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Learning German

5 Useful Websites You Need to Know If You’re Learning German

 

My philosophy is that learning German should be fun and interesting. When you turn it into a satisfying and enjoyable experience, you will learn much faster and keep your motivation high. This is crucial for your long-term success. But how can you create an effective and entertaining learning environment? The secret is in the tools and materials you use.

Learning German is much more efficient when you use content that you’re really interested in. Materials about topics that you like will boost your skills and help you progress fast. If you regularly read a blog about traveling, look for a travel blog in German and subscribe to it. Do you have a dog and you are an active member of a dog forum? Choose a German online community for dog lovers and become a member.

In the following list you will find a selection of websites that offer free materials covering a wide range of topics.

 

1) Deutsche Welle

Deutsche Welle or DW is Germany’s international broadcaster. The service is aimed at the overseas market and broadcasts news and information in 30 languages. In addition, DW maintains an impressive variety of materials for German learners on all levels. You can choose from German courses in your language, slowly spoken news reports, easily understandable articles with audio files and much more.

 

2) The University of Texas at Austin

The Center for Open Educational Resources & Language Learning (COERLL) at the University of Texas is one of 15 National Foreign Language Resource Centers funded by the US Department of Education. The overall mission of these federally-funded centers is to improve the teaching and learning of foreign languages. In the German section of COERLL you will find a lot of interesting texts, videos and audio materials that are very helpful for learning German.

 

3) DaZPod

DaZPod is a podcast for German as a second or foreign language. You can listen to the episodes either directly on their website or on iTunes. At DaZPod you will hear true-to-life stories in authentic German, stories you can readily understand with just a little prior knowledge of the language. This is a great resource for language learners and an easy way to improve your German.

 

4) Slow German

Slow German is another useful podcast for everyone who is learning German. It is aimed at intermediate to advanced learners, but there are also interesting episodes for absolute beginners. Slow German is produced by a radio journalist and offers information on a wide range of topics, from food & beverage to history and friendship. Absolutely recommended!

 

5) Duolingo

I decided to include Duolingo in this list, although it is different from the other mentioned websites. Duolingo is a free language-learning platform that offers extensive lessons and speaking practice. It has a gamified skill tree that users can progress through and a vocabulary section where learned words can be practiced. You can also use their iPad app to follow the lessons. Duolingo is a lot of fun and if you’re learning German you should definitely check it out.

 
 For more tips and tricks and to boost your German please feel free to check out my online video courses.

 

Related Posts

5 Recommended Websites to Watch German TV Online
3 Free Websites to Help You Brush up on German Grammar
5 German Pronunciation Tips That Will Help You Sound like a Native
5 Great Reasons Why You Should Learn German

 

Comments

  • Lucas

    Thank you so much for sharing it. I didn’t know about these websites. They will be very helpful for students like me.

    • Ingo Depner

      You’re most welcome, Lucas.

  • Steven

    I use http://www.spiegel.de and I like it

    • Ingo Depner

      “Der Spiegel” is a good news magazine. Thank you for your comment, Steven.

  • Marie-Hélène GROGNARD

    Hi,
    My request is slightly different
    I have been leaving in Germany and I am fluent in speaking, back to France what I am looking for is to practice the writting and get up to date with grammar
    Any Idea ?

    • Ingo Depner

      Hi Marie-Hélène,
      There exist several good German grammar websites, I especially like this one: http://deutsch.lingolia.com/en/
      A good website for writing practice is http://lang-8.com/ You can write texts in German, post them to the site and native speakers will correct your writing.
      I hope this helps, just let me know if you have any questions.

  • Karin Schimmelschulze/ German Advantage

    Hi Ingo,
    may I ask where you are based? I am in the UK since 2003 and run German Advantage. Would be good to get in touch, I believe.

    • Ingo Depner

      Hi Karin, I’m located in Germany. Please feel free to contact me here.

  • E.M.

    Thanks for the valuable information. I learned German, but I never had a chance to practice it. The most important sentence that I will never forget is…. Ich habe hunger oder Ich bin hungrig.

    • Ingo Depner

      You’re most welcome, I’m glad to help. And that is definitely an important sentence! 🙂