Coffee Break German Level 1

Take your first steps in German

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Are you planning a trip to a German-speaking country? Do you want to impress your German-speaking colleagues? Or perhaps you have German-speaking friends or relatives. With Coffee Break German you'll learn to communicate in German and understand how the language works using our simple lessons, where and when it suits you.

What does the course contain?

There are forty lessons in total, representing over twenty hours of audio content and extensive lesson notes to help you get the most out of the course. In each lesson, native speaker Thomas guides learner Mark on his language-learning journey. Topics covered include all common travel situations and you'll learn to communicate effectively with native speakers to make friends, buy things, order food and drink, check into a hotel, cope with emergencies and lots more.

The course is aimed at complete beginners, but through the forty lessons of Level 1, you'll acquire a solid grounding in the language and you'll soon be able to use German confidently with native speakers from all over the German-speaking world.

How does it work?

Think of Coffee Break German like going for a coffee with your friend who happens to speak German and is helping you learn in a relaxed, enjoyable way. Then add a solid structure and carefully constructed pedagogy which ensures that you progress through the lessons and build on previously-learned materials.

Coffee Break German is not a simple series of "listen and repeat" audio programmes: in each lesson Thomas explains how the language works, helping Mark - and you - to manipulate the language and use it in practical situations. As a speaker of several other languages and an experienced teacher himself, Mark asks questions all the time, so your own questions will be answered as you learn more.

In the same time it takes you to sit down and enjoy a coffee in your favourite coffee shop, you can make progress with your German. Our 15-20 minute lessons are perfect to keep you focused and let you develop your confidence in regular sessions.


Your Instructor


The Coffee Break German Team
The Coffee Break German Team

The Coffee Break German team includes language teachers, native speakers and host learners, making your experience learning a language fun and enjoyable. You can be sure every course has been carefully written by experienced teachers to ensure you progress steadily through the lessons.


Each lesson contains:

Video lesson

Each video lesson is around 20 minutes in length and features the main learning content including dialogues in German, discussions about the language between Thomas and Mark, and tips on grammar and culture. Think of the video lessons as "synchronised flashcards" where you'll see the words and phrases being taught on the screen as you learn.

Audio lesson

We also provide an audio version of the lesson which you can download and listen to on the go. This will allow you to review the materials covered in each lesson to consolidate the language fully.

Lesson guide and transcript

There's a full set of lesson notes for each lesson with transcripts of any dialogues contained in the lesson and explanations of all grammar points and cultural information.

Bonus audio episode

Having listened to the main audio lesson and worked through the notes, it's now time to test what you've learned. The bonus audio content helps you test your understanding with review, translation challenges and bonus vocabulary.

Class Outline


  NEW: Access this course on Coffee Break TV
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  Lesson 1 - Saying how you are feeling
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  Lesson 3 - Saying where you are from
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  Lesson 4 - Saying where you live
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  Lesson 5 - Introducing family members
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  Lesson 6 - Introduction to numbers
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  Lesson 7 - Asking for directions
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  Lesson 9 - Saying that you are learning German
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  Lessons 1-10 Quiz
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  Lesson 11 - Ordering drinks in a café
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  Lesson 12 - Ordering snacks in a café
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  Lesson 13 - More on ordering and paying for things in a café
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  Lesson 14 - Checking in to a hotel
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  Lesson 17 - Places in the town and prepositions
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  Lesson 18 - "Can you tell me please...?" and trains and buses
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  Lesson 19 - Travelling on public transport
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  Lessons 11-20 Quiz
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  Lesson 21 - Talking about the weather
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  Lesson 24 - Using the phone in German
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  Lesson 25 - Dealing with emergencies
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  Lesson 26 - Talking more about yourself
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  Lesson 30 - Review translation challenge
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  Lessons 21-30 Quiz
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  Lesson 33 - Mix up at hotel check-in
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  Lesson 34 - Breakfast in the hotel
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  Lesson 35 - At the Tourist Information Office
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  Lesson 37 - Asking for information and relative pronouns
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  Lesson 38 - Seeking help at the pharmacy
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  Lesson 39 - Review of language in a party setting
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  Lesson 40 - Review and talking in the past tense
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  Lessons 31-40 Quiz
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  We'd love to hear from you!
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Frequently Asked Questions


How long do I have access to the course?
This is a lifetime access course: you pay once and you'll have access to the course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
What's the difference between the course and the free audio I can find on iTunes?
You can indeed find Coffee Break German audio lessons on iTunes, but this course provides much more! You'll get the updated video versions of the lessons, lesson notes and the bonus audio materials which have all been created to help you make faster progress with the lessons. In addition, some of our free audio lessons contain advertising, but the Coffee Break German Premium lessons never contain advertising.
Can I download the materials for offline use?
We use streaming video for the video episodes in this course, but you can download the lesson guides and store them on your device for handy reference. You can also download the audio files so that you can listen on the go to review what you've learned in the videos.
Is there a free trial?
Absolutely! You'll see on the course curriculum above that the materials for lesson 1 are available to preview. Simply click on the "Preview" button for each of these lessons and you can get a feel for what is involved. If you'd like to see how far this course will take you, we'd be happy to send you the lesson notes for lesson 40 to help you see how much you'll learn. Just pop your name and email address in the box below.
 

Definitely I believe the premium Coffee Break German is worth it, especially because the spelling and pronunciation in German are often quite different from English, so it helps to see how the words are actually spelled. The lesson notes and video versions of the podcasts are very helpful and well designed.

Florence Lin Erman, Coffee Break German Facebook message

As an advanced Spanish speaker and intermediate in French, I have used Radio Lingua's Coffee Break Spanish and Coffee Break French. However, I barely knew a single word of German before embarking on Coffee Break German course. Each lesson is well structured with conversation, vocabulary and essential grammar. The Cultural Correspondent feature is an interesting edition - definitely the right decision. The video flashcards are particularly useful as you see the words written as they are spoken. The bonus audio has more conversation and vocabulary, together with a useful test. The written lesson guide builds into an excellent textbook. This is the best Radio Lingua product I have come across and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone seeking to learn, or improve, their German.

DFWC2002, iTunes UK Review

Really impressive program. I was using the free podcast for the first few lessons, then upgraded to the paid subscription. The video flashcards are extremely helpful and the grammar guru sections are a nice break from the dialogue. The whole thing is professional and polished. A real pleasure to study with - recommended.

TexasBrink - iTunes US Review

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