Most Recommended German Resources For Learning German

We’ve tested tons of resources for learning German to help you figure out which ones are worth using and which ones should be avoided. These are our top choices.

MOST RECOMMENDED RESOURCES FOR LEARNING GERMAN

SmarterGerman

Everyday German Course (A1-B1) may be the most comprehensive online German course you’ll find. It teaches German with the help of a crime story – each lesson corresponds to a different chapter in the story. Throughout the variety of exercises in each lesson, you’ll improve every area of your German. I was surprised by just how unique this course is. Michael, the creator, does a great job of creating a space for you to learn without spoonfeeding you the information.

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italki

With italki, you can find an online German tutor for much less money than you may expect. This has tons of teachers available to choose from and is very convenient to use. They have some useful free features. For example, you can get your writing corrected for free, find a language exchange partner, and ask any language learning questions you may have. italki is probably the resource I recommend most often, regardless of which language you’re learning.

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Coffee Break

Teaches German in a slow and methodical way. It’s similar to sitting in on a lesson and you’ll learn alongside one of the hosts. It forces you to actively think and put together sentences in German. Lessons slowly build up from single words, sentences, and then dialogues. The paid courses include extras, but you can find the basic audio lessons for free from any podcast app or on iTunes.

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Speechling

If you want to improve your pronunciation and prosody, Probably the best resource available to help you. The premium option allows you to submit unlimited recordings to be corrected by a native German speaker. Also lots of free features, like dictation exercises, being able to record yourself mimicking recordings, multiple choice questions, listening practice, and more.

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Pimsleur

Pimsleur is one of the most established language learning courses around. In the past, their courses were also among the most expensive, but recently, they’ve added a subscription option which makes it a much better deal. Unlike most courses, their focus is almost entirely on the oral language. You’ll spend your time listening, thinking, and answering questions in German.

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LingQ

I have some mixed feelings about LingQ. Although there are quite a few facets of that platform I’m not a fan of, and I wish they created more original content, I think it’s a super useful resource to get people reading and listening to more German. There’s a wide variety of content, separated by difficulty levels. They also track how many words you ‘know’ automatically as you read.

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Language Transfer

Language Transfer is relatively new among language learning resources. It’s somewhat similar to the Michel Thomas method where a teacher explains how the language works and then you apply this to form sentences. While it may be tempting to listen passively, to get full use out of it you’ll want to actively participate in the lessons. Best of all, it’s completely free to use.

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Grammar Hero

Grammar Hero is a unique resource that teaches grammar naturally – through reading interesting stories. It focuses on the most challenging German grammar points you’ll encounter. It works by reading and listening to a story in German. At first, you’ll just notice when the grammar points are used before learning how they work, and practicing using them on your own.

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Tandem

Tandem is a language exchange app created to connect learners from around the world. You can teach someone the language you speak and they’ll help you learn the language you’d like to learn. It comes with lots of useful features (as well as a large, active user base) to make connecting with other users easy and facilitate language practice. There’s also a tutoring service offered in the app for those who are interested.

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Babbel

Babbel is a well-known online language-learning platform with over 1 million active users. It’s available on the web, for iOS, and for Android. Its goal is to get learners to a conversational level as quickly as possible through the use of a variety of exercises and spaced repetition for review. The courses are well put together and relatively inexpensive compared to other resources that exist. Overall a decent resource for those looking to learn German.

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