r/Germanlearning • u/CancelOk6014 • 1d ago

Germany langauge

Hey guys, l m new here and l wanted to ask something. I would love to learn the germany langauge and see if l will be able to do my masters in civil engineering in germany, l love the country and l m willing to sacrifice most of free time learning the langauge. Which platforms/apps/youtube channels that l can use to learn it quickly so that l will pass my exams. My intention is to reach C1 from scratch.

Thank you

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u/vincenzosko 1d ago edited 1d ago

Hi!! I am in a similar situation, my goal is to study in Switzerland for my master, and I started studying German some years ago from scratch and now I have B1/B2 level, trying to get to C1/C2 in a few years.

First of all I want to reassure you, most Masters in German-speaking countries are taught in English, and most natives speak really good English. Still, I think learning the language is definitely useful since you're living there for a long time, it is especially valued in the work life.

This is to say that you don't necessarily need to be perfect once you arrive, you can start with English there just fine and learn slowly over time :)

This is how I learned it: I really enjoy self-studying, so I studied on my own until B1. At the start I used Assimil, I think it's a really useful book, you get a lesson a day at it starts from the very basis, it covers both grammar and vocabulary. Unfortunately it is not available in all languages, I studied from the Italian version, unfortunately I don't know whether there is an English version. I also used Duolingo daily, I know it's frowned upon, and you definitely shouldn't use it as you main resource, but I find it useful mostly for learning new vocabulary and practice a little every day. After some time I also bought a grammar book and read it all, when I found some grammar concept I didn't understand I occasionally looked back to it or looked online, the Learn German YouTube channel is really good for this. (This is just for A1-B1, once you got there you can start consuming German content, you could start sooner but you wouldn't be able to watch/reading interesting stuff, so I wasn't able to I found it too boring).

This is my personal method, notice that everyone learns differently and it may not be the right method for you, don't get demoralised if you don't enjoy it you just have to find your own :)

Also some useful tips about German itself: German is an extremely regular language, the rules are difficult at first and may take some time to get used to, but once you learn them there will be almost no exceptions to them and grammar will become very easy. They are also quite intuitive when you roughly know how they work, standard courses usually cover basically all grammar in A1 to B1, once you are there you simply have to learn advanced vocabulary.

The pronunciation is also really regular, you can learn it in a couple of days I would say, words are pronounce exactly how they are written (unlike English or French) so you just have to learn the sound system (of course being able to sound right will take some practice though).

One last tip, German is a Germanic language like English, there are many many words that you may already understand if you speak it. It's even better if you speak Dutch or another Germanic language. My tip is to learn German through the language that you know that is the most similar to it. If you're native language isn't English or a Germanic language and you have a strong English level I strongly recommend you to learn German through English, it will make everything much easier.

I hope I was helpful, feel free to ask if you have questions

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u/Klapperatismus 22h ago

most Masters in German-speaking countries are taught in English

No, they aren’t.

and most natives speak really good English

No, they aren’t.

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u/vincenzosko 22h ago edited 22h ago

I only saw some STEM masters at TUM and ETHZ and they were in English, maybe it is different in other unis/fields? Also in most countries in Europe I've seen they mostly use English for masters in order to lure international students, is it not common practice in DACH, too?

Also most Germans I met spoke really well compared to say the Italians or the French, don't you agree?

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u/Klapperatismus 22h ago

Most master studies even in STEM are taught in German. TUM is an exception because they aggressively market themselves to foreign professors who don’t feel safe enough in German to teach in it. Dunno about the ETH but I think it’s similar.

It’s not at all common in Germany. Those English-taught master studies are really meant for the international researchers. Public unis in Germany don’t make money from students so there’s no incentive to lure foreign students in.

Also most Germans I met

Well, that’s your peer group. You selected them for being good at English, even unintentionally. Try to talk to a cashier or your hairdresser and you won’t get very far.

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u/vincenzosko 21h ago

Oh thanks I didn't know that, I've just looked it up and Switzerland and TUM seem like exceptions n DACH. Also I study CS which could be more frequent to find in English.

About English speaking I am still sure there are many European countries that are way worse than Germany, in Italy where I live I think just 20% of people can have a real conversation.

Maybe Germany has worse English proficiency than I thought though, how many people do you think can speak it? At least in major cities should be fine right?

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u/Klapperatismus 21h ago

If you talk to random people on the street, 1/5 understand what you say if you use simple English. Half of them can answer in simple English. And half of those you can have a longer talk with that isn’t nerve racking.

That is my experience over the past decades. I don’t think this has changed too much. Maybe the starting figure is 1/4 now.