If you’re staying in a foreign country for a longer time, it’s a good idea to try to learn some of the local languages. Your new country will become more accessible to you, people will appreciate your effort and you will feel more at home. Learning a country’s language often also goes a long way in helping you understand its culture, e.g. cultures that prefer expressing their opinions directly also rely less on the context in their language. While surviving on English in Berlin is absolutely possible, speaking at least some German will definitely make your life easier and you won’t be branded as a mere tourist quite as quickly. And frequenting a language course is also a great way to meet people
that you share at least one interest with.
In the following, we have collected some useful resources, online as well as offline, for learning and exercising German (and other languages).
The Goethe-Institut offers courses for all levels and areas, such as “Communication Skills in the Workplace”, as well as evening and weekend courses to accommodate working schedules.
BERLASCO – Berlin Language School offers Diplomatic and Professional German courses and is very accommodating when it comes to individual convenience and professional needs. Get in touch with GLOBALS solutioner Stefan here.
For additional exercise, there are tons of online services with different approaches.
Palabea is a marketplace where users can learn languages and exchange knowledge by video chatting with other users about self-chosen topics. Some of these so-called “palabeas” are free, some are paid and you can offer your own as well. Members come from all over the world, so you can find a multitude of languages. On
On Babbel, you can take interactive online courses on your own schedule in 13 different (mostly European) languages, including pronunciation checks and a mobile app for exercising on the go. You can try the courses for free and then decide if you want to continue.
Duolingo is able to offer language-learning services in 6 different (European) languages for free since its users actually translate documents for them while learning. The fact that the courses are set up like a game makes it especially fun, mobile apps are available as well.
Finally, it is always a good idea to surround yourself as much as possible with the language you want to learn. So if you’re learning German, watch German movies, listen to German radio and read German books.
Radio Deutsche Welle offers free material for learning German and a lot of really great resources for exercising.
BBC has some educational material and information on German TV and radio stations online.
You can find a comprehensive list of German movie reviews as well as tons of resources for practicing you new language on this website.
For the intermediate learner, this list of not too difficult (but still interesting to read) German books could be of use.
What is your most trusted resource for learning and practicing languages?
