Which of the four skills, Reading, Speaking, Writing, or Listening, do you find most challenging when learning German?

The most common answer from German learners is: Speaking, closely followed by Listening. This is because both Speaking and Listening are spontaneous processes. While Reading allows you to repeat a sentence until understood, and Writing allows you to edit and improve your work, Listening doesn’t offer this luxury.

Learn German anytime, anywhere with podcasts

A podcast is an audio file with no fixed broadcast times, allowing you to listen on-the-go with your mobile phone – while waiting for the train, commuting to work, or relaxing at home. Podcasts often reflect everyday language and cover various topics, presented in individual episodes.

Mobile Podcasts

For mobile podcast apps, there are numerous free and paid options available for

• Android
• Apple

devices, offering a wide selection of podcasts on various topics.

Podcasts from Deutsche Welle

Deutsche Welle’s website offers over many interesting podcasts covering different themes and language levels. For beginners, the “Audiotrainer” podcast provides vocabulary lessons across various topics. Advanced learners can access podcasts on topics such as Economics (podcast “Wirtschaft“, Religion, Medicine & Health (podcast “Medizin & Gesundheit“, or Everyday German (podcast “Alltagsdeutsch“).

Podcasts from Goethe Institute

The Goethe Institut also offers free podcasts. In the podcast series „Deutschland im Ohr“ you can expect stories from politics, society, culture, and sports, presented by interesting personalities. Of course, in German. The advantage here is also that there is a transcript for reading.

Also explore the FEHLER podcast, which delves into the fascinating world of mishaps, misunderstandings, and confusions.

Find podcasts for advanced learners from all over Germany here.

Podcasts from Spotify

For unlimited podcasts, Spotify is a great option. Some are specifically designed for German learners, such as “Coffee Break German” which helps learners improve their German from scratch and learn new words.

Simply enter “German learning Podcasts on Spotify” into your Browser for a full list. 

German Online Institute recommends

With many years of experience teaching German online, we’re excited to share our top 5 podcast hitlist:

• Easy German 
• Slow German
• Coffee Break German 
• JoJo sucht das Glück – Deutsche Welle
• Auf Deutsch Gesagt