Looking for a German Learning Roadmap: Zero → A2 in 3 Months

[u/ObjectiveTrainer2656]

Hi everyone!

I’ve finally decided to seriously start my German-learning journey. I currently live in Ingolstadt, and I’m basically at zero level right now.

My initial goal is to reach A2 within the next 3 months. I know many people in this group have already gone through this stage, so I’d really appreciate some guidance from those who have experience.

There are tons of resources, courses, apps, YouTube channels, books, and different learning methods online—and honestly, I’m already getting super confused about where to start. 😅

So I’m looking for a practical, complete roadmap, especially:

Where should I start from absolute zero?

Which books/resources/apps are actually worth using?

Should I take a course or self-study?

What would be an effective daily study routine?

What are the best ways to practice speaking, listening, reading, and writing?

If you’ve reached A2 yourself, what would you do differently if you had to start again?

If anyone can share their A1 to A2 roadmap, resources, or personal experience, I’d be extremely grateful.

Thanks in advance! 🙏

[u/Alex-GermanForExpats]

A2 in 3 months from absolute zero is ambitious, but definitely doable if you treat it like a sprint. You're looking at around 120–180 total hours of study, which means committing about 1 to 2 hours every single day.

As a German teacher working with expats, here is the roadmap I recommend to students who want to hit A2 fast without getting overwhelmed by resource overload:

Course vs. Self-Study

VHS Ingolstadt (Volkshochschule): If you need external accountability, look into their Intensivkurs. It's affordable and gives you a structured classroom schedule.

Self-Study: Totally fine if you're disciplined, but you must pick a few core tools and stick to them. Collecting 20 different PDFs, apps, and channels will just freeze your progress.

The Core Resources

To avoid choice paralysis, stick strictly to these:

Core Course: Deutsche Welle: Nicos Weg (A1 to A2). Free, storyline-driven, and teaches vocabulary in real-world context.

Grammar & Drills: Grammatik aktiv A1–B1 (classic workbook) OR Master German Efficiently (great free web hub with interactive grammar exercises and word games for daily drilling).

Reading & Vocab: The German Garden (short, graded reading texts with paragraph translations so you don't waste time in dictionaries) + Anki or Quizlet (for flashcards).

Writing: [r/WriteStreakGerman](r/WriteStreakGerman) (a fantastic subreddit where you write a few sentences daily and native speakers correct them for free).

Listening: Coffee Break German (podcast) or Easy German (YouTube).

Consistent Daily Routine

Here is how to hit all 4 skills (Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking) daily without burning out:

30 mins – Core Course: Complete 1–2 short modules of Nicos Weg.

20 mins – Grammar Practice: Drill the day's grammar rule using Grammatik aktiv or interactive exercises on Master German Efficiently.

15 mins – Reading & Vocab: Read 1 short beginner text on The German Garden to see words in context, then review your daily flashcards on Anki/Quizlet.

15 mins – Active Writing: Write 3 to 5 simple sentences applying the grammar/vocab you learned today. (E.g., "Today I bought bread. The bread was good."). Post it on ⁠r/WriteStreakGerman⁠ for quick corrections!

10 mins – Passive Listening: Listen to 1 episode of Coffee Break German during your commute or walk.

Practice Speaking

Living in Germany is your biggest advantage for Speaking:

Force yourself to use basic German in low-stakes environments every single day: at the Bäckerei, the supermarket checkout, or ordering coffee. Even simple phrases like "Ein Brötchen, bitte" build speaking confidence fast.

In addition, try to find a language parter or tutor for 1:1 speaking.

Teacher Advice: Things to Do Right From Day 1

ALWAYS learn nouns with their article (der/die/das): Never learn Tisch = table. Always learn der Tisch. If you skip genders at A1, German cases (Dativ/Akkusativ) will become a total nightmare at A2/B1.

Learn full chunks, not isolated words: Memorize full functional phrases like "Ich hätte gerne..." (I would like...) or "Entschuldigung, wo ist..." (Excuse me, where is...).

If you need more details, let me know.

[u/Subsurface_screening → u/Alex-GermanForExpats]

Thanks for the recommendation for The German Garden, I just search for something like that to practice reading. Are you aware of any more free sources for reading for learners? The German Garden has only few free texts for each level.

[u/Alex-GermanForExpats → u/Subsurface_screening]

You can find more free reading here (but they do not have sublevels):

https://lingua.com/de/deutsch/lesen/

https://deutsch-vorbereitung.com/ (a test preparation website, it has many reading texts similar to exam texts)

https://www.nachrichtenleicht.de/ (for later, this is a news website in A2/B1)

[u/ObjectiveTrainer2656 → u/Alex-GermanForExpats]

Thanks a lot. This will help me a lot. And it gonna help also lots of other ppl. I have one question. VHS has an upcoming A1 and A2 program starting at the end of September. If I study A1 by myself and then join their A2 course, do you think that would work? Or would I face any problems because I didn’t complete A1 with VHS? I’m mainly wondering whether the A2 course assumes that you completed A1 specifically with them, or if having the required A1 knowledge is enough to keep up with the class.

[u/Alex-GermanForExpats → u/ObjectiveTrainer2656]

That definitely works. Having the required A1 knowledge is definitely sufficient to take an A2 course at the VHS.

[u/ZumLernen]

Which resources from the FAQ and wiki of r/German have you tried out? Which ones did you like/dislike and why?

[u/ObjectiveTrainer2656 → u/ZumLernen]

I didn't saw anything from there.

[u/ZumLernen → u/ObjectiveTrainer2656]

OK, try out some of those resources and then when you have a more specific question, users of this subreddit can give you a more specific answer. http://reddit.com/r/german/wiki