Before moving back to his home country Finland at the end of 2019, Arto was an expat living in Switzerland.
There he worked for Roche, as Global Business Process Manager EMEA.
He started my online-program “From Zero to C1 in 25 Minutes a Day” at A2.
My Program offered him a structured learning system that he could easily integrate into his busy life.
Step-by-step he has been improving his German by developing a better understanding of grammar and sentence structure and growing his confidence in expressing himself when speaking.
In October last year, he gave it a try and took the official B1 Goethe exam.
He was able to pass it with an incredible 90% score in Speaking:
- Reading: 77/100 (77%)
- Listening: 80/100 (80%)
- Writing: 78/100 (78%)
- Speaking: 90/100 (90%)
Here’s a complete interview I did with him so you can learn from his journey going through my program.
Let’s jump right into it.
Arto,
What did you try before starting with my program “From Zero to C1”?
I studied a basic german course in University a long time ago. That content I had forgotten already. I also tried a traditional course before taking this course. The problem for me was that I did not have time to participate in those traditional courses in a regular manner.
What was your biggest challenge you faced with learning German?
Time efficiency and repeating. Learning was easy in a class when I had time to go there. Problem was that if I missed a class I could not go back to teaching. Also Grammar was explained in a hard way that I got lost which affected my motivation.
What kind of program were you looking for?
I was looking for an efficient course which simplifies complex grammar and puts basic german under one umbrella. I was enrolling myself first to Herr professors A2 course and then to B1 course.
What was your goal when you started?
My goals were first to learn german quickly and do an exam later after the course. Before I started the course I did not have a clear view of what was required in the B1 exam.
What struck you the most the first time you came across my program?
This course is systematic and simplifies tricky german so I was finally able to learn things in a quick way. Also memory rules helped so I did not forget the topic after one week. Because the course splitted grammar topics between lessons there was enough repetition. For me repeating is remembering.
What was the big difference between my program and the way you learned German before?
I was able to study whenever I wanted to study so I was not tied to place and time anymore. Anyway I tried to keep the learning routine on but time was flexible during the day. This course also used cheat sheets which put things together to few pages in all lessons. With this course I listened more german than ever before. By listening, something happened in my brain and I learned a lot of sentences. I started to be able to use those also on my own.
What are some of the results you’ve achieved so far going through my program?
I got a good backbone to continue german learning at a more advanced level. I’m confident with grammar topics at my level and I’m confident to speak German when needed. I was able to pass the B1 exam.
How did you prepare for your B1 exam?
I did one month’s sprint to have everything fresh in mind for the exam. I did intensive exercises for speaking, listening, reading and writing. There are many example exercises available mentioned also in the course.
How long did it take to prepare your B1 exam?
I was studying first A2 course and then B1 course. After courses I had some breaks and I repeated lessons again on my own. If I would do this now I would enroll in the exam earlier to have a clear target date in the beginning.
What was the most difficult part in the exam?
For me it was writing because I had to write with a normal pencil. I did not practice enough for it so I almost ran out of time. Also some words used in the exam were synonyms by purpose so it’s good to put focus on vocabulary.
Which specific resources helped you the most along the way?
All that was in the course: recorded lessons, cheat sheets, memrise games, and other techniques mentioned in the course.
How did you stay focused and motivated through the program?
That was quite easy because there were reminders coming of new lessons. I was listening when doing something else so I was splitting the lessons into small pieces.
How did you manage to combine a full-time job and learning German on the side?
Finally with this course I was able to combine work and german learning. I was learning German in multiple places at different times. I was able to study when I wanted to study. That was a big thing.
How did a typical daily learning routine look like?
In the morning I listened to the lessons and in the evening I was doing other exercises. I tried to do it every day, even a bit of German. In a course there is a good program for a routine which really works.
How much time did you spend daily on average for your learning?
It was variating between days. Something between 20minutes to 1.5hours.
What did you emphasize the most when learning?
Repeating and repeating. I was trying to follow the steps as well as possible. Neither I was not perfect student here but still I passed the test.
What was your biggest obstacle and how did you overcome it?
There were no big obstacles on the way after I enrolled in the course. For busy people time is always a challenge but clear goals helped me a lot.
What was the most important thing that helped you become more fluent in speaking?
Trying around and discussing with someone in a regular manner. There are many ways for that also available like discussion courses held by Manuel.
What helped you the most to overcome the fear of speaking to others?
To see that people are responding to me and understanding what I say. Also understanding that I don’t need to talk perfectly yet at my level was relieving. Perfect is C1 level which I will reach later on.
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?
You need to start slowly and this course gives the perfect concept for it. If you follow this program you will be able to go to the official exam soon. Try it out.
“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.