Learning German- ideas?

[Fordian]

DS2 has just accepted a place to do a semester in a German Uni, taught in English, as of Oct this year.

Does anyone have any recommendations for learning some 'every day' German as he has 7 months to pick some up.

Thanks.

Duo Lingo?

Can he do an intensive course in Germany over the summer?

YouTube?

Lots of them offer courses online. Goethe Institute and Deutsch Akademie are ones that I can think of. They follow books. What level was he thinking of getting to? If he has time he get to B2 level if he does it consistently.

Lots of stuff on you tube. If he has a little but not much knowledge even a beginner I think Deutsche Welle does some interactive learning.

FluentU is great, I used to speak German pretty well and it's helped me overcome my rustiness quickly

Look at Deutsche Welle. Lots of free online learning materials starting from beginners levels such as the Nico’s Weg course.

My husband is learning German and watches German films with English subtitles on and listens to German music and finds the English translation.

Duolingo or other language learning apps are a good place to start. Lots are free but there are paid courses. Goethe Institute is one to investigate.

7 months isnt long and German grammar is... interesting.
He should do as much as he can to immerse himself in the language whenever he can.

Check every time on Netflix/Prime etc. If he's watching ANYTHING look to see if there's an option to have the audio in German, or at least the subtitles.

If he plays computer games change the language option to German.

Listen to German radio stations online for the news etc. I use this website

A lot of Germans speak really good English and if his German is very basic they'll just speak to him in English (at the University anyway), but to get the most out of his semester he really does need a pretty decent level of German.

Friends who spent a semester abroad who didn't speak the local language well all either spent all their time with other English speakers (and what's the point in that!), or say they felt lonely.

I'd recommend the intensive course in the summer as one way, but don't neglect the other suggestions.

I speak German, I did the C2 exam at Goethe Institut and did a course with them beforehand as prep - just to caveat I’d also studied German to degree level and spent two years in Germany years before…there is structure to their courses that is useful. I would recommend a course to get the basics - German grammar is very logical, but you need to get your head around the case structure etc. The best way to improve then is to make it part of everyday life and speak and listen to as much as possible - he will progress quickly in Germany once he has the basics.

Not free but on Audible I used Pimsleur for listening and speaking to get going. I found the early stages of an "old fashioned" grammar text book very useful: Living German. Always seems available second hand.
Duolingo is great for fitting into spare moments!
I have used YouTube Easy German, but only really got much out of it once I had a better grasp. They have a few labelled "SuperEasy."

The Language Gym series by Gianfranco Conti is excellent . The books don’t look flashy but they work . They are designed for British secondary school use and workwell . The listening exercises are online on his website . The method is being quickly adapted and gaining ground into mfl teaching in the uk in the last few years

The Language Gym looks very interesting.