#able b2 speaking topics

[emultilingual]

ABLE B2 Speaking Video Sample part 1

[agglikaenilikes]

ABLE B2 Speaking Video Sample part 1

[emathisis]

ABLE B2 Speaking Video Sample part 1

[egnosis]

ABLE B2 Speaking Video Sample part 1

[agglikaonline]

ABLE B2 Speaking Video Sample part 1

[englishexamsblog]

ABLE B2 Speaking Video Sample part 1

[englishexamsinfo]

ABLE B2 Speaking Video Sample part 1

http://able.english-exams.org/able-b2-biblia-ektheseis/

[ros3ybabeslanguages]

Language Resources 🎀

*that I currently use for studying Spanish. When I pick up studying Japanese again, I will make a list for that as well <3 I currently use a handful of resources for learning Spanish, and they've all proven very useful so far!

🩷 My Current Resources for Spanish

Busuu - hands down my favorite language learning app. So much better than Duolingo, in my opinion (especially for languages with a different alphabet/writing system). I bought the premium for a year, which will expire in Septmeber, but I'm debating renewing again because I love it so much.

LingQ - I like using this for reading in Spanish. It gives me different types of things to read about, and while I don't have premium, I do put all the words I don't know into flashcards on AnkiApp on my laptop and translate anything I don't know using SpanishDict.

SpanishDict - favorite translation/dictionary app. I know it has lessons you can use, tho I haven't tried it yet, but I really do love this app. It's super helpful when I'm making flashcards or writing random vocabulary notes.

Goodnotes - This is a general note-taking app, but I love it because it allows you to import and write on PDFs, and that's just perfect for me! I've downloaded free PDF short stories/children's stories in Spanish and made notes of words I don't know, and taken notes in the app too. Definitely my favorite notes app, ever.

Italki - I know this is a website, too, but I use the app. It lets you work with professional teachers/community tutors in your target language. You can have structured lessons or just use it for conversation practice. I did a trial lesson not too long ago and have an upcoming lesson booked out in about 5 days. You pay per lesson, so there is no subscription, and there are so many languages and teachers/tutors to choose from. I did a lot of research before choosing a teacher, and I'm very happy with my decision so far. Definitely useful if there's not native speakers near you or you're like me and not confident talking to people you know in your target language/their native language.

Quizlet/AnkiApp - I use AnkiApp more then quizlet, and the Anki I'm referring to is NOT the same way everyone else uses, but it's the flashcard app of preference at the moment. I tried the AnkiDroid app and hated it. But yeah, AnkiApp is useful for flashcards and I really like it. I have it on my Chromebook and my Ipad.

Netflix - I love watching shows in Spanish on Netflix so much. I am currently watching La Reina del Sur on it (used to watch that sporadically in the past at a friend's house) and plan on watching some other shows, including Elite.

Spotify - I enjoy listening to Spanish music and podcasts right now. The music is more of an entertaining/enjoyable fork of audio input, and the podcasts help me get a feel for speaking and pronunciation and I choose podcasts that speak on topics of interest tk help with vocabulary in those areas I'd like to be able to speak about.

Textbooks - I have 2 PDF textbooks, Gramatica de Uso del Español: A1-B2 and Gramatica de Uso del Español: B1-B2. I've heard these are great for learning Spanish (and they're both only written in Spanish, like there's no English in them) and plan on using them once I figure out how to take good and useful textbook notes! I definitely need to improve on my grammar.

Those are all my current Spanish resources! I'd definitely say my current level is like a high A1 right now, nearing A2, but I have just a little bit of work to do before I get there. These resources are definitely gonna help, tho!

[rigelmejo]

Anyone language learning: are there any specific skills among listening, reading, speaking, and writing, that you find degrade less over time? As in, even when you take months or years off of studying, that particular skill remains fairly strong and "comes back" to you within a few days/weeks of doing it again.

For me, reading skill is hands down what seems to come back fairly well even when I take months off of studying or reading in the language. Even when I took over a year off from French, and read almost nothing, the ability to read the kinds of books I was able to read prior to the break, came back within a few hours of picking up a French book again. I take a break from reading Chinese for a few months, every so often, since I'm focusing harder on my Japanese study. And each time I come back to reading Chinese, the ability to read the kinds of novels I was reading prior to the break, comes back within a few hours.

In comparison, my listening skills are so all over the place with Chinese that they seem to degrade super quick - a week without listening to anything and I start to have difficultly listening to audiobooks again, but then a baseline-level of comprehension comes back after I start listening to audiobooks again for a few days. The more I listen to audiobooks, as in daily for a few weeks, the more the comprehension goes back up until it appears to be the listening skill level I had prior to the break, then even higher comprehension compared to the last time I was practicing listening.

My French listening skills are not strong in comparison, but they're around mid to upper beginner (in how many words I recognize when listening), and pretty much always restart there when I take a break from French listening then come back. Then if I keep listening to French for several more days after that return to mid-beginner baseline, I find I can comprehend stuff made for B1 level (like Comprehensible Input French youtube channel's B1 videos) which is closer to my reading level (my reading is maybe around B2 - I can read whatever without looking up words, but niche subjects may have more unknown words for me).

My speaking and writing skills are non existent lol. So they start from like a ~500 active vocabulary base again, every time I take a break then speak again and get back to the level I was before. What will happen is I'll need to speak Chinese again, remember 5 words and then only non-Chinese words will come to mind when I think of anything I want to say (like French or Japanese words), then try to speak more for a few weeks and ~300-500+ words will return to my active vocabulary (stuff like baba mama nuer erzi haizi yi ge beizi shui... when before I was only able to recall stuff like obasan otosan shoujo shounen garcon l'eau mizu), and then I can say simple stuff again like "I have 2 dogs, a sister, my sister's X year's old and has 3 kids, my dad plays guitar, my mom makes paintings, I live X, I like X. I'm okay, you? What does X mean? I hate when it's cold. It's too cold." But the things I can say is still nowhere close to all the things I can read. Eventually around 500 or more words come back to my active vocabulary, and I stop recalling French or Japanese when I'm trying to speak Chinese, after a month or so. And then at that point, I can have small talk conversations but still not anything more in depth (although being able to ask "that means what?" and "can we talk about X" help me start pushing the conversations a little more in depth, if I'm practicing with someone, since I can sometimes recall a much more specific word about a topic I'm interested in, even though the passive vocabulary is way bigger and much of it's not in my ability to actively recall when talking).

[ink-fireplace-coffee]

Hi my lovely! I am back again but this time to ramble out my research project that I’m doing for my masters!

The title of my project is investigating immune synapse formation in cytotoxic T cells

Cytotoxic T cells are a type of white blood cell that are involved in killing cells that are infected by viruses or show signs of cancers. They form something called an immune synapse when they find the infected cells - the immune synapse is like a little pocket made between the T cell and the infected cell. The T cell then releases the chemicals it uses for killing into this pocket so it can bind to the infected cell and kill it.

It’s a really cool process and we are looking at a protein on the surface of T cells (called WNK1) and how it helps the T cell stick to other cells because not much is known about WNK1 but some early studies have shown that without it, the T cells are not that good at their job!!

It’s very exciting to be looking at a new and undiscovered part of science and be the first to know what’s going on and I can’t wait to get into the lab and start looking!!!

First I have to write a research proposal and do a presentation of it and I hate presentations 😭😭 but it’s a small price to pay for some lab time I guess. I hope this all made sense 😅

Also you mentioned doing a C1 degree this summer, what does that mean??

Love you ❤️❤️

okay but this sounds so interesting???? and it's so cool that is an undiscovered part of science!!

I read the WNK1 protein as "wink" the first time and it was so funny for no reason

It makes sense that T cells are not as good in their job without the WNK1 cause then they wouldn't be able to stick as good i suppose and it would make it all more complex I guess

Love your explanation of the immune synpase as a little pocket. Sounds really cute ngl😂

And yes! I guess that since you are in an English speaking country it's not as known, but here in Spain it's really important. The C1 or Advanced is a Cambridge level exam made for people who's mother tongue is not english and it grants you a title (in this case ... C1, heh). There are levels from A1 to C2 (C2 being a native title, called proficiency, and from what I've heard it's really difficult to pass that exam)

I got my B2 a few years ago, and I think taking the C1 test will look good in CVs (but also i want to just.... have the title, you know?)

These exams are divided into a writing part (reading comprehension and a part called "use of English" (grammar and vocab use) plus a short writing essay that can be different topics), a listening part (in C1 level you should be able to understand a conversation with noise interference), and a speaking part (usually with other student or the examiner)

It takes almost all day to finish one exam and I used to take them at school, Cambridge examiners came on a Saturday and we spent the whole day waiting for our turn or taking the different tests with short breaks in between.

according to the Cambridge web and British Council these are the skills of people at a C1 level (just so you know the difficult level)

I don't think it's hard but of course I'm always worried of my speaking. My Spanish accent shows and while I don't want exactly to sound as a native English person, I wish I had a cleaner pronunciation

PLEASE DO COME RANT ABOUT YOUR PRESENTATION AND YOUR RESEARCH PROPOSAL AND YOUR INVESTIGATIONS IM REALLY REALLY INTERESTED!!!!

[pursueituae]

Arabic Language course - Learn Arabic With PursueIt

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Enhance your cultural experience: Achieve a deeper understanding of Emirati traditions, customs, and the rich tapestry of Arabic culture.

Boost your career prospects: Arabic fluency is a valuable asset in the globalized world, opening doors to exciting job opportunities in the Middle East and beyond.

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Fluency is a long-term goal, and you'll experience a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment along the way. Here's a breakdown of what you can expect at different stages of your learning journey:

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[anaesthesia-why]

Desperate to voice chat with someone in english

Sometimes my sentences are wacky but I don't want to degrade to the level of my uni classmates that gave me brain damage

I'm really mad right now I reaaaally wanted to say to the teacher, 'oh, am I a disappointment the moment I'm not a little miss perfect?"

I got 19/20 on a test, I confused the cases of use of to run on (active present) turning into running on (a vehicle running on ethanol) with the term that's usually used for software (to be run on -> [is] run on (perfect, bc passive) like 'they created a game [that is] run on unity engine' or smth) and used 'they invented a vehicle run on ethanol" because I thought running on and is run on are interchangeable and she didn't even let me explain my misconception and therefore didn't even clear it up for me! 'Oh but the test is so easy I expected 20/20 from you' is all I got. Then it was time for presentations on the topic of transport and mine was pretty short and without pictures and she didn't even let me start properly because she rushed me to get to the front to start BUT some students were still doing the test and when I looked into my handwritten text to start off and didn't remove it from my field of vision after a few seconds she was like "are you going to read" and then she started checking people who hadn't finished by that time and that made me so worked up I couldn't even talk proplerly and it was an utter "fail" BECAUSE I was trying not to read anything except names and dates. Like sorry I'm not a memory machine that can perfectly recite something. My opinion of her has been worsening this semester for a variety of reasons and this honestly was the last fucking straw I AM NOT SITTING IN FRONT OF HER ANYMORE NOPE I am not going to participate in the lessons as much bc she doesn't care about what I say anyway.

So back to what I started with I really want to improve. I might not know some words but I hope to be able to chat in real time with a native or b2-c2 level non-native (no heavy accent please) or I want suggestions on what I should do to be able to speak alone

[ig-spoken-english]

What Do You Know About English Proficiency Levels? How Long Does It Take to Complete These Levels?

Levels for English Proficiency

There are different frameworks that classify English proficiency into levels, but one of the most commonly used frameworks is the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

The CEFR describes language proficiency in six levels, from A1 (beginner) to C2 (advanced):

A1: Beginner level

At this level, you can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases to meet simple needs.

A2: Elementary level

At this level, you can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of immediate relevance (e.g., personal and family information, shopping, local geography) and communicate in simple and routine tasks.

B1: Intermediate level

You can handle the majority of circumstances that are likely to emerge while travelling in a country where the language is spoken at this level, and you can comprehend the main ideas of clear standard input on familiar topics frequently encountered in work, education, leisure, etc.

B2: Upper-intermediate level

You can comprehend the major points of complicated texts at this level, including technical conversations in your area of expertise and complex texts on both tangible and abstract issues. Regular engagement with native speakers is fairly doable without any stress on either party when you can communicate with a level of fluency and spontaneity.

C1: Advanced level

You can comprehend a variety of challenging, lengthier texts at this level and perceive implicit meaning. Without much overt seeking for words, you can speak clearly and naturally. Flexible and effective language use is possible in social, academic, and professional contexts.

C2: Proficient level

At this level, you can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. You have the ability to synthesize data from many oral and written sources, reassembling claims and narratives into a cogent presentation. Even in increasingly complicated scenarios, you are able to express yourself flexibly, smoothly, and clearly while discerning between finer shades of meaning.

How Long Does it Take to Reach Level A1?

The amount of time it takes to reach A1 level in English proficiency can vary depending on several factors such as your language learning background, your motivation and dedication to learning, and the amount of time you devote to practicing.

You can also join professional English learning classes to enhance your English language skills.

However, according to the CEFR, it generally takes around 80-100 hours of instruction and practice to reach A1 level of English proficiency.

If you are studying English for around 2-3 hours every day, it may take you around 1-2 months to achieve an A1 level of proficiency in English. Keep in mind that this is just a rough estimate, and your actual learning time may be shorter or longer depending on your individual circumstances.

It's also important to note that language learning is a continuous process, and even after achieving a certain level of proficiency, you'll need to continue practicing and improving your skills to maintain and further develop your proficiency.

How Long Does it Take to Reach Level B1?

The amount of time it takes to reach B1 level in English proficiency can vary depending on several factors such as your language learning background, your motivation and dedication to learning, and the amount of time you devote to practicing.

However, according to the CEFR, it generally takes around 350-400 hours of instruction and practice to reach B1 level of English proficiency.

If you are studying English for around 2-3 hours every day, it may take you around 4-8 months to achieve a B1 level of proficiency in English. Keep in mind that this is just a rough estimate, and your actual learning time may be shorter or longer depending on your individual circumstances.

It's also important to note that language learning is a continuous process, and even after achieving a certain level of proficiency, you'll need to continue practicing and improving your skills to maintain and further develop your proficiency.

How Long Does it Take to Reach Level C1?

The amount of time it takes to reach C1 level in English proficiency can vary depending on several factors such as your language learning background, your motivation and dedication to learning, and the amount of time you devote to practicing.

However, according to the CEFR, it generally takes around 600-750 hours of instruction and practice to reach C1 level of English proficiency.

If you are studying English for around 2-3 hours every day, it may take you around 2-3 years to achieve a C1 level of proficiency in English. Keep in mind that this is just a rough estimate, and your actual learning time may be shorter or longer depending on your individual circumstances.

It's also important to note that language learning is a continuous process, and even after achieving a certain level of proficiency, you'll need to continue practicing and improving your skills to maintain and further develop your proficiency.

At what level, You Can Crack IELTS and TOEFL?

The IELTS and TOEFL exams assess English language proficiency across all CEFR levels, from A1 to C2.

For the IELTS exam, a score of 5.5 or above is typically required for admission to universities in English-speaking countries at the B2 level, while a score of 6.5 or above is typically required for admission to more competitive universities at the C1 level.

For the TOEFL exam, a score of 79 or above is typically required for admission to universities in English-speaking countries at the B2 level, while a score of 100 or above is typically required for admission to more competitive universities at the C1 level.

Keep in mind that the scores required for admission to universities may vary depending on the institution and program you are applying to, so it's important to check the specific requirements for the universities and programs you are interested in.

Also, achieving a certain score on these exams does not necessarily mean that you have reached a particular CEFR level, as the exams are designed to assess specific language skills and competencies.

Students who are serious about cracking these prestigious examinations can enroll themselves in IELTS training courses or TOEFL Training Sessions for success.

[indigozeal]

Some aggravatingly long thoughts as a freelancer (but not an artist or someone running a Patreon):

a) I think there are folks out there who will follow you if they're fans of just one or some of the things you do. The Patreon model makes this dicier, as you're not selling a package experience and not a la carte, but there are some Patreons I follow where only a fraction of the content interests me, because I really like that fraction. I do think it would be wise to focus on a few areas in which there's the most public interest/you're the most productive, just to make it easier to offer regular content to sustain your primary audiences. (Also, question, as a non-artist: being to approach your fandoms through fanworks in multiple media - drawing/felting/dolls/etc. - would seem differentiating. Would that be an avenue for enjoying creative variety yet still having a "fandom brand," so to speak? Speaking of which, albeit parenthetically:)

b) In my experience, both as a freelancer and consumer, you do have to have a content niche. For me as a freelance translator, I have STEM qualifications that help me get jobs on technical material etc. I'm not saying you need tech credentials, obviously - what I mean is that you need something in terms of end content that helps you stand out and appeal to a certain audience, preferably one that's underserved or so big & voracious that it's still unsatisfied with the content available. To take this from the opposite direction: when I'm browsing books, covers that don't tell you what the book is about and instead feature a list of praise blurbs never work on me, because there's a lot of good stuff out there in which I have no interest just because I don't care about the topic. I'd be way more likely to read an imperfect book about something in my wheelhouse than the bestest book on aglets ever published. This sounds basic, but the first hurdle you gotta clear to get potential clients' attention is to have something contentwise they want. Then you can get into matters of quality/work process/etc.

b2) Building on/rephrasing the above: aspects of how something's made can make it more appealing, but, again, customers have to be interested in what that something is first for those appeals to work. For example, sustainable fishing practices can make a brand of salmon more appealing to those who like salmon in the first place, but not to those who don't.

c) If you're looking to support yourself, you have to work in a field that has enough of a market to do so - either widespread appeal or a client base that's dedicated enough to support you. This also means that even if you're working in your general field of interest, you might not be working on your exact interests all the time. I've worked on gaming translation projects, and I'm grateful for those opportunities, but the games on which I've worked are not always ones I would play myself. Likewise, the STEM papers I translate aren't always in my field of interest. It might be worth it to explore a fandom that fits the "widespread" or "dedicated enough" criterion and in which you'd be interested/motivated enough to make content. This doesn't mean you have to upend your own creative priorities or kill your personal projects, but as a freelancer, clients will call upon your skills to do stuff outside your keenest interests, and frequently. (I read something by a freelance artist who claims to deal with this with a policy of "one for me, one for everyone else" - one piece on stuff he primarily likes, one piece that has others' interests more in mind.)

d) Producing is one of the main problems in freelancing. Output is king, and clients' memory with past production is like Bart and Krusty and that donut. You also have to be able to offer clients some degree of reliability; I know a freelancer whose first question for clients is: "When do you have to have this by?" Delivering on those points is one of the biggest challenges in the field, but I'd be lying if I didn't say it's an important one.

Is part of my problem that my creative interests are too varied and spread out? Like, doll folk wanna support doll folk, comic folk wanna support comic folk, gamers wanna support gamers.... I feel like I can't stay focused on one specific thing long enough to appeal to anyone. :B

The best I can do to compress myself into the most succinct pitch possible is "My ADHD makes me make stuff."

Like is that appealing or not.... I know it's mainly my anxiety tormenting me and I'm overthinking it, but. I can't help it.

We live in a weird time, but thinking about it creatives have always had to reckon with defining their personal "genre". Either by butting up against what others said their genre was, or by having existential anxious thoughts like I'm having.

I mean, it's hubristic to claim to be a modern day DaVinci.... but....... who else do creative adhd types have to compare themselves to?

Tho, hubris kinda sells, doesn't it. Folks like confident statements, and what's more confident than comparing yourself to Leonardo Fuckin DaVinci??? They don't gotta know I mean that comparison in the most anxious, adhd way possible.

Yeah. YEAH.

I'm like DaVinci, if DaVinci was an anxious genderfluid adhd gremlin. And who's to say he wasn't! (Well, I mean other than historical accounts and DaVinci's own journals. :B)

[mirai-studies-languages]

Beginner to intermediate (A0 to B2) study tips

Hi! Here is a masterpost of my self-study tips. I'm going to copy one of my posts onto here.

Some general rules

Make language learning a habit.

Be consistent.

Have a plan and clear goals. Know which skills you want to focus on and how you want to study.

Make sure you have a solid foundation in vocabulary and grammar.

Store all of your notes in one place.

Use a variety of resources but not too many. One or two per skill is enough.

Focus more time on practicing than on learning vocabulary and grammar.

Get corrections. HiNative is good for this. Journaly is also good for writing. You could also get a study buddy.

Have fun!

How to start learning a language (A0 to A1)

Learn the alphabet! You can do this using flashcards. Make sure you practice writing the words and memorise the stroke order. For languages like Japanese or Mandarin Chinese that have characters, learn some of the most basic characters and their stroke orders.

Immediately start working on your pronunciation! Watch some pronunciation guide videos, and then start speaking and shadowing. Make sure a video has subtitles in the language, and try to say everything being said in the video (make sure it is beginner friendly) right after it is said.

Use an app! Duolingo, Lingodeer, HelloChinese and Memrise are just a couple of incredible ones. I highly recommend them.

Complete an online course or a beginners textbook! There are loads available for free online. Hell, there are loads available on this website. Make sure the approach is vocabulary based, not grammar based, as that will be more useful for you. Also, make sure that audio is available to you.

Start texting natives on apps like Tandem or HelloTalk! This gets very good results, as you can learn new vocabulary being texted to you, along with being able to look up new common greetings and phrases while you are texting.

Memorise basic vocabulary and grammar! Learn the basics of present tense, gender, adjective agreement, word order and some structures, along with a few vocabulary lists of necessary vocabulary (common greetings, animals, colors, family etc.). For grammar, I’d recommend just using a workbook, and for vocabulary, flashcards are very good.

Immerse! Try to listen to and read the language in your dead time, so you can get used to it. Turn the language of your phone to your target language. Read tweets in the language. Watch YouTube videos about fun subjects that you like. If the language you are learning is particularly difficult (like Japanese and Chinese), then try and read and listen to fun learners exercises. Generally just try to get used to the sounds of your target language, and reading the alphabet or familiar characters.

How to go from beginner to intermediate (A1 to B1)

Use a textbook or online course! Don’t skimp: get a dense one. Make sure that you don’t use a grammar based one over a vocabulary/practice based one. If you use a textbook, then make sure that it has audio with it. Also, make sure to learn all the vocabulary on the course, and also do all the exercises.

Work through a grammar book! You can do the exercises, turn it into a cheat sheet or something like that. Try focusing more on using the rule/structure than writing notes.

Expand your basic vocabulary! Try making a list of topics that you definitely need to be able to have a basic conversation with a native. The GCSE specification is a good guide for this. Add to that vocabulary about subjects that interest you (e.g. science, language learning etc.). You can learn this using a bunch of methods, but my personal favourite is flashcards.

Find a speaking buddy, and speak! This is simple, but it works. Try to find somebody to speak with and have basic conversations in your target language with. Do this however often you would like. You can also try having conversations with yourself without looking at your notes. Make sure to look up words that you don’t know but want to use. Also, you can try memorising set phrases and vocabulary around certain topics, and talk about them. You might also use a script, if you want. You can find a buddy on Tandem or HelloTalk, or maybe even HiLokal.

Immerse. Listen to music, change your phone's language to the language, follow people on social media and watch YouTube videos.

Read and watch content for native children. It is usually at the perfect level for beginners. I’m planning on watching a lot of Peppa Pig in Spanish to expand my vocabulary. It is difficult enough to strengthen your skills and simple enough for you to understand it. You’ll also learn a lot of widely used vocabulary.

Shadow native material. This is honestly the best way to practice your pronunciation. Get ahold of a video (Easy Languages is amazing for this!) and repeat what is said after it is said. Copy the intonation and imitate the sounds being made.

Text natives on Tandem or HelloTalk. This is just generally quite a useful way to practice your writing. Look up words that you do not know and write them down to memorise later. You can memorise set phrases to use in conversation, and also practice reading what they text you too. Also, it is just a nice way to meet new friends.

Engage with intermediate content in the language. I know it is difficult, but it will get you used to more complex language. Find intermediate podcasts with transcripts, and read along with what is said.

Read and listen to native material related to your interests! Personally, I like language learning, so I watch a lot of videos on that. Go for something where they do not use a lot of slang or jargon, and speak at a relatively normal speed. Videos and articles that explain concepts or offer advice are usually good for this.

How to go from intermediate to conversational (B1 to B2)

Listen to intermediate level podcasts and videos. There are loads of podcasts and youtube channels that offer intermediate material for learners, like InnerFrench, a piece of French, iyagi and dreaming spanish. Innovative languages also offer intermediate level podcasts. You should be able to understand a lot of it, though there will definitely be quite a bit that you don’t. Make sure to look at transcripts/subtitles, and note down words you don’t understand.

Shadow native material. I personally believe Easy Languages is the absolute best for this.

Watch TV shows and films. Make sure that they don’t use any jargon or time-period specific language. Choose something like a romance or coming of drama, that has common vocabulary. Don’t just watch an episode once either. Keep on repeating it until you can understand enough of it to get what is going on.

Keep a journal in your target language. Try and write about a range of subjects. Also, get corrections.

Speak. What I have advised earlier is applicable here. Also, learn how to talk around words when you don't know them.

Work through a grammar book. Do practice questions and make your own example sentences.

Read articles and books about subjects that interest you.

Read fanfiction in your target language.

Watch videos and the news in your target language.

Try writing short stories and essays. You can use vocabulary you learn from books here! Try memorising set phrases. Choose a topic/story that you're passionate about.

Ways to learn about culture, history and linguistics

Research dialects! Look into how languages change depending on the area, and how they adapt to the different needs of different cultures.

Cook popular recipes!

Subscribe to popular youtubers, magazines and newspapers.

Research how religion affects the countries where your target language is spoken.

Read books on the linguistics and history of your target language.

Listen to podcasts in the language.

Read classic and influential literature. You can use a translation if you aren't at that level.

Read wikipedia pages about topics that interest you.

Ask native speakers questions.

Watch the most popular TV channels in countries where your target language is spoken.

Watch films, documentaries and TV shows. This can give you a taste of the culture AND the language.

Subscribe to YouTube channels by immigrants who have moved to countries where your target language is spoken (or vice versa). This provides a unique perspective, and can be helpful for learning about some of the bigger cultural nuances.

Research famous art and artists that spoke your target language. I really like Stromae (a french artist), so my fangirl habits have led to me making some pretty interesting discoveries about French music and slang.

And that’s pretty much it! I haven’t reached the advanced stage in any of my languages, but when I do, I’ll write a post on overcoming the intermediate plateau. I hope this was helpful. Thanks for reading my post!

[kimdokjas]

hi pal! we've been mutuals for a while but never really talked much haha. but I was wondering if you could give any tips or resources for learning german? (cus I think you speak it right?) I'm actually moving to germany really soon to finish my phd there. I have some very rudimentary knowledge from several attempts on duolingo in the past but I really want to learn it well, in the case I end up living there for a long time! anyway feel free to do with this message as you please

Hi dear! Ahh that’s amazing that you’re moving to Germany to finish your PhD, congratulations!! Thank you for thinking of me for this kind of advice, I’m honored <3 and of course, I’m more than happy to give you some tips! This got super long lol I hope you don’t mind!

Here are some of the things that worked for me, feel free to take them or leave them depending on what you think would work best for you! As with any language, I think the best way to learn is to try to get as much exposure as you can, so here are some tips and resources organized by topic:

MOOCs

There are a lot of online courses available for free! Here are some of the ones I’ve seen (some are borrowed from this post and I added some others I found!)

Learn German

Deutsch lernen

Deutsch Akademie

Getting Started with German (I, II, III)

The German Project

Intermediate German: The world of work

Advanced German: Language, culture and history

Deutsch im Blick

Podcasts

This depends on your proficiency level and areas of interest, but I’d recommend starting with those that are more focused on language learners! In particular I found those from Deutsche Welle really helpful.

Once you feel a bit more comfortable, you can slowly work your way up to more technical or specialized podcasts, such as those related to your PhD subject! For me this is a great way to keep my German up to speed, especially since I’m unable to practice it much where I live. Some of my recommendations are:

Slow German mit Annik Rubens, focused on everyday topics spoken slowly for easier understanding! There are even transcripts available so you can read along

Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten, news spoken slowly for easier understanding

Top-Thema mit Vokabeln, discussing current topics with a focus on vocabulary (~B1 level)

Wort der Woche short episodes focused on learning one new term per episode (~B2 level)

For more advanced podcasts, try filtering the charts for Germany and see which ones look interesting to you! I personally love science topics, so I usually listen to Spektrum der Wissenschaft and Wissen Weekly among others!

Pen pals

I think one of the best ways to improve your German is to actually practice it with other people. It might be scary at first but trust me you’ll see a huge improvement if you try it!

I particularly recommend an app called Slowly. It’s a charming concept, with the traditional pen pal experience where your letters actually take time to deliver depending on how far away you are. You can specify the languages you speak and your level of proficiency, so you will be able to match more easily with people according to your level!

(Also, I’m personally a bit shy so something I really liked about this app is that it’s practically anonymous, you can just use a nickname and an avatar and you’re all set!)

Fiction books

Here is a wonderful masterpost of fiction books in German! It contains novels such as the Lord the Rings, the Hunger Games, and even classics such as the Metamorphosis. You can find the link to the Google Drive folder here!

Audiobooks

I didn’t really listen to audiobooks when learning German, but I’ve heard they’ve really worked for some people! Here are some of the ones I’ve been recommended (although I haven’t personally used them). These are links to Audible for reference, but I’d suggest using your alternate platform of choice or try to see if your local library has any available!

Café in Berlin

German Short Stories for Beginners

Learn German with Paul Noble for Beginners

Educational books

This is the more traditional way of language learning, but to be honest this was what most helped me learn grammar! I think resources such as Duolingo are great for day-to-day practicing, but they can be a bit lacking in terms of grammar, which is where educational books come in handy.

I mostly used the Menschen books for the beginner levels and Mittelpunkt for more advanced levels. These can be a bit expensive, so I’d recommend getting used books or looking in your local library, or even online.

For example, in the Deutsch Akademie website you can practice some exercises taken from these books among others for free!

Social media

Try to incorporate German into your social media experience as much as you can!

Tumblr: some blogs I follow are @thatswhywelovegermany @official-german-puns and @inoffizielles-deutschland and you can also try to follow some studyblrs to focus on vocabulary and grammar such as @learngermanblog

Twitter/Facebook: DW Deutsch lernern, they focus on language learners and sometimes they even post simple practice exercises!

Devices

This is more of a tip than a resource but one of the first things I did was switch the language on my phone and laptop to German. This forced me to read the language every day and I even picked up some new vocabulary thanks to this! Even stuff like the directions on Google Maps were in German so it was a great way of practicing. At first I really struggled, but you just have to stick with it and eventually it gets easier, I promise!

Music

It really depends on your taste in music but here are some of the ones I listen to! I usually lean more towards indie pop/rock. But I’d recommend trying to find a specific playlist for your favorite genre, e.g. rock in German and so on!

Playlists: Deutscher Indie, Deutschpop Hits

Artists: Phela, Joris, Philipp Dittberner, Yvonne Catterfeld, Kenay, Mark Foster

Entertainment

Of course movies, TV shows, and even YouTube are a great way of practicing the language even during your downtime!

In general, what worked for me was starting out by watching stuff with German audio and English subtitles (or your language of choice), and then slowly try to shift to using German subtitles only! Anyway I’ll try to recommend one of each:

TV shows: Dark on Netflix, great show and there’s really not a lot of dialogue so it’s good for a beginner/intermediate level!

Movies: Run Lola Run (1998), a thriller movie with a time loop concept

YouTubers: here is a Reddit masterpost of German-speaking YouTubers! I personally started out watching Gronkh which is a gaming channel. His Life is Strange let’s play has the game in English and commentary in German so it’s a good way to start out!

~~~

I hope some of these resources are useful, dear! As I mentioned, in the end you’re the one that knows what works best for you! But these are just some tips and resources that I personally found useful.

Either way, once you’re actually in Germany I promise you’ll see that your progress will increase exponentially just by simply listening and speaking the language daily in places like the supermarket, restaurants, etc. But you can always try to cover all your bases with additional resources such as these ones!

Again, hope this is helpful and please let me know how your journey goes! I’m excited to hear all about it :D