Even after living in Vienna and travelling through Germany there is still so much more to learn. Let’s get into it!
To refresh your memory
Language goals 2025 | Korean, Italian and Chinese
Will I become a polyglot before I turn 30? | Video
Language goals 2025 | study update #1
Language goals 2025 | study update #2
Language goals 2025 | study update #3
What is my language goal for this year?
German – Get my speaking skills fully to B1 (other skills are already at B2/C1 level)
What do I need the language for?
– Because I like the language, so just for fun. There is no pressure behind it.
– To be able to communicate better with my German and Austrian friends.
– Useful for my work as a manuscript reader, I am already picking up German manuscripts, but I would like to learn more nuances to become better at my work.
– Picking up comics in German and also German written novels.
– Watch German speaking tv-shows without (German) subtitles and fully understand everything.
– Conversations with German speaking people when travelling.
Where was I at the beginning of this year?
To get to a certain level, maintaining it and learning everything that you need to know to be on that level is quite a lot. I realised that when I lived in Vienna (Austria) at the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025. Except for my speaking skills, everything else is already at a B2 level. Reading is most of the time at a C1 level. I could be sad that my speaking skills are behind, but I am not. Because I found out that I can think in German after just living in Vienna for two weeks! My mind clicked at a certain point and I couldn’t be happier about it! When I studied English my speech was also behind, but once it clicked I started to make big jumps forward. I am between A2 and B1 depending on the topic.
What did I do in the first three quarters?
My goals for Q1:
– Grow my vocabulary, study words.
– Practice conversations.
– Read more comics in German.
– Travel to Germany.
My goals for Q2:
– Just have fun, do what you can without pressure.
My goals for Q3:
– Read multiple German books.
– Practice my speaking skills.
For the third quarter I also hoped to go on a weeklong or weekend trip to Germany so I could practice my conversation skills even better. But… that is not going to happen anymore. Since we are moving by the end of the year I decided to no longer go away for the December month or travel in autumn. So I can save money for the move, new furniture and other things I might need. Or course I want to be there for the move and paint my own walls, it was an easy decision to not travel the rest of the year.
Let’s get back into the language studies… It’s not a lot, but I did every single one of my goals I set each month. And yes there is still a lot of work left for me to do, but everything goes really well. Certainly considering I also had a lot of other things to do over the last quarter and I couldn’t be doing a lot of language studies. However, something that made me really happy is that conversations are becoming more and more second nature to me. My dialogues are getting better and even though I can already read at a C level, I even noticed a lot of growth with my reading skills.
Where am I now after the first nine months?
I still agree that living in Vienna was one of the best things I have ever done in my life in general, but it also helped my German skills so much. Even after I came back I also spent some time in Germany like Düsseldorf and Leipzig, that truly made a difference in my overall skills.
Depending on the conversation my speaking skills are now at the start of B1 level. A long road is still ahead of me, but I am happy where I am at. It’s also nice that the language found its way into my daily schedule. Actually a day hasn’t gone by in weeks if not months without me thinking in the German language.
I can read books without trouble, watch shows without much brainpower, I adore listening to audiobooks and I also have been actively working on my speech. Even if my speech doesn’t sound right right away, my brain naturally figures out how I could say it better next time without me putting in too much effort. But my speech is already good enough for smalltalk.
How am I going to continue studying the language from now on?
My goals for Q4:
Next year I will be travelling to Germany for both work and privately. Realistically I hope to have fully embraced B1 level when it comes down to speech. But if it’s even possible I hope to be at B2 level. So for the last few months of the year I want to focus on speaking, dialogue and expanding my vocabulary. So of course I will be reading more books, manga and keep on watching German tv shows.
Love,
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