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German is the most popular native language in Europe. Moreover, it is the 2nd most widely used scientific language in the world. Learning German can help a person to understand German literature, music, and arts. It can make it easier for anyone to study or work in Germany. Fortunately, there are plenty of free German lessons online that anyone can take. These lessons offer flexibility and are perfect for those who want to self-study. Therefore, in this blog, we have provided a list of 7 free German lessons online for beginners.
| Free German lessons online | Value |
| Duolingo German | Gamification |
| DeutschAkademie’s German | Free audio lessons |
| FSI German courses | Funded by the US government |
| German Today by MIT Open Courseware | To learn basic communication |
| Getting Started with German 1,2,3 by Open University | Structured lessons |
| Free German Courses by Udemy | Free short lessons |
| Free German Lessons Online by Alison | Free certification |
| Deutsche Welle | Funded by the German government |
| German Language by Modern States | Preparation for CELP |
| German Project | Free lessons |
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Why learn the German language?
German is one of the 10 most widely spoken languages in the world. There are several reasons why students should consider learning the language. These are as follows:
- The German economy is the best in Europe and ranks 4th in the world.
- Germans are well known for engineering worldwide
- German is the mother tongue of several leaders such as Karl Marx, Beethoven, Goethe, Weber, and Einstein, among others.
- Approximately, 18% of books are published in this language. Most of them are not even translated into English
- Germany offers quality education to international students
10 Free German Lessons Online for Beginners
Here we have provided a list of free German lessons online. The price, duration, features, and details about certification are available for reference. Do note: few courses charge a small fee for certification.
Duolingo German
Duolingo German is best for those who are looking to learn the language in a fun way. The app offers gamification features and personalization. Learners can find the best bite-size free German lessons online for beginners. Moreover, it is possible to set a time to learn. It is also possible to learn any other additional language.
| Duration | Based on self study |
| Price | Free |
| Certification | No |
| Level | Beginner |
| Website link | https://www.duolingo.com/course/de/en/Learn-German |
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DeutschAkademie’s German
DeutschAkademie offers one of the best German lessons online. The course is perfect for those who want completely free audio resources and study materials. More than 25.000 free practice materials are available. Moreover, the audio course is taught in the form of a story. The story contains 10 chapters and is about a man named Philip living in Berlin. 1-1 lessons are available at a small price of EUR 90.
| Duration | Based on self-study |
| Price | Free |
| Certification | No |
| Level | Beginner to intermediate |
| Website link | https://www.deutschakademie.de/online-deutschkurs/english |
FSI German courses
The FSI German is a free resource provided by the US government. The platform offers plenty of free German lessons online. A total of 34 hours of audio recordings are added in just one course for beginners. Moreover, all content is downloadable.
| Duration | 6 months for 1 course |
| Price | Free |
| Certification | No |
| Level | Beginner |
| Website | https://www.fsi-language-courses.org/fsi-german-language-courses/ |
German Today by MIT Open Courseware
The German Today course by MIT open courseware is an excellent source for free German lessons online. The course prepares learners to live and study in Germany. The resources are focused on political, social, and cultural issues and are derived from TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines among others. Activists include Group discussions, presentations, interviews, etc
| Duration | Self paced |
| Price | Free |
| Certification | No |
| Level | Beginner |
| Website | https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/21g-405-germany-today-intensive-study-of-german-language-and-culture-january-iap-2011/ |
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Getting Started with German 1,2,3 by Open University
Germany Started with German 1,2,3 by Open University is one of the best German lessons online for beginners. The courses are well structured, and plenty of resources are available. For example, pdf/kindle documents for offline learning. Moreover, these courses are designed by native speakers. Open University offers a badge/certificate after the completion of the course.
| Duration | 6 months for 1 course |
| Price | Free |
| Certification | Yes |
| Level | Beginner |
| Website | https://www.open.edu/openlearn/languages/getting-started-german-1/content-section-overview |
Free German Courses by Udemy
The free German courses by Udemy are best for someone looking for short German courses. Some of the free German online courses include: Start Speaking German with the Modal Verbs, Essential German: Learn Over 200 German Words & Phrases, etc. These are well-structured video lessons available for anyone. Udemy also provided other German courses with certification. However, that requires a small fee of INR 499.
| Duration | 6 months for 1 course |
| Price | Free |
| Certification | Yes (for other German courses at a price) |
| Level | Beginner |
| Website | https://www.udemy.com/topic/german-language/free/ |
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Free German Lessons Online by Alison
Alison has 8 online courses in the German language. The courses are well structured and are available for free. Moreover, a free certification is available. All courses are in video format and cover the basic language skills for beginners. Each course can be finished in a day. Some of the popular Alison German courses are: Beginner German 104, and Intermediate German 2022
| Duration | 2-3 hours for each course |
| Price | Free |
| Certification | Yes |
| Level | Beginner and intermediate |
| Website | https://alison.com/tag/german-language |
Deutsche Welle German
Deutsche Welle (DW) is another great source for free German lessons online. The website is funded by the German government. The lessons include video and audio content. Additional resources for learning are also available. For example, audio content- Deutsch—warum nicht? (German—why not?),
| Duration | Based on self study |
| Price | Free |
| Certification | Yes |
| Level | Beginner |
| Website | https://learngerman.dw.com/en/learn-german/s-9528 |
German Language by Modern States
German Language by Modern States is an online course that covers the fundamentals taught in the first 3 semesters at a University for the German language. It can prepare a student for the College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP). It is a self-paced course available for free.
| Duration | 4 weeks |
| Price | Free |
| Certification | No |
| Level | Beginner |
| Website | https://modernstates.org/course/german-language/ |
German Project
The German Project is a website offering free German lessons online. There are a total of 15 lessons per topic. General topics covered include German greetings and essentials,
How to ask questions in German, Introduction to German nouns (and nieces), among others. Audio lessons are available to work on speaking skills.
| Duration | Based on self study |
| Price | Free |
| Certification | No |
| Level | Beginner |
| Website | https://www.thegermanproject.com/ |
How Long Does It Take To Learn German?
Learning German can be difficult, particularly for people whose native language does not belong to the Indo-European family of languages. However, with effort, it doesn’t take much effort to speak the language fluently. It can take approximately 6-8 months for anyone to learn the language.
FAQs
Yes. Several websites provide free German lessons online. German lessons are available for both beginners and intermediate learners. Some of the websites offering German lessons are DeutschAkademie German and Alison.
Some of the best websites to learn German are Duolingo, DeutschAkademie’s German, and German Today by MIT Open Courseware.
B2 level in German refers to basic fluency. It means the person has a vocabulary of 4000 words. The standard requirements for admission to German universities are from levels B2 to C1.
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