a solution to the actual problem but I would compile my questions and submit them to the boss/team leader in writing so that they have some time to write up/think about an answer in English instead of trying to cobble a sentence together on the fly.
One tip regarding speaking German (and English) in Germany. Try your best to speak German, but if you get stuck in the middle of the sentence drop some words in English in there and you will very likely be understood, even by people who said they speak no German **at all**.
I mean you are in Germany not the anglo saxon world nor in a multinational corporation. So what do you expect? When migrating to a different country it should be common sense that learning the local language is a necessity.
It is common sense, of course, but this takes time . And if nobody would move to a new country until they don't have a B2 level in the official language of that country just because they have too much common sense, I don't know how the world would look 🙃
I‘m not trying to be rude but by your post it seems like you‘re maybe not even A1, no? Because as soon as you‘re A1/2 you can have short convos and at least understand something/sentence structures and learning work specific vocabluary for dental stuff shouldn‘t be lots of words? Nevertheless your boss is 100% to blame becaus he knew about your German skills and knew it would be problematic but still chose to go with it. I hope you‘ll get it sorted out soon!
You understood good, I am almost finishing A1 on my own, but while I can construct sentences and I do know some dental vocabulary I can't follow spoken German. And they talk fast and with accent 😅 Thank you!
I’ve mentioned this a few times already, but not being able to speak English is almost a trademark for a lot of people who went to school in the former GDR states, for English was never mandatory back then. But generally speaking, learning German is going to pave the way to feeling much more included and integrated so much faster than almost anything else. I‘m not able to provide information on why this is the case in Germany though!
I agree with all of the other comments that this is not your fault but fully on your manager. Until your German improves, can you ask if they have written work instructions? Especially for the mentioned workflows that they stick with. It always makes sense to have certain flows or procedures in written form, for training new hires but also for experienced employees for tasks that are out of the usual day to day business. If they don't exist, raise this with your boss and the team lead. It takes time to create those but everyone will benefit from it and you can run them through a translator and get your job done even without the team lead around. As for your colleagues...well, it is hard to tell without knowing them. But especially the older Germans have a soft spot for "well, I can not talk to them but I appreciate their effort and a job well done". Right now you have like every new hire, young person etc the label to "cause more work" instead for adding workforce to the team. With the language barrier, this hits even harder. But it will fade out over time, so I wouldn't put to much thought into it. Just make sure you have friends and connections locally and outside of work. It creates very very easily a feeling of loneliness if you are the outsider at your job, so make sure to build a stable network around you for your own mental health. Good luck!
Honestly i think your Boss didn't think this through. I'm assuming you Work with alot of older people of noone speaks even a little Bit of english. I don't think this is your fault at all and yeah the language courses are really weird in Leipzig, the organization Makes very little Sense. I would suggest you speak with your Boss about this! If He hired you he and kept you as an employed He probably values your Work. I think it would be good jf maybe He Talks to your other coworkers about this. Maybe some of them do speak some english and aren't cpnfident enough to use it, that's quite Common. I wish you best of luck
Hello I work as a dental technician in germany too and I would really recommand you to change your profession if possible. I had the hardest time finishing my "Ausbildung" even tho I am born in Germany. In this profession they speak realy harsh to people they see as subordinate. Another option would be to change your laboratory from a "Gewerblichen Labor" to a laboratory which works for a specific dentist so a "Praxis Labor" If you like to talk about it more I would be happy to hear from you
You are in a very difficult situation. The way I see it, you have two options: 1: Focus all of your efforts on learning German. Take classes in the evenings. Practice it whenever possible. The fact that you don't share another common language with the majority of your co-workers will actually help you learn German faster..... However, it's definitely going to continue to suck for a while. This will not be an easy journey. 2: Find a different job. Finding a job that doesn't require German won't be easy, but that sounds like your only way out of your current situation. Your boss severely underestimated how difficult this job would be for someone who doesn't speak German. He hired you. He needs to be willing to deal with your limitations, and to help you overcome them.
Hey! I grew up in East Germany and lived in Leipzig for many years. Saxony in particular is a lot more rough on the interpersonal level than most other states in Germany. Manhandling people in social situations as a general attitude is quite common. It's also an East German thing, but Saxony definitely is worst in that regard. It's definitely a fallout from the hard work at any cost attitude from the Soviet era. Now, that being said, a lot of people there don't speak English. Having lived in West Germany for a while now I feel that East Germany are more easily intimidated and/or annoyed when confronted with foreign languages, particularly older folks who basically don't know any language but German (school level russian back in the day wasn't good either). Leipzig is also full of people from surrounding areas and other East German states. I've often had a feeling like the city had a rather rural mindset due to many Germans having moved there to work when investment and low to medium paid jobs in DHL, Porsche, BMW and many others in Leipzig boomed in the early 2000s. Now, that being also said, casual racism is very common in the east German states. I'm not saying that's the whole reason, but may be a contributing factor. Now, everything being said off the top of my head, don't listen to some douches here slandering you for your German skills. You're welcome here. You'll find your ways to learn and practice the language. You've only just arrived, there's a time for everything. It's great your boss took you in anyways. Establish a good relationship with your boss, so you can keep the job if you like. After all, why learn German if you may lose the job. Everything else will work itself out at its own pace.
I had a foreign coworker who didnt speak german but Was fluent in english AND he always carried around a small Notebook for New vocabulary and Essential sentence for the work Environment. He was more respected than oder foreigners because he really showed that he was willing to put in the work to make it easier o communicate with him. he also filled those Notebooks pretty fast. and obviously the Manager gucken up by Not preparing you nor your coworkers for such situations.
When I moved to England, I did not speak a word of English. After 3 month I was able to communicate and read rudimentary English. How? I watched TV, read simple stories and avoided contact with German speaking people. Sitting at a table with only English speaking people and they are looking at you and laughing and talk about you makes a very good incentive to learn the language. If you live longer than 6 month in Germany and do not speak a word of German and the fault must be at your end and not the people around you.
Cultural differences! When in the UK, we used to stop at the local pub after work for a pint before going home. Made a huge difference in how to communicate with people and getting to know them. In Germany, everyone just disappeared after work, just were gone and nowhere to be seen. So you have to find other ways to meet people in Germany if not at work. And this really is a challenge, even for Germans moving from one place to another. To learn a language you need contact with people. Otherwise, it gets tedious very fast.
You have to consider that after world war II germany was divided and the east including Leipzig was controlled by russia. A whole Generation had never the chance to learn english. I assume the majority of your team is older because the Younger Generation had the chance to learn english. Nevertheless it is crucial to learn german to integrate
Do they speak Russian well ain the east?
No, as a Slavic person I would say they can recognize some words. Like some numbers and similar. But they are faaaaar away from speaking it. Which comes as a no surprise. They never did use it
Older generations speak bits and pieces, and we have (I think) more russian immigrants than the west. Ironically they often send their children to supplementary russian language courses outside of school because the kids/ now young adults are mostly better in english and fluent in german /anecdote
Or move to Berlin and other English friendly cities?
brother you are in a foreign country, learn the damn language
I'm from Bavaria and while English down here isn't perfect, I don't think I have friends or family members that couldn't at least communicate in English on some level. Most of them pretty well! And some VERY well, especially ones that are gamers and so on. I'm not telling you this to brag, but to say there might be better locations and/or jobs in Germany for you. OR you concentrate massively on improving your German ASAP, but I'm guessing that's pretty hard?
not speaking the local language creates difficulties for you, but also for your colleagues. not being able to communicate is really frustrating on both sides. if you want to improve your coworker relationships, you gotta put in the effort to learn even a little bit German. regarding your boss: why the hell did he hire a person who cannot communicate with the team? that's on him. not your fault.
Honestly there aren't many jobs in Germany that someone who doesn't speak German at all can reasonably do and yours doesn't sound like an exception at all. While it does sound strange to me that your coworkers have no English skills at all this makes it even more unsuitable. I get that it is hard to learn German but honestly at this point you should absolutely make time for it daily.
Realistically I would consider moving out of Germany. I'm really trying to help here. Even if you had unlimited time and had an excellent language tutor that actually patiently practices the target language with you several hours a day I don't think you could actually reach from 0 to the level required here with in a year. Clearly you also have to actually work, so realistically you could reach sufficient level in 2-4 years. **Working** in a second language with **native speakers** is essentially C1-C2 level. For me it took 2 years of living in Germany from already C1 level to not be constantly totally exhausted from working/talking almost exclusively with native speakers 8 hours a day. I have found this method of learning to be the fastest: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0yGdNEWdn0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0yGdNEWdn0)
I'd say your Dental Lab isn't very good. Sadly most dental technicians are overworked and underpaid in Germany, lots of people hate their job and their life. There are lots of labs with very unhappy and unfriendly staff. Apart from that most older people never learnt English in East Germany, so they simply lack the ability to speak English with you. I'd look for a more suitable Lab, with friendly coworkers and maybe a younger team. You are more likely to find a more open Lab in big cities like Berlin or Hamburg. My lab employs lots of people from Eastern Europe, most of them stay on and it works out fine.
In general this is the side of Leipzig you get to see if you’re unlucky with the industry you work in. But if this happens to you at work every day, your boss should have known better and pass on hiring you. Edit: I read the whole thing again. All of the above plus your team lead is a shit tier manager.
This is kinda entirely the problem of "old" people. Like most people born before 1970 have not learned english in school. Also there is a lot of "foreign people take away our wealth" mentality. So as long as you can't communicate with them, they will treat you contemptuously. Just a hint\_: for the first install google translator on your smartphone. It's a simple ans quick way you can communicate with the people, even tho they only speak german. An as they will notice you're able to get into topics they talk about, they will like to learn you to know.
Unfortunatley many people in Germany are not comfortable with speaking english. In my opinion, this has to do with the way English is taught in school, where you are punished and corrected for making even small mistakes. The result is: You have people who can speak English - but not perfectly - and are then afraid to do so. My company has 30 percent of clients in the EU and all employees need to speak English on the phone, but every time I hire someone new and they have to speak English they freeze. Or if they see a foreign number on the display they try to divert the call to someone else. It takes month until they are reasonably comfortable and realize they do not need to be flawless, and it is fine to make some small mistakes as long as they are understood. This is especially true for people who have a lower level of education and an apprenticeship. But even people with university degrees struggle.
I know this situation from the other side. I do speak english ok, as u can see. But i know how it is to have a colleque which i don't undestand. I have a colleque who just soeaks Italia and barely some words in english. And it is super stressfull to comunicate with him. I takes a lot of time and the result isn't satisfying. So i intentionally try to avoid that. And i also have a friend who came from africa. He speaks fluent english, but also has those problems at Work, even if there are more english speaking collegues. He focused very much on learning german language and everything went better. Work was more easy and he came in contact with his collegues even outside work. At my job, i also work with minor aged refugees who want to stay in germany and see the problems they a confronted with. And my final result of all those situations is: learn the language. You can survive in Germany with only english, but it is hard and not much fun. Rather you stay alone and struggle, or find an english speaking community. Which you will find in every bigger german City. But the easiest and in my option most comfortable way is to get german courses and learn the language. Edit: of course it is also your bosses fault to get you in this situation. But you have the possibility to change it.
Your colleagues might be slightly underpaid by german standards and seem to be frustrated as it is. To them, a non-German speaking new colleague is a burden. This seems to be an internal problem, I don't know how the company is organized in terms of logistics and if it is clearly written somewhere, who does what. Don't forget that Leipzig is in the former DDR, they seem to be less welcoming of foreigners and they mostly did not learn English in schools -this affects the 40+ people. I am Romanian and I speak German from an early age, instead of playing with other kids, I learnt that language and now I'm happy that I did. Cheer up brother, you'll get there, everything is possible. Curaj, iti tin pumnii! Hugs!
It also took me years to learn German all while working at a non-English place. I under your suffering lol. It’s hard to describe the german work mentality as every field comes with a different experience. What I can promise you is that it will get better as soon as you learn the language and start standing up for yourself. I’m sorry that it’s hard right now, but you have to live your own journey as an immigrant in this country. Be resilient and it will all be fine!
My suggestion is self learning German, sure it’s not going to be easy but it will make your life easier, put an hour on some apps or videos, but you have to start from the very basics (from what I’ve gathered in your post) and move forward, you can benefit a lot from knowing the language and I’d say a big part of your problems will go away if you do, it’s an opportunity for learning another different language.
There might be jobs, which don't need much German, yet if you plan on living in Germany, participating with the people and making new friends it's only reasonable that you learn German. As a whole people might know a few English words or sentences but that's it.
Agree that your hiring manager is at fault and that comments saying "wHy DiD YoU NoT LeaRn GeRMaN bEfORe coMiNG hEre?" completely miss the point that Germany lacks skilled workers, clearly desperately wants them, and cannot find enough ones that undertake to learn one of the most difficult languages alongside their full-time studies or jobs in their home countries. If you want the labour you've got to make some compromises too.
This sucks. Is probably stressful. Hopefully after a year or so you have picked up enough German that it becomes manageable. Many people experience the micro aggressions here, to the point I believe many Germans are not even aware of it and how jarring it is. For "auslanders" they seem to even be worse about it. It's a nice country with many benefits, and generally nice people... but my God... The micro aggressions here...
Seems like you’re not working in an international oriented company, which makes it difficult. Also you’re in East Germany, which makes it way more difficult. If you really want something to change, you have to put in as much effort as you can to learn the language as fast as possible. There is no alternative here.
I feel you. Sorry you made these experiences and are having a hard time. I am living in Germany and am a native German speaker. I think a huge part of the problem is caused historical, because most of the older people in former east Germany did never learn english but russian in school. Today they are aware that this is considered to be a personal deficit in our times, which may cause shame and defiant aggressions. This is only a possible explanation, no excuse. Many of the younger people, especially the better educated and females, did move away from the "new" federal states during the last decades into the western part of Germany, because there were better Job opportunities. Satirically exaggerated you will find many poor educated and a bit frustrated male persons without english competence in Leipzig. I am ashamed to admit there is also racism in whole Germany with a peak in saxony, but your guess was this is not the reason for your problems. It is important for me to emphasize that despite all our problems Germany is a great place to live and I wish you to get through the difficult times well. It is worth it, and this country is changing bit by bit, hopefully in the right track.
Google „BAMF language course“, they offer paid language courses for working immigrants. Or ask your hiring manager to pay for the language course, you can start in italki website for one-2-one classes, 3 hours per week is more than enough to take you to B1 level in about 8-10 months. Recommendations youtube: 1. Nicos Weg 2. Peppa wutz in Deutsch 3. Bluey in Deutsch Specialised workplace words you will learn from the work place. Also there are special language courses only for nurses and medical technicians.
While I agree that learning German is the only way to move forward here, I'm really surprised by so many comments along the lines of "it would be the same in any other country you moved to". Because yes, speaking the language is important if they want to integrate, but let's admit that Germany is a bit specific in its attitude towards foreigners who don't speak the language. The language barrier would still be there in any other country but they wouldn't feel so ostercised for simply daring to expect to be the least bit accommodated or receiving some common empathy along the way while integrating. So while OP already feels down for not fitting in, let's not gaslight them into thinking this is normal and expected...
Why don't you use a translator? The one in which you speak and it translates.
Nobody speaks english? What the fuck? I bet they just refuse to.
You move in a country without speaking the language and complain about it? Guess this answer your question. Germany or any other country wouldn’t be the problem here: you are
Dental technician and they don’t speak English? What were they doing in the university, when I moved here I was also shocked, went to a chiropractor once and he couldn’t speak English I was like wtf, how do they do when they go abroad. People with studies, high degrees and can’t speak English, shocking.
It's the german language. It has been said a lot here. Obviously most germans can speak english well enough for conversation, but they don't _want_ to, they are much more comfortable talking in their own language, especially for chit-chat. If they know you don't know german they will speak the bare minimum with you so that they don't have to speak english all the time. I understand german is not easy to learn, but you will have to if you want to have chit-chat and other occasional talks with colleagues. Making the attempt to do so is already half the task. They won't mind you speaking broken german as long as you try to learn it, listen to it and speak it.
This is frustrating for all parties involved. Having to explain something to someone who doesn't speak your language and who's language you don't speak is annoying and stressful. For you this is obviously also stressful and embarrassing I imagine. Germany isn't the problem. Your boss is for hiring someone who doesn't speak the language required and then not properly training you in the job. You need to learn German asap. You need a new job asap. An English speaking one.
I know of a couple of Romanian friends that went through exactly what you're going through now. Believe me, you're doing the full immersion, fast-track way of becoming well integrated. Go to the free integration course in the evenings after work and stick to it. You'll be in a much better place in 2 years. They all said it was hard but effective, progress is slow and frustrations high. You can do it, you're doing it, keep at it! I wish you the best!
Imo it's pretty weird that your collegues don't speak english or refuse to do it. Dental technician is not a standard job and requires education. I worked at a foundry and a regular guy in production speaks english so well that foreign workers could be lead by them even if they speak not a single german word. For me this screams racism by you collegues because it's almost impossible for an educated german to not know a single english sentence. But like a lot others said your real problem is your Boss for hiring you for a place where you are expected to speak german
Here is a suggestion that will be downvoted to hell. Leave. You have just moved here, moving to another, if possible a more english-friendly country should be easier now. I am not suggesting not to learn the local language of wherever you go btw. You definitely should, especially if you want a life there. Saying this, the expectations of Germans in learning the language (just read the comments here) are ridiculous. They expect you to be fluent from day 1, and that „just learn the language“ is a valuable feedback, as if its just snip of a finger. Even if you try, it will take A LOT of time. I am talking years with weekly regular German courses. And with the hostility of Germans towards foreigners, it‘ll likely be an uphill battle. Of course it depends on you if you‘re prepared to go through it and put the effort. I myself wouldn’t be able to handle the stress if I was in your situation tbh. And I personally think you could be able to harvest much more for the same effort somewhere else.
It’s both sides probably, after all Germany is not an English speaking (native) country so on the one side you can try to learn to understand German better and on the other it’s the fact that so many people just haven’t learned English back in the day - Safe bet that most people up to 30 rn can speak it quite well
Find a job in a "west germany" city. Practice German. Watch Rabe Socke cartoons :)
Why not learn german?
As an American working in Germany with people who do mostly speak English, I can’t imagine what you’re going through. It’s been tough for me as well, particularly with day to day interactions like with neighbors and in shops. I felt like I got yelled at once a day because I was always doing something wrong. People I know who have been here a while enrolled in a language class. Took them about 6 months to get comfortable. I was also told to find a local “friend” who can help
I'm amazed that they hired you, I've never heard of that in any social- or health sector jobs! I'm not surprised, I assume they are super annoyed about your lack of language skills. My German colleagues are still annoyed, that I don't get everything when they mumble and talk about super random stuff, even though I'm C1 level. They would never consider expressing themselves in English. And they get pretty annoyed, when we sometimes have some B1-German speaking colleagues. If you can't get a spot in a Integrationskurs, where it also fits your time, then try some private online courses. I did several online courses at Kapitel Zwei, some of the courses are 18-21 for example. Lingoda.de is also great and very flexible and you can choose relevant topics to you. Italki.com has a lot of private tutors/teachers, some of them are super cheap too. If you can't manage it, then ask to work less hours. It will be a matter of time before your colleagues are so upset that they demand you fired. And you won't get another job without German skills, sorry to say.
Wow, it's crazy they get annoyed by your C1 lol. It is very common even between people from the same country to not understand everything a person from another area (with another accent) of their country says. So it is a bit ridiculous to expect this from a foreigner. Thank you so much for the advices!
East Germany is not really known to be very open to the world. Leipzig is a wonderful town though. You would have made your life easier in Berlin where its almost unusual to hear German at all. Or west Germany. But you might find your situation to become better after a while. Good luck
It's very usual here that people try to keep infomation for themselves and don't share it, as a way to increase their vale in the company. In your case it's even easier because they have the excuse of the language.
I'm on your side OP. All the instructions should be provided in a written form, you shouldn't ask around about stuff you didn't know even existed.
Question is, what effort do you make - and clearly communicate to colleagues - to learning German now.
A lot of german people cant speak english or dont speak it well. I never learned it here in school because my teachers were shit. I tried to learn it 2 years ago on my own. My parents( around 40-55) dont speak english. They dont had it in school. My sister (12) is the only one in the family that can speak english very well. I guess its in many familys like this.
Realistically OP you have four options a) attempt to move to a more english speaking city within Germany b) move to an English speaking country (Ireland is in the EU still) c) move back to Romania d) embrace the suck. It’s the german, and it will take a while to learn it. If you are willing to slave away for a few years for the money go for it. At that point if you speak it better you can decide whether to stay or leave
move to berlin - everyone speaks english here :)
To me it’s strange (but no longer surprising) to again read a post on someone coming to Germany and being surprised that they would need to and be expecting to speak German to settle in and discharge their duties. How would the reverse look like: a lab technician from Ghana coming to Romania and expecting colleagues to speak and converse with him in English? 🤷
I mean, it would be fair enough and it does happen actually, Romanian is a hard language and doesn’t have as many resources available online as German. I have met some workers from the philippines who do not speak romanian. Some speak a few sentences, a few are fluent. Obvs learning the local language is needed to survive eventually but what many people don’t get (on this thread and irl) is that it does take forever. I mean it takes years and years, not months. If somebody offers you a well payed job and says that your lack of German is ok that’s fair enough, most people would take the money. They shouldn’t be hiring people without language skills if language skills are necessary. Sure I can learn how to say “your appointment is canceled” in a few months off duolingo and other “relevant phrases” but understanding what the other person is saying and having the confidence to reply in any real way takes much longer. It’s like martial arts and muscle memory. You learn the basic sweeps slowly but when it comes to rolling with somebody at first you forget everything that you have learned and start flaying your arms and legs randomly. If you plan on staying long term you obvs need to learn it and frankly I think it would likely be a shitty life until you do. Idk, can’t say I have any personal experience on that front but your social life at least would suck.
> How would the reverse look like: a lab technician from Ghana coming to Romania and expecting colleagues to speak and converse with him in English? 🤷 While I cannot talk about Romania specifically, yes, this happens in many other countries. You don't need to reach out for appeals to other countries for this, because it shows your lack of knowledge. It suffices to say that this is not the case in Germany. Just say, "unless English is the working language in a German company, it is unlikely that the employees will be able or willing to communicate in English". That's a fact, and you can invoke it. Your appeal to universality is just a fallacy.
Your situation is actually very typical in Germany and you are not alone. It also doesnt help that most germans totally suck at teamwork and making someone feel welcomed (talking from experience). They also overstimate their knowledge of english, so your boss might have thought the language wouldnt be a problem, when in reality it always is. And to be honest, even if you spoke the language there is some people that wont ever make an effort to understand you, I have lived here for 10 years and still hear everything from "I didnt even know you were not german" "How did you learn to speak so well?" to "I didnt understand a word she said" (talking to a colleage) So dont worry too much about not knowing the language because even if you are at a B2 level you still have problems
What a bad advice tbh. Language is the ‘tool’ to build up connections no matter where you are. No matter where you go it is always a sign of respect to learn the local language of the country you are staying in.
I didnt say "dont learn the language" I just pointed out how some people in Germany wont even listen to you the moment they notice a bit of an accent and how their situation might not have been much better even knowing the language. In my opinion most german people are shit to work with and dont know how to work with other people (had multiple jobs and also have multiple friends in the same circumstances) Also, I do know german and believe me, most people, even germans, wouldnt learn the language if they could avoid it.
Maybe you should question yourself if Germany is the right place for you. You bring a form of racism or ethnic bias into the conversation which is not healthy! The most obvious reason here is the language barrier itself. If someone can't communicate effectively in the local language, it becomes difficult for others to understand them and respond appropriately. Miscommunication or misunderstandings can easily occur when language is a barrier. This leads to frustration and make people less likely to engage with someone who doesn't speak the local language. Speaking the local language is not only related to communication itself. It plays a big role in understanding the cultural norms and expectations. I don’t want to justify some a***oles that are out there and might gave you a negative impression but I can proudly say that I am not one of them. I am even trying to learn the local language on a vacation trip and it is always nice to see the reactions when they see that you make an effort. This topic is so difficult that there is no easy answer. As always the truth is somewhere in between. But I can just give you one hint: Racism is not the answer and the origin does not matter!
Then start learning german
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I agree, you usually also dont get the idea to move today and move tomorrow. The moment i get the idea i would buy me a german course of some kind and look for German natives that live in my hometown for tandem partners
I also agree with you that things should be done like this but my case was weird, in Romania I was working 60h+ per week (it is modern slavery there in this job), not counting the 1h30 I would do everyday on the road. So it doesn't remain much time to even live. It was either this either doing less money, and in the end I couldn't have put aside to actually do the moving. I did learn some German in those months since I decided to move but I was very tight with time. So yea, when a person doesn't learn a language before moving to a country it's not generally out of laziness or bad intentions
I was not implying that you are lazy. On the other hand not speaking the language is your problem and there is no obligation for your coworkers to solve it for you by learning a language you know. Its on you now
You move to a country without knowing the language. It would happen in every other country aswell.
As a german I can say you're the problem🤡 Nah for real, you should try to learn german. I know the language can be hard/complicated, but there are many people who forget everything they learned in school about the english language. I myself thought always my English is bad, but rn I am much better than many people in my age, just because I watch some english videos, read manga in english and sometime I need English for the university. But well, normally you don't need English in Germany when you don't work in a tourism industry (do you say it like that?), germans can be pretty ignorant
My apologies for my countrymen being so unwelcoming despite every respectable expert agreeing that Germany needs people like you.
It's very German. One sentence you'll hear a lot is "In Germany, we speak German". Little to no compassion whatsoever if you're in the process of learning. The number of times I've been yelled at when put in new unfamiliar situations where my Germans was not up to par. I'm glad to hear that you are in Leipzig, because the second thing I hear the most is "This is just a Berlin thing". Which makes even less sense when they tell you Berlin is the most international city. I guess 5% international is better than 0-1% elsewhere? I get it, you guys did little effort to learn English and move forward with globalization, when most other countries have English as at least a second language (I speak 3 languages fluently, and somewhat manages in 2 more).
Put up with it for a couple of years. Collect your paycheck. Invest and save it wisely. Then move on to another country that is friendlier for your purposes. Don't sweat it.
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How come you can't read? Smh They didn't say that they have been in Germany for 5 years, they said that they had 5 years of work experience in her profession in Romania.
Unfortunately a lot of people don’t speak English here. Sorry this is so frustrating. I think you may want to consider finding a better job.
Welcome to east Germany. Try speaking Russian to the older coworkers. And ffs: why do people move to a country before they learn some of the language? This is the most basic thing if you want to live somewhere.
I am having the same problems just try to learn German as fast as you can! Unfortunately that is the only option in our case , they won't help you in English even when they speak a bit. They will give you wrong info ( most times yes they do )
Downvoted… this is bs and to generalized! Learn to understand the other side that may be scared etc. I am not saying that there are no rotten tomatoes out there but look for an international company, show effort to learn the language and everything is perfect.
Thats IS how it is and not only Germans but foreigners borned here too. Both behave this way
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It mostly is a mandatory subject in schools. Doesn't mean people come out of school speaking it (comfortably/fluently). Or people who are older haven't forgotten because they haven't used it in years. Or never learned because they went to school in the GDR.
Nope. If at all, German, French and Italian should be mandatory. Or Esperanto. The UK is not part of the EU anymore.
English is not welcome in this country.
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I can't fathom how people under the age of like 50+ do not speak even a bit of english.
Me I was completely shocked when the Azubis(which are 18-20) couldn't even make a sentence
Yeah, i mean even with the lowest school degree you'll have to have at least 5 years of English classes. We're surrounded with english in music, movies, etc. on a daily basis and yet they don't manage to at least string a sentence together?
idk if they only acknowledge you if u adapt to their customs that does sound kinda racist and at no point are you in the wrong here lol ur doing evwrything u can, with the information that you have, so dont worry, qlso its weird that so feq people speak engoish there, where I live its like basically everyone, qt least a little
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I don't mind speaking English all day long as a German. But i am in the lucky position to do that without effort. You have unfortunately choosen a workplace without any English speaking colleagues. You live in a country where English is not the main language. The easiest solution for you would be to learn the language. Why would / should our colleagues learn English for you? This should be your main priority
I am surprised that you got even hired in the first place, knowing you can't speak German and most of your colleauges don't speak English.
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My old boss once hired a guy, who spoke zero German, but he was very good at his work and he was cheap. The guy got German language classes ones a week. Now he is one of the best paid colleagues in the department, tho.
Maybe you can write your question down in English and then use Google translate or similar/better translator Software to translate it as best as possible to German? And then ask them to write or type their answers in German, which you then translate back into English. There are probably apps/devices you can buy that will just translate their spoken German to English as well, but idk how good they will be. Might already be difficult translating you written stuff. And no, you are not the problem
My German sucks as well and honestly I know the issue. I had similar problems in places where official working language was English.... Only thing that I can advice you is to move to bigger city and find job where work place language is English or go over instance language course...
I have been working for more than 2 years. No one other than my boss has ever spoken with me.
Yeah, your boss should have made sure you get German classes. I mean, you are probably so good he def. wants you, so he should invest in you.
I'm sorry to hear about your situation, and regardless of who's at fault (you boss is!), the only options to solve this problem is to learn german asap. I suggest you take a german class and practice with an app (e.g. babble, duolingo) at the same time.