Of all the questions to pop up in response to our recent Ask überlin… ANYTHING! post, the one that really jumped out was Nana’s:
Is it possible to live in Berlin without knowing a word in German?
The scary thing is that the short answer is “Yes, quite possible”. We know people here who survive on very little German: they work at international companies where the official language is English, only hang out with other expats, and do the whole nod-and-smile thing at supermarket checkouts. Some of them just haven’t got round to learning the language yet, but some don’t ever plan to.
The problem with this is, like Patrick comments, “your ability to work and interact with people is going to be much more limited.” What happens if you lose your startup job and can’t find another? Or need to get your sink fixed? Or get sick of socialising with douchebags like me?
Our advice would be: don’t worry about the language thing before you move to Berlin, and don’t let it put you off coming. But when you’re settled, make steps to learn German. Like Expath’s Tia Robinson writes in this great post for VentureVillage, “you can be one of the thousands of Berlin expats bumbling around… But why not take advantage of being immersed in German language and culture?”
Scroll down for some top tips to avoid becoming this guy:
Language schools
We’ve sampled a few different language schools, and some private tutors, and our favourite is Sprachsalon Berlin in Neukölln. The teachers are great, engaging in German and resorting to English to explain the most difficult concepts, the classes are small (we learned first with a total of four students, then just the two of us) and, above all, the fees are very reasonable.
If you want some other options, check out this Exberliner article or wait for someone more experienced than us to comment below!
Online learning tools
Again, we checked out a bunch of online learning tools and stopped at one that works for us: Duolingo. Read what we wrote about Duolingo when it was still in private beta here, and sign up here.
VentureVillage included Duolingo in their 7 cool new ways to learn German, along with some other interesting resources worth checking out – including our Daily Deutsch tweets and illustrations! The list also mentions Meetup.com as a way to meet and speak to “real Germans in the real world”, which could be useful for Alex, who asked us:
any suggestions on how to “fit in” (ie not seem like a typical American/Brit/whatever living in Berlin)? I have a good comprehension of the language, but really want to try to assimilate as much as possible.
by Josh Bauman
Other resources
We’ve heard great things about tandem learning, one-on-one language exchange with a German who wants to learn English (or another language), but we’ve both been playing email tag with our partners, so we can’t yet recommend the institution that’s connected us. And we’ve only just discovered the following:
Zattoo – live stream German TV and radio, and watch Spiegel TV on demand, for free.
Deutsche Welle media centre – get the news and other current affairs programmes as audio and video.
Learn German for Free – kostenlos audio lessons on the Open Culture website.
Radiant-Flux – Patrick Wilken’s own blog tackles the issue of “Deutsch lernen”. This epic post is well worth reading for a different approach to language learning and the tactics to go with it.
We reckon that one of the easiest ways to “open your ears” to the language is to listen to local music (with vocals; German hip hop is actually pretty decent) and watch German TV and films, or English-language stuff dubbed into German.
On that note, does anyone have an answer for Paula?
Does anyone know a good website where you can stream German movies with English subtitles? Trying to show my boyfriends some German movies in prep of our big move but it’s hard to find sites that host movies with voiceover / subtitles. Any recommendations?
Help a Berliner out. Do you have any top tips for ways in which to learn German, or places to do so?
James Glazebrook 
Hallo liebe Leute, wie geht’s? I’m a bit late with regards to this thread but am hoping people are still reading it from time to time. Hoping to move to Berlin myself later this year and in doing so perhaps improve my German-please excuse the pitiful attempt above. However, my fear is that it will be all too easy to sink into my comfort zone and therefore speak English. Is there any worth in seeking to move outside of Berlin to places like Potsdam or even Brandenburg? At the moment, I’m in the midst of planning my accommodation, so it would be good to know what the consensus on this question might be? In my opinion, if you move to another country, you should learn the language but with Berlin being an international city, I am worried that this will discourage me in my efforts. If anyone could shed some light on this, I’d be grateful. Cheers.
[…] in Berlin. Ours is a city so international that some expats actually ask themselves (and us!) whether it’s worth learning German at all, and the business ventures they start can spark fierce debate when they are criticised for not […]
Learning German is essential nowadays and I feel that even though I could survive here with my English only when I first arrived in Berlin, something pushed me to learn the language. My job is basically in English and I rarely use German there, but I feel the necessity to interact with German people. After all I came to live and work in Germany, so I need to understand the way this nation lives and thinks. But one thing I see quite frequently is that many Germans are willing to speak in English and sometimes I notice that they are happy to practice the language, so this might be a good reason for the lazy foreigners to refuse to invest on learning German.
However, there are many language schools with reasonable prices and flexible hours. One that I attend is Deutschakademie ( https://www.deutschakademie.de/berlin/alexanderplatz ). I started here in November, in my second week in Berlin. I am pleased with my choice, as I improved my German and feel much more confident than before and the language school is in the centre and very near to my place. The classes are not over-crowded as other language schools and the price is good for what it offers. I think that it is easy to organize your time and attend some lessons after work and there are language schools in every area in Berlin… So that means no excuses guys. Learn German!!!
Hi Veronika,
Thanks for the comment! Who’s your teacher at Deutschakademie? That’s where we did our first lessons…
Hello, my teacher now is Corrina. This is in Alexanderplatz. I had some other teachers in Wittenbergplatz as well as Julianne and Janina. All of them are very good but my favourite teacher is Julianne. Which teachers did you have? I might know some of them from the Stammtisch.
We had Steffan, who at the time was working at Wittenbergplatz. This was a couple of years ago now…
[…] populous German-speaking country. But you’d be wrong. Berlin is an international city where you can, more or less, get by without speaking the language. Whether or not you’d want to–or […]
[…] laurenoyler.com or follow her on Twitter: @laurenoyler. For tips on learning German, read “Ask überlin – Do I need to learn German?” Published: February 22, 2013 Filed Under: Expat Life leave a comment Name: […]
Continue the wonderful good article, I just read couple of articles about this web page.
Insist on talking German to your German friends. No matter how tedious it might be or how silly you feel, ie. along the same lines as Clairikine
[…] …but we should repeat Patrick’s word of caution: “If you don’t speak passable German I think your options are pretty limited.” For some thoughts and tips about learning the local language, read Ask überlin: Do I need to learn German? […]
There is also a slow aproach to learning german: https://www.slowgerman.com/ ????
Greetings from DasBogenfenster and SlowLifeLab
I also highly recommend tandem learning, more than anything it just gave me the confidence to get started and I met a few nice people who work in other fields (as hard as I found to discuss my own field with a near-stranger, discussing law or chemistry was a great challenge!).
And as an alternative to TV in a foreign language (which I never really enjoy anyway), I also suggest podcasts! I’m quite into the Kastenfisch and Einschlafen podcasts (available on iTunes store), very easy to have on the go and two very friendly and nice sounding German voices to hear regularly!
It amazes me how many people live here for so many years without any interest in learning the language. Even now, when I can pass a C1 level German test, I still feel frustrated at my struggle to find certain words mid conversation. I hated not being able to understand the postman when he came to the door, or to not be able to argue with DHL when they failed to bring a parcel in the alloted hours once more. People need to be realistic about how hard it is to learn a language but give it a go and it will open up a lot more opportunities for you!
Thanks for the shout-out to my own blog post. In my own post, which was written a few months ago, I was down on German courses, but since then I to have discovered the wonders of Sprachsalon Berlin. I am currently in a semi-intensive course, which for three-half-days a week, for a month, is an absolute bargin at 200 Euros. Strongly recommended.
Thank you for the mention, Zoe & James! For finding a tandem partner, I can recommend Lingo Bongo: https://www.lingobongo.com/berlin/en/. You can put your own ads up to find a tandem partner or read others’ ads. There are also tandems for other languages, plus job offers and offers for private (paid) courses.
Agree that Duolingo.com is amazing! I am a complete beginner, moving to Berlin in two weeks and it’s got me fairly far already.
The Deutsch warum nicht? podcasts (on iTunes) are also pretty good I found. Although I’m someone who picks up languages fairly quickly – I think this might be a bit challenging if you weren’t used to grammatical concepts etc.
It’s definitely a huge help and motivation to find some local who’s willing to cooperate with you as a German-learner and is interested in explaining the details and correct misunderstandings. I’m currently helping a great person to learn German and it’s really fun!
https://memrise.com/home/
!!!
It’s AMAZING
My advice: if you already have a basic grasp of German, and you’re looking for a flat share, live with German housemates. If you make the conscious decision to not speak English with them, you’ll be forced to speak and hear German on a regular basis, which is really the only way to improve your German in my opinion.