# German A1→B2 Resources

Trusted sources for the German-to-B2 course (Russian-based, Goethe-Zertifikat B2 target).

## Knowledge

### Official vocabulary lists (the 3000-word backbone)
- [Goethe-Zertifikat A1 Wortliste (PDF, ~650 lexical units)](https://www.goethe.de/pro/relaunch/prf/de/A1_SD1_Wortliste_02.pdf)
  Official, free. Use for: A1 vocabulary stage.
- [Goethe-Zertifikat A2 Wortliste (PDF, ~1300 lexical units)](https://www.goethe.de/pro/relaunch/prf/de/Goethe-Zertifikat_A2_Wortliste.pdf)
  Official, free. Use for: A2 vocabulary stage.
- [Goethe-Zertifikat B1 Wortliste (PDF, ~2400 lexical units)](https://www.goethe.de/pro/relaunch/prf/de/Goethe-Zertifikat_B1_Wortliste.pdf)
  Official (Goethe + ÖSD + Univ. Freiburg/CH), free; includes articles, plurals, D/A/CH variants, example sentence per entry. THE core of the course vocabulary — covers A1–B1 cumulatively.
- [telc «Einfach besser! 500» B2 Wortschatzliste (PDF)](https://www.telc.net/fileadmin/user_upload/Downloads_Verlag/Einfach_besser_100_400_500/Wortschatzlisten/Einfach_besser_500_Wortschatzliste_Deutsch.pdf) / [«Einfach besser! 400» (PDF)](https://www.telc.net/fileadmin/user_upload/Downloads_Verlag/Einfach_besser_100_400_500/Wortschatzlisten/Einfach_besser_400_Wortschatzliste_Deutsch.pdf)
  Free official telc B2 course lists (workplace-skewed). Use for: thematic cross-check of B2 vocabulary.

### Official grammar inventories
- [Goethe «Prüfungsziele, Testbeschreibung» A1 / Start Deutsch 1 (PDF)](https://www.goethe.de/pro/relaunch/prf/de/Pruefungsziele_Testbeschreibung_A1_SD1.pdf)
  Full official A1 grammar inventory (pp. 100–107). Use for: A1 grammar scope.
- [telc/Goethe «Start Deutsch 1·2 — Prüfungsziele» (PDF mirror)](https://www.dsh-germany.com/_downloads/certificates/telc/pdf/telc-deutsch-1+2-lernzielbeschreibung.pdf)
  Joint A1+A2 grammar inventory (A2 items marked *). Use for: the A1/A2 boundary.
- [Goethe «Prüfungsziele» A2 / Fit in Deutsch 2 (PDF)](https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf62/Pruefungsziele_Testbeschreibung_A2_Fit231.pdf)
  A2 grammar inventory pp. 104–110. Use for: A2 grammar scope.
- [DTZ «Prüfungsziele, Testbeschreibung» A2–B1 (BAMF PDF)](https://www.bamf.de/SharedDocs/Anlagen/DE/Integration/Integrationskurse/Kurstraeger/Modellsaetze/dtz-handbuch_pdf.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=8)
  Goethe+telc authors, commissioned by the German Interior Ministry; ch. 8.4 «Strukturen» = the complete official B1 grammar inventory with receptive/productive splits. THE B1 grammar authority.
- [telc «Grammatiktraining Deutsch für B2» — TOC sample (PDF)](https://shop.telc.net/media/catalog/product/file//v/0/v01-4004-tgr-1801a_grammatiktraining_b2.pdf)
  Closest thing to an exam-provider B2 grammar list (no official B2 inventory exists anywhere). Use for: B2 grammar scope.

### Goethe-Zertifikat B2 exam (the target)
- [Goethe-Zertifikat B2 — official exam page](https://www.goethe.de/de/spr/kup/prf/prf/gb2.html)
  Structure: 4 modules (Lesen, Hören, Schreiben, Sprechen), takeable separately.
- [Durchführungsbestimmungen B2 (PDF, in force since 2025-09-01)](https://www.goethe.de/pro/relaunch/prf/de/Durchfuehrungsbestimmungen_B2.pdf)
  100 points per module, pass = 60. Use for: exact exam rules.
- [Official B2 Modellsatz for adults (PDF)](https://www.goethe.de/pro/relaunch/prf/materialien/B2/b2_modellsatz_erwachsene.pdf) + [B2 practice page with audio and free interactive online training](https://www.goethe.de/de/spr/prf/ueb/pb2.html)
  Use for: exam-format training in the final phase.
- [Goethe placement test «Testen Sie Ihr Deutsch»](https://www.goethe.de/de/spr/kup/tsd.html)
  Free. Use for: start-level calibration (phase 0).

### Dictionaries and corpora (for the DE–RU–EN layer)
- [DWDS](https://www.dwds.de/) — Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences; ~600k entries, frequency data, collocations. Free (corpus search needs free login since 2026-06). Use for: word frequency sanity checks, example sentences, collocations.
- [Leipzig Corpora Collection / Wortschatz](https://wortschatz.uni-leipzig.de/en/download/) — open frequency data (downloads CC BY). Use for: open frequency data.
- [German Wiktionary](https://de.wiktionary.org) (CC BY-SA) + [Russian Wiktionary](https://ru.wiktionary.org) (CC BY-SA)
  Source for RU/EN translations.
- [OpenRussian](https://en.openrussian.org) ([data, CC BY-SA](https://github.com/Badestrand/russian-dictionary)) — RU forms with stress marks.
- [PONS German–Russian](https://de.pons.com/übersetzung/deutsch-russisch) — 550k+ entries, free to consult. Use for: cross-checking translations.

### Practice and reference sites
- [Schubert-Verlag Online-Aufgaben](https://www.schubert-verlag.de/aufgaben/uebungen_b2/b2_erkund_uebungen_index.htm) — established DaF publisher (Leipzig); free interactive exercises A1–C2 incl. a full B2 set. Use for: supplementary drills per grammar topic.
- [mein-deutschbuch.de](https://mein-deutschbuch.de/grammatik.html) — free German-language grammar reference by a named DaF instructor. Use for: second opinion on grammar explanations.
- [Goethe «Kostenlos Deutsch üben» hub](https://www.goethe.de/de/spr/ueb.html) — free official exercises A1–C2. Use for: extra practice, B1–B2 section.
- [DW Learn German](https://learngerman.dw.com/) — public broadcaster, fully free. Nicos Weg (A1–B1 structured course), [Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten (B2/C1 daily slow news)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/langsam-gesprochene-nachrichten-audios-dw-deutsch-lernen/id282930329). Use for: listening input — daily from the B1 phase.
- [grammatiktraining.de](https://grammatiktraining.de/) — 600+ free drills A1–C1. Anonymous single author — use as drill supplement only, never as grammar authority.

### Russian-language references
- И.П. Тагиль, «Грамматика немецкого языка», КАРО, 8-е изд. 2021, ISBN 978-5-9925-1508-4 ([publisher page](https://karo.spb.ru/uchebniki-posobiya-po-inostrannym-yazykam/nemetskiy/dlya-vzroslykh/grammatika-nyemyetskogo-yazyka-izd8-e/))
  The de-facto standard Russian-language German grammar reference (B1–C1). Paid book, optional but recommended as the desk reference.
- [de-online.ru](https://www.de-online.ru/) — largest Russian-language German portal (content arm of a commercial school). Use for: L1-mediated explanations; verify subtle grammar against German sources.

### Optional paid materials
- Tschirner & Möhring, «A Frequency Dictionary of German», 2nd ed. 2019, Routledge — 5000 ranked words. Use for: the B2 frequency band (open Leipzig data is the free substitute).
- Klett «Deutsch intensiv Wortschatz B2» (€16.75, ~1000 themed B2 items, [Klett page](https://www.klett-sprachen.de/deutsch-intensiv-wortschatz-b2/t-1/9783126750783)). Use for: thematic B2 vocab cross-check.
- «Profile deutsch» (Klett, €48, ISBN 978-3-12-606518-4) — the Council-of-Europe-project level specification for German; inventories live on a 2005 CD-ROM (usability on modern systems unverified). Listed for completeness; not required.

## Wisdom (Communities)

- [r/German](https://www.reddit.com/r/German/) — largest learner community with curated wiki/FAQ. Use for: questions natives/advanced learners answer fast.
- [German Learning and Discussion Discord (~227k members)](https://discord.com/invite/german) — natives + structured resources. Use for: live chat practice.
- [Tandem](https://tandem.net/practice/german) — language exchange (free tier: messaging, calls, corrections; RU–DE pairings). Use for: speaking practice — essential for the Sprechen module, the book cannot teach speaking.
- Telegram [@deutschonline (~128k)](https://tlgrm.ru/channels/@deutschonline) — Russian-language daily German content. Use for: passive daily exposure in the RU ecosystem.

Speaking practice via community or tutor becomes important from the B1 phase.

## Notes on the field

- **No official B2 word list exists anywhere** (Goethe stops at B1; telc explicitly declines by design; ÖSD has none). The B2 vocabulary increment is necessarily editorial: frequency data ∩ thematic B2 trainers.
- **No official B2 grammar inventory exists** — the B2 grammar list is a synthesis of telc Grammatiktraining B2 + Schubert Erkundungen B2 + Cornelsen Grammatik aktiv B2/C1.
- **No structured free B2 course exists** (DW ends at B1) — the B1→B2 leg relies on this course's own lessons more than any external scaffold.
- **Speaking** cannot be trained by a book — requires Tandem/community/tutor from the B1 phase onward.