Mauricio is an Expat living in Berlin (Germany).
He’s an Engineer with an MBA working as Corporate Controller at Zalando.
He started my program “From Zero to C1 in 25 Minutes a Day” at A2.
Just after completing my A2 and B1 Module I told him that he was actually ready to even try a B2 exam.
But for his residence permit he just needed to pass the B1 exam.
So last year, without any big preparation and just applying what he had learned in my program he tried an official B1 Telc exam.
He was able to pass it with an incredible overall 97% score:
- Reading: 75/75 (100%)
- Listening: 70/75 (93%)
- Writing: 45/45 (100%)
- Speaking: 72/75 (96%)
Here’s an interview I did with him so you can learn from his journey going through my program.
Let’s jump right into it.
Mauricio,
What did you try before starting with my program “From Zero to C1”?
I tried the usual group classes offered at my University in Germany. Before arriving in Germany, I tried Duolingo for two months but that didn’t help at all.
So, my German was basically non-existent when I arrived here. The thing is, I was offered the opportunity to come study in Germany with very short notice so I didn’t have time to study or prepare.
What was your biggest challenge you faced with learning German?
That I was not learning nearly as fast as I initially thought I would. I thought that I would already be speaking in a few months but that was not the case.
The biggest shock I had was at the Auslaenderbehoerde. This is when I realized I needed to learn German fast. I had a student residency permit and I needed to get the Familienzusammenführung Visa (nice German word by the way) for my wife and they were requesting a document which was nearly impossible for me to get in short notice and a stupid requisite from my perspective. So, the University helped me but I had to go a few times personally and that was not fun at all because they don’t speak English.
What kind of program were you looking for?
I was not looking for anything specific. I was just looking for an effective way to learn German quickly.
What was your goal when you started?
I would say I had two main goals: (1) to learn German as a personal goal just because languages interest me and (2) to get a decent level of German so that I had higher chances of getting a good job. I came to Germany with no expectations but when I arrived I realized that I liked the country very much (and so did my wife) and there were a lot of opportunities for us here. Of course, the opportunities without speaking German decreased significantly.
What struck you the first time you came across my program?
Initially I mainly loved the fact that I could go through the program at my own pace. I was in the University and I had free time sometimes during the day and sometimes at night.
I read that the method was effective and this is what I was looking for. Since I had limited time, I needed to make sure that my time spend on learning German yielded results.
What was the big difference between my program and the way you learned German before?
From my perspective three things:
First, I found your way of explaining grammar easy to understand. I find the German language super tricky and I was struggling to understand and apply all its rules. I think you have created a powerful yet simple method. For example, I only started to really understand the German articles and declensions when you explained it to me. Same applies for the passive voice.
Two, your method is very practical and applicable in real life. What you taught me one day I could apply the next day. The topics that we discussed were very much related to my life goals at that point in time. Topics like life in an office, applying for a job, doing a work presentation, for instance.
And third, you normally corrected me. This is very valuable to me. Normally people don’t correct your grammar. Not even in group classes most of the time because there are a lot of people and the teacher needs to move on.
What are some of the results you’ve achieved so far going through my program?
I think I have a strong grasp of the German language even though I still don’t have the vocabulary I wish to have and still make mistakes, of course. So, this strong basis allows me to keep learning every day. Sometimes I even correct my German friends :).
How did you prepare your B1 exam to pass it with flying colors?
I studied the structure of the test and did one practice test. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t run out of time or that I didn’t rush.
I also reviewed a few topics, like passive voice or adjective endings, to make sure that I didn’t make any mistakes with this.
But that’s all I did. I just crossed my fingers and hoped that all I had learnt with you was enough. This is why I was so surprised when I received the grade and found out that was a nearly perfect test… Just lost 4 points (292/300)
How long did it take to prepare for your B1 exam?
I didn’t spend more than let’s say 10 hours preparing for the test. The only reason I did the test was because I needed it for my residency permit and I didn’t want to spend too much time on this.
What was the most difficult part in the exam?
Speaking part for sure. Since Berlin is so international I speak a lot of English and I don’t get to speak in German as much as I would like to. For this reason, I was still a bit insecure about the oral part.
How did you stay focused and motivated through the program?
I love your program and I also like the German language (believe it or not :)). My only problem was finding time for German.
But your encouragement was quite helpful. Especially during those times when you feel that you are not progressing and sometimes I even felt as if I was going in the wrong direction
How did you manage to combine a full-time job and learning German on the side?
Quite tough. I invested short amounts of time to learn German. If I had 10-20 minutes to listen to a Podcast I would… or another 15 minutes to review the key takeaways from a lesson while having breakfast… or experimented more and more with speaking in German with my German friends, as you suggested. This helped me a lot.
How did a typical daily learning routine look like?
Varied significantly from day to day depending on how my day at work was or if I had to do something after work. And of course, after my son was born it changed even more and became even more challenging.
How much time did you spend daily on average for your learning?
If you consider reading in German (for instance, articles or emails) or listening to other people speaking German, time spent learning then I would say a few hours per day.
What did you emphasize the most when learning?
At the beginning I was focused on understanding the grammar and building my vocabulary. Now I am more focused on improving my speaking skills and feeling more and more comfortable speaking it. I also focus on improving my vocabulary and learning more complex structures, such as phrasal verbs.
What was your biggest obstacle and how did you overcome it?
Time. This has always been my biggest enemy. It is even more complicated as a family guy because a big part of my free time goes to my family.
What was the most important thing that helped you become more fluent in speaking?
To be honest, your constant suggestion to speak more and more German everyday helped me a lot! That was a game changer for me. It might sound silly but I didn’t want to expose myself too much, so whenever I had the choice between German or English, I would always choose English. But reality is, at least for me, that you need to jump into the cold water and make lots of mistakes, because in the end you only learn from these mistakes. At least this is what happened to me.
What helped you the most to overcome the fear of speaking to others?
To stop thinking too much about it and just do it! This is the only way to learn and things start to improve significantly.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to someone who wants to learn German but finds it hard to find the time due to his/her busy life?
I would give two pieces of advice:
(1) find a good teacher with a great program so that you can move your learning process forward. Find a teacher that explains things in a easy and pragmatic way, and manages to reduce the complexity of this language to simple methods. I would recommend you!
(2) invest small amounts of time learning or reflecting on the German language. If you already live in Germany, you can use what you read and hear to learn. For example, I see a poster with a few sentences that I don’t understand, so I dig a little deeper and try to understand it (what does the words mean, why is the sentence structured in that way, for example)
“From Zero To C1 in 25 Minutes a Day” is my All-Inclusive, complete, step-by-step, no fuss, hassle free 75 Lessons online program (yes, only 15 lessons for each Module A1/A2/B1/B2/C1) for Busy Professionals like you, so you can go from scratch to become fluent and confident to join meetings with your colleagues, negotiate with your clients and give presentations in front of your bosses IN GERMAN. Even if you have a busy working schedule.
If you’d like to be added to the Waiting List of “From Zero to C1”, enter your information below, and you’ll be the first to know when I re-open the course.