The Best Way to Learn German

How to best compare the study methods of learning German and choose the most efficient based on price, available time and promised results.

In this article, I aimed to approach the topic of German language study options from the perspective of study efficiency , that is, the time allocated and the costs or financial effort involved.

It's a question that I think everyone asks themselves before choosing the study option that suits them best.

In this regard, I think you are interested in some concrete figures, which will help you analyze your own situation better and decide what type of course would be better to take.

Let's start from the premise that you have never studied German at all, but you would like to reach an average level of knowledge or even to obtain a certificate of recognition of knowledge at level B2, perhaps necessary to obtain the recognition of the diploma of professional competence, as is the case for doctors and medical personnel, or to start a school in one of the German-speaking countries to obtain a professional qualification in various professions. These forms of education are also called Ausbildung in Germany or Lehre in Austria and Switzerland, equivalent to vocational schools, which in Western European countries are very sought after, especially since both the practical and financial training is supported by a private company.

Let's now explain what the B2 level of language proficiency means according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The website of the Goethe Institute, which is also a reputable examination center, states the following:

After passing the B2 exam you will be able to, for example:

• to extract the main ideas from complex texts, on concrete or abstract topics, and to understand specialist discussions in their own field of activity.
• to express yourself so fluently and spontaneously that you can have a normal conversation with a native speaker without requiring too much communication effort from either party.
• express yourself clearly and in detail on a wide range of topics, support your opinion on a current issue and present the advantages and disadvantages of different options.

I would add here that in order to achieve the above results, it is necessary to pass the exam with the best possible grade, because for many people this level also represents a good basis for moving to the next level, perhaps C1 or even C2, levels of language knowledge that then facilitate enrollment in higher education institutions or career advancement.

But let's now move on to the study options you have available if you want to reach level B2 for now. We essentially have 3 options:

1. The first refers to attending daily classes at a language school in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, where you attend classes of 4 or 5 academic units every day. An academic unit is 45 minutes long, and there are breaks between classes, so the student is usually at school from 8 am to 1 pm, Monday to Friday. The student also receives some homework, for which he would need at least 1-2 hours per day.

If 300-400 academic hours are considered necessary to complete a level, then to complete the 4 levels, namely A1, A2, B1 and B2 you need at least 1000-1200 academic units, so about 60 weeks of continuous participation in courses would be necessary. If we also take into account days off and holidays, then you can consider that you complete this school in at least a year and a half, if you are very studious and have a group of people as interested as you.

The advantages of this option would be that it has the lowest costs, approximately 2000 euros, and if you achieve the B1 language proficiency level, also called the integration level, in a maximum of 2 years, you can recover half of the costs for the first 3 levels from the state, i.e. about 800 euros.

You also have to weigh the disadvantages , namely first of all that you have classes with many participants, 20-25, who do not have the same study pace as you , and then the quality of the study can suffer a lot.

Unfortunately, the result of this form of study is often not what was hoped for, the student realizing this only when he enters the workforce after about 2 years and is still faced with situations of poor understanding or communication, especially if he did not manage to take the B2 level exam with a score of at least 85-90 points, meaning a good level, not just sufficient, meaning just over 60 points.

I mention this because I have often had students who, although they had obtained certificates after graduating from these schools, were often forced to partially resume their studies, usually even from an A2 level, because they had many gaps, often not understanding the teachers' explanations, especially since they are only in German , practically from the first lesson. This is a second disadvantage, namely that the explanations are not given in the student's mother tongue or in a language that the student has better command of, such as English, but only in German, which makes it much more difficult to understand the notions of grammar, vocabulary, and expressions specific to the German language, knowing the scientifically proven fact that assimilation is most efficient when you receive explanations in your mother tongue, at least up to a B1 level.

Another important disadvantage of this model is that it does not allow you to simultaneously hold a job , because you have school every day, you may have difficulty carrying out a secondary activity, for a few hours a day, in the afternoon or evening, usually as unqualified personnel, and if you also have other family obligations, it is either too exhausting, or you will find that it negatively affects your performance at school.

In the following table, I have summarized the advantages and disadvantages of this study method and I invite you to analyze them once again.

2. The second option could be an intensive course at a foreign language school , sometimes offered online, but the group can be large, generally 10-15 students, it takes place at fixed times, as in the first option, and the explanations are of course also given in German, even at the first levels. And if the student cannot attend certain classes, it is even harder to understand the missed material, because the teacher has quite little time to repeat the material and usually does not do so much.

The number of hours with a teacher is less in this case, because this model is based more on student involvement outside of class hours.

It usually takes place twice a week and usually consists of 2 academic units, so between 120 and 180 units per level, which leads to a minimum of 600 academic units up to and including level B2, and this means that the study spans a period of at least 150 weeks, meaning that taking into account holidays and days off, you can consider that you need about 4 years.

In addition to the classes not taken with a teacher up to a minimum of 1000-1200 academic units, the student must consider that he should still do them alone in the form of homework, grammar exercises, recapitulations, readings in German, writing essays on given topics, listening.

The costs are around 4800-5000 euros, because the groups are smaller than in the first option, but the lessons taught by teachers are paid the same, if not more, because the teacher also puts in a greater effort to teach the subject in a shorter time.

3. Finally, the last study option is an individual or 1-on-1 course with a private teacher.

In this case, it is obvious that the student's learning pace is the best , because the teacher can provide personalized explanations in the language he understands best, preferably his native language, up to an A2 or B1 level, so as not to leave anything unclear.

From my experience, I can tell you that you can fit in even just 250-300 academic hours or 125-150 90-minute sessions, and if these take place twice a week, and the interruption periods are as rare as possible, then the student needs a maximum of 1.5 years to get their German language certificate at level B2.

However, I would like to point out that in this case, the student will still have to dedicate time to homework, reviews, readings, etc. outside of class with the teacher. It also depends on the focus of each person when doing these homework and the concentration they can demonstrate, but they should consider at least twice as many hours compared to those spent with the teacher, to ultimately reach the 800-1000 academic hours of study necessary and scientifically determined, which are needed to ultimately acquire good communication skills in German or a score of at least 85 on the B2 level exam.

In terms of costs, it is certainly the most expensive option. If we take a cost per session of 50-55 euros depending on the level, we reach 7-8000 euros to reach the B2 level.

But if we consider the period of time in which you acquire the necessary knowledge and take your desired exam with a good score, which is only 1.5 years if you don't take too many breaks during your study period, then I think it's obvious that this is the most efficient study method .

And besides the fact that the teacher can adapt more easily to your work pace, and you acquire knowledge faster, you can also benefit from a certain flexibility in rescheduling classes, if you can't attend at the scheduled time.

And if you manage to co-opt someone you know, a brother, husband, partner, friend, and do the classes in 2, it would be both efficient and cost-effective.

It should also be added that meetings can now be held very easily online , especially 1 on 1, not those in large groups, so the time savings are obvious and very valuable.

I hope I have presented the pros and cons of the 3 study options quite clearly and now you can make the decision that suits you best, depending on your goals and possibilities.

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me!

Click here to learn more about me.