German is often touted as one of the most difficult languages on the planet to learn, mainly due to its grammar. Though it's important to continue to learn German grammar to reach fluency, going beyond the textbook and immersing yourself in German in other ways can help even the most defeated learner improve within a relatively short period.

Free courses

The Goethe Institut, basically the institute for all things German, has tons of multimedia resources, including mobile apps. Being the authority on German language learning, we recommend having a look here first.

Deutsche Welle has loads of material for download, including sound files, videos, interactive online courses and supplementary written material.

Duolingo is a free, community or crowdsourced language learning tool (web and apps) that has a comprehensive German course.

Other notable courses online include:

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/german/

going beyond the textbook and immersing yourself in German

Language exchange

Just as it is in any language, the best way to learn German is to practice speaking in a German-speaking country or with a native speaker. On Conversation Exchange you can find a native German-speaking friend without leaving home. And it's free.

Music, tv and film

Although chart music may not satisfy all tastes, you'll be more forgiving when you hear the foreign language you're learning in short sentences, repeating and predictable themes, over and over that you begin to recall more vocabulary and discover what's used in the real world versus the textbook. Routinely check the German charts for German artists and songs, then find them on Spotify or YouTube.

Depending on your location, you can stream German TV and use German subtitles (“UT” for Untertitel) as a guide. Frequently listening and watching visual cues or context is the next best thing to personal interaction with a native speaker.

• www.ardmediathek.de/tv
• www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathek (subtitles available 4 hours after posting)
• A short list of current programmes with subtitles
• Slow German is a read-along blog on culture, food, basically anything you ever wanted to know about Germany.
• Stream German films for free from SBS (Australia only)

Reading material

Cornelsen graded short story books are sold on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (e.g. The Surprise, The Decision). Deutsch Perfekt is an affordable paper and downloadable PDF monthly magazine created and written for German language learners of all levels. Each article is categorized by difficulty level in line with the Common European Framework of Reference. And here's a long list of online newspapers and magazines: http://libguides.mit.edu/c.php?g=176072&p=1158603

Vocabulary and grammar

Leo.org is the go-to English-German (and French, Spanish, etc.) online dictionary used and contributed to by Germans in Germany and around the world.

If you're looking for something more standard, the official Langenscheidt and Duden dictionaries are online and free.

For grammar, Canoonet has most of what you'll need for a long time or ever. If you already have a book on grammar, it could be a valuable online supplement when you're after a succinct definition and examples.

Certification

The official grading and certification organization for the German language is the Goethe Institut. Exams are held once or twice annually in many major cities. They also offer courses for each grade and there are self-testing tools on their website to gauge your level.

If a Goethe Institut isn't close by, you could invest in Common European Framework of Reference for Languages graded books. The Cornelsen books are possibly the best, with pocket-sized vocabulary books, CDs, work and test books supplementing each level's textbook. Search 'Cornelsen' and your level (e.g. Cornelsen A2) on Amazon.com (they ship almost everywhere), you'll find all the materials we've mentioned, plus short stories suitable for your level (incl. Kindle versions).

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