This is the question we are asked most often by adults in Accra, usually in a slightly apologetic way, as though it were rude to ask. It is not. It is the sensible question, and you deserve a straight answer rather than a sales pitch.
We are one of the private schools, so read this knowing that. We have tried to write the version we would want to read if we were choosing.
What the Goethe-Institut is good at
It sets the exam. If you need a certificate, the Goethe-Institut is where the standard comes from. Nobody knows the format better, and preparation courses there are built directly around it.
It is cheaper per hour. Considerably. If money is the binding constraint, that is a real and legitimate reason.
The name is recognised everywhere. An employer in Germany, a university admissions office and a visa officer all know what a Goethe certificate is. That recognition is worth something.
It has scale. More levels running at more times, more classmates, and a cultural programme around it. If you want to be part of something larger, that is where it is.
If you are self-disciplined, on a budget, and need a recognised certificate, the Goethe-Institut is very likely the right choice, and we will tell you so if you ask us.
Where a small private school is better
Speaking time. This is the whole argument, so it is worth being concrete. In a class of eighteen, a one hour lesson gives each person roughly two to three minutes of actually producing German. In a group of four, it is closer to fifteen. Over a hundred lessons that is the difference between about four hours of speaking and about twenty five.
The teacher can see you. In a small group a teacher notices on Tuesday that you are avoiding the dative, and does something about it on Thursday. In a large class the same mistake is invisible until an exam.
Timing that fits your life. Large institutions run fixed timetables and fixed start dates. A small school can open a group when two people at the same level want the same afternoon, which is why our timetable looks the way it does.
Children and teenagers. Here the difference is not marginal. Large institutions in Accra sell children’s exams but do not run continuous children’s courses, which leaves families with an exam and nowhere to prepare for it. That gap is the reason we exist.
The price question, honestly
Per hour, a small private school costs several times what a large institution charges. That number is real and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
But an hour of lesson is not the unit you are buying. What you are buying is attention, and the honest comparison is cost per minute of teacher attention. A cheap hour shared between eighteen people and an expensive hour shared between four are much closer than the headline prices suggest. Work it out for whatever school you are considering: divide the hourly price by the number of learners in the room. It is the single most useful piece of arithmetic in this decision.
What is left after that calculation is a genuine difference, and it buys the things listed above. Whether they are worth it depends on you.
How to choose, in three questions
Do you speak up in a group of twenty? If yes, a large class costs you little. If you go quiet, you will pay for the cheap hour in months.
Do you have a deadline? A fixed date changes everything, because a large class moves at its own pace regardless of whether you are keeping up.
Is it for a child? Then ask the simplest question of all: does the place actually run a continuous course for that age, or only an exam?
You can also do both
Hardly anyone mentions this, and it is often the most sensible answer. Learn where you learn best, and sit the exam where the exam is set. The certificate does not record where you studied.
Where we fit
Studyfreunde is a small school in Airport West, Accra. Groups of no more than four, lessons of a full 60 minutes rather than 45, and all teaching by a German native speaker with a Master of Education. If no group is running at your level, you start one to one at the same price until one forms.
We teach children from three, children and teenagers and adults, including preparation for the Goethe certificates. The prices are published openly so you can do the arithmetic above yourself.
Come to a free trial lesson and decide afterwards. If we think another option suits you better, we will say so.
