German B1 Level Course

B1 is the third level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the standard used across Europe to describe language ability. It sits above A2 (elementary) and below B2 (upper intermediate), and it is widely considered the independent user threshold — the point where German stops being a set of rules you study and starts being a language you actually use.

At B1 you can:

• Understand the main points of clear, standard German about familiar topics such as work, study, family, and free time.
• Handle most situations that come up while travelling in a German-speaking country.
• Write simple, connected text about subjects that interest you.
• Describe experiences, events, plans, and ambitions, and give short reasons and explanations for your opinions.

B1 is also the German level most commonly required for German citizenship and permanent residency applications, which is why so many learners treat it as their most important milestone.

You do not need to have taken our A1 and A2 courses specifically, but you do need a solid A2 foundation before starting B1. This course assumes you already know the present tense, the perfect tense, the accusative and dative cases, and the basic sentence structure of German.

If you still need to build that foundation, you can take our A1 Level Complete Course and A2 Level Complete Course separately, or save by taking them together as the A1 + A2 bundle.

And if you would like to see how we teach before committing to anything, our FREE A1 trial course is the easiest place to start.

Yes. The B1 Level Complete Course contains both of our B1 courses: B1.1 and B1.2.

Each one has 10 chapters, so you get 20 chapters in total. B1.1 covers the first half of the level, and B1.2 completes it — together they take you through the entire B1 grammar and vocabulary syllabus from beginning to end.

You do not need to buy anything else to finish the level. This is the complete B1.

Yes. When you buy the complete B1 level, you save 15% with the Basic Package and 20% with the Flashcard Package, compared with buying B1.1 and B1.2 one at a time.

The discount is already included in the price you see — there is no code to enter.

There are no fixed days or times — and that is exactly the point.

This is a self-paced online course, not a live class. Every lesson is already recorded and waiting in your account. There is no timetable, no video call to join, no start date, and no group you need to keep up with.

You decide when you study. Early in the morning before work, late at night, twenty minutes on the train, or a whole Sunday afternoon — the course is available 24 hours a day, from any device with an internet connection.

The moment you sign up, everything is unlocked. And if life gets busy and you disappear for three weeks, nothing is lost. You simply pick up exactly where you left off.

If you have plenty of free time and want to move quickly, it is possible to complete this course in around 8 weeks. However, we highly suggest taking your time and working through everything thoroughly. On average, most of our students take 3 to 6 months to finish the course.

Because you get lifetime access, there is no deadline and no pressure to keep up with anyone else.

The course is a complete package rather than a video library — everything you need to reach a solid B1 level. You get:

• Video lessons covering every grammar and vocabulary topic of the B1 level.
• Two printable PDF textbooks with clear explanations and practical exercises.
• Over 150 worksheets, with more than enough practice for every topic.
• Interactive online tests after every chapter, so you can check you have really mastered the material.
• An integrated flashcard app with audio, gender markers, plural forms, and real example sentences.
• Cheat sheets for irregular verbs, dative verbs, and other useful shortcuts.
• Lifetime access to everything, including future updates.

Brainscape is the flashcard app that comes with the Flashcard Package. It works with spaced repetition: after each card you rate how well you knew it, and the app brings the card back just before you would forget it. So you spend your time on the words you find hard, not on the ones you already know.

With the Flashcard Package you get 6 months of free Brainscape PRO access and our B1 decks: over 1,000 flashcards with audio and example sentences, plus two bonus decks with all the A1 and A2 irregular verbs.

Curious how the method works? Read more about it on Brainscape.

The materials, yes. The videos, no.

All written and audio materials can be downloaded directly — the textbooks, the workbook, the worksheets, the cheat sheets, and the audio files. Print them, put them in a folder, work through them on the train without internet. They are yours.

The video lessons are streaming only and cannot be downloaded. That is purely to protect the course from piracy. You can watch them as often as you like, on any device, for as long as you have access — which is forever.

Partly — and we would rather be precise about this than oversell it.

All of our courses are built according to the official Goethe-Institut grammar and vocabulary guidelines for each level. The German you learn here is the German these exams test. The course also includes some Goethe-style exam exercises, though only a limited number.

What this is not is a dedicated exam preparation course. We do not drill exam technique, timing, or the full exam format section by section. If you want intensive exam training, you would add a specific prep course on top of this one.

That said, many of our students have passed the Goethe-Zertifikat B1 after working through our courses. Because telc B1 follows a very similar syllabus, the same applies there.

Yes. When you complete the course, you can request a certificate of course completion from YourGermanTeacher.

Please be aware of what that is and is not. It confirms you finished our B1 course. It is not an officially recognised language certificate — only accredited institutions such as the Goethe-Institut or telc can issue certificates that count for visa applications, universities, or employers.

If you need an official B1 certificate, you will need to sit one of those exams. Our job is to get your German ready for it.

This course is created and taught by Luzi and Johannes, the two German teachers behind YourGermanTeacher. We have been teaching German professionally since 2014, including more than a decade at a European language centre in Taipei, Taiwan, where we taught with all the major German textbooks on the market. That experience went straight into this course: it is like a “best of” compilation of all the most prestigious German textbooks.

You may also know us from our YouTube channel, which we started in 2019 and where we have been explaining German grammar for free ever since. The courses use the same approach — clear English explanations, plenty of examples, and a bit of humour where the grammar gets painful.

YES! Anytime! For every single lesson and exercise, you can post your questions directly below the video, and we will answer them ASAP. In addition, you can see questions asked by other students along with our answers.

It acts like a private forum for each topic where you can gain valuable extra knowledge.

Fluent in the sense of a native speaker, no — that is not what B1 is. But this is the level where German genuinely becomes usable.

After completing this course you will be able to hold real conversations about familiar topics, follow clear everyday German without panicking, express opinions and give reasons for them, talk about past events and future plans, and manage practical situations in a German-speaking country on your own.

Speaking confidence comes from using the language, so the more you practise with real people alongside the course, the faster it will click.

Don’t rush! Take your time and do every single exercise. Follow the textbook and complete it lesson by lesson, worksheet by worksheet. Be consistent! Success isn’t about how much you can cram into one day; it’s about putting in steady work, ideally 3 times a week.

Very important: review every exercise! Writing your own examples and sentences for each grammar and vocabulary topic is crucial.

When it comes to memorising vocabulary, our flashcard app will give you everything you need to stay engaged and on track. Finally, try doing the course again from the beginning a couple of months later. It makes a huge difference!

No, you do not need to be fluent. However, you will need a basic understanding of English, because all instructions and grammar explanations are given in English.

Yes, absolutely! You can click the “Add VAT number” link in the order summary during the checkout process to enter your employer’s address and tax details.

If you don’t have those handy, don’t worry — you can easily add them later. Just click the “Update My Invoice” link in your course library after your purchase.

Yes — and we recommend it! Our FREE A1 level trial course is built in exactly the same way as the B1 course, so you will know exactly what you are getting. The B1 course simply takes you a lot further… 😊

Because you get immediate access to all course materials, including everything you can download, we do not offer refunds or a money-back guarantee once you have bought the course. That is why we would love you to try the free trial first.