If you want to learn German, Switzerland offers free language courses! Sounds too good to be true? And yet – programs such as Einfach Besser in Central Switzerland give residents access to free courses through a Gutschein.
But how do you use it? And what do these courses look like in practice? Here are my experiences with the conversation courses at ECAP through Einfach Besser.
It’s easier than you think!
Step 1: Go to the website https://www.einfach-besser.ch/privatpersonen-kurse/lu/
Step 2: Choose the course you’re interested in (e.g., conversation A2, B1, B2).
It’s worth checking often because new courses appear when previous ones fill up.
Step 3: Click “Anmelden” (register)
Step 4: At payment, select “CHF 0” – the Gutschein is applied automatically
Step 5: You receive a confirmation email. Done! 🎉
Important:
You can use the Gutschein twice per year – perfect if you want to take courses regularly (e.g., spring + autumn).
Before the course starts, you receive an email with:
The teacher’s name
The classroom number
A link to an online platform (if the course has an online component)
My location: I attended a conversation course at ECAP.
No! No one does an entry test.
If after a few classes you feel the level doesn’t fit (too hard or too easy), you can change groups – just talk to the office.
Condition for using the free course:
You must attend at least 60% of the classes.
So if a course has 10 sessions, you must attend at least 6.
Otherwise you may receive an invoice (yes, the Swiss do check 😄).
Group size
Officially: up to 12 people.
In practice: rarely that many. Usually 6–8 participants, sometimes fewer.
This gives everyone speaking time and no one gets lost.
In ECAP you get access to an online platform where:
You can contact the teacher
Learning materials are uploaded (PDFs, links, exercises)
The teacher posts topics and materials from past classes
A great feature — you can review everything discussed and practice at home.
Answer: It depends on the teacher. But overall: lots of conversation, lots of laughter, little stress.
I had classes with two teachers and both taught differently, but it was always interesting.
What did we do in class?
✅ Played Tabu — guessing German words (without using forbidden words). Great fun and vocabulary training!
✅ Question cards — we drew questions like:
Was ist dein Lieblingsgetränk?
Was machst du gerne in deiner Freizeit?
Wo warst du gestern?
✅ Talked about our days — what we did, our plans, what happened
✅ Guessed facts about each other — “Does someone have a pet?”, “Who likes cooking?”, etc.
✅ Talked about food, our cultures — each session had a topic, but often things flowed naturally
✅ Listened to German songs — with lyrics, discussed meaning, and sang (well… tried 😄)
✅ Used the DW (Deutsche Welle) platform — a great tool for grammar and listening
✅ Lots of materials and games — teachers always brought something new
😄 Most important: lots of laughter and conversation!
Even though I started at A2, then B1 (where vocabulary is quite limited), we spoke A LOT.
No one judged, no one corrected every tiny mistake.
The goal was communication, not perfection.
And that was incredibly relaxing — you could try, make mistakes, laugh at yourself, and learn without stress.
At the end of the A2 course we had to prepare some food from our own country.
We ate together and talked about our countries and cuisines.
As for me… well, I don't consider myself the best cook 😄
So instead of risking a culinary disaster (except for pierogi — they always work), I created a presentation about Poland and Polish cuisine.
I presented the characteristics of Polish food, traditions, and favorite dishes.
The presentation is below — maybe someone will find it useful! 🇵🇱🥟
Absolutely YES!
I have very fond memories of these courses. I learned a lot, met great people from different countries, and overcame the fear of speaking German.
In 2026 I will definitely join again — the Gutschein is too good an opportunity to miss!
Right now I’m taking an amazing conversation course at the Lili Center and I plan to complement it with a course through Einfach Besser.
I highly recommend it! 💚🇩🇪