Hi All!
I have been learning German for 4 years now - over time more or less successfully I must say it is very hard to learn German especially in Switzerland since I can’t understand Swiss German yet and on the other hand everybody speaks English so well.
The biggest help for me has been an online teacher. I was really struggling and wasn’t moving forward as a self-learner until I started learning with a teacher. So if there’s only one thing you would take from this it’s - don’t think twice and start learning with a teacher!
But there are so many resources that can help German learners - which even more important for learners in Switzerland where we often don’t get so exposed to High German.
I assembled some good resources I can recommend so I am sharing below! I even started my own project for learning German vocabulary which is listed on the bottom
Online reading in German
https://www.dw.com/de/deutsch-lernen/s-2055 - a well-known resource no need to introduce
https://www.der-postillon.com/ - sarcastic news (like the Onion)
https://www.geo.de/ - interesting articles on a variety of topics
https://www.focus.de/ - news
https://www.spiegel.de/ - news
For total beginners (A1)
https://learngerman.dw.com/de/nicos-weg/c-36519687 this is the best resource if you are just starting. It’s a video story with lessons about Nico created by Deutsche Welle
Apps
- I personally don’t like the apps which are out there but if you like learning from flashcards, Anki is quite good. You can download the lists below and then download the Anki app and load the list into it. After that you can learn words with flashcards.
https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/653061995 - 4000 most used words by frequency
https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/1264085591 - this is a list of Swiss German vocabulary.
Dictionary
https://www.dict.cc/ - this is a good dictionary to use instead of Google Translator with more details about words
Online Tutors
https://www.italki.com/ and https://preply.com/ - websites where you can find online tutors for private lessons. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a private teacher if you are learning German. I can definitely recommend these websites - so go for it!
Books in Simple German
https://www.orellfuessli.ch/suche?sq=simple+german - Just pick one and order A very good way of learning is reading in simple German. I would recommend to get a book in a lower level than what you have - that way you can read more and faster without struggling.
Podcasts
http://slowgerman.com/inhaltsverzeichnis/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…en/id282932005
(but there are many more of course
Bonus: Flashcard systems
https://www.amazon.de/HAN-flash-card…/dp/B0007OEI66 - box for a Leitner method for learning vocabulary. Leitner method is a cool system for methodic learners that I discovered lately. I haven’t tried it yet but I probably will. Read about it here: https://www.mindedge.com/learning-sc…
https://www.amazon.de/Flashcards-squ…/dp/B08TVWRL6Z or https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Wopeite-I…/dp/B07QPDSNQS - color-coded flashcards on a ring. They also fit into the Leitner box
Daily Email
https://storylearner.com/ - Daily email with micro stories and audio for quick daily learning of vocabulary. This is my project, I am just starting so please support me by subscribing
Let me know if you find these resources useful and if you have any good ones you can recommend. Thank you!!!