German Online A-Z 🌐

Published by Roslyn Green in November 2022

Highly Recommended Websites, Podcasts and YouTube Channels

A Annik Rubens and the Slow German Podcast

It is a sheer pleasure to listen to the voice of Annik Rubens. She speaks clearly and slowly, so that you can distinguish every word. What’s more, you can download the PDFs of her podcasts and look up all the words you don’t already know. In the last few years, she has introduced a full-speed version as well as a subscription for seriously dedicated learners.  

A ARD Mediathek

Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons

A free repository of documentaries, television series, the Tagesschau news broadcast and, above all, Tatort! (discovered through the kind suggestion of Andrea Reichert). Subtitles are provided.

What a beautiful sentence that is for learners to read.

B Blinde Kuh

A search machine for children that includes interactive forums, links to a wide range of topics, videos, learning modules and more.

C Coffee Break German

A gentle introduction to German with a winning format: a teacher and a learner speak together and gradually build your knowledge of vocabulary and your confidence with pronunciation.

D Die Sendung mit der Maus

An Example: Was sich neckt, das liebt sich | Those who tease each other love each other

This is a charming classic of German children’s television. You can download the video podcasts via your podcast app on your smartphone and there’s even a dedicated Die Maus app. The “Sachgeschichten” are funny, quirky short videos that explain the things we’ve always wanted to know in simple, clever ways, with many visual cues.

D DeepL

This is the best translator in the world: intuitive, precise and accurate. It’s like having a German-speaking robot in your corner. The best way to use it is to type a text in German, observe how DeepL translates it into English and make any necessary adjustments, then watch how it translates your adjusted text back into German. Sometimes DeepL suggests alternative phrasing or a more precise verb. It is a tireless, all-knowing, uncritical teacher. You do have to be careful sometimes with colloquial expressions. After all, it’s not a human being.

D DerDieDas-App

This app trains you to remember the gender of German nouns and it is a surprisingly addictive sport. As you work through each thematic category, the app counts how many you get right in a row and keeps a tally of your progress in graph form. In addition to the app itself, the makers provide an online list of rules that will help you to predict gender and identify the patterns of German nouns.

D Deutsch mit Inap

An Example: Was isst du zu Mittag / zu Abend?

Inap is from Nepal and he teaches German as a foreign language. His course is particularly helpful for beginners because he explains everything in both German and English, with the written as well as the spoken word. I like especially how Inap ties in relatable personal information; in the video above, for instance, he shows what he is cooking for lunch while delivering his lesson on lunch and dinner in German.

D Deutsch mit Rieke

An Example: Auf der Arbeit, bei der Arbeit, in der Arbeit oder an die Arbeit?

Rieke provides precise explanations of difficult vocabulary with examples based on life experiences or quality German texts. Highly recommended for advanced learners. Rieke offers a quiz based on each video as well. Her website is here.

D Deutsch plus

An Example: Bitte nicht verwechseln!

On her YouTube Channel for advanced learners (B2, C1 and C2), Susanne explains fine distinctions between similar words, tricky grammatical rules, essential nouns that advanced learners really ought to know, and many idiomatic aspects of the German language.

D Deutsch-to-go.de

This site provides hundreds of short audio and reading texts, along with questions and activities to check and improve comprehension. I find it particularly helpful that the questions focus not just on understanding but also on those tricky verb and preposition choices that can confuse even the most dedicated learner. Each video or audio comes with a full PDF text.

Kindly recommended by Andrea Reichert.

D Die großen Fragen in 10 Minuten

Karsten Möbius of MDR Wissen tackles delightfully tricky and intriguing questions, all in the space of 10 minutes. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts as well as through MDR Wissen.

F Forvo

Forvo is a pronunciation dictionary. Once you have signed up to this free service, you can request pronunciations of tricky words and download the mp3 files generated by native speakers. For example, here is möchten, a perennially tricky word for learners.

Forvo: möchten

G Grenzenlos Deutsch

This site provides an open-access online textbook for beginners. There are quizzes, videos, pictures to click on and various other interactive resources. All education should be as accessible as this. This site was kindly recommended to me by Andrea Reichert.

G German Grammar Pod

Laura, the author of this podcast, is a brilliant person who loves and understands German grammar and explains it with precision and flair. She speaks in English but provides many examples in German.

G Grüße aus Deutschland – Podcast

This was my favourite podcast in my first few years of German. The topics are light-hearted and rich in vocabulary, while the presenters speak clearly and with humour and wit. At this link, you can find both the audio and the texts.

H Helles Köpfchen

This is a search machine for children and young people in Germany. There are many fascinating articles on this site as well as quizzes.

H Hörbücher at Audible.de

I wish Audible weren’t owned by Amazon, but this is still a treasury of listening material and the readers are a pure delight. Here are forty of my favourite audiobooks.

K Kindernetz (SWR)

The materials provided for German-speaking children on the internet are impressive and diverse. This site provides stories, videos, news commentary specifically for children, podcasts and documentaries.

K Kurz gesagt

An Example: Die Vergangenheit und Zukunft von allem

The creators of this YouTube channel usually publish scientifically fascinating, visionary and original videos in English, but they also offer some of their best titles in German. Here are just a few: Warum du nicht genug Freunde hast | Der letzte Mensch | Einsamkeit

L Lesch & Co

An Example: Klimakrise – Zeit zu kapitulieren?

A passionate scientist and physicist, Harald Lesch talks about our world and our future and he doesn’t pull any punches. He and his team provide subtitles, which is just as well, because he tackles complicated subjects.

L  Linguee Dictionary

This site is possibly more useful for intermediate and advanced learners. It provides hundreds of online examples of how an idea has been expressed in English and German. It’s especially useful for modern wording and phrasing that might not have reached the dictionaries. Dictionaries are based on searching for words (and hoping to find phrases); with the Linguee Dictionary, you can search directly for the phrases.

M Mr Wissen2Go

An Example: Die Wahrheit über Volkswagen

Mirko Drotschmann is the creator of this YouTube channel; he is knowledgeable, engaging and current. When there is a new development anywhere in the world, he publishes a new video within hours. His pronunciation is very clear and he speaks in a considered and impartial way. He also provides subtitles in German.

N neuneinhalb

An Example: Klimagerechtigkeit – Was ist das eigentlich?

The website and the films, which can be watched online or downloaded via Apple.com and YouTube (or your chosen provider), are lively and engaging, featuring clever editing and including conversations with young speakers, often teenagers. The themes are current and the graphics eye-catching. Click on UT to read the subtitles as you watch.

P Planet-Schule

An Example: Wie viel Hitze verträgt die Erde?

Planet-Schule is a multimedia website offering materials and films relating to every conceivable school subject, with additional resources such as worksheets, audio and other materials. A number of broadcasting corporations in German contribute materials to this website, including WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk) and SWR (Südwestrundfunk).

P Planet-Wissen

An Example: Wie holen wir das C02 wieder aus der Lufe?

Planet-Wissen provides a wealth of educational materials, including videos and articles presented according to school subjects and covering a vast range of themes. This is a joint project from SWR (Südwestrundfunk), WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk), ARD alpha and Bayerischer Rundfunk.

R Rakuten Kobo

Once you have created an account with Kobo, you can change the site language from English to German and start searching for German books. Kobo also has an app for smartphones and laptops.

I have tried other German book suppliers over the years, such as Weltbild and Thalia, but Kobo seems to me to be the most reliable.

S Schubert Publishing

These online exercises are graduated from easy (A1) to strenuous (C2). The whole site is in German and the presentation is very old-fashioned, but the A1 and A2 exercises are ideal for beginners – and you get a % mark straightaway. 

S SWR Wissen Podcast

An Example with Transcription Provided: Magersucht – Therapien gegen die Essstörungen | Anorexia Nervosa – Therapies for Eating Disorders

This podcast offers fascinating sociological and scientific topics with manuscripts available to read along. It can be downloaded through your smartphone’s podcast app as well as through the website.

Z ZDF heute-show

YouTube channel | An Example: Midterms: Was wird jetzt aus Donald Trump?

The presenter, Oliver Welke, summarises the news with biting humour. This program is ideal for advanced learners who prefer a satirical approach to the news of the week.

Z Zeit Online

There are several free podcasts from this journal, including OK, America? and Was jetzt?, my favourite news podcast in German.

A Few More Links:

Deutschlernerblog: This is an extremely helpful site with many useful examples of wording and sentences, as well as tests, practice with hearing comprehension and much more. There are unfortunately quite a lot of advertisements.

ARD: Frag mich – Die Nachrichten und ich: A podcast for children with current themes, friendly presenters and interviews with children

Deutschwortschatz.de: An amusing and expressive set of pictures to represent some of the most ingenious words in the German language.

print
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *