6 things to check out if you’re learning German at an intermediate level
If you’re learning German, you might be familiar with the struggle to find good content at the right level of difficulty that will help you improve your language skills.
While there’s always plenty of learning material available for absolute beginners, it can be hard to find interesting books, music, or TV shows that go beyond the overly-simplified beginner courses, but are at the same time easy enough to understand.
Below are six recommendations for content in German that is perfect for intermediate learners.
6. German telenovelas
Format: TV Show
I’m a big believer in the power of soap operas when it comes to language learning. There are a lot of long-running German telenovelas that you can watch online for free on channels like Das Erste, ZDF, and Sixx. To access these channels, you’ll need to be watching from Germany, or connect via VPN.
If you like your TV with a little less melodrama, there are also plenty of high-quality German productions on streaming services like Netflix, including the hit Netflix original Dark, or Anke Engelke’s Das letzte Wort.
When I was learning German, I tried every TV show I could find. There were telenovelas like Anna und die Liebe, sitcoms like Pastewka, and sketch comedy shows like Ladykracher. Although not everything I came across or mention here was to my taste or values, I still ended up learning a lot about the language and culture. Many of these shows aren’t family friendly. If this is something you care about, I recommend exploring different shows until you find things that you like.
5. The music of Wir Sind Helden
Format: Music
Depending on your taste in music, you may or may not enjoy Wir Sind Helden. Their music is the epitome of German rock, with elements of punk and synth-pop.
What makes them so great (but at the same time so challenging) for language learning is that their songs are lyrical, with a lot of imagery and wordplay. Songs like Kaputt and Nur ein Wort are perfect examples of this.
If you prefer more mellow forms of rock, then the 2000’s band Juli might be for you. With big hits like Perfekte Welle, Juli’s songs have lyrics that are clearly spoken and easy to understand.
4. The Deutsche Welle podcasts
Format: Podcast
The German media outlet Deutsche Welle is well-known for its language learning content, most of which is available in text, audio, and sometimes video format.
Their three main German courses Warum nicht, Wieso nicht, and Marktplatz cover a lot of ground from beginner to advanced. You can listen to these and read the accompanying PDF files.
However, my favorite DW production has to be the slow news channel, or Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten. With this podcast, you can stay on top of the news and brush up your German at the same time.
3. “Kleiner Mann — was nun” by Hans Fallada
Format: Book
This 1932 novel is considered a modern classic, and one of the best accounts in German literature of the harsh life during the first years of the Great Depression.
Despite the heavy topic, what makes this novel good for German learners is that it’s written in the style of “new objectivity”, or Neue Sachlichkeit, a German literary style characterized by its non-sentimental, emotionless reporting of facts and details, with no overly long romantic descriptions.
2. “Mein Leben als Mensch” by Jan Weiler
Format: Book, Blog, Podcast
Mein Leben als Mensch is a weekly autobiographical column written by journalist and author Jan Weiler. It’s funny, entertaining, and offer a window into German culture and life.
First published in the German weekly magazine Stern, then in Welt am Sonntag, the entire series is now published on Jan Weiler’s website.
The columns have also been collected into books: Mein Leben als Mensch and Mein neues Leben als Mensch.
The best part? It’s also available as a podcast that you can follow and listen to on the go, or as an audio companion while you’re reading to aide your comprehension.
1. The Easy German Podcast
Format: Podcast, Video
Despite the impression the name gives, this podcast is far from being a series of German language lessons. Manuel and his step-mother Carina have interesting conversations about every aspect of German life, as well as their own personal lives. You’ll get to hear the latest on everything from Carina’s travels, to Manuel’s visit to the dentist, to German politics and culture.
They also have recurring guests from other German-speaking countries like Austria and Switzerland, so you’ll get exposure to regional dialects other than high German.
The Easy German Podcast is by far my favorite on this list, and fully deserving of the #1 spot.
Also worth mentioning is the Easy German Youtube channel, which predates the podcast by several years, and on which you’ll find fun, easy-to-watch videos with subtitles on different topics related to German life and the German language.
