Everyday Scenarios

Frida pitches an idea to investors

Frida wants fresh bread to reach the whole district by cargo bike before breakfast, and today she has five minutes in front of three investors. Learn to pitch a business model - the market, the target group, growth and scaling - and to answer hard questions calmly.

C1 22 words

Emil and the history of Berlin's streets

For his podcast Emil walks through Gesundbrunnen with a historian and counts five courtyards behind a single front building. Learn to talk about the history of a city - the Gründerzeit, tenements, back courtyards, how people lived around 1900 - and about what a street remembers.

C1 21 words

Kalle and the return of the wolf

A wolf has been photographed in the woods near Rahnsdorf, and the whole area talks of nothing else - some are thrilled, a shepherd from Brandenburg is worried. Learn to talk about the return of the wolf - herd protection, fear and fascination, the conflict between people and wild animals - and to give both sides a fair hearing.

C1 22 words

Lotte and academic honesty

While grading the seminar papers Lotte finds a page that sounds strangely familiar - a student has copied it from a blog without saying so. Learn to talk about plagiarism, correct citation and authorship, and about how to address a deception firmly but fairly.

C1 22 words

Otti and the art of persuasion

Otti wants to persuade the neighbours to turn the grey courtyard into a garden, and Lotte lends him a book on rhetoric. Learn how an argument becomes persuasive - a clear chain of reasons, a vivid example, an appeal to heart and head - and to notice when someone only wants to manipulate you.

C1 21 words

The friends spend a weekend in the Alps

Berlin is flat, so Kalle has planned a weekend in the Bavarian Alps - a hut at 1800 metres and a summit at sunrise. Learn to talk about the mountains - altitude, the climb, the view from the top, a sudden change in the weather - and to turn back when that is the wiser choice.

C1 22 words

Otti writes a reference letter

A developer from Otti's team is leaving for a new job in Munich, and as her project lead Otti drafts her reference. Learn to read the coded language of the German Arbeitszeugnis, in which "stets zu unserer vollsten Zufriedenheit" is the best grade, and to find wording that is honest, precise and kind.

C1 22 words

Otti takes the C1 exam

A year after B2 Otti sits the C1 exam - a lecture to take notes on, an essay that weighs both sides, a discussion he has to steer. Learn the words of precise and confident German, and celebrate with Otti how far he has come since his first word.

C1 21 words