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N.B. This video course is halfway built and the remainder is underway. Please read this page thoroughly.
This A1 German Grammar Video Course is an online, video course made specifically for you by Frau Warner to help you understand the grammar in A1 courses and books. This video course is here within this website at GermanWithNicole.com. All instructions to access it will be provided to you.
This course is focused solely on the grammar and sentence structure, and thus it is not a complete A1 course, however it is also coordinated with the book studio [21] A1. It is optional if you want to purchase the books for studio [21] A1, however if you want to complete this course as a self-study course for A1, you will find the coordinating chapters listed in the lessons.
3 Fun Things
This might be an intense course, however it is also fun and really unique.
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LEGOS!
Learn German grammar with LEGO® blocks! (I bought them myself. But if you work at LEGO® and want to know more about how I do this, please contact me here.) There is no need to buy any LEGO® blocks, however if you have some, join in!
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German With Cats!
Cats are lovely companions and they can help you understand German grammar. Connor is more than a cat, he's also an assistant tutor. ;-)
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Engaging videos with happy little German words
I've watched thousands of hours of PBS and learned from the best: Julia and Bridget on America's Test Kitchen, Sewing with Nancy, and of course, Mr. Rogers. (I've also watched thousands of terrible corporate training videos and learned what not to do.)
What's available so far?
Bolded titles indicate lessons which have been created and published.
Italicized titles indicate lessons which I am currently working on or are already partially completed and are waiting to be released.
Teil 1
0. das Alphabet, including "achor consonants," vowel combinations and consonant combinations
- Greetings, Good-byes, and when to use them
- The 9 German Personal Pronouns
- Verbs: The 'infinitive' form and the 'conjugations' (and what those are)
- And why the difference between regular and irregular verbs isn't as important as you might think.
- Numbers, money, and telephone numbers
Teil 2
- Articles galore! der/die/das/die, ein/eine/ein/-, kein/keine/kein/keine
- The 8 plural forms
- and what they are, including special examples.
- and how to use these in your learning (and save yourself loads of time down the road).
Teil 3
- war (past tense)
- German Sentence Structure and German Sentence Yoga (I'll explain.)
- Includes the A1 German Sentence Structure Guide.
Teil 4
- die Orientierung (geographical locations and directions)
- How to use the 'Herr Miyagi' Method.
- Describe things with adjectives and then negate those adjectives with 'nicht.'
- Learn to use the Akkusativ - cute dog photo included.
- Say what belongs to whom -- Possessive Pronouns in the Nominativ only!
Teil 5
- Understand time and the prepositions used with time (both formal and informal)
- Separable verbs - get out your pinking sheers!
- including the negation of separable verbs.
- You're going places with Akkusativ.
- hatte (past tense)
Teil 6
- It's always mit + Dativ.
- Where you are is with the Dativ: sein, liegen, hängen, stehen, stecken.
- including the negation of prepositional phrases.
- Cardinal numbers (Ordinalzahlen) in the Nominativ and the Dativ.
Teil 7
- Modal Verbs (Modalverben): können, müssen, möchten, wollen
Teil 8
- Understanding and giving directions. (Orientierung)
- Prepositions with Akkusativ
Teil 9
- The Present Perfect (das Perfekt) - the past tense!
- Appointments and using von...bis.
Teil 10
- Modal Verbs (Modalverben): mögen, sollen
- including nicht mögen, nicht sollen
- Comparative and Superlative
- Ich hätte gern...an introduction to the Konjunktiv II
Teil 11
- The Adjective Endings: first in the Nominativ, then the Akkusativ, and then the Dativ.
- Which shoes do you like? - Demonstrative Pronouns (Demonstrativa)
- Talking about the weather (das Wetter 'es')
Teil 12
- Modal Verb (Modalverb): dürfen, nicht dürfen, as well as nicht müssen
- der Imperativ (command form)
- It's for you: Accusative Personal Pronouns.
FAQs:
Click the question to open and read the answers.
How do I know this video course is right for me?
This online course is for you if:
- you need some additional help with the A1 grammar and can't attend tutoring with Frau Warner,
- you'd like to review the A1 level,
- perhaps you want to take Frau Warner's A2 class on Wednesday evenings Central time, and/or
- you prefer a deep-dive into A1 grammar topics presented to you in a well-organized manner.
How do I know if this video course is NOT for me?
This video course is not for you if you just want a quick explanation, if you only need one or two topics to delve into, or you actually need to be in a live class, online with Frau Warner or elsewhere.
Which supplies will I need?
- A 3-ring binder and/or a notebook and a writing utensil (or three).
- You may need access to a printer to print out a few PDFs.
- If you don't have access to a printer, you can write out the worksheets in one color pen, then fill in the worksheets in a pencil or a different color pen. Das ist einfach.
- OPTIONAL:
- studio 21 A1 Kurs- und Übungsbuch mit DVD-ROM ISBN 9783065205269
- studio 21 A1 Intensivtraining mit Hörtexten ISBN 9783065205702 (think of this as the 'extra credit' exercises, but without the pressure and with some fun)
- studio 21 A1 Glossary German - English ISBN 9783065205597 (for Vocabulary work)
You are welcome to comment on the course and ask questions! Frau Warner reads every comment and responds personally to questions.
Why is some of the video course available and not other parts?
In internet sales lingo, this is called "pre-selling." I, Frau Warner, am pre-selling the grammar explanations, and I'd like to make more video lessons later on down the road.
Are there live, online classes as part of this video course?
Not currently. If you'd like to have a tutoring session with Frau Warner, or if you'd like to join a class, you're welcome to do so.
This isn't one of those boring, talking-head video courses, is it?!
Good Goddesses no! This is a learn-along-with-the-video kind of video course, where you work through the topic(s) accompanied by the video, plus you get to leave comments and Frau Warner will respond personally. It's as interactive as it can be for a video course. Frau Warner made it, after all, and she doesn't do boring. ;-)
What's included in my tuition?
Tuition for this video course is currently $375 - a one-time payment for access through the remainder of the construction of this course, plus one year. Upon successful payment of your tuition, you will:
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have full access to the entirety of this course. If it's released already, you have access.
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receive emails as new lessons are published. This course has its own email list, and you can unsubscribe to the emails at any time.
- be able to work on it in your own time, on your own schedule. Repeat as little or as much as you like!
Availability:
This Masterclass is currently available to Canada and the USA.
A1 German Grammar Video Course
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You deserve for vocabulary learning to be enjoyable, interesting, and appealing. Except for most people, vocabulary learning is as boring as watching paint dry. So they skip it. Except vocabulary words are like fuel for your car: no fuel, no driving. No words, no conversation! This Masterclass contains 4 lessons, specifically designed to help you master your personal vocabulary learning method. It'll put that fuel in your car!
Dogma-free vocabulary learning:
In this Masterclass you'll learn how to utilize your natural aptitudes. You'll learn how you can 'lower the hurdle' for yourself so you can actually enjoy learning new words. And it will all give you a boost in confidence in your German speaking.
Exactly like musicians attend a masterclass to learn from an expert, you can take learn from my 20+ years of having learned and spoken German, as well as all of the insights I've collected from hundreds of German learners, all condensed into one course.
~Frau Warner
The Learning Objectives:
By the end of this Masterclass you will be able to say:
- I understand the 2 types of vocabulary use.
- I know what the 5 phases of learning vocabulary are.
- I know how I learn vocabulary best and how to tweak that process.
- I know how many vocabulary words **I** can learn in a week, a month, or a year.
- I know how to find new vocabulary words about my hobbies and other topics I'm interested in.
Watch the introduction video:
Lesson 1: Context
- 1.1 Do I need to learn alllll the German words?
- 1.2 The Two Types of Vocabulary Use
- 1.3 Are all vocabulary words learned the same way?
- 1.4 What are the 5 phases of learning German vocabulary words?
- 1.5 What is your current learning method? How effective is it?
- 1.6 Your homework for this lesson.
c. 30 minutes
Lesson 2: New Possibilities
- 2.1 A little bit of discovery.
- 2.2 The 9 types of vocabulary learning techniques.
- Based on Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences
- 2.3 Examples to inspire you.
- 2.4 Hausaufgaben Nr. 1
- 2.5 How many vocabulary words can you learn per day/week/month/year?
- 2.6 A special note about vocabulary learning when life is hard.
- 2.7 Hausaufgabe Nr. 2
c. 45 minutes
Lesson 3: Üben macht den Meister! Üben macht die Meisterin!
(Practice makes 'perfect.')
- 3.1 Check-in
- 3.2 Additional support: Pronunciation
- 3.3 Additional support: Make the invisible visible
- 3.4 Additional support for multilingual people
- 3.5 Additional support: lexical learning
- 3.6 Review, Rinse & Repeat - but more fun!
- 3.7 Prioritizing with physical flashcards
- 3.8 How to deal with the "problem words"
- 3.9 How could you make it even 'easier'?
- 3.10 Hausaufgabe
c. 30 minutes
Lesson 4: Smoother Sailing
- 4.1 Smoother sailing
- 4.2 Isn't that backwards?!
- 4.3 Every-day sources for vocabulary expansion
- 4.4 überraschende Quellen (surprising sources)
- 4.5 Hausaufgabe
- 4.6 How does vocabulary learning change as you learn more German?
- 4.7 Selbsteinschätzung (self-assessment)
- 4.8 Zum Schluss
- This is the step in which you'll submit the form for your Certificate of Completion
c. 25 minutes
FAQs:
Click the question to open and read the answers.
How do I know this Masterclass is right for me?
This online course is for you if:
- you're ready to put in a bit of time and effort so you can leave your frustration behind.
- you want to know how many words you can reasonably learn in a week, a month, or a year.
- you would enjoy an engaging and interactive online course.
- you're happy to have Frau Warner respond to your comments and answer your questions.
How do I know if this Masterclass is NOT for me?
This online course is not for you if:
- you follow the 'gurus' instead of your own gut instinct.
- you think rote memorization is the only way to learn.
- your schedule is completely overloaded and you haven't learned any German for weeks.
- you think earning 'points' on an app is equivalent to learning vocabulary. (Spoiler alert: it's not.)
Which supplies will I need?
- A total of 2-2.5 hours to take this Masterclass.
- To be able to print two PDFs (if you don't have a printer, simply write out the PDFs by hand).
- Potential supplies (you will discover this in the course, because it's based on your natural aptitudes) like flashcards, felt-tip pens, markers, colored pencils, a specific kind of notebook, etc.
I love a certificate! How do I get my own certificate?
In order to receive a Certificate of Completion from Frau Warner, you must:
- view all of the lessons,
- Frau Warner will check this before she issues your certificate
- complete all of the activities,
- and fill out the form in the final lesson.
I like to dive deep into what I'm doing. What do I do if I need extra time to work through the Masterclass?
You'll have 4 weeks of time with your initial tuition, and if you'd like to dive deeper, you can renew your access for one week at a time for $15. You can do this from within the website. And if you have any questions, simply ask Frau Warner.
This isn't one of those boring, talking-head video courses, is it?!
Good Goddesses no! This is a learn-along-with-the-video kind of Masterclass, where you work through the worksheet accompanied by the video, plus you get to leave comments and Frau Warner will respond personally. It's as interactive as it can be for a video course. Frau Warner made it, after all, and she doesn't do boring. ;-)
Availability:
This Masterclass is currently available to Canada and the USA.
💲 This Masterclass is on sale for $75 in celebration of the new website! 💲
German Vocabulary Masterclass with Certificate
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An Advent Calendar is a tradition which originated in Germany, and it began as a religious practice. Often now, an Advent Calendar is referred to as a "Christmas Countdown," and I, Frau Warner, make one every year for German learners! This is an Adventskalender for German learners!
Here are a few of the topics we've had in recent years:
25 Vocabulary Words for Advent und Weihnachten (2022)
This was an audio program with a PDF download and one new vocabulary word every day. Examples are: der Ingwer, die Ruhe, die Besinnlichkeit. (This also appeared on the blog and on the now-defunct podcast.)
Ordinalzahlen im Nominativ und im Dativ (cardinal numbers) (2024)
a/k/a 25 Days of Cardinal Numbers in German
Everyone who participated got to attend a class OR watch a video of the same grammar explanations and ask questions, and that video was available throughout the 25 days. The Nominative sentence of one day was something like "Heute ist der 3. Dezember." And then every day everyone would write a sentence with the Dative as well, for example, "Am 3. Dezember kaufen wir Lebensmittel, Kerzen und Servietten." It was two sentences per day for 25 days, for a total of 50 sentences. By the time you're done with those 50 sentences, you know exactly what to do!
German With Cats! - Practice Position ist Dativ with pictures of cats. (2023) (A hit!!)
Who doesn't love learning German with cats?! Everyone learned how to really nail the Position ist Dativ rule and everyone got to write their own sentences. Example sentences were:
Connor - liegen - das Regal.
Niveau A1:
Connor liegt im Regal.
Niveau A2 und weiter:
Connor liegt im braunen Regal.
Connor liegt im braunen Regal und schaut direkt in die Kamera.
Connor liegt im braunen Regal und seine Vorderpfoten liegen direkt nebeneinander.
Wollen Sie dieses Jahr mitmachen?
If you're interested in the Adventskalender, scroll down to the very bottom of this page and look at the lower right to sign up for the E-Post. Frau Warner will open registration for the quite affordable Adventskalender in November.
die wichtigsten Zahlen (The Most Important Numbers)
100% of Frau Warner's clients who have taken a German certification test have passed it on the first try.
Frau Warner has taught over 6800 hours of classes, lessons, tutoring, and conversation classes (Sept. 2025).
One client has been learning German here for 10 years and she's still having a blast!