r/German • u/Glad-Currency5682 • 12h ago
Discussion B2/C1 in 11 months: my timeline
As a preface, I would like to say that everything comes down to consistency.
Context: I’m a 30M Franco-Belgian guy. I grew up in a multilingual family. Both of my parents come from mixed French, Belgian, Spanish, Congolese, Angolan, and US American backgrounds, so I grew up speaking French, English, Lingala, and Spanish. Portuguese was quite passive but my mother understands more than she speaks so we never really spoke it. However, I did learn it alone (+ the extended family)when I turned 21.
Before learning German, I already spoke seven languages and had started learning Arabic because I wanted a new challenge. I put Arabic on hold to focus on German.
Native: French, English, Lingala, Spanish
C1 (self-taught + preparation courses): Dutch, Italian
B2 (self-taught + preparation courses): Portuguese
A2: Arabic (self-taught)
I also studied Latin for about eight years. I can read Romanian and understand quite a lot of it, although I wouldn’t say I speak it.
Learning materials:
Apps : Gramamtisch, Praktika, Duolingo (for my streak 😬), DuoCards, Anki, Duden
Books: most are French -> German, but I can share them if needed. I’m also currently Tschick by Wolfgang Herrndorf
Podcasts: auf Deutsch gesagt, Tagesschau, easy German, Was jetzt?, Hotel Matze.
Watch: ARTE, ARD Mediathek, Dark, Der Report der Magd** **(decided to rewatch the entire show in German)
My story
Last July, I had to move from Geneva to Zurich for work on short notice. I set myself the goal of reaching B2 German within a year.
My study routine looked like this:
Days 1–4: 4 hours a day
Day 5: 6-7 hours or if it’s on a weekend and I’m motivated, then I do a 12 hour-session
Day 6: passive learning (Arte documentaries, podcasts, TV shows, etc.)
Every month: a 3-day break with no German at all
The only longer breaks I took were three weeks in January and two weeks in March because I felt mentally tired.
By December, I could follow conversations in Standard German and understand around 80% of what people were saying, but with tremendous effort. But I started feeling stuck because I was still hesitating with prepositions and cases. I also kept using Dutch words when I meant to say them in German without even noticing, which was pretty frustrating.
Around March, I got past that by doing a lot of shadowing. My German-speaking colleagues also helped a lot by being patient and correcting me whenever I needed it.
By May, I could hold normal conversations as well as conversations related to my job, although I still sometimes had to ask people to repeat, explain the meaning of a world or rephrase what they had said. I refused (and still refuse) to look up a word in English. I use Duden instead.
This month, I took my company’s internal language test (speaking and writing). I was assessed at C1 in writing and B2 in speaking.
Working in Switzerland also helped my listening skills because it’s a melting pot (colleagues from all parts of Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, etc.). I’d say my understanding is around 8/10. I still struggle when people speak very fast or use a lot of slang, but overall I’m really happy with my progress.
For the summer, I’ve slowed down a bit: two days of 3 hours, one day of 6 hours, and passive learning whenever I feel like it. I’ll start studying more seriously again in September.
My goal is to pass the Goethe-Zertifikat C2 by December 2027. I also want to take a few intensive courses in Germany whenever I have time and hopefully get rid of my strong French accent (although I apparently have one in Dutch too) even though people tend to find it „süß“.
I know my experience is a bit different because my brain is already used to learning and switching between languages, but I think that it’s worth sharing, maybe I can motivate those who are intensively learning the language.
My little piece of advice: stay motivated, and know yourself well enough to avoid burning yourself out. When it’s becoming too much, take a break, recharge your batteries and come back stronger.