Eszett

Learn German · C1

German at C1: Advanced - university

You understand demanding, longer texts and implicit meaning, speak spontaneously and fluently without obvious searching for words, and write well-structured text on complex subjects. C1 is the usual requirement for German-language university study (TestDaF 4, DSH-2, Goethe C1, telc C1 Hochschule).

How long: about 800-1,000 lessons in total (Goethe-Institut guidance). The course below is 8 weeks at this level; a week is about an hour a day.

The 8 weeks

  1. Week 1: Work and negotiation Arbeit und Verhandlung

    Negotiate your salary, argue a position to management in writing, and move between nominal and verbal style.

    Grammar Nominal and verbal style: clause or noun phrase?
    Words and reading the world of work
    Drills sentences
    Speaking a salary negotiation in the annual review
    Ask the tutor
    • How do I express regret, criticise constructively and apologise in formal German at work? Wie drücke ich Bedauern aus, übe konstruktiv Kritik und entschuldige mich im formellen Deutsch am Arbeitsplatz?

  2. Week 2: Housing and the law Wohnen und Recht

    Get advice on a rent increase, understand legal and administrative language, and shorten relative clauses into participle attributes.

    Grammar Participial attributes: der gestern angekommene Zug
    Words and reading law and bureaucracy
    Drills articles
    Speaking advice at the tenants' association about a rent increase · pressing the youth welfare office for a nursery place
    Ask the tutor
    • How do I read an official letter from a German authority? What do the typical phrases mean? Wie lese ich ein Schreiben einer deutschen Behörde? Was bedeuten die typischen Formulierungen?
    • Which verbs take the genitive, like bedürfen, gedenken, sich erfreuen, and where do they appear? Welche Verben stehen mit dem Genitiv, wie bedürfen, gedenken, sich erfreuen, und wo kommen sie vor?

  3. Week 3: Politics and the media Politik und Medien

    Follow political debate and news analysis, report claims and assumptions with the subjective modal verbs, and write a letter to the editor.

    Grammar Modal verbs as the speaker's judgement: Er muss krank sein, er soll reich sein
    Words and reading politics and the media
    Drills meanings
    Speaking a public meeting on the new traffic plan

  4. Week 4: Research and science Forschung und Wissenschaft

    Understand academic texts and talks, present findings and figures, and use the passive alternatives of scientific German.

    Grammar Alternatives to the passive: sich lassen, sein + zu, -bar
    Words and reading research and science
    Drills numbers
    Speaking disputing an unauthorised debit with the bank · presenting the results of a survey to your team and taking questions

  5. Week 5: Environment and energy Umwelt und Energie

    Discuss energy policy and the environment with nuance, structure longer arguments with text connectors, and weigh up positions.

    Grammar Text connectors: hingegen, allerdings, demnach, infolgedessen, zumal, wenngleich, gleichwohl, insofern
    Words and reading the environment and energy
    Drills verbs
    Speaking a panel discussion on wind turbines near your village
    Ask the tutor
    • How do I weigh up two positions and come to a conclusion in German? Wie wäge ich zwei Positionen gegeneinander ab und komme auf Deutsch zu einem Fazit?

  6. Week 6: Literature and the arts Literatur und Künste

    Talk about literature, film and the arts, describe how something happened with participle clauses, and put the style and atmosphere of a work into words.

    Grammar Participle clauses: In Berlin angekommen, …; Lächelnd betrat sie den Saal.
    Words and reading literature and the arts
    Drills plurals
    Speaking discussing a novel at a book club
    Ask the tutor
    • How do I describe the style and atmosphere of a book or film in German? Wie beschreibe ich Stil und Atmosphäre eines Buches oder Films auf Deutsch?

  7. Week 7: A changing society Gesellschaft im Wandel

    Discuss demographic change and artificial intelligence, report what experts say, and explain complex connections clearly.

    Grammar Konjunktiv I in reported speech: Er sagt, er habe keine Zeit
    Words and reading demographic change, artificial intelligence
    Drills sentences
    Speaking an advisory meeting about further training at the employment agency · a radio interview about how your profession will change with AI
    Ask the tutor
    • How do I discuss migration and integration policy with nuance, weighing figures against experience? Wie diskutiere ich differenziert über Migrations- und Integrationspolitik und wäge Zahlen gegen Erfahrungen ab?

  8. Week 8: Shaping the future Zukunft gestalten

    Discuss the future of transport, cities and the welfare state, present a proposal formally, and respond to objections.

    Words and reading mobility of the future, the welfare state
    Drills verbs
    Speaking presenting a car-free city centre plan to a sceptical shop owner
    Ask the tutor
    • How do I make a formal proposal in a meeting and respond to objections? Wie mache ich in einer Besprechung einen formellen Vorschlag und reagiere auf Einwände?
    • How are the Goethe-Zertifikat C1 and the TestDaF structured, and how do I prepare for them? Wie sind das Goethe-Zertifikat C1 und der TestDaF aufgebaut, und wie bereite ich mich darauf vor?

Grammar at C1

Conversations at C1

Reading at C1

Exams at C1

A1 · A2 · B1 · B2 · C2 · the whole course