German at B2: what actually works

Turns Netflix and YouTube into a comprehensible-input machine — dual subtitles, hover-to-translate, save words straight from what you watch. The single best free tool on this list.

The spaced-repetition workhorse. Mine sentences from your input, review them daily, the words stick. Ugly, free, and undefeated. (Costs money only on iOS.)

Read and listen to real content with every word tappable — it tracks what you know and feeds you more of what you don't. Input-first reading, done well. Clunky UI, worth it.

Mass-sentence audio drilling with spaced repetition baked in — you shadow real sentences until the patterns are reflex. Brutal, effective, audio-first. Best as a supplement, not your only thing.

The free, step-by-step roadmap for the immersion / input-first approach — exactly how to go from zero to fluent on comprehensible input. Read this before you spend a cent.

Real native speakers pronouncing any word, free. When the robot voice in your app sounds off, this is the human check. A tiny tool you'll use forever.

A huge free database of example sentences with audio across dozens of languages. Perfect for mining real sentence context for your Anki deck instead of memorizing naked words.

Book real tutors by the hour when speaking starts to emerge — not day one. Cheap community tutors exist; treat it as conversation reps, not a grammar classroom.

Chat and voice-note with natives who want your language back. Sister to Tandem — good for low-pressure text reps once you have anything to say. Mute the chat-roulette energy.

Record yourself saying real sentences; a human coach corrects pronunciation for free (limited) or paid. The missing output half once your ears are ahead of your mouth.

Street interviews with dual subtitles — real, unscripted German at natural speed. The fastest way to get native input in your ears for free.

Street interviews with dual subtitles across a dozen languages — Spanish, German, French, Italian, Russian, and more. Real people, real speed, free. The whole network is a goldmine.

Level-graded short-story books that keep you reading real narrative instead of word lists. Reading is input too — and stories are the input you actually finish.

Real news read slowly with transcripts — the bridge between graded beginner input and the firehose of native media. Free weekly episodes; paid for the full archive.

Text and talk with real native speakers who are learning your language back. The honest way to get speaking practice and live input — for free — once you have something to say.

Fill-in-the-blank sentences at scale — better than naked word flashcards, still not real input. Fine as a side game once you're already drowning in shows and articles.

Sentence drills ≠ hours of understanding. Side quest only.