Mastering German: Ultimate Language Learning Resources for All Levels

hey guys welcome to my channel this is Zoe, a language enthusiast who speaks seven languages I’m doing a bi-national PhD in sociology

between France and Germany now based in Frankfurt today I’m super excited to make this

video for this channel's old friends you know I’ve been focusing on studying German recently since I move here

I’ve discovered and tried a lot of resources and used all my ultimate language learning methods to quickly improve my German

I would love to share them with you in this video let me briefly tell you about my German learning journey

I’ve been learning German for three years but with many interruptions I studied A1 on my own

then went to the Goethe institute in Egypt for my A2 class and I continued on my own to B1 then I took intensive courses at the university here

and now I’m studying C1 on my own language schools, books, websites online lessons, YouTube channels, podcasts, tandem partner

anything you can imagine I’ve tested different methods this video will be structured by learning resources for the different levels

I won't just give you a list but select the best one I will also tell you how I use them and their pros and cons this video will be perfect for you

if you are just starting to learn German you are lucky or hitting a plateau after an intermediate level and at the end of each level

I will give you my two hour study plan template please hit the like button if you like this video and find it helpful

is the best way to support me if you have any questions leave comment

so let's get into the video ah please remember to subscribe to my channel for someone who's just starting to learn German I suggest

focusing on one learning resource a maximum of two if you have more time otherwise

you will be confused and overwhelmed by all the new information during this period you will be learning all the basic but essential things of a language

so you need to absorb everything review and repeat enough to build a solid foundation if you are not a self learner or need more

guidance or interaction you might ask me if you should attend a language school Goethe is very good

and reliable if you can find it in your country and the material and the teachers are good but the problem is that they have a fixed schedule

I remember I was in Egypt our intensive lessons were three hours daily between five pm eight pm

we had a lot of homework if you missed one class you must catch up there are also excellent online German courses my favorite

platform is lingoda they have their own lessons that target vocabulary grammar and communication

the content is interesting and useful for A1 level they have practical topics I can manage in German classes

I can introduce myself in German I can give personal details in German I can order a coffee in German

you can take private lesson or small group lessons the teachers are all native speakers of German

one of my favorite things about Lingoda is its flexibility compared to traditional language school you have a lot of time options

if you miss a lesson you can join another group on another date this is super convenient if you have a

busy study or work schedule like me another thing I encourage you to try is their sprint challenge if you take a lesson every day for sixty days

you can get one hundred percent cash back in sixty days you can already finish A1.1 or even A1.2 lessons you can already have a good base

you can also take a lesson every two days to receive fifty percent cashback if you are interested in Lingoda or this challenge

please use the link in the description box You can get the discount code from Zoe one of the learning resources I use

is Nico's weg the free online course is provided by Deutsche Welle a German international public broadcaster

I’ve talked about it in several of my videos and is the main resource I use up to B1 level

but here I would like to explain how to use this platform more effectively for each lesson there's a short video

for the first three or five lessons just follow the exercises

directly since you have yet to learned about this language when you are done go back to the video rewrite the script

don't be lazy for this step then you can read a grammar and vocabulary list at the end of the video

don't rush to learn too much for this step but focus on digesting everything you learn I highly recommend Anki

Goethe Deck from A1 to B1 for vocabulary learning

you can simply search and download that on Anki there are words examples and pronunciation you can learn ten to twenty new words per day

if you want to build your deck remember to never write down a word but always add an example sentence

you will remember the words better in context another important tool is a Dictionary especially the conjugation Dictionary

I recommend Reverso because you can save new words in your favorites and review them

directly with the application they have a spaced repetition feature start building your word bank with one application

I don't recommend Google translate to be honest even it's super handy you can save words but they don't have a review feature

also start doing conjugation exercises after you learn the basic tenses and build a list of verbs in an Excel sheet or a notebook

you can watch this video to learn how I take smart notes here is a two hour study plan template that will allow you to cover all the skills

listening writing speaking reading grammar and vocabulary A two level the main resource Nico's Weg or lingoda's lessons

you can do both or target your weaknesses with lingoda lesson if you have time for example a lesson with Nico's Weg by yourself

a communication or speaking lesson with lingoda group lesson if you want to target your grammar you can try the Grammatik Aktiv A1-B1

I recommend using this book at this level because they mix exercises from different level A1 A2 B1 the best way to revise A1 grammar and prepare for B1

An exercise that was super helpful for my pronunciation was to follow a short article with Narichtenleicht this is the German website where you

can find short news with slow speed audio there are transcripts and you can change the speed they are difficult for the A1 level but perfect for A2 level

to practice your pronunciation increase your vocabulary and build good shadowing habits and skills

which gonna be super useful after for listening comprehension you can start listening to songs podcast

or watch videos you can check out YouTube channel Easy German I like their content

the topics are interesting and there are a lot of colloquial expressions it it's also a good way to discover German culture and society

their podcast is also excellent but I recommend it for the B1 level for the podcast you can listen to

Deutsch podcast they have content for different levels or sometimes you have the grammar lessons at this level

don't try to understand everything is impossible just listen while you walk or do housework you have enough intensive listening exercises

with a central learning resource language lessons Nico's Weg so a focus point and other complimentary things to help you gradually

build the immersion environment is the point of this period if you start to find a

Tandem exchange partner at this level please focus more on the pronunciation so here is the two our study plan template for

level A2 B1 a fundamental level if you want to see more progress

it's time to challenge yourself Nico's Weg and Lingoda still work but for the shadowing exercise, Narichtenleicht will be too easy

you can try the website news in slow German with the speed of one to one point five the topics and vocabulary are more complicated

and I highly recommend the easy German podcast for this level listen to it when you have time this was my main listening resource for this level

I used to listen to it with a transcript when I go out I listen to the same podcast again while walking and I try to remember all the new words I just learned

I think it's really good way to revise the vocabulary for this level you have a lot of good podcasts from Deutsche Welle like Das sagt man so

Deutsche im Alltag you can also start listening to audio books before going to bed you can simply type the title in höchbuch

after this book on YouTube keep listening to Easy German podcast and start watching vlogs in German

I don't really have favorite German vloggers sorry uh I’m more into documentaries and serious topics like news but I used to type in 'der Vlog' and watch whatever I could find

but I only watch videos with cc subtitles to check the words quickly now you can talk about many things at this level so

think and talk to yourself only in German if you want to know more about this technique

I call it like language learning hack you can watch this video five golden habits of language learning if you have a Tandem exchange partner

try talking about more complicated topics like a book a movie it's time to step out of your comfort zone here is my two hour study plan template

B2 C1 level finally my favorite level I have a lot to share if you are at this level congratulation

you are ready to enter a new intellectual world many friends have written to me asking how to break the plateau hmm even increase the intensity by increasing your study time

per day per week giving yourself more tasks or increasing your focus and

maximizing the effect of each learning session plus immersion the strategy for this level is

different from A1 to B1 where you need to cut back on resources to quickly build a language solid structure

without too much confusion so the classic study take notes and review plan is more appropriate for that level

but for the B2 C1 level you need to expose yourself to the language as much as possible and you don't need to take notes and review all the time

because it's too overwhelming and not effective so apart from the exercises in grammar book Grammatik Aktiv

B2 to C1 I really like the exercises inside I separate the resources into two categories and two objectives

everyday life an academic or professional life even if you already have a B1

and B2 level and know a lot of complicated words my experience in Germany told me this doesn't mean that you can speak fluently with Germans and

understand them because there are many colloquial expressions and they just speak so fast

so to improve understanding expression in everyday life the primary resources are German movies and series the easy German podcast is too easy for this level

even I really like them here is a list of German movies and series that I recommend Zoe always

tries to give you concrete and useful things so remember to give me a like for my effort academic or professional German

I want to talk about it for two hours nah next time so I watch ZDF Heute Narichten Tagesschau

while having breakfast is my favorite routine I can learn what's happening in Germany and the world allowing me to talk with my friends and colleagues

I like Mr.Wissen to go Geschihte for historical topics I watch documentaries on ARTE my favorite channel using your targets

language to watch contents that really interest you is so satisfying I save any new words in the video in my Reverso

read and go through the list quickly after learning sometimes I do a revision at the end of the week I don't use anki too much for this level

because I will just repeat and memorize the world in an immersion environment podcast

I listen to Lanz und Precht for political and social topics and I have a Soziopod for philosophical and sociological topics

you don't have to copy me the point is to look for the podcast in your own field and listen to it as much as possible Instagram

hmm I followed Tagesschau Spiegelmagazin as well as a bunch of German influences in cooking

exercise and other domains I would love to say a few words about Tagesschau's Instagram page is amazing

especially the update am Morgen which sum up the news of every day every time I open my Instagram I just read the

headlines to feel less guilty that I use so much social medias I say that ah I can learn a bit of German

and I’m starting to read papers in German it's still really hard for me but I will just read a page or two

a day out loud I believe if I keep doing that and build up enough vocabulary, I will read faster and faster.

I have the exact same feeling with my French as I finished my DALF exam I started my master's class I could only

understand twenty to thirty percent I remember we had to read Michel Foucault it was the nightmare, a French philosopher

at that time it took me four hours to read five pages after two or three months and one year with a lot of a daily reading

I now have no problem reading this kind of books in French so I always encourage myself when I feel stuck or frustrated in German learning

I will just tell myself stick to your daily routine you will get there and practice makes perfect as they say in German

No master has yet fallen from the sky yeah a little motivation at the end of the video and here is my two hour study plan template for

B2 C1 level I hope this video can help you even just a little inspiration it means a lot to me

please feel free to write me in comments if you have any questions it would be lovely if you could give me a

like and subscribe to my channel so see you soon guys bye