Online Learning

The GERMAN ONLINE group course is available for levels A1 to B2. This course model will help you to achieve your desired learning progress within a short period of time:

1. Two tutors will coach you throughout the course; they will regularly provide feedback and individual learning tips. Our tutors are qualified teachers and you can reach them via a forum on the learning platform in case you have questions.
2. You will work with an interactive learning programme. You will practice reading, writing, speaking and listening to the German language using professional study materials and the latest learning methods. You will cooperate with the other course participants on various group exercises on the Goethe-Institut’s learning platform.
3. Up to eight online live group sessions will provide the opportunity to speak with your tutors, to interact with the other students on your course and to practice your speaking skills.
4. The course duration of a maximum of four months enables you to learn intensively. Subsequently, you will be well prepared to acquire an internationally recognised Goethe-Zertifikat.
5. The international mixture of the group adds intercultural exchange to the course and diversifies the learning experience.

As a customer of the Goethe-Institut you gain free access to our eLibrary (Onleihe). Furthermore, the Goethe-Institut provides a number of applications free of charge, e.g. our community platform  Deutsch-für-Dich where you can practice your German with Goethe students worldwide, as well as access numerous apps and games.

You can book the online group course at the following levels:
A1 (complete level), alternatively in two parts A1.1, A1.2
A2 (complete level), B1.1, B1.2, B2.1, B2.2

After completion of the course you will receive a certificate of attendance from the Goethe-Institut.

View our YouTube video to see how the course works.

E-Learning
 

• Mac, iPad, tablet, PC or laptop.
• Headset with microphone
• Stable internet connection, in case of Wi-Fi with sufficient bandwidth, specifically for the virtual live sessions

Please check here if your internet connection is sufficient:
speed-test für Deutsch online

Language requirements

The courses at levels A1 and A1.1 do not require any previous knowledge.
If you are interested in a course at a higher level and you have not yet studied German at a Goethe-Institut, or your last course at a Goethe-Institut finished over 12 months ago, we will place you individually.

Online placement test
Our written placement test can be completed online, protected by a password. Please write to onlinecourses-dublin@goethe.de. Your details will only be used once for sending you the password, and they will be deleted afterwards.
We will email you the link to the online placement test together with a password which is only to be used by yourself. You can use your personal password only once. The results will be transferred to us for evaluation automatically. Our language office will contact you soon thereafter by email or by phone in order to schedule a date and time for your oral placement test. Your oral placement test will take place by phone. Our language office will inform you afterwards by email about the result of your placement test.

Amount of work

A course lasting 16 weeks requires the investment of approx. 100 hours; this is equivalent to about 6-7 hours per week. A course lasting 8 weeks reduces the total investment of time to about 50 hours.

Eight virtual live sessions within a course of 16 weeks, or four virtual live sessions within a course of eight weeks, are scheduled at fixed dates and times. Apart from that, the course participants can schedule their study times individually. However, a certain amount of self-discipline and regular studying is required to complete the tasks successfully, to benefit from the questions and answers in the forum, to revise certain content within a particular time period, where necessary, and to prepare the virtual live sessions in a proper way.

Structure of the course

The course combines various teaching methods: 

1. Independent study with the learning software (virtual teaching material):  This comprises the content of the respective course level; provides automatic feedback.
   Asynchronous group exercises on the Goethe-Institut’s learning platform: The exercises improve knowledge of German cultural themes, the participants complete the tasks in groups without having to be online at the same time.
2. Tutors monitor the progress on the learning software, provide regular additional feedback and can add further exercise material.
   Assignments:  A short text will be prepared each week which will be marked by the tutor in order to practice from the beginning writing emails or other short messages. The suggested topics are based on the topics on the learning software and the virtual live sessions. The marks by the tutor provide personal feedback related to the learning progress, with plenty of tips and explanations.
3. Synchronous live sessions in Adobe to amplify the content of the various exercises. These live sessions are an ideal opportunity to apply the language from the first week onwards in regard to the oral communication between participants and tutors. There are eight sessions in total (on 16 week courses), or four sessions (on eight week courses), where the simultaneous presence of all participants is required. These sessions will be held in the evening or at weekends and the tutor will communicate the dates at the beginning of the course.
   There will be an introductory session in the first week in order to provide all necessary information about the course and to get to know the learning software and the learning platform. The following sessions will focus on practicing oral expression in short dialogues, on exploring the main grammar structures and on addressing German regional and cultural topics.

Participants will receive a certificate of attendance if they have completed 70% of the content on the learning software, if they have participated in 75% of the virtual live sessions, and if they have completed the written tasks on the learning platform.

Furthermore, participants can opt to register for the Goethe-Zertifikat; this exam is subject to charges and not included in the scope of benefits of the online group courses.