Am I doing enough?
I've been living in Germany for 2 years and I barely have an A2 level, I can understand some words when someone speaks and even try to form some sentences myself (veeeeeery basic), but not even close to have an actual conversation in German.
I've tried to go to in person classes, but after work going to an academy for 2-3 hours, after 1 hour in class my mind just could not focus anymore and I didn't even know what I was doing, so I tried to learn by myself. I've tried Duolingo. I know Duolingo is not even close to be enough, but keeping the streak makes me be exposed to German at least sometime every day (my work is fully in english and my native language + colleagues most of them don't speak German either).
Right now I'm trying SmarterGerman and, even though I see some progress, I don't know if that course is enough to properly learn the language or if I should do something more. I've tried watching TV Series on Netflix and listening to podcasts in German, but honestly I don't understand anything of what they say apart from the most basic stuff and I think just being exposed to something I don't understand at all is not going to help in any way.
Taking into account that I already live in the country, what would be the best way to learn the language? I guess being here is a big advantage already, but I don't know how to use that advantage when I can't even have a conversation.
What else could I do?
Posted Jun 10, 2026, 4:37 PM UTC