Goethe German A1

[calmactive]

Hello Everyone,

I am self studying for Goethe A1 which i will be taking in two months, I know a CEFR book and a tutor is probably the best method but I cant afford that. I was borrowed the Menschen A books but its really hard to digest and translate and hard to do without someone to explain it. I came up with an alternative way to learn, and i was hoping you could critique or what you think would be a better method.

So formulating a study plan:
Introductory courses,
Either the Assimil German with ease (2012) first 50 lessons or The Nicos Weg A1 course, which is better?
Pimsleur levels 1 to 3

Grammar
I could get a basic german grammar book, or Fsi German Basic?

Listening and speaking
Practice youtube videos

Use Anki for Goethe A1 vocab

and most of my time goes into practicing practice test on goethe website and Fit Furs A1 book

Is this too much or not enough, Im not sure, but your help would be greatly appreciated

By the way, the reason why Im learning is for my Aupair application to Germany, I figure once i get to Germany I can better learn German by taking classes and immersion

[Le Baron]

Can I just get clarification? Have you booked yourself onto a Goethe exam before actually studying for it? Or are you some way down the line. For example, if you were planning to use Pimsleur I'd expect you to have finished at least no.2 already well before.

[calmactive]

I have not booked yet but I will be, and that's why I'm trying to figure out how to study

[Irena]

Why are you taking this exam? The price probably varies from test center to test center, but over here in the Czech Republic, the price is approximately $100 (at the current exchange rate). It's a lot of money for a credential that really isn't worth much of anything (an A1 level certificate isn't going to help you get a job, for instance). If you're trying to learn German, and you're on a budget, you'd be better off spending that money on good study materials.

[Le Baron]

I have not booked yet but I will be, and that's why I'm trying to figure out how to study

Okay. I somewhat agree with Irena as to its value, but if you're just doing the exam as a personal goal, carry on it's up to you.

Other people here are more in the know about what is best to use for German right now. I did it ages ago and the books are likely are no longer in print anyway.

I think for an exam with Goethe you should be following what their recommendations are for studying, because they'll better reflect what comes on their exams. So FSI German it isn't. Nicos weg probably closer. But really you need to look at sample exams and figure out what you need to know, then study that; alongside getting started with learning general German.

Passing an exam is certain short-term target, whereas just 'learning German' is a long-term more undefined goal.

[jeffers]

Why are you taking this exam?

Explained at the end of the OP's post:

By the way, the reason why Im learning is for my Aupair application to Germany, I figure once i get to Germany I can better learn German by taking classes and immersion

I assume that you need proof of A1 German to become an Aupair? Is this true?

The part I'm not sure about is if you can afford Assimil but not an A1 prep book?

In any case, regarding study no one method is best, but Pimsleur plus Assimil is a good combo; Pimsleur for the oral practice and Assimil for the grammar and vocabulary knowledge. In addition, it's worth finding YouTube videos or something that do specific A1 exam preparation. Something that points out what to expect on each part of the test, and gives tips on what you need to know. Then as you study your courses you can focus more on the things required for the exam.

However, don't spread yourself too thin with multiple resources. If you're using 3-4 different resources but not making much progress in any of them, you won't be doing yourself any favours. Pick ONE resource which is the thing that you MUST do every single day, and anything else is just something to do in the margins. In my opinion, Assimil would be good as the ONE resource, especially if you spend time working on oral skills with the Assimil course. You can shadow the audio (speak it out loud while listening), and especially I would recommend recording yourself reading the dialogues out loud (easy enough to do with most smartphones these days). Although I think Pimsleur is good for oral practice, I think using Assimil in this way is even better because you'll be working on speaking full paragraphs aloud, rather than single short sentences at a time.

[Irena]

Why are you taking this exam?

Explained at the end of the OP's post:

By the way, the reason why Im learning is for my Aupair application to Germany, I figure once i get to Germany I can better learn German by taking classes and immersion

Oops, I somehow managed to miss that! But really? They just want A1...? Weird.

[Cavesa]

The easiest and most efficient part imho is just completing Themen Aktuell 1. It is CEFR based, covers very well A1 and perhaps a tiny bit more, it comes with a bilingual workbook, which is the most awesome part of it. It is not too expensive and gives you a lot to do. If you need to learn fast and pass, don't spread yourself too thin over many resources. Just complete one or max.two.

Tutor is not "the best method", you can succeed very well without one. No need for this expense, if your budget is tight

A coursebook, such as Themen Aktuelle costs like 30-40 euro, with the workbook. You get a lot of value for that. If you cannot afford it, there are some pirated copies online.

Menschen is not a good book for self teaching beginners imho.

No, not first 50 units of Assimil. Assimil is overall good but it is not based on CEFR. The label came later and you definitely cannot put a line between the individual level within the book. It is one of its advantages in many situations, but right now its biggest flaw. It is not a book to prepare A1 or A2 exam fast.

Youtube videos are a problem, because they are mostly not organised, you risk wasting a lot of time inefficiently running in circles.

A1 is not unrealistic, you also don't need to get a full score in order to pass. But you need solid enough basics of the grammar, you need to be confident in the presented beginner scenarios (practice talking with your pet or plant or something), ok enough pronunciation (repeat after audio a lot), and good enough basic vocab.

You can do it, if you won't waste time.

[Le Baron]

Youtube videos are a problem, because they are mostly not organised, you risk wasting a lot of time inefficiently running in circles.

This is a good point for anyone anywhere learning a language. Too many YT videos are just a drip of random tidbits which don't help all that much, or at the right time.

[garyb]

I'd leave Assimil until after A1. I found that it moved way too fast to be useful for a real beginner, and it's more suited to helping a learner go from upper-beginner (or false beginner, or beginner with good knowledge of a closely-related language, etc.) to intermediate. I did Assimil as my second German course (after Michel Thomas, which is really just the absolute basics), and I feel it was a mistake and I should've used another proper beginner resource or two first.

Apart from that... just what Cavesa said I don't think a tutor is really useful at beginner level unless you really need the motivation and accountability from another person, and you're best off with a good A1 textbook.