FSI German Programmed Introduction Course

Spoken in Germany as well as in Austria and parts of Switzerland, German is the most common native language in the EU. Furthermore, since the German economy is one of the world’s largest, it is also an important language in the world of international business.

However, it is also considered somewhat more difficult to learn than something like French or Spanish, which means anything that can help you master this useful tongue is welcome.

While the FSI German Basic course is incredibly comprehensive, it might be a little overwhelming for someone just starting out in the language. In that case, this Programmed Introduction can provide a gentler initiation, easing you in and teaching you the basics before you tackle the more demanding Basic course.

Course Details

What are FSI Programmatic courses?

The Foreign Service Institute – or FSI for short – is the organization charged with providing the necessary training for US diplomatic staff preparing for postings abroad. This includes language instruction, and at the core of this are the FSI Basic courses, which are designed to give diplomats the necessary language skills required in their positions.

However, Basic courses are designed for intensive study, and beginners might find them hard to fully digest. For this reason, Programmatic courses were created to give students an introduction to a language before tackling a Basic course. With an understanding of the fundamentals of the language, students are then able to benefit more fully from the Basic courses, progressing faster and achieving a higher level of success.

What is the structure of the FSI German Programmed Introduction?

This free German course takes students through the first six units of the Basic course at a more leisurely pace. It is designed to be suitable for self-study, and it contains all the workbooks and audio recordings you need to work through the course with or without a teacher.

In total, the course comprises 25 units and should take around 80 hours to complete. In each unit, you are first given the new phonological elements you will meet in the unit. After this, you are presented with the new language in the form of a dialogue, which is then followed by a range of drills and exercises that are designed to give you chance to practice what you have learned.

If you only study the Programmed course, it will give you a good grounding in the German language, allowing you to function in a range of situations you might meet in German-speaking countries.

Alternatively, if you plan to attempt the Basic course, studying this course first will help prepare you for Basic, allowing you to work through the more challenging course more easily.

How can you use the FSI German Programmed Introduction?

Since this course was designed to be used without a teacher, you can simply work through the units in order, following the instructions given to you in the recordings.

The pace of the course is much slower than in Basic, and in the first units especially, there is a heavy emphasis on pronunciation.

While it is a good idea to spend time working on your pronunciation, you might decide to skip through the pronunciation sections and spend more time on the dialogs and drills.

Feel free to use the materials in the ways that benefit you most – but at the same time, don’t forget that the method relies on repetition and drilling, so make sure you do the exercises enough times to internalize and master the language that is being presented.

It’s not a race, and you don’t win any prizes for finishing the course quickly, so remember that reaching the end won’t necessarily mean you can speak German unless you have spent enough time practicing each section.

Taking it further

Student Text

Unit	Audio
Unit 01	Tape
Unit 02	Tape
Unit 03	Tape
Unit 04	Tape 1 · Tape 2
Unit 05	Tape 1 · Tape 2
Unit 06	Tape 1 · Tape 2
Unit 07	Tape 1 · Tape 2
Unit 08	Tape 1 · Tape 2
Unit 09	Tape 1 · Tape 2
Unit 10	Tape 1 · Tape 2
Unit 11	Tape 1 · Tape 2
Unit 12	Tape 1 · Tape 2
Unit 13	Tape
Unit 14	Tape 1 · Tape 2
Unit 15	Tape
Unit 16	Tape
Unit 17	Tape 1 · Tape 2
Unit 18	Tape 1 · Tape 2
Unit 19	Tape 1 · Tape 2
Unit 20	Tape
Unit 21	Tape
Unit 22	Tape 1 · Tape 2
Unit 23	Tape 1 · Tape 2
Unit 24	Tape
Unit 25	Tape 1 · Tape 2