Are you interested in learning a language online in an interactive way? Deutsche Welle, a German public international broadcasting company, released a website and online drama series called Nicos Weg. With Nicos Weg, you can learn German in different situations and do some fun games and activities. With the drama series provided, you get to learn through the adventures of a young Spanish man named Nico Gonzalez who has moved to Germany. In this review, we will be going through what the website and the series has to offer.
Why Learn German?
German is spoken in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Belgium and South Tyrol in Italy as an official language by 95 million native speakers and 15 million that speak it as a foreign language. Furthermore, it is the third most spoken foreign language in the European Union (after English and French). As the most widely spoken native language in the EU, it is very useful when travelling in the area. Around 100 million worldwide also study it as a foreign language, making it one of the most popular foreign languages to learn (aside from English, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, etc.). Furthermore, 10% of the world’s books and publications are in German, which is also the second most widely-used scientific language.
Furthermore, with knowledge of German, you will have an easier chance of getting into a German university with very low or free tuition and getting a good scholarship. You also get the chance to work in the world’s fifth largest economy known for leading companies, such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Siemens, Allianz, Adidas, Porsche, Deutsche Bank and Bosch. With that, are you interested in learning German? Then here’s the series and website for you.
Nicos Weg: The Website and Drama Series
In Nicos Weg, there are three levels offered in terms of German lessons and videos. These levels are based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, which is used as a guideline to help determine language learners’ proficiency and achievements. It is divided into 6 levels, namely A1 (Breakthrough or Beginner), A2 (Waystage or Elementary), B1 (Threshold or Intermediate), B2 (Vantage or Upper Intermediate), C1 (Effective Operational Proficiency or Advanced) and C2 (Mastery or Proficiency). With regard to the ranking, A1 is the lowest level, while C2 is the highest level. However, currently, Nicos Weg only offers levels from A1 to B1. But by the end of the series, you will be able to speak in conversational German and be able to handle daily activities in German.
The website offers fun games and exercises to help you learn. When it comes to learning grammar points and vocabulary, the website offers good tips and explanations. While the videos will be entirely in German, you will be given the script in the website page as well if you were not able to catch what the characters were saying. You also get to learn more about German culture, society and traditions through the videos and fun bits of information in the website. In relation to the drama and the story, you get to learn through the stories and the daily situations of the characters, which are presented through short episodes.
In the series, you can learn many vocabulary words and grammar points with the website and they will be very useful, especially when you take a German proficiency examination, such as the Zertifikat Deutsch.
With that, we hope that you can find good ways on the Internet to learn new skills. Here, in AHEAD, we believe that there are many ways to learn, especially outside the four walls of the classroom. In fact, with language learning, one can get many good opportunities and connect and communicate well with different cultures. With that, we wish you all the best in your learning and opportunities.