Studying law in Germany? A Vietnamese student’s perspective.

Preface: When creating this website, I have hoped to connect with Vietnamese students doing law around the world. Here comes my first interview with Ngọc Anh, who is studying law in Germany.

Ngọc Anh and I

In 2017, I stayed in Munich for five months to conduct research on my PhD, during which I decided to take a Salsa dance class where I met a Vietnamese student, Ngọc Anh. We have been friends ever since then. Both of us really enjoyed the Salsa lessons to the extent that at one point, we took 3 consecutive classes from 5 pm to 8 pm. Not to mention Ngọc Anh and I also participated in advanced-level outdoor Salsa. There were days when it rained heavily, but bad weather could not stop us from attending evening dancing activities.

Suddenly, I had to go back to the UK without having a chance to say goodbye to her but we have always kept in touch. One day, Ngọc Anh told me that she was going to study law in German. It was a brave decision, I thought but I never said it out loud. Deep down in my heart, I have always had great respect for her because I know studying law in German for a non-native speaker like us is equivalent to the impossible. (You might think that I exaggerate here but at least this is how I view it.) But I never had a chance to converse with Ngọc Anh on her studies until IP law et al. came into existence. I entertained the idea of ​​interviewing Vietnamese law students around the world that I have met. Ngọc Anh became my first guest as a no-brainer.

One day in May, we had almost 2 hours of an online chat for the first-ever interview for my website. Ngọc Anh is currently a third-year student majoring in law and economics at the University of Applied Sciences Konstanz.

Konstanz located on the border of Switzerland and Germany is the most beautiful city that I have ever visited. The most famous place in Konstanz probably is the Flower Island of Mainau. This is a private island, owned by a noble family of Swedish descent. A Swedish prince bought this island and turned it into a splendid private flower garden as it is now.

Through this interview, we will come to know more about her experience of studying law in Germany, a true story told by a Vietnamese student.

The decision to study law in Germany

Vân Anh (VA): Why did you decide to study law, particularly in the German language?

Ngọc Anh (NA): Because it sounds cool (smiles). I am just joking. Actually, there is another reason, that is I am interested in how the law regulates the relationship between individuals, and between individuals and the government.

VA: I’ve always believed that every person has an inner child which affects our decision to chose the career path. For example, I chose to study law because I did imagine as a teenager that introducing myself as a lawyer would sound cool too (laugh). But life has taken me to where I am now. When you decided to study law in Germany, could you imagine how difficult and painful it would be to do a degree in the German language?

NA: No, not a clue. At that time, I did not fully understand how challenging German would be, nor did I imagine how difficult it is to do law. But I told myself, if I want to go to Germany, I have to learn German, if I want to choose a “cool” major to study, I simply have to try. I would do it step by step. If I just sit there and think “oh it’s too hard”, that does not help.

VA: So when you made such a decision, what was your level of German? Did you learn German prior to your move?

NA: Before coming to Germany, I studied German in Vietnam for 6 months. When I came to Munich in 2016, I took the language exam at the Goethe-Institut where I was awarded the B1 level. From the time I came to this country until the time I went to Konstanz was 2 years. By the time I entered university, my German level was at C1.

(Note: When Ngoc Anh took the German B1 exam of the Goethe-Institut in 2016 her writing part scored 100/100 points.)

First days at the law school

VA: How did you feel when you first began your law degree?

NA: I felt like I was in free-fall (smiles). The first few days were the hardest. Firstly, I felt lonely and lost because I didn’t know if there were any other international students studying law there. The environment affected my psyche, I felt very scared. I thought everyone was talking about me, looking at me, and paying attention to me, so I shrank back, sitting in the corner of the lecture hall with a hope that no one would ever notice my presence. Secondly, age is a reason. Although my classmates don’t know my age, in my heart, it still has an impact albeit little. (Ngọc Anh is now 29 years old whereas her classmates are only about 19 or 20 years old). But days pass, I feel like my age has reverted back to the level of my classmates, so I don’t think about it much nowadays (laughs). Finally, I could not understand anything, both in terms of language and knowledge. In the first lecture at the law school, even the lecturer openly said that “if anyone doesn’t understand, please ask”, I still dare not raise my hand. Because I thought everyone was waiting to hear how funny my accent would sound.

VA: But that’s only what you thought, wasn’t it?

NA: That’s right, that was what I imagined in my head at the time. But then I changed my mind. I think that I have to pay tuition fees whereas local students study for free (due to Germany’s education policy) so I need to ask questions if I don’t understand. I asked the lecturer if he could recommend a book for me for further reading. But he did not give me any names, telling me to find it myself (laughs). But fortunately, a classmate recommended me a book that I should read after hearing my question.

VA: When you asked that question, did you have to say it in front of the class?

NA: Yes.

VA: So, when your classmate offered to help, did you still feel lonely and think everyone was laughing at you?

NA: At that time, I felt I did the right thing. By expressing my concerns, people could see that I took my studies seriously. So everyone can understand me better and then might be able to help me. After the first attempt at asking questions, I continued to do so with the thought that as my degree is costly, I have to take advantage of each learning opportunity and the lecturers have the responsibility for helping me with my works. Other professors were all very friendly and there was even a professor who came to me every week to personally ask if I needed any help from him. That was Professor Thomas Zerres whom I really love and greatly respect. I was a bit shy at first, but then I told him I didn’t know how to answer problem-based questions. He offered to correct a few examples for me so that I could gain experience. The first essay that I wrote was the one that I found the hardest in my life. Professor Zerres then told me that since he didn’t have time to help all the students in the class, so I should not tell many people about him giving me a little more support (laughs).

VA: So how long did that difficult time last?

NA: Approximately 6 months.

VA: What happened after that?

NA: I have become more confident, knowing that I can do it, but at a slower pace than everyone else. For example, on average my degree takes 7 semesters to complete, but for me personally, I think I might need about 9 semesters.

VA: How many semester are there in a year?

NA: 2. As I said before, it normally takes 7 terms, equivalent to 3.5 years, to finish the degree but very few people can accomplish it within such a time frame.

VA: Back to your own thought that people were talking about you, do you still think that way now?

NA: I still do occasionally but in a more positive way. I realize that people seem curious about me as to why I chose to study such a difficult subject in German. People were surprised rather than waiting for me to say something stupid to laugh at me, as I had imagined.

VA: Have you ever felt discouraged and wanted to give up?

NA: Yeah, I have. That was the first semester. I went for lectures in the morning, then spent the rest of the day studying in the library until the evening when I felt so depressed and tired, I went home. But the next morning when I woke up, I was revived. Every day I lived through that loop, in the morning I felt full of energy, at night I wanted to give up. Have you ever felt that way?

VA: I did law in English which might not be as difficult as doing it in German. Not to mention that when I did my master’s degree in the UK, I already had a bachelor’s degree in law from Vietnam, so I had gained some understanding of legal concepts. My problem at that time was how to transfer such knowledge into English. So for example, when I read an English word, I may not have known that word before, but after reading it, I could tell its legal meaning. Not to mention before each lecture, I tried to read from the reading list as much as possible.

NA: (Nodding in agreement) That’s right. I also do it that way to improve my reading skills.

Is it difficult to study law in Germany?

VA: How do you find studying law in German? And how are you assessed?

NA: I find it extremely hard and challenging. At Konstanz, we have writing exams, essays, and even oral exams.

VA: Oh, that’s quite different from what I have known in the UK. Most of the assessments here are either essays or writing exams. I don’t know any lecturers using oral exams as an assessment component for their modules. How many students are there in your cohort?

NA: Originally there were 50 students, and now there are 35. Everyone studies the same modules and only in the final year we will decide which area we want to gain expertise in. If a student does not pass a module, they must retake that module, parallel to other modules of their current year of studies. For example, there are students who are currently in the 6th semester but have to retake the modules that they failed in term 3. Many of them are overwhelmed, so they have to skip some modules in the current term to focus on studying and retaking failed exams, that is why the study takes longer.

VA: Well, in the UK there are more law students every year. For example, Warwick Law School where I am currently working accepts about 300 to 350 students per year.

NA: In fact, the University of Konstanz takes more students, but because my University is a University of Applied Sciences, the number is less. In a traditional law degree, the intake can be a lot bigger, about 200 to 300 students per year, but usually, after the first few semesters, approximately half of students drop out. My course also sees a gradual decrease in the number of students, but less than the traditional law degree.

VA: Back to your studies, which subject is your favourite and which one you find the most difficult?

NA: Tax, accounting, and commercial law are my favourite. I find constitutional law the most difficult because I can’t relate to this subject as I was born and had my tertiary education in Vietnam. Plus the legal system in Vietnam is completely different, so I can’t fully digest the German constitutional law. Not to mention that here the constitutional law also includes European Union (EU) law, so it is even more challenging for me to fully capture. Now I slowly understand a little bit, but I still do not find this subject interesting (laughs).

VA: Ah, I see. I also teach seminars on EU law and all students have lamented that it is too dry and technical.

Future career

VA: Are you planning to practice law in Germany?

NA: I can’t become a barrister in Germany because my degree is not a traditional law degree (which is called Jura. This is a Latin term but Germans also use it to refer to their traditional law degree – Vân Anh). I would have to study 100% of law modules as a pre-condition to practice as a barrister. Currently, 30% of my subjects are economics, 60% are laws, and 10% are for team building (which is also known as Kompetenz in German – Vân Anh). When I graduate with my degree, I can become a solicitor or a legal consultant.

(When Ngọc Anh graduated with a pre-university degree, she received an offer letter to study a traditional law degree from LMU Munich. It is the top university in Germany and ranked 32 in the world. However, for various reasons, she chose to study law and economics in Konstanz.)

VA: So what are your career goals?

NA: I want to specialize in tax law. But I have to wait until the final year to choose my expertise.

VA: Why do you want to become a tax consultant? I used to work in this area and I find tax law very dry.

NA: Because I don’t think that I can compete against German people in other areas of law. So I opt for tax law to work with numbers and to maximise my computational strengths.

VA: Oh, this is a pretty smart and strategic choice because you are able to identify your strengths and weaknesses.

NA: One more reason is that there is a big Vietnamese community doing business in Germany and the demand for tax consulting is thus high. However, tax consultants who can speak Vietnamese are rare, so I want to become such a person for the Vietnamese business community. Almost everyone who knows that I’m studying law, says that I would be at a disadvantage because I cannot compete with German people after graduation. But if I choose this career path, no Germans can compete with me (laughs).

VA: I think you are being very smart as you want to use your mother tongue as a competitive advantage. Are you currently doing any part-time jobs?

NA: I currently work as a secretary for a tax consulting firm in Switzerland specializing in personal income tax and corporate income tax. My job is to help the firm partner with data entry and filing income tax returns for both taxes.

Studying law when you are no longer young

VA: One last question for you. Is age an obstacle or a motivation in your situation?

NA: It’s both, I think. When I study with younger students, I find myself getting younger and younger. But sometimes I get worried because I feel so old compared to other classmates (laughs). As for life, age makes me more sensible because I already completed tertiary education and worked in Vietnam before coming here, so I am more practical, thinking about what I can do with a subject, meanwhile, some students might only want to pass the exams.

VA: In fact, when asking you that question, I already knew the answer because you have a clear vision of your future career which goes to prove your careful consideration and maturity. I hope the rest of your time in Konstanz is full of joy.

I really admire Ngọc Anh for her efforts, perseverance, and her ability to do a difficult degree. Anyone who has ever studied German knows how painful this language can be. Richard Porson, an 18th-century classical scholar, and more importantly, who knew how to read Latin and Ancient Greek for a living, once famously said: “Life is too short to learn German”. There was a time when I self-taught German, I thus completely understand its complexity and sophistication, let alone studying law in this language. It can be likened to the situation of being thrown into deep water.

When this article was about to be “aired”, Ngoc Anh shared with me the good news that she was offered an internship at a tax consulting firm in Konstanz with a decent salary for a student. I am truly happy for her as she is taking one step closer to her dream. I hope she will remain resilient, swim with the waves, and reach the shore one day soon.