Survival German Language Course
Level 1:
Survival German (Weeks 1–2)
Goal: Find the bathroom, buy a bratwurst, survive the
U-Bahn.
🔤 Vocabulary &
Phrases
- Hello
/ Goodbye: Hallo / Tschüss
- Please
/ Thank you / Sorry: Bitte / Danke / Entschuldigung
- Yes /
No / Maybe: Ja / Nein / Vielleicht
- Numbers
1–100
- Transportation,
food, hotel, and emergency phrases
🧠 Grammar
- Sentence
structure: Verb-second word order (Ich gehe. Morgen gehe ich...)
- Definite
& indefinite articles (der, die, das / ein, eine)
- Verb
conjugation in present tense
- Gender
of nouns (and why it matters more than your coffee order)
🗣️ Speaking Practice
- Ordering
food (Ich hätte gern…)
- Asking
for directions
- Introducing
yourself
- Hotel
check-in essentials
🍺 Cultural Tips
- Germans
value punctuality like it’s a religion
- Cash
is king (yes, still)
- Small
talk is… not really a thing
🎓 Level 2: Functional
German for Study & Travel (Weeks 3–6)
Goal: Handle daily routines, basic academic tasks,
and polite small talk.
🔤 Vocabulary &
Phrases
- School
& university words: Lehrer, Hausaufgaben, Prüfung
- Days,
months, time, schedules
- Public
transport, shopping, pharmacy vocab
- Daily
routines and meals
🧠 Grammar
- Modal
verbs (können, müssen, wollen)
- Separable
prefix verbs (mitkommen, anrufen, aufstehen)
- Personal
pronouns and possessives (mein, dein, ihr)
- Accusative
case
🗣️ Speaking Practice
- Talking
about daily life
- Buying
train tickets
- Shopping
and asking prices
- Asking
questions with wann, wo, wie
🍞 Cultural Tips
- Germans
eat bread. A lot. Learn your Brötchen from your Brezel
- Quiet
hours exist—and are enforced
- Supermarkets:
bag your own groceries and hustle!
💼 Level 3: Social &
Business German Basics (Weeks 7–10)
Goal: Navigate polite and semi-professional
environments without panic.
🔤 Vocabulary &
Phrases
- Formal
greetings: Guten Tag, Wie geht es Ihnen?
- Workplace
vocab: Büro, Termin, E-Mail
- Making
appointments, introductions, and polite requests
- Email phrases
and phone etiquette
🧠 Grammar
- Formal
“you” (Sie) and verb forms
- Dative
case
- Common
prepositions and their case (mit, für, bei, zu)
- Sentence
structure in questions and commands
🗣️ Speaking Practice
- Introducing
yourself at work
- Scheduling/rescheduling
appointments
- Talking
about your job or studies
- Simple
phone and email conversations
🧁 Cultural Tips
- Hierarchy
matters: use titles (Herr Doktor, Frau Müller)
- Germans
love structure, even in meetings
- Don’t
expect spontaneous small talk—unless it’s about weather or rules
📚 Level 4: Intermediate
Communication (Weeks 11–14)
Goal: Join casual conversations, express opinions,
and hold your own.
🔤 Vocabulary &
Phrases
- Feelings,
opinions, and reactions
- Travel,
health, and leisure activities
- Talking
about past and future events
- Discussing
preferences, plans, and experiences
🧠 Grammar
- Past
tenses: Perfekt and Präteritum
- Subordinating
conjunctions (weil, dass, obwohl)
- Word
order in complex sentences
- Comparative
and superlative adjectives
🗣️ Speaking Practice
- Talking
about your weekend or a past trip
- Giving
opinions on music, movies, or food
- Making
polite complaints or suggestions
- Describing
symptoms at a doctor’s office
🎬 Cultural Tips
- Humor
is dry and ironic—don’t take it personally
- Germans
love rules, but also love breaking them (quietly)
- Learn
the recycling system or risk shame
🌍 Level 5: Practical
Fluency & Cultural Savvy (Weeks 15–20)
Goal: Speak confidently, survive bureaucracy, and
maybe even joke in German.
🔤 Vocabulary &
Phrases
- Business
and academic vocabulary
- Idioms
and expressions (Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof = “I have no clue”)
- Conflict
resolution and negotiation
- Bureaucratic
essentials: Anmeldung, Aufenthaltstitel, Versicherung
🧠 Grammar
- Passive
voice
- Subjunctive
mood (Konjunktiv II for hypotheticals and politeness)
- Future
tense (Futur I & II)
- Indirect
speech
🗣️ Speaking Practice
- Giving
presentations or interviews
- Talking
about goals and future plans
- Handling
complaints and troubleshooting
- Asking
for and giving detailed explanations
🧠 Cultural Tips
- Office
culture: direct communication = not rude, just German
- Be
prepared for paperwork. Endless paperwork.
- Don’t
jaywalk—Germans will judge you hard
📚 RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
- Apps:
Babbel, Anki, Duolingo, Seedlang
- Books:
“Hammer’s German Grammar,” “Practice Makes Perfect: German,” “German
Quickly”
- YouTube: GlobalGuideMedia German, Learn German with Anja, Easy German, GermanPod101
- TV
& Film: Dark, Deutschland 83, How to Sell Drugs
Online Fast
- Language
Exchange: Tandem, HelloTalk, Speaky, or Goethe-Institut meetups
No comments: