German

Humberto R, works at The University of Life

Updated Mon

This could be for several reasons, but one thing I noticed from highly intelligent friends who are calm ( there are many who are nothing but calm) is that they are able to entertain themselves. Yes ...

Read More

Upvote

Downvote

Share

From Your Quora Digest · 

German (language)

Is it possible to reach the C1 level in German through Duolingo?

Michael D, C1 Certified through TELC C1 Hochschule exam.

Answered May 13

No, absolutely not!

I've completed the German Duolingo tree (as well as the reverse tree) and am certified level C1 in German, so I am qualified to answer this question.

Duolingo is great for beginning your learning, and keeping up with a foreign language, but it will only get you to approximately A2, if even that.

You need other resources than just Duolingo. If you truly want to reach C1, join a German class.

Duolingo focuses almost entirely on written language. The speaking and listening exercises do not come up as often and are often not very accurate.

Most exercises focus on written translation from German into your native language, and not very many from your native language into German.

C1 is not easy on its own and it's impossible to achieve through Duolingo alone.

Though theoretically possible to teach yourself to that level, it would take a very long time and a lot of resources. It would be better to join a German class.

You can achieve C1 in 9 months of an intensive German course. If German isn't that important to your life, but you still want to learn it properly, check out “Learn German with Herr Antrim” and “SmarterGerman” on YouTube. Immerse yourself in the language as much as you can by reading German books, watching German movies or TV shows, find Germans online to chat with in German. (I'm currently a German Whatsapp group with a bunch of other people from Duolingo).

I love Duolingo, and it's great at what it does, but it's just not designed to bring you to fluency, it's simply a stepping stone in your language learning journey.

If you insist on using a computer based method of learning German, I'd reccomend Fluenz. I personally find it waaay better than Rosetta Stone and it's in the same price range (Expensive).

However, it won't bring you to level C1 either. Fluenz would probably get you somewhere between B1 and B2. But again, I suggest using multiple different resources when learning German, don't stick to just one thing. Using just one source won't teach you enough and you'll likely get bored and burn out.

13.1k Views · 90 Upvotes ·