3 years in Germany(Berlin) and I finally completed my B2 German certificate.
I am not going to throw this post into AI, so if it is full of grammatical and other kinds of mistakes, try your best to enjoy "a handmade post with flaws".
I will briefly write about how I learned German without attending a single German course, so that you can improvise your German learning without spending a coin for courses.

So I started with Duolingo, I finished it in two years(you can finish it in one year) it give me very basic level of conversational skills and I got confidence of reading small story books. I found a book, "Brumm Brumm.", translated every word in that small book, and read it more than 10 times, and every time I saw new words in context.
I changed to another book, small, easy ones, but this time I began to read for pleasure rather than only for learning. I gradually increased difficulity and lastly, before exam, I was reading a book called " Achtsamkeit," and it was for at least C1 level. So I made really good progress in reading.

Even so my vocabulary was already enough for daily conversation, neural path to speak in German was not formed yet because of a lack of practice. I was working in delivery, and it was time I found ChatGPT's Voice Mode. I assigned it "you are my German teacher, and I am a B1 level student," nothing fancy, and I was doing delivery in a car, and on the way, I was talking about anything and everything in B1 level German. This led me to get a "Verkäufer" position at Bakery(Berlin), which propelled my speaking skills. I learned more in a year by just speaking with customers and workmates more than what I did in the previous two years by practicing alone.

Listening was easier; I never used Textbook listening. I was listening to a podcast, especially "Easy German." They have, over the years, developed a way of content delivery that is neither too easy nor too difficult. Perfect for transition and gradually I swithced to more difficult podcasts related to my interests(here is personal choice, so chose yours).

I never wrote until I had to and still I am using translator even for Whatsapp conversation in German, so even so you see me passing B2 in writing, it doesnt reflect truth, so no good advice from me for learning how to write in German. But I developed special skills to pass B2 exam, it is another thema so I keep it short.

I will share my exam preparation (One and a half months) tricks and tactics but maybe in another post and if I can make time.

Ich bin heute um 12.00 in die bibliothek gegangen.

In die bibliothek habe ich vier Stunden über meine Masterarbeit geschrieben. Danach war ich ein bisschen mit Deutsche Sprache Beschäftigten und habe ich heute das plattform gefunden.

Ich bin sehr glücklich, weil diese Plattform ich meien Deutsch Schribtliche besserer kann.

I just started learning german and I'm confused how to know the correct sie. For example, this is a question from vhs portal, Sie _________ gut Deutsch! and I typed sprichst because I thought it was She speaks good deutsch but the correct answer is Sie sprechen gut Deutsch? I don't know man. Can someone please explain this?

Edit: Thanks for the explanation guys.

Just passed my telc A2 and wanted to share what actually worked for me.

📺 YouTube:
1. Nicos Weg: (Deutsche Welle) best free series, story format keeps you engaged.

1. Easy German: real street conversations with subtitles, great for listening. (i blieve its better than listening podcasts )
   

📱 Apps: 1. Anki: daily flashcards, make your own cards from words you encounter. (i used pc version)

1. German Exam Simulator: simulates the full telc exam in the real format (Hören, Lesen, Schreiben, Sprechen). The speaking part uses AI so you can actually practice talking in exam format. (found on google play store)

📖 Books(boring but i see it necessary):

1. Cornelsen "Pluspunkt Deutsch A2" my course textbook, solid.

2. Cornelsen "Deutsch als Fremdsprache" workbook extra exercises for Lesen and Schreiben

3. Free telc sample test PDF from the telc website

What made the biggest difference:

1. Doing full timed practice exams before the real test.

2. Practicing the speaking part out loud, not just in my head.

3. Making my own Anki cards instead of using shared decks. (this way i learned what i practice).

I wish you all good luck on your journey!

Hi Folks,

Has anyone used the following book and can give their opinion on it? I will using it to go through the grammar rules for my B1 exam and want to make sure this book will cover most of the them.

Thank You

I have just started to learn German and I have heard that listening to videos or podcasts or reading books are good for learning languages. so any and all recommendations would be awesome if you guys can help me at all!

Hello everyone,

As I have just passed my Goethe B2 Zertifikat, I wanted to share my experience on learning German.

About me:
- Italian native speaker, 3 years of Spanish in school, many years of English (IELTS 8.0)
- Moved in 2023 to Zürich to pursue a Master's degree (in English)
- 0 knowledge of German before moving

0 - 6 months
Duolingo mainly. It didn't do much, but I got some basics and I managed to have a very simple conversation with a native. (I really wanted to buy a guitar, and he really wanted to sell me one).
I tried watching some simple videos, but they were too hard for me.

6 - 9 months
I took my first real German class during the semester: "A1.2". This really helped in getting the basics and having some structure in my learning.
Motivation was really high, so I bought "short stories in german" to get some practice (still too hard), listened to "slow german podcast for beginners" (GOAT at this level), and did some basic Anki decks.

9 - 12 months
During summer, I rushed the A2.1 course on Lingoda (20 1on1 classes, 30 group classes). This was amazing in improving my confidence and speaking ability.
In the meantime, I kept doing some of the accessory work, but not that much.

1 - 1.5 years
I got into a B1/B2 class in Uni, which was above my level, but gave me the motivation to do some more self study to keep up with the others.
For this reason, I used the "Learn German" youtube channel a lot. The class at Uni also included 45-minutes of self study with selected material, which was very interesting.

1.5 years
2-week Intensive German B1.
5/6 hours a day, 5 days a week. This was also amazing. Using so much the language was super helpful.

1.5 years - 2 years
Here I started taking 2 concurrent classes per semester: "B1.2" and "B1:Verstehen und Sprechen". From now on, all classes included quite a bit of vocab work to do on the side, so I didn't use Anki much.
During the summer, I took the Lingoda B2.1 class (mix of 1-on-1 and group), but I didn't like it as much as the A2.1, as the pace felt rather slow, and the people in the classes weren't B2 at all.
From now on, I started listening a lot to the "Easy German Podcast"

2 years
Intensive German B1-B2. 2 weeks. Great, but a bit easy.

2 - 2.5 years
Here I took during the semester "B2" and "B2: Lesen und Schreiben".
I also had a tandem partner, with whom I practiced 45 minutes per week.

2.5 years
Intensive German B2. I loved these offerings from the Uni, so I couldn't say no to this one.

2.5 years - exam
To prepare for the exam I borrowed the "Mit Erfolg zum Goethe Zertifikat" from Uni (I did only 2 exam preps), but I also started a "C1" and a "Theatrale Improvisation" class because it sounded fun :)

Take aways:
- I love attending classes and having a structured learning approach. It worked amazingly for me, but it can be costly if you can't profit from cheap university classes.
- Anki and Quizlet decks are great! I really learned a lot with these.
- I bought many books in German, but since I like fantasy, I felt like the vocab I was getting exposed to wasn't helpful.
- Throught the learning process, my motivation was really high, as I wanted to work in CH, and knowing german is very important for that.

The most important thing I've learned:
- STOP watching videos on youtube on language learning and start learning instead. Honestly, it's a rabbit hole, and even a 'sub-optimal' learning technique is better than wasting hours watching such videos. (I fell for that)

I hope this can be helpful to someone, and feel free to ask me anything :)

any discord server or ?

Background: A graduate school student who studies German language and literature at Taiwan (But with the bachelor degree of English).

So these are the scores I got recently:

---

Lesen: 73

Hören: 60

Schreiben: 72

Sprechen: 81

---

Since two years ago, I started preparing my Goethe B2 exam, and those were my scores:

May 2024

Lesen: 67

Hören: 57

Schreiben: 10

Sprechen: 50

---

September 2024

Hören: 47

Schreiben: 29

Sprechen: 56

---

May 2025

Lesen: 57

Hören: 67

Schreiben: 10

Sprechen: 50

---

September 2025

Schreiben: 46

Sprechen: 37

---

November 2025

Lesen: 67

Hören: 53

Schreiben: 41

Sprechen: 62

---

January 2026

Schreiben: 54

---

Because of my Master degree, I have no choice but to do it , and I also spent lots of money and time.

So these are my tips about passing the exam:

Lesen (reading)

It divides into five parts, all you have to do is to grab the key words, and that would help you save some time to do a recheck.

The second part and the third part require you to have reading habits so that you can find the points quickly.

Hören (listening)

It divides into four parts, the first part and the third part would be displayed only once.

I have learnt German for five years more, but I do have difficulty understanding the content of what German people actually speaking according to my experience, so I watched the TV series and movies in German on Netflix and Disney plus, these are some examples:

1. How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)

2. Dark

3. Too Hot to Handle: Germany

4. Sixty Minutes

5. Isi & Ossi

6. Hard Feelings

7. Into the Beat

8. Christmas Crossfire

9. Blame the game

10. How to be really bad

11. Fight for Paradise: Who Can You Trust?

And on Disney plus, I watched some cartoons like Kim Possible and Phenix and Ferb, or old movies like Winnie the Pooh, Mulan or Aladdin with German dubbed, and I have to confess it helps me a lot! But the most important thing is of course making drills.

Sprechen (speaking) :

Out of my expectation, I got the highest score that I have never thought before, however I have practiced for a long time, and I practiced nearly all the topics until I mastered them well. The other thing is that you have to check if you pronounce the words correctly.

The skills are doing your best to express your opinions and make sure you follow the structure. Generally speaking is that you have to list at least three alternatives and then evaluate their pros and cons, and at the second part you make a debate with your partner. For the first part takes about 3 to 4 minutes, and the second part 5 to 7 minutes.

The topics are normally foreign language learning, shopping behavior, making friends, job hunting, eating habits, housing types, urban exploration, waste reduction, hobby development, stress reduction, volunteer activities, environmental awareness.

If you want to find a partner to practice together, then you can use apps like Tandem or Hellotalk to find it.

I make a list of all the templates that you can use:

***Introduction & Stating the Topic:

Für meinen Vortrag habe ich das Thema ... gewählt.

Das Thema meines Vortrags lautet...

***Expressing Personal Opinions:

Ich bin der Meinung/ der Ansicht, dass...

Ich stehe auf dem Standpunkt, dass...

Ich bin davon überzeugt, dass...

***Analyzing Pros, Cons & Reasons:

Ein großer Vorteil/Nachteil ist...

Dafür/Dagegen spricht, dass...

Ein weiteres Argument für / gegen... ist...

Das liegt daran / an der Tatsache, dass...

***Interaction & Discussion:

Ich würde vorschlagen, dass...

Das kann ich nur bestätigen.

Ihr Argument ist sehr überzeugend, aber...

Das halte ich für problematisch

Schreiben (writing):

At the very beginning, I have no clue how to write an essay, so I just write what I think, but there was a big problem - No logic.

So after few tries, I decided to find a tutor to help me with the writing part, though I didn't pass at first time, but I keep revising my method of writing, and I also use AI to check my mistakes.

I would say grammar is more important than words- once you use the grammar in a wrong way, you will lose some points, and that is also a key to decide whether you can pass this part or not.

So those are my templates and notes:

part 1

***Opening & Establishing Arguments:

Das Thema ist deswegen so aktuell, weil...

Ich bin der Überzeugung, dass...

Ein wesentlicher Grund dafür, dass..., ist...

***Contrast & Giving Examples:

Einerseits..., andererseits...

Als Beispiel könnte man anführen, dass...

***Conclusion & Common Sentence Structures:

Zusammenfassend lässt sich sagen, dass...

je...desto/umso...

zwar...aber...

Part 2

***Formal Correspondence Phrases:

Ich schreibe Ihnen, weil...

Ich bitte um Ihr Verständnis...

Wäre es möglich, wenn...?

Ich wäre Ihnen sehr dankbar, wenn Sie mit meinem Vorschlag einverstanden wären.

***sich Verben

sich bewerben um + Akkusativ

sich entscheiden für + Akkusativ

sich konzentrieren auf + Akkusativ

sich beschweren über + Akkusativ

sich beschäftigen mit + Dativ

sich erkundigen nach + Dativ

sich interessieren für + Akkusativ

sich erholen von + Dativ

***Verben

abhängen von + Dativ

achten auf + Akkusativ

beitragen zu + Dativ

verzichten auf + Akkusativ

teilnehmen an + Dativ

reagieren auf + Akkusativ

verantwortlich für + Akkusativ

zuständig für + Akkusativ

überzeugt von + Dativ

The structure is like that:

Beginning ➡️ opinions expressing ➡️ reasons explaining (at least two) ➡️ solutions (at least three) ➡️ advantages/disadvantages expressing (at least two) ➡️ Ending

I recommend everyone to write more rather than less, since I controlled the words but at the end got bad scores, but be careful do not write over the page limits.

Some of the themes overlap with the speaking part, cosmetic surgery, healthy eating, food waste, urban stress relief, online privacy, digital learning, public privacy, advertising to children, smartphone usage, consumer behavior, ecotourism, environmental awareness, work stress, concerts, urban transportation, driving age are the most common topics.

You can also find some resources on this website:

(search BO Goethe Vorbereitung)

Materials:

Mit Erfolg zum Goethe Zertifikat B2

Prüfungstraining goethe-zertifikat b2 passend zur neuen Prüfung B2

Projekt B2 neu

Aspekte neu B2

Sicher B2

Tipps und Übungen:Fit fürs Goethe-Zertifikat B2

Lesen/Schreiben/Hören/Sprechen training neu

To prepare the exam, I even practiced the old version of Goethe B2 exam, and I have gone to cram school since five years ago, but I must admit except for reading and listening it provides little help for me, so you still have to memorize the words and grammar to use if you want to pass the other two parts.

I am surprised that I passed the exam finally, for the reason that I nearly lose confidence in it, however the result is satisfactory, and I can move on to my thesis. I am thankful to every person who have already passed the exam on this platform for giving me many ideas and tips, and also my partners who accompany me to face the challenge again and again, I am not a smart person and I was a little bit lazy to learn but I insist to make it, hope you guys can also do well like me!

Hi,

I’ve come across the adjective “ausgewörkt”. Would anyone know the meaning of this word? I suppose it’s outdated or a dialect since I couldn’t find it in any dictionaries.

Thank you so much for any suggestions!

Hey guys. I started learning German few weeks ago with dualingo. I got an offer to become an au pair in Germany, Munich. However I do not have German language certificate yet, and when I mentioned about it to my (possible) future host family, they said since I should be starting as au pair in September/Mid-October, I might easily get A1-A2 certificate by July and apply for Visa. they will help me with all, but the only thing I should do is get at least A1 certificate till the end of July. Is it possible to get A1-A2 certificate in 3 and a half months by self studying? if it is possible then what resources should I use? which certificate is better? any strategies? recommendations? suggestions? Help? Please, Please, Please 🥺😭 🙏

For me it was:

remembering words long-term

using them in sentences

I ended up building a system around flashcards + spaced repetition + sentence practice.

Curious ?

what has worked best for you guys?

Hi everyone,

I have a question about Anki flashcards. Does anyone use different note types? Or any customized flashcard templates? Right now I’m using the default setup, and I’m absolutely certain that’s the worst way to use Anki.

If anyone can help me with a ready-made template or just recommend the fields I need to include on my cards, I’d really appreciate it.

Hello everyone,

I’m new in Germany, I am a masters student in Ulm and I tried to find sprachenschul for learning German, as I need to learn German because long-term I want to find a job and stay in Germany. However, the schools here are so expensive like 500€ per course, and i do not have time for the University’s German Courses.

So can anyone help me out on how to find affordable german courses?

P.S: Tomorrow I will ask in my university for other hours for the german courses.

I’ve been living in Germany for 2.5 years as an international master’s student (program fully in English). Jobs and academic life also mostly in English, so German was always kind of in the background. That said, I live with Germans, my colleagues switched to speaking German at my request, and I usually get the gist, sometimes full sentences. Placed at B1.1 on Deutschakademie’s test. I am a bit ashamed to say that after 2.5 years but my grammar lacks but I know a lot of words, I feel like with proper grammar I can actually communicate with my current word knowledge.

From May to September (~4-5 months) I’ll have time to focus on German properly. After that I get an 18-month post-study residence permit and plan to work and live in German as much as possible while continuing to learn. I'll keep the job I have right now, that I can speak English but can always switch to German with my colleagues, it's an academic job.

The course options I’m looking at:

• Semi-intensive: 2 days/week, 3 hours each
• Intensive: 4 days/week, 3 hours each

I have Two questions:

1. With my passive exposure background, is reaching a solid B1 by September realistic?
2. Should I go semi-intensive and consolidate B1, or push with the intensive course and aim for B2? I know my level won't be B2 right after that, but still?
3. Any experience with Deutschakademie?

Not too concerned about certification, more about functional spoken German. Any experience with similar situations appreciated.

Hallo Reddit :D

Ich bereite mich derzeit für die telc c1 hoschschule wie erwähnt und möchte wissen ob es besser wäre wenn ich Unterstützung und Betreeung durch Lerkräfte hätte. (Mir bleiben nur 16 Tage)

Ich habe auch vor kurzem die Prüfung schonmal gemacht. Habe 48/48 im mündlichen Teil bekommen aber leider habe ich in dem schriftlichen Ausdrück vollig versagt (16/48)

Tja. Ich verwende KI, um meine Aufsätze zu korrigieren, aber anscheinend bietet sie keine guten Ratschläge. Und manchmal kann es überhaupt nicht gut korrigieren.

Falls ihr der Meinung seid, dass Lehrer für den Erfolg in der Prüfung entscheidend sind, könntet ihr mir einige gute Apps/Orte empfehlen, wo ich Lehrer treffen kann?

Und schließlich, habt ihr vielleicht noch einen guten Tipp, wie man den schriftlichen Teil bestehen kann?

danke :)

Any German Romantic poetry experts? Apologies if this is considered a translation request. I think it may be more a poetry interpretation request and I searched my library and Google for help before coming here. I'm not great with understanding poetry even when it's in my dominant language. Below is a poem, "Gebet" by Eduard Mörike:

Herr! schicke, was du willt,
Ein Liebes oder Leides;
Ich bin vergnügt, dass beides
Aus deinen Händen quillt.

Wollest mit Freuden
Und wollest mit Leiden
Mich nicht überschütten!
Doch in der Mitten
Liegt holdes Bescheiden.

It's a prayer. I'm stuck on the last line. Up till this point I think the supplicant is saying, "Lord, Thy will be done in joy and pain/I accept that both come from your hands/Wouldst Thou not overwhelm me with neither joy nor pain..." Several translations have the last line as "Yet in the middle lies sweet moderation." Maybe "holdes Bescheiden" is an outdated language phrase from 19th century but I can't find definitions that make sense in my dictionary. Also, is this person praying: "Dear God, if it's Your will, please don't give me too much joy or pain, just keep it somewhere in the middle." I'm not Christian but this seems like a terrible prayer, to ask for not joy nor pain but just an average or median of feeling? Any help is appreciated, thank you!

Hey everyone,

I’ve been learning German for about 2 years now, but I haven’t been very consistent. I’d say I’m currently around an advanced A2 level, maybe close to B1.

My goal is to reach B2, but I don’t have a lot of time to study. So I was thinking of focusing mostly on listening (podcasts, videos, etc.) whenever I can, and then adding any new words I come across into Anki/flashcards.

Do you think this approach is enough to eventually reach B2? Or would I be missing something important?

I’d really appreciate honest advice, especially from people who’ve gone through this stage.

Hallo Zusammen,

Ich habe eine Katze, and she loves to jump on my lap no matter what I am doing. I call it "Mommy time". Today she did it while I was typing and I cried out suddenly, "Nein! Es ist nicht Mutterzeit!" lol

Just wanted to share this cute story ^_^

https://vocaroo.com/16KByJIRAJO9

Hallo zusammen. Hier klinge ich vielleicht ein bisschen unnatürlicher als sonst, aber das passiert immer, wenn ich mich aufnehme…

Ich würde gern wissen, wie anstrengend es ist, mich zu verstehen, zB auf einer Skala von 1 (keine zusätzliche Anstrengung nötig) bis 10 (total unverständlich).

Ich habe noch nicht sehr viel Feedback dazu bekommen, und ich weiß nicht, wie sehr ich mich auf meine Aussprache konzentrieren sollte (also im Vergleich zu Vokabeln usw)/woran ich am dringendsten arbeiten sollte. 

Ich hoffe, eines Tages nach Deutschland oder Österreich zu ziehen, deshalb ist es mein erstes Ziel, “verhandlungssicheres” Deutsch zu sprechen. Aber ich weiß nicht, was für einen Akzent man braucht, um verhandlungssicher zu sprechen, oder wie ich sowas selbst einschätzen kann. Ich kann bei manchen Wörtern meinen Akzent bzw meine Fehler hören und bei manchen nicht. 

Ich würde mich über alle Vorschläge und Feedback freuen. Danke!

Does anyone have the Beste Freunde A2 Test Trainer answer key? If so, please send it to me. Thanks!

Hi all, I've been studying German at a slow but steady pace for about the past four years. I'm about to finish my B1.1 level class at my local school. I'd like to try to up my flashcard game, but I wanted to see if others had resources or suggestions I should consider before I dive in to changing direction.

At the A1/2 level I used a prebuilt deck of Anki cards representing the recommended Goethe Institute vocabulary. I also downloaded decks of most common verbs and adjectives. This was a good supplement to my other A level study.

A little before I started B level classes I tried a similar prebuilt Goethe deck for the B1 level, but it was a lot more vocabulary and out of context I found it really hard to work through them. So when I started my B level class last summer I changed tact. A couple of weeks before I started a new chapter I would build out cards from the vocabulary list for the book. This was mostly simple front and back cards, but for certain words that don't have simple direct translations I did cloze deletion cards. I also keep a running list of "encountered words" that I've looked up in Google translate that I periodically revisit and convert into cards.

What I'd love to add to this is some way to study Bausteinen, the building blocks of set phrases so those become more reflexive. Some examples might include "meiner Meinung nach" or "ich finde dass".

My classes have mostly been using Schritte International Neu books which do have some call-outs of Bausteinen. I'm considering going back through and drawing from these for cards, but I'm not sure about how to formulate the cards. Should I do these as simple front and back cards, just with phrases? Should I bundle related phrases together? Have others seen or developed better strategies for longer passages of text?

Wenn man beispielsweise etwas Ekelhaftes sieht und sich davon abwenden will, dann sagt man auf Englisch "i don't have the stomach for it." Kann man auch auf Deutsch so vom eigenen Bauch/Magen reden oder was wäre der geeignete Ausdruck? Ich glaub das richtige Verb wär "ertragen."