Mein Werkzeugkasten für Deutsch! by Johanna Jurgens

Deutsch fuer dich!--Interactive site for learning about the language & culture

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Deutsch lernen mit Ida: Short Videos on a variety of topics

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Step into German: themes on music, soccer, film, sustainability and Germany

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Nicos Weg

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Deutsch Aktuell (German Current)

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PONS online dictionary--excellent conjugation tables for ALL VERBS in GERMAN!!

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Separable prefixes in German & their meanings (Uni of Dartmouth--good site for grammar)

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Inseparable prefixes in German & their meanings (Uni of Dartmouth)

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separable & inseparable prefixes--meanigs & examples in context (alles auf Deutsch)

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Uni of Michigan--Verb conjugators & trainers; grammar resources (excellent)

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Deutschlernen.net--learn German, vocab & structures

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German.net--grammar & structure practice

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Your Daily German--Blog for learning German

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The German Zone--Online Workbook

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Deutsch Perfekt! --Online Magazine with interactive games, podcasts, readings

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Deutsch im Blick--Online Textbook with audio & video resources: Uni of Texas

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Dulingo

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Zungenbrecher (Tongue Twisters)

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Phonics online--practice pronnciation

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Learning apps for practicing vocab, grammar, structures, etc.

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Learn German on the go--Goethe Institute App

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German Links & Tips

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Watch

Netflix and Amazon Prime have a decent collection of German-language films and series. (Check out “Babylon Berlin” or “Dark” on Netflix and “You are Wanted” on Amazon). Even if you watch films with English subtitles, as long as you’re listening to the German while reading, you are helping your language skills and being exposed to new and familiar vocabulary and grammatical structures. These films are always changing, but you’re sure to find something you like! (Another tip: for many popular American shows on Netflix you can click on the bottom right to change the language to German!)
Popular TV Series: Check out this article that outlines the 15 most popular German TV series!
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Die Pfefferkörner
Deutscher
Der Krieg und ich
Turkish for Beginners

Stream German TV: Want to put on German TV while you’re having breakfast? For a live stream of channels like ARD, ZDF, VOX, RBB, arte, and more, check out Schoener-Fernsehen.
Quiz shows like “Wer weiß denn sowas?” (ARD) – entertaining and easy to follow!
Keep up on the news: The standard is the nightly Tagesschau at 20 Uhr. This 20 minute recap will get you caught up on world events (with German captions). If you feel like Deutschlandfunk (radio) or Tagesschau (nightly news) are just a bit too fast for you, check out the podcast Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten from Deutsche Welle, available (free!) on iTunes or nachrichtenleicht (easy news for adults). If you’re feeling more ambitious, you can try some of the thematic Deutsche Welle podcasts (just search for Deutsche Welle on iTunes). They are also free, and a great way to combine whatever you’re interested in (politics, science, music, literature, etc.) with German!
One student’s inspiring story of learning German in a year: The Lernen to Talk Show. Mickey Mangan made a video every week of his year in Germany, added subtitles, and you can watch how he progresses! There are some really amusing episodes that really show what it’s like to be learning a language abroad!
EasyGerman videos on YouTube: Interviews with people in the streets. If you’re looking for a funny episode, check out the ones at Karneval in Köln.

DW’s Telenovela “Jojo sucht das Glück” is relatively simple German, a short “soap opera” of sorts about a Brazilian woman who moves to Germany. “Sie hat sich verliebt: in jemanden, den sie noch nie gesehen hat. Wird sie ihn treffen?”
Extr@, also a telenovela of sorts about Sam, an American who moves to Germany, and his interactions with several roommates in a Berlin WG. Has easy German and German subtitles! Start with Episode 1 on YouTube.
The German Department at U of Michigan also has a huge list of ways to watch German online, check out this list here.
German public television: Did you know you can watch German TV online for free?
- Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)
- Links to other public broadcasters (ARD, RTL, Deutsche Welle) can all be found on this list by DANK.

Listen

Find your new favorite German artist: how about German American rapper Casper (try Hinterland), Revolverhead (Immer in Bewegung), Jennifer Rostock (Die guten alten Zeiten), Montreal (Das falsche Pferd), Sarah Connor (Wie schön du bist), and some classics: Herbert Grönemeyer (Mensch), Nena (99 Luftballons, Willst du mit mir gehen), or real classics like Marlene Dietrich (Sag mir wo die Blumen sind) and Marlene Dietrich and Hildegard Knef, singing Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin. Click here for a list of the Top 10 Singers from Germany from Deutsche Welle.
Listen to German tunes: To keep up with German music, check out the 100 Top Single Charts from MTV.de. You’re bound to find something you like! There are also many YouTube channels called “Deutsche Musik 2017” or “die schönste deutsche Popmusik“.
If you have a Spotify account, check out the channel “Germany top 50“.
Use Audible to find new books to listen to or books that you have already read. You can adjust the speed of the reader if that helps comprehension.
Follow a German podcast or two: check out the Podcast Charts for ideas. Other tips:
- Rice und Shine – “Wir wollen die vielen Geschichten und Perspektiven vietnamesischer Menschen in Deutschland sichtbar machen, mit persönlichen Anekdoten, viel Liebe und Humor.”
- Halbe Katoffl – “Der Halbe Katoffl Podcast ist eine Gesprächsreihe mit Deutschen, die nicht-deutsche Wurzeln haben. Die Halben Katoffln sprechen über ihre Erfahrungen, ihre Storys, ihr Leben.”
- Feuer und Brot – “gesellschaftlich relevante, popkulturelle und persönliche Themen wie z.B. Rap, Feminismus, Kulturelle Aneignung, Männlichkeit”
- Matatu Podcast – “Der deutschsprachige Afro-Podcast”

Read

Try reading part (or all) of a German translation of something you’ve already read in English. Doing so helps with vocabulary acquisition since you already know the story. You can order German copies of various books from Amazon.de or BookDepository and can find most anything, from Twilight (auf Deutsch: Bis(s) zum Morgengrauen) to Harry Potter (auf Deutsch: Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen) to more canonized literature. Just do an author search and see what you can find!
Find a (free) German e-Book! Just search for “German” on Amazon kindle. Many classics are free, or you can get books like Harry Potter as well. Check out the free children’s book Grimms Deutsche Sagen.
Want simpler texts? Some students enjoy this series about Dino, an Italian learning German in Berlin: Café in Berlin. Check out book 1 of 8 here. (Available as Kindle Book!)
Read children’s literature: Check out this list of “Zehn deutsche Kinderbuch-Klassiker” and order one online. Some favorites are the author Janosch, and his Oh wie schön ist Panama.
There are hundreds (maybe even thousands) of free e-books available on amazon.com, amazon.de, and amazon.co.uk. “The German Professor” has a helpful list of how to download free e-books.
Deutsche Welle also has a list of free and paid German e-books with instructions
Deutsche Welle – DW is a radio station, but like NPR, they post a lot of stories online. They have excellent resources for learners of German. If you like their facebook page, called Learn German with DW.de, you can get all sorts of interesting things on your newsfeed, like question prompts, news stories, etc. DW’s German XXL page also offers news articles with words you might not know highlighted and glossed in German, as well as lots of videos.
Logo! die Kindernachrichten – A news site for children with simplified language and images that help comprehension.
Other newspapers: Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine, Die ZEIT
Check out other periodicals for college-age students in Germany, both on their websites and on Facebook:
- STERN – A German magazine, usually read by folks in their 20s and 30s. Not really great if you’re looking for news, but it does contain some interesting cultural commentary.
- NEON – Stern’s sister publication for college kids. Lots of stuff about German youth culture in here
Rent German Children’s Books: – Do you have a child in your life? Or just want some easy, fun reading? Check out “KinderBooks” – a company based in NYC that rents German children’s books for a monthly fee.

Speak

Check out language learning communities in or near your town. Meetup.com is a great place to start!
Talk to yourself or to your pets! (No one is listening but you!)
Online language learning communities like The Mixxer or lang-8 hook you up with a language buddy. You teach them English, they teach you German (or whatever language you want to learn) via Skype, e-mail, or another mode of communication.

Write

Keep a journal for 15 minutes each day and write as best you can about what’s on your mind – what you did today, what you might do if you won a million dollars, a description of your best friend, a description of your room, a creative story or poem – the more you write, the more comfortable writing will feel!
Find a pen pal from your class and promise to exchange handwritten letters or e-mails every couple of weeks or every month.
For grammar inquiries & practice: Grimm Grammar
Get a penpal! Find someone in your class and promise to exchange letters every so often, or check out some websites such as Penpal World or Interpals. Writing with someone in Germany can be so much fun, and really improve your writing and reading. There is also a Google Hangout for German language practice

Apps

Duolingo is great for introductory students to learn new vocab and review past vocabulary.
Babbel is similar to Duolingo, but has more complex phrases and speech recognition to help with pronunciation

Follow

Twitter accounts to follow:
- Duden @Dudenverlag – for #WortdesTages
- BVG @BVG_Kampagne – this Berlin public transport account is known for its sense of humor
Instagram accounts to follow to learn German:
- @tagesschau
- @zitate_auf_deutsch
- @faktastisch
- @notesofberlin – funny messages posted IRL in the city of Berlin
Facebook pages to like for German learning
- DW – Learn German – posts TONS of interesting articles, videos, exercises, and games on their page each day. If you only like one German page, like this one!
- Ich liebe Deutsch
- Goethe-Institut – Learn German
Facebook pages to like for traveling to Germany
- DAAD North America
- German Consulate General New York
Facebook pages to like for news (German and international)
- DW (Deutsch) – Deutsche Welle, German radio service; news and cultural commentary
- Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin (German and international news)
- ZEIT ONLINE and ZeitMagazin (German and international news, cultural commentary)
- tagesschau (German and international news)
- Der Postillion (satirical news, very much like the Onion)
- Buzzfeed Deutschland
- Deutschlandfunk (like NPR)

Viel Spaß!

Easy German Podcasts--Super!

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Coffe break German

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Slow German

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Lingoni (Youtube)--organized by levels

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Learn German with Herr Antrim (Youtube)

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Grammatik mit Herrn Schwab (Youtube)

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Deutsch mit Marija (Youtube)

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Easy German Youtube Videos

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Deutsch fuer Euch! (fun Youtube videos for practicing pronunciation & learning German)

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Deutsch Lernen durch Hoeren (listen & read German --Youtube)

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Vorleser.net--downloadable audio books auf Deutsch for all levels & abilities

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The Fable Cottage--Children's stories & fairy tales auf Deutsch

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Deutsche Podcasts--most current & popular podcasts (for the more advanced learner)

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The Bookbox --animated books for learning German(Youtube)

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Children's poetry

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Learn outlive--practice texts

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Doppeltext.com--Dual-language texts

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This site offers a selection of dual-language texts in electronic form. Prices are low, and the site offers a number of free excerpts for you to try first, including the complete text of Kafkas Die Verwandlung.

Litgloss (Uni of Buffalo)--glossed texts in various languages

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Most are freely accessible, a few are only for UB students. The German selections include texts by the Grimm Brothers, Goethe, Kafka, and Kant. Click on words to see translations, or look for more info in the “Context” and “Resources” tabs.

Nachrichtenleicht (news easy)

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TAZ

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MDR--mdr is the state radion station for Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Thüringen.

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Deutsche Welle--The texts of these news reports are not simplified, but you can hear them spoken slowly while reading them.

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ZDF--News for kids by Germany’s “channel two”

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Neun 1/2--news, videos, podcasts by students & for studens

jjurgens3 — 2021-08-08 21:16:36 UTC

Märchen in Leichter Sprache (Fairy tales in easy lanuage)

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AATG--National German Practice Exams

jjurgens3 — 2021-08-08 21:19:38 UTC

Levles 1-4 for listening & reading practice

FAZ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)--Jugend schreibt (Articles by teenagers for the German Newspager FAZ)

jjurgens3 — 2021-08-08 21:22:17 UTC

Der Spiegel--online magazine for politics, culture, sport, & business for advanced learners

jjurgens3 — 2021-08-08 21:24:19 UTC

DAAD--German Academic Exchange Service

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Study in Germany--Land of ideas

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Studying in Germany

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largest information portal with information guides & essential links

BBC--Learning German

jjurgens3 — 2021-08-08 21:47:18 UTC

Musik ideas

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Listen

*Listen to German tunes: To keep up with German music, check out the 100 Top Single Charts from MTV.de. You’re bound to find something you like!

*If you have a Spotify account, check out the channel “Germany top 50“.

*Liste von Liedern

8 Ways to Discover Popular Music Around the World

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Hello Talk

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Italki

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Rad & Schuss (online Zeitschrift)

jjurgens3 — 2021-08-18 18:00:18 UTC

Uni Wisconsin Site for Grammar explanations, practice, & vocabulary reinforcement

jjurgens3 — 2021-08-19 15:05:13 UTC

Dartmouth Grammar Review (trocken, aber gut!)

jjurgens3 — 2021-08-19 17:51:38 UTC

Uni von Michigan--Grammatik (super!)

jjurgens3 — 2021-09-02 12:46:30 UTC

Uni von Michigan--Vokabeln (super)

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DeutschKlang--App

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Practice pronunciation & learn about different regional dialects.

Grüezi, Moin, Servus (how one speaks depending on their region)

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Uni von Portsmouth--Vocab, Pronunciation & Grammar Resources.

jjurgens3 — 2021-09-07 01:56:22 UTC

List of High Frequency Verbs

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Max Planck Gesellschaft (Research in Germany)

jjurgens3 — 2021-09-25 18:31:42 UTC

https://www.mpg.de/en

ELI--Online Magazines (Zeitschriften)

jjurgens3 — 2022-02-22 03:40:52 UTC

DATIVE VERBS

jjurgens3 — 2022-02-22 19:56:24 UTC

Nachrichten in 100 Sekunden

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Information & Links

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Robert Bosch Stiftung

jjurgens3 — 2022-05-17 18:35:48 UTC

jjurgens3 — 2022-06-02 12:57:45 UTC

jjurgens3 — 2022-06-02 12:58:10 UTC

jjurgens3 — 2022-06-02 13:56:55 UTC

Mein Deutschbuch--Grammar & Vocab. Only in German (no English)--Excellent resource.

jjurgens3 — 2022-08-23 16:35:47 UTC

Leo Woerterbuch

jjurgens3 — 2022-09-29 18:51:06 UTC

GAPP

jjurgens3 — 2022-10-13 18:22:04 UTC

Make it in Deutschland

jjurgens3 — 2023-04-04 16:18:13 UTC

Make it in Deutschland

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Make it in Germany

jjurgens3 — 2023-04-04 16:20:09 UTC

die Studienbruecke (The Study bridge program offered by the Goethe Institut)

jjurgens3 — 2023-04-18 19:09:37 UTC

Easy German--Explanations, how tos, & exercises

jjurgens3 — 2023-07-25 17:14:43 UTC

Mit Youtube Deutschlerenen--top 7 sites--Jan von Easy Deutsch

jjurgens3 — 2023-07-25 17:16:42 UTC

Study in Germany for High School students

jjurgens3 — 2023-08-24 13:01:28 UTC

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Tagesschau--News in simple language

jjurgens3 — 2024-07-25 19:06:36 UTC

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German Grammar practice at all levels--ALL IN GERMAN

jjurgens3 — 2024-08-21 19:10:10 UTC

jjurgens3 — 2024-08-26 12:55:03 UTC

7 YouTube Channels to Learn German for All Levels

jjurgens3 — 2024-11-12 14:52:03 UTC

News, short & easy with Video, vocab help, & text

ARD--Podcasts, News, & more from Germany

jjurgens3 — 2025-05-06 17:21:24 UTC

Nicos Weg--All levels

jjurgens3 — 2025-05-22 15:14:09 UTC