FSI German Basic Course

With around 100 million speakers, German is among the most widely-used languages in Europe, so whether it’s for a vacation in Vienna or a business trip to Berlin, this is a tongue that’s worth mastering.

FSI German Basic is a comprehensive course that teaches you the fundamentals before quickly moving you on to a more advanced level – so for anyone hoping to learn, this could be the ideal place to start. And the best part? It’s totally free!

Course Details

What is the FSI Basic German course?

FSI Basic German is a complete course for beginners that gives you a strong foundation in the language, rapidly enabling you to function in German in a variety of situations.

The course was created in the 1960s by the US Foreign Service Institute to provide diplomatic staff with a good working knowledge of German through a period of intensive study.

However, although it was originally aimed at American diplomats, the material is now available here as a free German course, making it an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in learning the language.

What does the course consist of?

The FSI German course consists of two volumes, containing a total of 24 separate units and accompanied by over 30 hours of audio. The course allows you to acquire an in-depth knowledge of German vocabulary and grammar, and by using the audio files, you can also work on perfecting your pronunciation.

Within the course, you will find a selection of dialogs, drills, and other exercises that will help you acquire and retain everything contained in the lessons. Each unit presents at least one new grammar point in the form of model sentences, helping you understand intuitively how the grammar works through examples taken from every-day German.

The focus is not on memorizing grammar rules but rather on assimilating grammar by repeating sentences until it becomes second nature. However, each unit also contains notes on the key grammar points to ensure you have understood the focus of the lesson.

After completing each unit, you should feel confident using the new language you have acquired in the kinds of situations illustrated in the lesson. Later, with a few lessons under your belt, you will find the range of situations you can handle in German rapidly begins to grow.

How was FSI Basic German originally taught?

This course was created as an intensive program for full-time students. They were expected to spend six hours a day in class, and after just a few days, they were encouraged to speak only German during the lessons. After class, they were given homework, and even outside of lesson time, they were strongly urged to speak only German among themselves.

In other words, the students taking this course were provided with the optimum conditions for making extremely fast progress. This ensured US diplomatic staff quickly acquired the level of German required to carry out their official duties and social obligations in German-speaking countries.

How to study FSI German Basic

For most people, recreating the learning conditions enjoyed by US diplomats is simply not possible. However, if you know how to use it, this fantastic resource can easily be adapted to meet the needs of autonomous students studying at home.

Each lesson contains a wealth of material, and if you spend 30 minutes per day, you might complete a lesson every week or two. Your rate of study will depend on you, but the key is to be regular and to study every day if possible.

Start by listening to the recordings and repeating the sentences. At first, you don’t need to worry about the grammar, simply focus on the overall meaning of the sentence while concentrating on accurately reproducing the sounds of German.

Once you feel you have mastered the basic sentences, you can move on to the drills, which will allow you to practice variations of the sentences you have learned at the same time as improving your fluency.

Finally, when you feel confident with the drills, use the ‘Situations’ section to create dialogs of your own to practice everything you have learned in a freer type of exercise.

Taking it further

Of course, you can’t learn a language from books alone, and we recommend that as early as possible, you try to find someone to practice with. Perhaps you can find a study buddy, or maybe the solution is to find a language partner on a language exchange app. However, by using the FSI Basic German course complemented by regular practice, you will soon find that you begin making impressive progress in German.

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Course Contents

Unit	Dialog Topic	Key Grammar
Volume 1 — Units 1–12	Student Text (PDF)	16+ hrs audio · 43 files · 346 pages
Unit 1	We Are in Germany (Wir sind in Deutschland)	Short/long vowels, diphthongs, noun gender, das
Unit 2	In Munich (In München)	Post-/pre-vocalic r, pronouns, present tense verbs, hin/her
Unit 3	Sightseeing (Stadtbesichtigung)	der-type specifiers, nouns, prepositional phrases, word order
Unit 4	At the Consulate (Im Konsulat)	ich/ach-sounds, ein-type specifiers, gern/lieber/am liebsten
Unit 5	Mr. Allen Rings at Mr. Wilson’s (Herr Allen klingelt bei Herrn Wilson)	sch/s/z sounds, plural & genitive forms, reflexive pronouns
Unit 6	Telephone Conversations (Telephongespräche)	Consonant clusters, adjective-noun sequences, time expressions
Unit 7	Furnishing the Apartment (Beim Einrichten)	Unstressed vowels, two-way prepositions, legen/liegen/stehen/stellen
Unit 8	Shopping (Beim Einkaufen)	ng/nk, final consonants, specifiers & adjectives, compound nouns
Unit 9	A Trip to the Mountains (Eine Fahrt in die Berge)	Comparison of adjectives, quantity adjectives, future phrase
Unit 10	At the Inn “The White Stag” (Im Gasthof “Zum Weissen Hirsch”)	Word order, ordinal numerals, genitive prepositions, telling time
Unit 11	A Weekday (Ein Wochentag)	Familiar speech forms, auxiliary lassen, complex verb phrases
Unit 12	At a Party (Auf einer Gesellschaft)	Past time, perfect phrase, past participles
Volume 2 — Units 13–24	Student Text (PDF)	14+ hrs audio · 31 files · 383 pages
Unit 13	Conversations at a Party (Unterhaltungen auf und nach einer Gesellschaft)	Past tense forms and usage, derivative adjectives/adverbs
Unit 14	A Trip by Train (Eine Reise mit dem Zug)	Pluperfect phrase, infinitive phrases, wann/wenn/als
Unit 15	A Visit to Berlin (Besuch in Berlin)	Passive voice, man, place-name modifiers
Unit 16	Travel Plans (Reisepläne)	Relative clauses & pronouns, demonstrative pronouns
Unit 17	Shopping Plans (Einkaufspläne)	Prepositions, conjunctions, infinitives — summary & review
Unit 18	At the Doctor’s (Beim Arzt)	Subjunctive: hätte/könnte/wäre/würde, prepositions review
Unit 19	In the Visa Section (In der Visa-Abteilung)	Subjunctive present/past, conditional clauses, unreal wishes
Unit 20	A Visit to the Opera (Opernbesuch)	Modal verbs, subjunctive phrases with hätte/wäre gern
Unit 21	Political Matters (Politisches)	Compound/complex sentences, direct & indirect discourse
Unit 22	Driving in Germany (Autofahren in Deutschland)	Conditional clauses, indirect discourse
Unit 23	At the American Trade Center (Im Amerikanischen Handelszentrum)	Present subjunctive, tense interchange, special uses
Unit 24	Extended Adjective Constructions (Erweiterte Adjektivkonstruktionen)	Present/past participles as modifiers, adjective & adverb constructions