Learning German - Language Online Resources
German Language Courses
If you need a language course in Germany, here is a selection of courses for adults and teenagers, in Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Oberwesel.
German Courses for Adults
German Courses for Teenagers
Premium Online German Courses
Learn German from anywhere in the world with a German tutor!Free Online German Courses
WATCH
Youtube Playlists
Youtube has many fantastic, free videos for learning German. The channels below are of particularly high quality, with well-organised playlists and good structure for learning grammar rules and vocabulary. Wanted Adventure and DontTrustTheRabbit are especially fun, focusing on funny differences between English and German as well as more informal German that you definitely won't learn in school. But don't take our word for it, take a look for yourself and you'll see there's far more to discover about the German language!
LISTEN
Listening to German while working or doing other activities is a great, free way to learn German. I have included a list of German stations, and a further list that is split by the German speaking countries so that you can learn the specific regional dialect or accent you are most interested in.
German Language Radio Stations
Learn German with Spotify
Good article on learning German for free with Spotify. It gives tips on how to browse and discover German artists with Wikipedia, Youtube and Spotify. Also shows how to use the lyrics feature of Spotify, tips for finding German courses on Spotify and searching for German audiobooks. You can also find German comedians on Spotify.German Language General Podcasts
- German podcasts subreddit
- Deutschlandfunk - Live radio, podcasts and on-demand audio. Three sections: Deutschlandfunk, Deutschlandradio Kultur, DRadio Wissen
- Deutsche Welle Podcasts - Variety of topics, via iTunes
- WRINT - Large variety of topics
- Tagesschau Audio - a daily look at the news
- SWR2 Wissen - Radio Features about a specific topic (often science)
- Bayern 2 Wissen - Features either a specific scientific topic or the scientific news of the day
- BR2 - Die Frage - Takes a specific issues and discusses it in depth
- Radio Eins - Sanft & Sorgfältig - Satirist and TV host Jan Böhmermann and singer-songwriter Olli Schulz talk about anything and everything
- Not safe for work - Hosts Holger Klein and Tim Pritlove, the co-founder of the Chaos Computer Club talk about politics, society, technology and everything that was important for them in recent weeks (discontinued)
- Chaos Radio Express - Tim Pritlove and changing experts talk about interesting topics in the areas of technology, culture or society
- Omega Tau - Podcasts about all sorts of high-tech topics
- Game One Plauschangriff - The guys from Germany's most succesful Gaming TV show GameOne, better known as the Rocketbeans (24 hour Twitch channel) talk about gaming, movies and the whole nerd universe
- Celluleute - Four friends and movie nerds talk about new releases and their all-time favorite movies
- Stevinho Talks - Gamer and teacher Steve Krömer (Stevinho) talks about his life, gaming, football, movies and gives helpful advice to his community
- Radio Tatort - Radio version of the popular German TV crime series
- Stay Forever - Podcast in which two former video game journalists talk about video game classics
- Vorleser - Free audiobooks in German, mostly classics
German Language Learners Podcasts
- German GrammarPod - German GrammarPod explains the world of German grammar. Its aim is to be accessible to all levels of learner and to give you tips to help you achieve maximum effect for minimum effort. Via iTunes.
- Slow German - As the title suggests, these podcasts are in slow German. Features a transcript as well for each episode. Faster recordings are behind a paywall.
- Germanlingq - Podcasts for language learners. Transcripts can only be viewed when logged in (free).
SPEAK
German pronunciation is often tricky for beginners. Here are some guides to some tricky sounds in German, and some exercises to improve your pronunciation.
- Guide to German Prounciation - detailed guide for letters of the alphabet and vowels, and exercises to improve your pronunciation.
- Cheat Sheet for German Pronunciation - if you need a quick reference, this is a great resource.
GERMAN DICTIONARIES AND CHEAT SHEETS FOR LEARNING GERMAN
Cheat Sheets
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| Cheat sheet created by redditors | Common word roots and the different cases, broken down by corresponding endings, personal pronouns, and prepositions. |
| Grammar cheat sheet | Pronouns, articles, prepositions, conjugations, auxiliary verbs, adjective declension, gender. |
| Gender indicator cheat sheet | Helpful hints on which gender to use. |
| Gender Hints | Great, clear picture to help with genders, by object types, e.g. rivers, metals |
Online German Dictionaries and Tools
- Very high quality dictionary, with conjugation lists and phrases- LEO English to German
- Also a very high quality dictionary, available o switch between German/English, and German/Many other languagesDict.cc
- Very nice dictionary with audio and word lists, from TU Chemitz
- German to Chinese dictionary, and vice versa - Handedict
- Babel online Wörterbuch
- German verb conjugation tool
- A different way to learn German - Sayings, phrases and word games
- DerDieDas Game- an ingenious, fun way to learn der, die, das for a variety of German words.
APPS AND SOFTWARE RESOURCES FOR LEARNING GERMAN
What is Spaced Repetition Software (SRS)?
Spaced repetition software can help you to learn German more quickly and effectively. This software will make it much more likely that you will remember the material that you learn in your language courses and from books and other sources. It works by using 'flashcards' to highlight the material you struggle with the most, and bringing the material to the top of the 'deck', allowing you to revise it until you remember the material. Here is a really good article about the value of using spaced repetition software (SRS) to learn a language. Here is another great article about SRS.SRS Applications - to Download and Online
- Anki is a superb, free SRS application suitable for making custom language lists. Pre-made lists also avilable. You can download it for all major operating systems.
- Quizlet is an online SRS application with pre-made and custom lists. Here are a large group of German list.
- Memrise online flashcards and mnemonics for various languages using SRS.
SRS Flashcard - Pre-Made German Decks
- Huge list of German flashcards for Anki
- Memrise list of German courses
- Here is the Deutsch für Euch Memrise list (accompanies the Youtube Deutsch für Euch video series above.)
How to Setup Anki to Learn German
Setting up Anki, using movie subtitles as memory guides. This is a great video for using pictures instead of just to memorise new words in your SRS application.Apps for Learning German
We created an article especially for learning languages! Top 5 Mobile Apps to learn German.For iPhone
BLOGS & NEWS SITES FOR LEARNING GERMAN
Here are some websites and blogs with great articles and tips for learning German.
- Smarter German
- Jabbalab German - some great charts, videos and examples for common topics where German learners struggle.
- Transparent Language German - some nice posts to improve your vocabulary, such as English words that are actually German.
- Angelika's German - experienced German teacher with simple, direct posts.
- Learning German in Munich - a view of learning German in the popular city in Bavaria with some good resources.
- Learn German with Nicole - learn about German culture and the language.
- German Island - Lots of nice resources for a German learning class.
- German with Andrew - Talks about successful learning methods.
- About German Forum - this forum covers many German topics, from tutoring, to fun, to German news, and much more.
- Easy Deutsch - nice sections with video and explaining grammar and vocabulary.
German Language Newspapers
German Newspapers
Austrian Newspapers
Swiss Newspapers
Feedback Form
German Language Movies
Movies Dubbed into German
Movies from Hollywood and other places, dubbed into German.German TV Stations Online Streaming
What better way to improve your German speaking, pronunciation and listening skills than watching German television? Watching formal and colloquial German is a great way to learn.| Channel | Description |
|---|---|
| ARD Mediathek | Watch ARD programmes live or on-demand |
| Das Erste Mediathek | Watch Das Erste programmes live or on-demand |
| ZDF Mediathek | Watch ZDF programmes lives or on-demand |
| ORF TVThek | Largest Austrian broadcaster, live or on-demand. |
| DW (Deutsche Welle) | Watch the different DW channels live or on-demand |
| Euronews | Watch the German edition of the European news channel live |
| 3sat | Artsy / cultural TV channel - watch live or on-demand |
| HR | ARD channel for Hessen |
| MDR | ARD channel for Central Germany |
| rbb | ARD channel for Berlin / Brandenburg - watch live or on-demand |
| WDR | ARD channel for Western Germany - watch live or on-demand |
| BR | ARD channel for Bavaria - watch live or on-demand |
| NDR | ARD channel for Northern Germany - watch live or on-demand |
| ARTE | ARTE - watch live or on-demand. Nice artsy and original documentaries and films |
| Tagesschau24 | 24/7 News channel. Great way to learn German! |
German Subtitles
If you need to download subtitles for a German movie, or want to watch a movie in another language with German subtitles, look no further than this list.| Website | Description |
|---|---|
| Open Subtitles | Large selection in many languages |
| Subscene | Large selection in many languages |
| Subtitles.de | German website with a somewhat smaller selection of subtitles |
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