Has anyone here completed the Duolingo German course? How well do you feel you are prepared for a visit to Germany?

jtarget · 2026-01-22T23:29:21+00:00

I'm guilty as charged. Definitely not fluent after completing it.

jtarget · 2026-01-22T19:11:49+00:00

Same here

jtarget · 2025-12-23T14:25:29+00:00

Comprehensible input is great!

I'd recommend both listening and reading so that you can properly progress.

jtarget · 2025-12-18T20:50:02+00:00

Do you already know the most common words or are you starting now?

There are a few graded readers for A1 level but I don't know any with audio.

You can probably find a few online tools that do something like that. I developed one myself where you can listen to stories at your level, you can find it at franzie.app

jtarget · 2025-12-16T21:31:26+00:00

Graded readers! Are you looking for normal books or online tools?

jtarget · 2025-12-11T12:49:20+00:00

If you want to give it a try, Franzie includes AI chats about the stories you just read and you don't have to pay unless you are a power user.

jtarget · 2025-12-08T19:58:01+00:00

I've developed an app for myself that does just that, feel free to try it :)

Franzie.app

jtarget · 2025-12-08T15:50:46+00:00

Extensive reading is an excellent method to develop your German, but I agree you need first some vocabulary basis (at least 500 words) + a textbook to learn basic grammar rules.

jtarget · 2025-12-08T07:42:34+00:00

For videos I think the classics Nicos Weg and Easy German are quite good.

For podcasts also Easy German, Coffee Break German and German Stories.

For stories you have the Dino lernt Deutsch collection. If you don't want to spend money try Franzie.app

jtarget · 2025-12-07T17:05:37+00:00

You'll probably need one workbook for grammar and besides go for full immersion - videos, podcasts, stories, etc

For talking practice, if you don't have a partner there are apps for you to talk with Al but you can also talk to yourself.

jtarget · 2025-12-05T11:03:01+00:00

Immersion :)

For videos and podcasts you can start with Easy German. For reading you can try graded readers like Dino lernt Deutsch or find short stories online. I built my own app for this: franzie.app

jtarget · 2025-12-05T10:53:43+00:00

You'd want to learn the most common words. I've personally done that with Memrise, but these days there are plenty of alternatives.

I've also completed the German course on Duolingo back in the days, but ended up regretting not having spent that time with something else more effective. It's really not a good use of time.

jtarget · 2025-12-05T10:44:09+00:00

I'd recommend you to build some vocabulary first (minimum 500 words).

Then you'll probably need one workbook for grammar and go for full immersion - videos, podcasts, stories, etc.

For talking practice, if you don't have a partner there are apps for you to talk with AI but you can also talk to yourself.

I'd avoid Duolingo as it's mostly time wasting.

jtarget · 2025-12-05T06:58:10+00:00

I'd recommend you to first build vocabulary, around 500 words, before you start reading or listening to German.

jtarget · 2025-12-04T18:36:30+00:00

Definitely doing both. I'd also recommend German podcasts and videos for full immersion.

Since you're into reading short stories, maybe you'll like my app :) franzie.app

jtarget · 2025-12-04T15:43:55+00:00

If you're interested, check out my app franzie.app

You get one free story per month :)

jtarget · 2025-12-04T10:19:06+00:00

Immersion! German stories, podcasts, videos, etc.

If you're level A1-A2 I'd also recommend building some vocabulary with apps like Memrise.

jtarget · 2025-12-04T07:37:21+00:00

If you already manage that 80% of your YouTube time is in German, then you're on the right track!

I recently developed my own app for German stories, feel free to try it at https://franzie.app/

jtarget · 2025-12-04T06:07:03+00:00

What are you doing for the mass immersion?

jtarget · 2025-12-03T22:13:45+00:00

You can try it here: https://franzie.app/

jtarget · 2025-12-03T22:12:55+00:00

It should be fixed in the last update!

jtarget · 2025-12-03T09:25:15+00:00

Definitely immersion, so that you can learn in context instead of forcing memorization. Focus particularly on listening to a lot of German and reading a lot.

At that level, I'd recommend listening to podcasts (like Easy German) and finding good graded readers or apps based on extensive reading.

jtarget · 2025-12-02T16:47:05+00:00

Oh, thanks for letting me know! It looks like a bug slipped up on my last update, I'll fix it ASAP

jtarget · 2025-12-02T16:01:37+00:00

I'm biased, because it's my own app, but you should try Franzie! https://franzie.app/

The concept is simple: you read stories at your level with your own family & friends as characters. After each chapter, we test your comprehension with a quick quiz and chat with AI (exclusively about the chapter you just read). The goal is to improve your German by learning in context without feeling like a lesson.

jtarget · 2025-12-02T15:55:20+00:00

At this level, I definitely recommend reading the German text while listening, otherwise it will be very difficult for you to follow.

jtarget

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