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