What a Difference a Month Makes… (German Log)

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Luftschloss
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What a Difference a Month Makes… (German Log)

Postby Luftschloss » Sat Aug 13, 2022 5:27 pm

Hallo! To cut to the chase, I’d like to see just how much progress I can make in a month (roughly). I’m moving to Germany for my degree, and have been studying German inconsistently since February this year. Fortunately for me, my degree will be taught in English. So, I don’t need to be a C1 but I’d like to be at least at a strong B1 level by the time I start. I’m not working so I have a lot of time on my hands. If I can’t complete all these tasks all in a month’s time, it’s fine. But my hard deadline is October 1st.


My Goal

◦ Listening ◦
To reach a point where I can comfortably listen to natives when they speak at a normal speed and are using words that I’m familiar with. But I’m worried this is too ambitious.

◦ Speaking ◦
To be able to have simple conversations regarding things that are going to be relevant to me when I get to Germany.

◦ Writing ◦
To be able to confidently write emails & texts with very little need for DeepL translate.

◦ Vocabulary ◦
To be familiar with the 5000 most frequent words.


Where think I am now

◦ Listening ◦
If the speaker is talking clearly, using words I recognise, and if I’m concentrating intensely then I’ll understand them. Even then, there’ll be a lag in my comprehension depending on my familiarity with the words used. YouTube videos are easier for me to understand than films & TV shows.

◦ Speaking ◦
I’ve only ever spoken to myself and I’m pretty sure my grammar and phrasing is often very incorrect. I think my accent is okay, but it’s not my opinion that matters, is it.

◦ Writing ◦
Simple sentences, I can do. But everything else is a struggle.

◦ Vocabulary ◦
The Leipzig vocabulary test claims I have a passive vocabulary size of 2300 words and an active vocabulary of exactly half of that. I think skilled guesswork is to thank for that score.


My Action Plan

♡ General Stuff
♥ Complete Daf Kompakt Neu A1-B1 (Coursebook and workbook)
♥ Complete Grammatik Aktiv A1-B1
♥ Read and take whatever is useful from the ‘Functions’ section in Routledge’s Modern German Grammar and Cassell’s Colloquial German

♡ Listening
♥ Watch some phonetics tutorials
♥ Watch some videos that go over some of the pronunciation differences between spoken and written German.
♥ Use Language Reactor to watch a playlist of ~30 hours worth of closed captioned content that I found on YouTube. It will certainly take me much longer than 30 hours to complete this playlist.
♥ Listen to German music and get new recommendations from Spotify Discover Weekly & r/germusic. (I absolutely love the lyrics function on Spotify, it allows you to easily replay any lyric in a song)

♡ Speaking & writing
♥ Prepare answers to questions from a few IELTS speaking topics.
♥ Use HelloTalk/Tandem every other day. If I’m not pleased with these apps, then I’ll use Italki, too.
♥ Complete as many topics as I can on Polygloss.

♡ Vocabulary
♥ Complete a Quizlet set of the 5000 most frequent words.

♡ Reading
♥ Read 3 very short books (aimed at language learners) that I got from a used book shop.
♥ Read a novel that I also bought from a used book shop. It’s translated, contemporary romance Y fiction. From the looks of it, it’s not my thing but it should be easy enough to read (right?)

I’m really excited to start documenting my progress. I think I have all the resources I need, it’s just accountability & consistency that’s missing in my routine.
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DaveAgain
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Re: What a Difference a Month Makes… (German Log)

Postby DaveAgain » Sat Aug 13, 2022 9:25 pm

Welcome to the forum :-)
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Luftschloss
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Re: What a Difference a Month Makes… (German Log)

Postby Luftschloss » Sun Aug 14, 2022 9:32 am

DaveAgain wrote:Welcome to the forum :-)


Thank you!
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Le Baron
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Re: What a Difference a Month Makes… (German Log)

Postby Le Baron » Sun Aug 14, 2022 3:43 pm

So A1 to B1 in a month. Are you sure you're at A1? Your where I am now listening description "If the speaker is talking clearly, using words I recognise, and if I’m concentrating intensely then I’ll understand them..." suggests otherwise. Though it's always difficult to know what people mean with words like 'understand'. Does it mean you can follow everything they say if they are talking clearly? That it's a matter of speed/clarity, rather than e.g. vocabulary? Since 2300 words and command over 1150 would suggest they'd have to be limiting themselves to the known approx 1000 words to be comprehensible.

It's encouraged on this website to cheer people on in their endeavours. I'll do that, whilst saying I think your goal is a bit steep. This: "To reach a point where I can comfortably listen to natives when they speak at a normal speed and are using words that I’m familiar with", would need more explanation for me. Practically everyone in Germany will not be using only words with which you are familiar. This being the central problem. I want to be wrong, but I don't know that you'll radically double your use-value vocabulary (active/passive) in one month. I hope you do.

It's not all doom and gloom though. If you've become familiar with common grammar structures; learned many common words; become familiar with patterns of speech (i.e. recognising words/phrases/structure you know in context)... You might do okay. 'Comfortably'? I don't know. Probably not. Is it ever comfortable moving from theory to practical reality? But the curve will flatten out as you go on.

When I write a formal email I look up the odd word/sentence structure on google translate for languages I've known for several decades. However I don't think this concern should be part of your month's worth of work. If you can get to Germany and be engaging at some level, at least one hurdle has been surmounted.
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Luftschloss
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Re: What a Difference a Month Makes… (German Log)

Postby Luftschloss » Sun Aug 14, 2022 6:47 pm

Le Baron wrote: So A1 to B1 in a month. Are you sure you're at A1?


I know I’m definitely not A0, but I’m not sure about anything beyond that. I’ve completed the A1 chapters in the general textbook I have, but that was months ago, so I’m briefly going over it again. I chose A1 for my bio because I feel extremely limited when I’m trying to speak or write in German. But really I just hadn’t read descriptions of the CEFR levels nor taken any proper tests when I made this account, so I just chose the level I knew I couldn’t be lower than.

Does it mean you can follow everything they say if they are talking clearly? That it’s a matter of speed/clarity, rather than e.g. vocabulary?


I think it’s both, really. If they’re not speaking at ‘film-pace’ (which I often only understand the gist of) but I’m still struggling to understand them, then it’s usually because I had never seen the word before or I couldn’t hear the unstressed words that were used. I count understanding as me hearing the words used and connecting meaning to them. Sometimes I can hear each (or just most) of the words used, but it feels like my brain is lagging and there’s no real meaning coming through until a few seconds later. But this also happens to me in English sometimes so idk.

Practically everyone in Germany will not be using only words with which you are familiar. This being the central problem.


I don’t expect them to, but I read that knowing the 5000 most common words will help you to understand 96-98% of daily conversation so I ran with it. I just want to be able to understand every word that is said to me or around me that I’ve already come across. I’ll be focusing on the 5000 most common words and any other relevant words I encounter (like to do with uni, transport, bureaucracy, housing, food, etc.). If I don’t understand anything beyond that, so be it. I figure that I eventually will, anyway.

I don’t know that you’ll radically double your use-value vocabulary (active/passive) in one month.


To be fair, I took that test two weeks ago before I started to go through 50-100 words every other day using Quizlet. I just didn’t take another test when I made this account because I read that online tests aren’t great at accounting for small changes.

I don’t know if I can double my vocabulary in one month either, but I really enjoy learning vocab so I’d like to try, at least. It might sound insane, but I want to go over at least 150 new words each day. It makes for interesting immersion when I come across new vocabulary I learned that very morning. And I also want to encounter the most common words as soon as possible to more repetitions in.

I don’t think I’ll need that many words in my speech or writing, though.

If you’ve become familiar with common grammar structures; learned many common words; become familiar with patterns of speech (i.e. recognising words/phrases/structure you know in context)... You might do okay. ‘Comfortably’? I don’t know. Probably not. Is it ever comfortable moving from theory to practical reality? But the curve will flatten out as you go on.


I think you’re right. It’s just that I’m terrified of not knowing what’s going on around me when I get there so I want to accomplish as much as I before then.
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