Pop quiz - Which one of these is your favourite reason to learn German?
You fell in love with a German speaker
You fell in love with the atmosphere of a beer fest or a Christmas market
You have not yet tasted the greatest bread on this Earth, but you’d really like to, and you’ve heard the bakery only offers it to German speakers
Your company works with German clients and their English is so good it’s embarrassing all you know is jawohl ein Bier bitte
You want to visit Germany and get a taste of the wonderful nature, forests, skiing, castles, Roman history, medieval town centres, comfortable trains, inviting restaurants, fairy tale rivers
There are no wrong answers here. ALL of the above are fantastic reasons to get started learning the German language. I have been teaching and sharing German language and culture for five years, and today I’m sharing some of my favourite resources for beginners.
Make Your German Sound Amazing
My free mini-guide to speaking German is out now. It's called Make Your German Sound Amazing and will give you the best tips and 26 key phrases to make you ready for any conversation. Pop your details into the form below to join my email list and get the guide immediately!*
Check out 2 or 3 of these resources and make sure you bookmark them to visit again and again!
Great German Learning Websites
Beautiful German castles and Germany.travel
Sometimes it's necessary to check out of verb tables and remember why you chose to learn this language in the first place. What better way than to dream of hiking up beautiful hills and discovering romantic castles? Castles beat cases, after all.
Mein Weg nach Deutschland
This is a great project from the Goethe institute. Where would we be without them! Follow the story of Nevin, a newbie in Germany (who excitedly photographs pretty much anything on her mobile phone). The videos are available with and without subtitles and each episode has practice exercises too!
Deutsch Plus and Jojo sucht das Glück
There are some truly great telenovelas out there, designed especially for German learners. Lovers of retro Germany will like Deutsch Plus, the story of shy TV intern Nico from Romania - it's vintage 1996 work. Even better - it's suitable for starters from day 1. For improvers, Brazilian student Jojo will be a fun resource.
Listening: Radio D
Another suitable resource for beginners right from day 1 - Radio D is an audio course. Nice plot and a very well supported website with grammar hints and word lists make this resource a go-to page for German learners of any age.
Dictionary: LEO
No German learner can do without LEO - it must be one of the best online dictionaries around! Language searches available in both directions, 7 supported language pairs with German, audio pronunciation and a well-attended forum finding even the most obscure expressions make this a bookmark no-brainer.
TIP: Read more on how to use a dictionary like the most successful language learners
German Uncovered
Learn German the natural way without complex grammar explanations and boring lessons. This course is based on a story, so you’ll be reading and having fun as you progress to level A2 at high speed.
Speak German Like a Native
If you find spoken German hard to understand, you need this course. This is my 5* masterclass course for all levels. No other course digs into the sounds of the German language, giving you the confidence to even say Eichhörnchen and Wechselstrom like a native.
Got More To Add?
The German learning community out there is always growing, and I’d love to hear what you’ve uncovered online.
Leave a comment if you know where to go for grammar that makes sense, or the best Swiss expressions.