Reach Level B1 in German by Reading a Thrilling Story and Studying These Videos
Note: This course is hosted & sold by StoryLearning so the purchase links take you to the StoryLearning website and I’ll be your German Uncovered teacher.
- Do you dream of walking through a German town, effortlessly understanding the locals and perhaps even catching a play?
- Or wish that you could apply for that dream job in Germany and check the language box without a second thought?
- Or do you have a German sweetheart and family and you want to stop sounding like a small child when you communicate with them?
If the answer to any of these questions is YES, then you know that learning the German language will enrich your life in countless exciting new ways.
You want to learn German because it’s going to open the door to amazing experiences and rewarding new relationships.
In short, German is the language for you!
But even though you’re excited to learn German, you may feel apprehensive and wondering if you can really learn to speak this language fluently.
If you’re wondering how to make the right start and learn German, this will be one of the most exciting things you have read in a long time.
Your Instructor
Hi, I’m Kerstin Cable. I’m a native German speaker and fluent in five languages.
I love researching and teaching languages to others. I have been teaching languages for 6 years, from relaxed 1‑to‑1 sessions in coffee shops to online classes with CEOs and university lectures in world‑class institutions.
I have made nearly 200 episodes of the Fluent Show podcast and have been featured as a language expert on The Cut, BBC, The Guardian & more.
There is a new way to learn the German language, and it won’t feel like “study” at all.
Do You Want to Learn German?
The biggest hurdle standing in the way of success for German learners is the way that the rules are taught.
Now, you might think you’ve tried learning German before, but the language was just too hard.
Here are just a few of the common problems I have seen so many German learners struggle with:
- Wanting to speak freely, but feeling completely trapped and caught up in worrying about word gender for every single noun
- Getting trapped in the German case system while trying to memorize huge tables showing dozens of different endings
- Boring grammar lessons, focused on explaining the same complicated structures again and again...and feeling like you're sinking in a sea of complicated grammar rules
Overly complicated grammar study is like a monster chasing all the joy out of learning German.
The grammar monster loves it when German is taught in boring rules…
…and it eats your exam anxiety for breakfast.
People say that learning a language means suffering through its grammar. That might be true if you only have tired, old-fashioned methods available to you.
I don’t know about you, but I was sick of the grammar monster!
I set out to find a better way to do things.
As a German teacher who loves sharing my beautiful native language, it was clear to me that something had to change.
After many years of teaching languages, learning languages, researching and developing my skills, one thing became clear to me:
It’s time to create a radically different way of learning German.
Smart, modern learners don’t need another verb table or grammar lesson. They’ve done all that before.
So as I started looking around for the most effective and innovative ways to learn a language, something incredible happened.
Imagine me in a Sherlock Holmes coat , scouring the books and blogs for hints that would help me find out why German was so difficult to learn.
One day, I was approached with a tip.
A tip that blew the case of beating grammar monster WIDE open.
This story-based method can make learning German grammar a breeze!
You see, I’m lucky to be friends with language learning expert Olly Richards. He had recently done some research about how stories could be used to teach the German language.
Olly and I started to talk, and we came up with a language learning method that will have you reading and enjoying German from the first page.
For example, take my student Tina who discovered how it feels to learn German naturally in this way:
“It is said that reading in the foreign language increases your speed in learning and comprehension. I found this to be true.
The more chapters I did, the better the outcome and ease of the program.”
Tina Denton
Texas, USA
Whether you want to learn to speak German so you can make new friends, bring your family closer together, create exciting career opportunities, or simply explore your love of German literature or drama..
Start learning with stories, and you’ll wonder why you never learned this way from the start!
Having experienced this revolutionary method, Olly and I were excited to create a unique new opportunity to learn German:
A course that puts story first and lets you learn German while enjoying natural sentences and dialogue, not lists of conjugations and tables of declensions.
The result was..
German Uncovered
German Uncovered is a comprehensive online programme to learn German using the power of story.
By the time you complete German Uncovered, you’ll have an Intermediate Level of German (B1 on the CEFR), and be a confident German speaker, able to:
- Converse with people in confident German, making new friends or deepening existing relationships
- Travel to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland as an “insider”, not just another tourist
- Improve your career prospects by applying for German-language jobs and impress everyone who looks at your CV
- Indulge your passion for the German way of life, and deepen your knowledge of culture and history by reading in the original language
- Keep your brain fit and agile, preparing your brain for a healthy old-age, including staving off several forms of dementia
- Or finally complete the learning project you began at school many years ago that has been nagging at you ever since!
Cognates
Discover hundreds of German words that share a root with the English language, making it so simple for you to remember them.
Vocabulary
I’ll take key German words and phrases that you have encountered in the story and guide you through them so you can discuss more new topics after every story chapter.
Grammar
Learn grammar in a natural way, discovering structures from the story that explain rather than instruct.
“I really appreciate how the course is set up and the method of listening to the story first and then reading it. The cognate lesson is really useful because it helps us relate it back to English which helps me understand the vocabulary quicker and better.
Also the grammar lessons are great because Kerstin’s explanations are concise and easy to understand and apply.
The quizzes and homework are also relevant and challenging enough to push us to learn quicker but not too much to frustrate us, which is very hard to achieve but extremely important in language learning.
That was the hard part for me when trying to find a course to learn Spanish with and it took me time to find a teacher who could do that but luckily with German I found it the first try with German Uncovered.
It is absolutely wonderful and most important it makes learning German fun and exciting!”
Russ Warren
North Carolina, USA
How To Stick With This Programme
I know from my own experience that fizzling out and giving up are the biggest risks of failure in any language learning project. This is no different for you as a German learner.
In fact, maybe you’ve even tried and given up a few times before and you’re beginning to wonder if you can ever get the hang of speaking German.
In the German Uncovered course, we’ve created a unique structure that makes it easier than ever to stick with learning the language.
The intriguing story is the heart of this course, making it easy to follow and creating clear milestones for you so that you can always see your progress.
Throughout the course, our story helps you maintain your motivation and stick with the programme.
The result?
Your goal of reading the entire story will become the secret to staying excited about your study and feeling yourself get better with every single page.
How To Study With German Uncovered
German Uncovered is a self-study course that you take online.
The learning area is extremely easy and intuitive to use and even if you’re not an experienced online learner you’ll find that it all “just works” once you get started.
Member’s Area
The course curriculum guides you through German Uncovered and makes browsing and accessing all lessons as easy as opening a book.
In-Course Language Answers
If there is something that you do not understand, you will be able to comment on each lecture with your question and I will get back to you with an answer or explanation.
Responsive Design
This course will work on your desktop computer, phone, and tablet.
Fully Downloadable Materials
You don’t have to be connected to the internet while you study. Download the story, worksheets, videos, and audio onto any device and take it with you anywhere so you can learn on the go.
Lifetime Access and Updates
The course is yours to access for as long as you like. And if there are any updates or improvements, you’ll get those for FREE so your version is never out of date.
Customer Support
If you get stuck or run into technical trouble, you can simply contact us. As a German Uncovered learner you’ll receive fast, reliable, and friendly customer support from an expert.
“When I started German Uncovered, I was around A2 in German and needed something to solidify my knowledge of the basics. The description of German Uncovered showed a framework through stories to practice cognates, pronunciation, basic grammar and that is what interested me the most.
Even from the first lessons, I felt like I got a lot of value from the pronunciation tips and the cognates review.
I think that when I started my B1 courses I had a solid foundation. I was ahead of my peers on word recognition and pronunciation and German Uncovered was certainly part of my toolkit.”
Eloy Ruiz Donayre
From Peru and now living in Germany
Who Is This For?
If You’re a Complete Beginner
German Uncovered is a complete study programme that helps you learn German through the power of a story. It covers every skill you need: listening, speaking, reading and writing, plus grammar and vocabulary.
Olly and I have created this course because we want this to be THE German course that makes you say, “This was the one that got me to my goal.”
If You Already Know Some German (Upper Beginner)
Do you already know some basics in German? Perhaps you’ve had a few conversations while travelling, or studied a few units in a traditional textbook?
Many of my students take German Uncovered even when they are not quite beginners anymore, and they find it very beneficial because:
1. The story pulls together all the fragments you have learnt before and helps you create sense and fluency out of them.
2. The explanations don’t focus on lists and tables, so you find you’ll remember everything much more comfortably.
3. You have a head start and you can read the story more easily right from the first page!
If You’re an Intermediate German Learner
If you already study at an intermediate level, have studied/practiced for over 100 hours, and have natural conversations, this course is not right for you.
“I have been attempting to learn German for far too many years and had not gotten very far. Some years my comprehension would be better, but speaking eluded me. I liked the idea of using story to learn grammar and a language.
My comprehension has improved. My spoken German is improving and I am not as afraid to order “auf Deutsch” in a local deli where there are a lot of German speaking employees.
I recently took an online test of my level of comprehension and I had jumped a level without cheating and using the internet translators.
I enjoyed your interaction with Olly and your videos.
Roger Schert
Seattle, Washington, USA
Note: This course is hosted & sold by StoryLearning so the purchase links take you to the StoryLearning website and I’ll be your German Uncovered teacher.
“It’s been more than ten years since I last touched the German language, and I was worried about just how much I may have lost. I quit because the grammar got me down and I couldn’t push past it or find a better way to approach the language.
What I had been taught to do in school was too ingrained and I couldn’t break free from grammar drills.
Then I enrolled in German Uncovered.
After completing just one module in the course, I was able to revive much of my lost German (and perhaps more!). I booked my first lesson with a tutor and flew through all the material, keeping the lesson almost entirely in German!”
Shannon Kennedy
Language obsessed founder of eurolinguiste.com
“I chose German Uncovered because I am convinced that a language should be learned as it used: in sentences and dialogue, not lists of conjugations and tables of declensions.”
Debbie Thomassen
FAQ
How long do I have access to the course?
When you join German Uncovered, you get lifetime access. I know that you are busy and some days you might not find time to study German.
So this course is here for you whenever you need it. After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
I am not an early beginner in German. Do you think German Uncovered might be for me?
Yes, absolutely. German Uncovered goes way beyond the absolute basics. I’ve long taught A1-B2 German and designed German Uncovered to meet the A2 level requirements. And because the story is written in natural language, you will even come across some B1 level content. Many people find it helpful to go over the basics more than once.
The main advantage of this course is that you will be listening to and reading the story that accompanies the course from the beginning, which you can enjoy even more with your existing knowledge. The speaking lessons will also enable you to consolidate the German you already know, which all contributes to building a strong foundation and making fast progress in the language.
What variety of German do you teach in the course?
The course is based on standard German, or Hochdeutsch. It’s the official German that everyone understands, writes, and speaks. We will touch on a few local dialects so that you can develop your understanding of what the differences are and how they affect you as a learner.
With the strong foundation in German provided through German Uncovered, you will be able to progress and learn any dialect you need easily in the future.
Which level will I reach when I complete German Uncovered?
With German Uncovered we aim to take you through A1-A2 level, to the point where you’re ready to begin a B1 level intermediate course. There are 20 course modules and each module will train you in the following ways: Reading and listening to one chapter of the story, recognising cognates through a video lesson, learning new vocabulary and grammar through video and workbook, practicing pronunciation through video and workbook, and speaking to your tutor using our speaking activities. We will also provide you with a full syllabus of the course so that you can see exactly which grammar and vocabulary topics are covered in which chapter.
If you decide to study two modules per week (a reasonable pace), it would take you approximately 10 weeks to complete the course. At a more leisurely pace of one module per week, you would complete the course in 20 weeks.
I’m worried about overwhelm. How much time will this course take?
German Uncovered is a substantial German course. There are 20 book chapters containing 80+ video lessons, plus a speaking kit for each session so you can plan ahead and study with your tutor. The course has been carefully produced and designed to cover a German curriculum that lays the foundation for you in grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and all four core skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.
In other words, yes it’s going to take some effort from you. But contrary to weekly group sessions (that cost more!) or years of figuring everything out for yourself, you will learn faster with this method and benefit from the results of being able to
- Read, hear, and figure out the language in our graded story.
- Learn the language through explanatory videos.
- Go deeper with custom-made workbooks.
- Apply it all in a focused session with your personal tutor. Using this method, you’ll be able to work realistically: If you have half an hour to study German every day, you can progress through this course and reach level B1 in less than 6 months.
How do I know German Uncovered is right for me?
I want you to be sure about joining German Uncovered. If you are a beginner in German or you are returning to studying the German language and want to make a success of it this time, this comprehensive programme is perfect for you.
German Uncovered is suitable for you if you are ready to try a brand new, different way of learning a language. If you love a good story and want to understand German right from day one, you're in the right place.
Finally, you will benefit most from German Uncovered if you are an independent, motivated learner who wants to experience a totally immersive course environment.
Can I give German Uncovered as a gift?
What a fabulous idea! Yes, you absolutely can. Send me an email to kerstin@fluentlanguage.co.uk to set this up.
“After playing with Rosetta Stone and Duolingo, I decided that the story approach sounded like it would provide me with a better understanding of what was happening grammatically, since reading is my main focus.
What I enjoyed most from the course, and what I have returned to afterwards, were the video lectures. These provided much more value to me than trying to work through various tiles and try to work out the patterns on my own.
Your series of lectures, broken out into various subjects, grammar, vocabulary, cognates, and pronunciation, were extremely helpful in identifying the underlying patterns of the German language. The 898 page pdf textbook which accompanies the video lectures is an excellent resource, as well!”
Bill O’Toole
Texas, USA