A1.1: First contacts
Dates
No dates have been announced yet.
You learn German from the very beginning. In this module you greet people, introduce yourself, go shopping, ask for directions and know what to do in an emergency. It is the first of two modules at level A1. You learn online in a small group and improve your career and economic prospects along the way.
At a glance
- Level: A1.1 (1st of 2 modules at A1)
- Prerequisite: none
- Language of instruction: German, with English as help when needed
- Scope: 12 weeks, 24 online sessions together
- Classes: online, twice a week in the group; days and times depend on the cohort
- Price: on request
- One-on-one sessions: 45 minutes of intensive speaking training (1:1) and 20 minutes of oral exam simulation
- Included: course materials, exercises and corrections, at no extra cost
- Group: 4 to 8 participants, the course starts with 4 registrations
- Goal: You improve your career and economic prospects, with job application training, integration and cultural studies and targeted exam prep in every module.
What you need
- a smartphone, tablet, laptop or computer with an internet connection
- patience with yourself
What you can do after the course
- introduce yourself and others, spell and understand numbers
- shop in a store and ask about prices
- ask for directions and call for help in an emergency
- tell time and describe your daily routine
- invite someone and set up an appointment
The topics
| No. | Topic | What you practice | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Course start and learning how to learn | getting to know the platform, making flashcards, setting up your first speaking appointment, greeting | |
| 2 | Guten Tag! | introducing yourself, saying where you are from and which languages you speak, spelling, numbers up to 20 | W-questions, statements, sein |
| 3 | Friends, coworkers and me | hobbies and jobs, days of the week, numbers up to 100 | conjugation, yes/no questions, articles, plural, haben |
| 4 | In town, and in an emergency | naming places, asking for directions, making an emergency call | indefinite article, kein, imperative with Sie |
| 5 | Guten Appetit! | food, quantities and prices, shopping in a store | accusative, möchten/mögen |
| 6 | Everyday life and family | telling time, daily routine, introducing your family | possessive articles, modal verbs, sentence bracket |
| 7 | Time with friends | inviting, congratulating, saying the date | ordinal numbers, separable verbs, hatte/war |
How the course works
- We meet online twice a week as a group of 4 to 8 participants. The days and times are listed with each cohort, shown in your own time zone, wherever in the world you live.
- In between, you work on your own on the platform: reading and listening exercises, writing assignments with corrections, your own assignments from your course as text, photo, video or file, and a speaking appointment with another person from your course.
- Everything included: course materials, exercises and the corrections of your writing assignments and course assignments are included in the course at no charge.
- Practice together anytime: You can meet others from your course by video call at any time and practice situations, right here on the platform, without having to share personal details like your phone number or email address.
- Intensive speaking training (1:1): Everyone gets a 45-minute one-on-one session with me for personal speaking practice and a feedback talk.
- Oral exam simulation: Everyone also gets 20 minutes in which we run through the oral exam just like in the real exam.
Career and integration
Every module improves your career and economic prospects. That is why every module includes:
- Job application training: introducing yourself, filling out forms, details for your résumé.
- Integration and cultural studies: how Austria works: government offices, the working world, housing, health, education, culture and living together, matching the topics of the module.
Pronunciation and Austrian German
You practice the alphabet, long and short vowels, the umlauts ä, ö, ü and the melody of questions. From the very start you also learn how people greet each other in Austria, Grüß Gott, Servus, Baba, and words like Semmel, Paradeiser, Erdäpfel and Jänner. By the end you know the emergency numbers in Austria by heart (144 ambulance, 133 police, 122 fire department, 112).
Writing
Filling out a form, a short self-introduction (about 50 words), an invitation as a message.
Exam prep
In every module you practice tasks from the exams at your level in a targeted way: reading, listening, writing and speaking in the real exam format. The modules end without an exam: you take the exam at a recognized exam institute, for example ÖSD, the Goethe-Institut or telc. I am happy to help you find the right exam institute for your goal.
What's next?
Next up is A1.2: Managing everyday life.
