Learning German

Whether shopping, working or at a parents' evening – knowledge of German is practical for successful communication and an important step on the way to successful integration.

 

There are many ways to learn German, whether at home or abroad. Many different institutions offer professional German or integration courses, e.g the Goethe-Institut, adult education centres or the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. There are lessons in groups or individually, for professionals, for people with disabilities, especially for women or for illiterate people, as intensive, evening, morning or weekend courses.

 

Of course, there are also various possibilities online: for example, free offers from the Goethe Institute in an app or extra slow-spoken messages from Deutsche Welle.

If you are looking for family reunification, studies or training in Or in Germany, you will have to take an exam at the end of your language course in order to receive a corresponding certificate. But even otherwise, a passed language exam in an application is always good.

Such an exam tests reading and listening comprehension, grammar and vocabulary, speaking and writing. It can be taken at different levels: A1 and A2 show that you can communicate in everyday situations. B1 and B2 aim at the independent use of language. C1 and C2 demonstrate the greatest possible language competence, i.e. at a native-speaker level.

There are many different providers of language examinations, some, such as the Goethe Institut or telc GmbH, offer examinations for everyone, TestDaF and the DSH (German Language Examination for University Entrance) are specially designed for prospective students, while the target group for the German Language Diploma of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (DSD) are students abroad.

 

The BAMF offers integration and orientation courses for newly arrived persons. You are entitled to participate if you enter as an employee, for the purpose of family reunification or for humanitarian reasons. The Foreigners' Registration Office may determine an obligation to participate when issuing the residence permit.