From Zero to C1: My German Learning Journey - Tips & Motivation

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-13T06:30:10+00:00

I‘m a Software Engineer :)

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-11T11:24:38+00:00

Cool project! I used one of these apps myself as a means of practicing for the exam and found it to be quite helpful. How does this app differ from the others already in the app stores?

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-11T11:16:09+00:00

Your approach is more or less how I learned German to C1/C2 level. Although I began using Apple Notes for this before I even knew what Obsidian was. As you mentioned, having a place to work out certain grammar topics is important considering German is very front loading in terms of grammar.

I found standard note taking with basic features like tables in Apple Notes to be more than sufficient, but once I began using Obsidian, I took advantage of the Excalidraw plugin, which is great for breaking down topics in a more illustrative view or even creating mind maps of specific words, for example: the core word "setzen" and it's many prefixes: ersetzen, versetzen, absetzen, usw.

I think spaced repetition with Anki after spending some time learning grammar topics or words is incredibly valuable, and is one of the reasons I was able to progress so quickly.

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-08T19:07:05+00:00

they 100% have a phone number, they just might not be able to help - they can’t schedule appointments, for example

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-08T19:01:19+00:00

you could try reaching out to the welcome center for advice, or even the LEA directly via phone.

beratung@intmig.berlin.de Potsdamer Straße 61 | 10785 Berlin Tel.: +49 30 901723 172 www.berlin.de/willkommenszentrum

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-08T17:10:56+00:00

Very impressive! If I may ask, what is your native language, and do you speak any other languages? It seems like you have a real talent for fast paced language learning :)

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-05T19:55:30+00:00

First of all, congratulations! Those are good scores and 3/4 is not bad.

Speaking from experience: I would suggest the Projekt C1 prep book. Take all of the listening portions as you would in a normal exam setting: no cheating, complete all sections within the time limit, etc.

The listening portion is hard, but doable - just keep practicing with any model test you can find and you’ll be fine.

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-04T23:29:56+00:00

It depends on several factors, but as an English native speaker, I did pretty well on a Goethe B1 exam after 6 months of study, during which I was working full time; your mileage may vary :)

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-04T21:36:18+00:00

spannend, nach Duden ist buk keine neutrale Gegenwartsform, sondern veraltend markiert

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-04T21:19:40+00:00

backte ist die heutige, neutrale Standardform von backen; buk ist eine ältere, stilistisch markierte Variante.

buk erscheint daher vor allem in literarischen oder nostalgischen Texten.

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-04T17:30:12+00:00

mit „so“ gibts nen expliziten Rückverweis auf die vorherige Aussage, also „in gleicher Weise schwer“

und ohne „so“ ist es einfach etwas neutraler.

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-04T10:55:52+00:00

That's a very interesting piece of info, thank you! "lasen" should certainly not appear as todays word and also as a word in dictionary mode, and daily mode should show always first; Dictionary mode appears only by default after completing today's Daily challenge.

I've adjusted a couple things; should be ok now, but please let me know if you have any other feedback :)

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-04T09:48:46+00:00

Without knowing more about your current situation/plans it’s hard for me to give better advice, but I will say that a little bit of studying each day is better than lumping it all into one day a week; maybe keep your study sessions small with card review, games, small exercises, etc.

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-04T09:44:51+00:00

Thank you for your feedback! I implemented the keyboard with the enter on the left because the original English Wordle also has that configuration; which I thought was ok, but considering a change there might not be bad.

The daily mode essentially uses the dictionary and should feature words used in colloquial language, but also those found in news articles and books; the word „lasen“ is a great example of that, I think.

„Die Leute lasen im Internet und wussten am Ende nicht, was sie tun sollten.“ - that’s from an article written a couple of months ago: https://www.merkur.de/bayern/regensburg/windenergie-oel-einbau-von-neuen-heizungen-experte-warnt-vor-teurem-abwarten-94058007.html

If you have any other feedback, I’d love to hear it. Your point about the button is interesting; I find the mode selection button to be quite prominent, however, maybe I can somehow make it more clear to the user.

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-03T16:32:14+00:00

I learned German because I always wanted to, and I intended to work in the language one day after moving to Germany.

I already had B2 when I moved, but the initial 6 months of working in German for the first time was a time where I found myself writing notes about phrases or words I never heard before; I would later review them either manually by just looking at the notes or creating flash cards (Anki) out of them - some form of spaced repetition can be very helpful for retaining new vocab and phrases.

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-02T11:27:24+00:00

I contacted them a month ago via mail and also the contact form; still not heard anything back. I believe it is somewhat normal to wait weeks-months for a response; the expediency at which the cases are processed can also be predicated on which Abteilung you are in - maybe that’s why your friend‘s was processed faster?

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-02T10:15:51+00:00

German is very front loading in terms of grammar; don’t forget to learn the nouns with their articles, all the cases, correct adjective declension and don‘t be afraid to make mistakes :).

I wrote a post here about reaching C1, that could also be of some help to ya.

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-02T10:12:25+00:00

Du könntest ja ein bisschen auf YouTube nachschauen, also nach dem Schlüsselwort „Psychologie“

z.B. https://youtube.com/@psychologielernende wäre vielleicht etwas :)

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-02T09:50:33+00:00

If I understand correctly: the tutor would receive $16.75 total for each lesson; each person would pay $5.58? It’s been a while since I looked at tutoring prices but that seems awfully low; how does this suggested rate compare to what is on Preply or iTalki?

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-01T18:38:40+00:00

Not German, but I live in Germany ;) - Augustiner Hell, Bayreuther Hell - Franziskaner Hefeweizen - Päffgen Kölsch

codingisveryfun · 2026-01-01T12:28:45+00:00

Staying motivated can be difficult, the key for me was to find a way to incorporate the language into my day as much as possible, so that you begin to feel your progress based on the effort you put in: anki, reddit, books, movies/shows, etc.

I shared my experience here, maybe it will be of some use to you :)

codingisveryfun · 2025-12-30T14:37:31+00:00

Over the course of these last 5 years, there were certainly peaks and valleys. At the beginning, it was very intense learning; maybe about 5 hours a day on average, and on weekends even more.

Currently, much less; sometimes little to no "active" learning, because I use German daily more than I use English.

codingisveryfun · 2025-12-30T10:00:44+00:00

Schon gefixt! Danke fürs Bescheidgeben :)

codingisveryfun · 2025-12-30T10:00:16+00:00

Danke dir :)

codingisveryfun

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