BBC - Languages - German

You already know the "What's so funny about German?"  videos from previous posts, but the BBC website's language-learning section has a ton of other resources for learning German, especially for beginners!

The homepage is here: BBC - Languages - German. (Click here to get a BBC Languages newsletter.) A lot of the material is based on BBC TV shows, but you don't need to have watched the show to use or understand the materials!


General

1) A good place to start is the "Test Your German" German gauge quiz. The 12-question quiz gives you suggested activities to do based on the number of questions you got correct.

2) "Germany Inside Out" provides cultural information about Germany, based around 5 cities.

3) "A Guide to German" provides 10 facts, 20 key phrases and the alphabet.

4) Some quick quizzes you can do:

• "A Fan in Germany" is a quiz on general and football/soccer terms in German.
• "Guess the German Headline", which is also football/soccer-themed.
• "The Oktoberfest Challenge", a quiz on Oktoberfest.

5) The "Your Say" page is an interactive page, where users can submit learning tips, as well as funny language slip-ups. Check out "Frederic's Germany Diary" too.

Vocabulary

6) "Quick Fix" gives you the "essential" German phrases with audio (and also in a print-out or download-able MP3).

7) "Cool German" introduces you to German slang (includes mp3 downloads).

Online Lessons

8) The "Teaching German" page is useful for both teachers and learners - it gives an overview of the different German "courses" the BBC offers on its website, as well as lessons by topic.

9) "Talk German" is a "lively introduction" to German in "ten short parts" comprised of a clip and a transcript on a certain subject, like greetings.

10) "Deutsch Plus" also provides 10 short video clips and transcripts. There are also worksheets to give you practice exercises.

11) The "German Steps Course" is a beginner's course with videos and transcripts. You can complete the course in 12 weeks with the "weekly emails tips and encouragements" ending with an "end-of-course assessment" and a BBC certificate; click here to sign up.

12) "Learning Zone Broadband" provides educational clips, which is designed to supplement lessons in schools. Select the "Primary" or "Secondary" level, scroll down to "German" under subjects, and then pick a topic or select All topics. Note: these clips only are available in certain areas (they didn't work in the US).