jumpstart with cognates - Course 1

Essential A1 Basics

Your first German sentences. Spontaneous. No overthinking.
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Natural learning. Real structure. Right from the start.

Natural learning does not mean unstructured.

I've seen it happen over and over: people start learning German with real enthusiasm — videos, apps, texts. Then the energy fades. Not because they gave up too easily, but because the material was working against them. Vocabulary with no logic, input that's too difficult too soon, progress that feels invisible.

And then that quiet thought: Maybe German is not for me!

Do you recognise yourself here?

That thought is wrong. Comprehensible Input works — the problem is unstructured material, not you. This course gives you the right input, in the right order, at the right time.

Achieve quick results thanks to comprehensible input and cognates

This course – and the entire curriculum – combines two highly effective methods. Firstly, there is comprehensible input, which ensures that you understand the content, can follow along, and pick up the language as you go.
Alongside that, I use cognates – words that are very similar in English and German. The advantage of this is that you can draw on a shared vocabulary right from the start and let your brain pick up the grammar differences between the languages.

Authentic Input

Although the speaking speed, sentence complexity and vocabulary are tailored to your current language level, the videos, audio recordings and texts remain authentic. 

Repetition and Variation

Through a variety of repetitions and variations, your language use becomes more flexible. And your reaction time improves.

Flexible Path

Thanks to a variety of tasks, you can tailor the course to your interests, prior knowledge and areas where you need extra support. This ensures that you’ll enjoy the course.

Everything you find inside this course

210+
minutes of input
100+
new words
16
pages workbook
The course combines various vocabulary topics with corresponding grammar in a wide range of materials. It includes carefully selected input and gives you at least 8 hours study time. Not counted the many hours of repeated input.
You can work as intensively or as slowly as your schedule allows. However, consistency is key.
You can find a detailed list of the course content here:
Vocabulary Topics
Grammar Topics
Learning Materials
In this course, we cover typical topics and vocabulary for beginners:
  • Introducing Yourself: Question words, numbers, verbs (sein/haben), negation
  • Story "Doktors Idee": verbs sein/haben, negation, body parts, some drinks, some people and a few other cognates
  • Flags and countries: colors, negation, question words
  • Monster: colors, numbers, body parts, verbs haben/sein, negation, question words


As you can see, we revisit various topics throughout the course, apply them in different situations and consolidate the vocabulary for the upcoming chapters of the curriculum.
Even though we won’t be focusing on grammar, after this course...
  • you’ll be able to conjugate the verbs "haben (have)" and "sein (be)"
  • you’ll be able to understand and form simple sentences
  • you’ll be able to form and answer yes/no questions
  • you’ll be able to form and answer basic wh-questions
  • you’ll be able to negate sentences using ‘nicht’ and ‘kein’
  • you'll be able to place adjectives after the noun
  • you'll be able to use first connectors like "und (and)" and "aber (but)"


This basic knowledge should be firmly ingrained as early as possible and be able to be recalled automatically.
This course includes:
  • written stories
  • audio versions of the stories
  • various video formats with loads of language input
  • a few short grammar pop-up videos with additional explanations
  • interactive exercises with feedback
  • a workbook full of exercises
  • video solutions to some of the workbook tasks
  • tips and hints on how you can continue learning in your everyday life
  • a forum where you can post questions and texts

Is this Course for you?

I don’t just sell anything to anyone. I want this course to be right for you, and I want you to be happy with it and succeed.

This Course is perfect, if you...

  • ...have little to no prior knowledge of German (A1)
  • ...prefer a natural approach over grammar rules
  • ...understand the importance of a solid foundation
  • ...are looking for structure in your selfstudy
  • ...want to use your language skills spontaneously and flexibly

Who is your teacher?

All the videos, audio files, texts and exercises were created by Kathrin.
She is the brains and heart behind comprehensible GERMANi. As a qualified early years educator, she knows exactly how people learn naturally. She has gained her knowledge of language acquisition through various courses, university seminars and the best teacher: hands-on experience.
With a great deal of love, creativity and patience, she has been teaching the German language for more than 5 years and looks forward to welcoming you as a student too.

Questions?
Send me an E-Mail
Let's get started

Take your knowledge to level A1!

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