What is Deutschable?
What is Deutschable?
TLDR: Deutschable is an independent Berlin based company that enables people around the world to speak German through professionally designed, high quality self-paced German trainings - at extremely affordable prices. The courses are progressive and the lessons are short. Unlike most other language programs, we rely on using English as a reference language, and topics are explained clearly and simply, so anyone can follow along - even if they're "not good at languages". :-)
About Deutschable: An Indie Company from Berlin
It's a small company with a lot of heart: Deutschable started empowering its first students to learn German in the beginning of 2024 - without shareholders, investors, parent companies, or government subsidies, with their own interests and ideas regarding pricing and creative control of content and methodology.
Deutschable is independent, allowing it to provide a unique and innovative range of products at a low price point. There's an incredible amount of attention paid to every detail, and great care is taken to personally follow up on every comment, email, and piece of feedback (good, and especially bad) in order to become better every day.
In fact, this site has improved dramatically in just a couple of weeks after the input of its first students, a turnaround only possible with the smallest and leanest of companies.
We wouldn't have it any other way.
Many language training companies claim to listen and offer high quality at low prices. But how can this be true if customer support agents, when they exist, have limited power to enact changes? Creative decisions made by compromise and committee inflate overhead costs, as does the administration of typical restrictive policies. This bloat makes it nearly impossible to adapt, innovate, and truly serve their students' needs.
The "pan" in "company" means "bread", and it comes from the idea of two or more people sharing a meal together, in a symbolic gesture of community.
Deutschable is a company in this sense: A community of students and their teacher.
As part of its core philosophy, Deutschable seeks to grow and support a community of learners from around the world, with all types of backgrounds, and provide them with the experience of having their own German teacher, all while being affordable enough for no one to be excluded.
"The idea of a modern classroom conjures up images of students
swept up in a frenzy of discovery through exploration - on their own and in pairs and groups - where each mistake and each correct guess is celebrated as another little stepping stone on the meandering path to perfection, while the teacher encouragingly flutters about. This is a crazy waste of time."
Stephan ● Deutschable Teacher
About Stephan: Your Professional Teacher
Stephan quit his well-paying job (in the language school he co-founded, no less) in order to create Deutschable. Stephan's been in the language teaching and teacher training field since the very early 2000s, with thousands of teaching hours under his belt, and with hundreds of language teachers trained and managed.
Stephan got his initial training and teaching start in the US Peace Corps as a volunteer English teacher (he's both American and German), and since then Stephan has taught in start-ups, elementary and high schools, in Fortune 500 companies, online and offline, in one-to-one coachings with CEOs, and in front of large groups of job-seekers in government-sponsored programs. He's taught in clubs he founded, in camps he directed, in schools he managed, and in workshops he organized and designed. In English and German. In a word: Stephan's a language teaching professional who knows what works and what doesn't.
And because so much of what doesn't actually work is so incredibly common and expected in the world of language teaching, he owed it not only to himself, but the world of potential German language students at large, to completely flip everything on its head and offer something better: A much better method at a much better price.
About the Method: Quick, Clear, No Distractions
All in English
English is used as a reference language throughout the course, drawing on the similarities and differences between the languages.
no deviations
There is no cross-linking, upselling, no add-ons, no upgrades and no partnerships, no recommended sites or books or films or podcasts. The course is all you need. There's also no pair work or group work or projects.
constant feedback
Each lesson's quiz is cleverly constructed so that when you make a mistake, it will not simply move you on to the next question, but re-explain what's going on and help you understand WHY the mistake was made.
real content
Vocabulary in this course is normally not presented thematically ("At the post office") but rather in order of frequency in which Germans actually use it. So words learned here are often quite different from traditional classes.
clear explanations
Unlike many modern methods, grammar is explained right away, in easy terms, and compared to English, so you know from the start why things are how they are.
ultra-progressive
In this course, you start with lesson one and then move on to lesson two, then three, and so on. The lessons build on one another and contents are always repeated and re-introduced.
Money Back
Deutschable also has a very generous and relaxed money-back policy. The last thing anyone needs while trying to learn a language is to stress out about whether they made a big mistake with their purchase. If you don't like the course, you have 30 days to get a full refund. Guaranteed.
gradual immersion
As the course progresses, more and more the English explanations and instructions will give way to German sentences. This is done very gradually, getting students used to the language and its rules first, then immersing them more and more.
the whole package
The Deutschable German course is a stand-alone course for beginners (or low-level learners) and requires no additional resources or classes. It's the full stack: It contains everything you need. It takes you by the hand and guides you from zero to the end of level A1.1 and beyond.
No certificates
It is silly to even consider the concept of certificates for self-paced language courses. They are usually scams, because Germans won't accept certificates that can't prove that the person whose name is on the paper is the person who actually completed the course. Also, they're a distraction.
constant repetition
Not only do the quizzes teach elements from previous lessons, but (much like an inverted pyramid) the course steadily incorporates past contents into the next lessons, thus reinforcing what's been learned. Contents are also always re-introduced and re-explained, in case it didn't make sense the first time.
no homework
As part of the whole package, the course is self-contained and requires no additional extracurricular work - no outside books or reads or tasks at all.
real interaction
Each lesson has a comment section where students can communicate anytime with the teacher (and each other), give feedback about the lessons, ask questions, and receive the help and guidance they need.
No Tests
These courses are not test-based. What happens often is that there's immense pressure for people to do well on a test and all learning is geared towards passing. This is not the case here. All learning is focused on real communication.
extremely Quick
The lessons consist of an ultra-concise explainer video that is less than 5 minutes long, as well as a practice quiz. That's it. Once the video is watched and the quiz is done, you move on to the next lesson. You can dip in whenever you have 10 minutes to spare.
About You: Who Are Deutschable's Students
I have struggled to really grasp the concept until I found your website on Google. The videos are concise. The practice sessions feel personalized and are challenging. You explain in my native language (English) which makes it easier to relate. Thanks to you, I feel more confident by the day.
Kweku - Ghana
This course is very useful for me, and my vocabulary has greatly improved. In particular, I enjoyed the lesson on deciphering the gender articles from the spelling of the words, I find this very useful and I regularly go back to revise that lesson. Thank you for that, as I did not learn it in my paid German class. I will be happy to share it with other expats within my circle who are learning German, because it has really helped me.
Priscilla - Germany
I started with Duolingo to try it out. But I realized that there was not enough information. I started looking for some training without being tied to a tutor and accidentally came across this course. What attracted me was the clear division into modules. This means that I won’t have to think about where to start. I can move from topic to topic. I like that each lesson lasts no more than 5 minutes. This means that I can always find time, even while working.
Katya - Georgia
I tried the Volkshochschule, but the process was slow! I had three different teachers for one German A1.1 course! And each one had a different teaching style, which did not make the experience pleasant.
I am actually an English teacher. So I say this in all sincerity, this is probably the best course that I have taken. I like that your videos are only 5 minutes. I try to do one module per day.
Fortis - Germany
Deutschable is the most amazing German course I've ever found for beginners! The teacher Stephan explains very well and has a good methodology to teach us! He doesn't beat around the bush while teaching! I'm enjoying the course a lot and learning too!
Leonardo - Brazil
Thank you for giving me the ability to learn this introduction to the German language. I found it very
helpful. And I also recommended it to my friends. I have been struggling to learn German for over six months, but when I found Deutschable, the language has become more interesting.