Stammtisch

Resources

Everything you need to learn German — from first steps to fluency.

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Nico's Weg (DW)

A1–B1

Story-based video course with bite-sized lessons and exercises.

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DW Learn German

All

Free courses with placement test, interactive exercises, and grammar.

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Easy German

All

Real street interviews and natural conversations. Great for listening and slang.

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Structured Courses

Goethe-Institut Online

A1–C2

Official instructor-led German courses across all CEFR levels.

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Goethe-Institut Australia

All

Local hub for language courses, culture events, and resources.

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Vocabulary Builders

German.net

Interactive lessons and vocabulary training for daily practice.

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Memrise

Vocab and listening practice with native speaker video clips.

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Grammar

Lingolia Deutsch

Clean grammar explanations and exercises organised by topic.

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YourDailyGerman

The "why does it work like that?" grammar site for building intuition.

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Verbformen

Quick conjugations and declensions when you're stuck mid-sentence.

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Dictionaries & Pronunciation

LEO

German↔English dictionary with usage examples.

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dict.cc

Fast dictionary with phrases and translations.

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PONS

Solid dictionary with examples and context.

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Duden

The monolingual German dictionary — how Germans define words.

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Wiktionary

Detailed word forms, pronunciation (IPA), and etymology.

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Forvo

Hear native-speaker pronunciations for tricky words.

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Listening

Slow German Podcast

B1

Short, slower-paced episodes on German cultural topics.

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Coffee Break German

A1–B1

15–20 minute lessons from beginner to intermediate.

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nachrichtenleicht

A2–B1

Weekly news in simplified German.

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Deutsch Perfekt

B1–B2

Learner magazine about life in the DACH region with audio.

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SBS German

B2+

German-language news and stories with an Australian angle.

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Watching

ZDF Mediathek

Free German TV: documentaries, series, and livestreams.

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Terra X (ZDF)

Iconic German documentary series — history, nature, science.

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Reading

Goethe Onleihe

Free digital library: 20,000+ German ebooks, audiobooks, and newspapers.

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Zeitgeister (Goethe)

Digital culture magazine — essays, podcasts, art, and German nerd topics.

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Deutschland.de Culture

Deep well of articles on German music, film, design, and cultural life.

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bpb einfach POLITIK

Politics and current-affairs vocabulary explained in simple German.

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Film Recommendations

Good Bye, Lenin! (2003)

A tragicomedy about a son protecting his mother from the fall of the Wall.

Das Leben der Anderen (2006)

Oscar-winning thriller about Stasi surveillance in East Berlin.

Toni Erdmann (2016)

Acclaimed comedy-drama about a father-daughter relationship.

Dark (Netflix)

Mind-bending sci-fi thriller series set in a small German town.

Speaking Practice

Tandem

Language exchange app — text and voice with native speakers.

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HelloTalk

Language exchange with structured voice calls and chat tools.

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Preply

1:1 tutors for fast feedback and tailored speaking practice.

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Exams & Certificates

Goethe-Zertifikat A1

A1

Official free practice materials by module.

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Goethe-Zertifikat B1

B1

Official B1 practice materials.

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TestDaF

B2–C1

Major exam pathway for studying at German universities.

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Bücher

Book Recommendations

Two picks per CEFR level.

A1
  • • Menschen A1 (Hueber) — structured beginner coursebook
  • • Goethe-Zertifikat A1 Practice Materials
A2
  • • Menschen A2 (Hueber) — continues the progression
  • • Netzwerk neu A2 (Klett) — strong practice focus
B1
  • • Menschen B1 (Hueber) — builds independence
  • • Netzwerk neu B1 (Klett) — structured skill-building
B2
  • • Sicher! B2 (Hueber) — solid upper-intermediate
  • • Aspekte neu B2 (Klett) — topic-based, real-world texts
C1
  • • Aspekte neu C1 (Klett) — advanced coursebook
  • • Erkundungen C1 (Schubert) — demanding texts & tasks
C2
  • • Erkundungen C2 (Schubert) — genuinely C2-level
  • • TestDaF pathway for academic German
Wusstest du?

Fun Facts about Germany

From German Week Melbourne.

It's bad luck to say "Happy Birthday" before the actual day

Oktoberfest in Munich actually starts in September

Germany has ~300 varieties of bread

Some Germans answer the phone with their surname

Gummy bears were invented by Hans Riegel Sr. in 1922

Gutenberg developed the printing press

~70% of German highways have no speed limit

Germany has more soccer fan clubs than any other country

Kids get a "Schultüte" (school cone) on their first day of school

Wortschatz

Wort des Tages Archive

dieGemütlichkeit

/ɡəˈmyːtlɪçkaɪ̯t/

A feeling of warmth, cosiness, good cheer, and belonging. One of the most beloved untranslatable German words.

dieWanderlust

/ˈvandɐˌlʊst/

A strong desire or impulse to travel and explore the world. One of the most famous German loanwords in English.

derZeitgeist

/ˈtsaɪ̯tˌɡaɪ̯st/

The defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history, as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time.

dieSchadenfreude

/ˈʃaːdn̩ˌfʁɔɪ̯də/

Pleasure derived from someone else's misfortune. A famously untranslatable German concept.

dasFernweh

/ˈfɛʁnˌveː/

An ache or longing for distant places; the opposite of homesickness.

derFeierabend

/ˈfaɪ̯ɐˌʔaːbn̩t/

The time after work; the celebratory feeling of the workday being over.

dieTorschlusspanik

/ˈtoːɐ̯ʃlʊsˌpanɪk/

The fear that time is running out to achieve life goals; literally 'gate-closing panic'.