German Language

Search Engines and Web Directories for German Language Sites, in German

Search Engine Colossus and Search Engine Guide are comprehensive global master directories of local search engines for regional, country, or language-specific searches. Yahoo! provides country-specific, regional, and official government site search options. Google offers a comprehensive Language Tools Page to search in specific languages or countries, translate text, change language interfaces, or link to country-specific Google sites. Many German language Internet broadcasts are accessible through the International Radio and Television Broadcasts page of this WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources.

• ActiLingua Academy-- Private school for learning German in Vienna, Austria, with online sample student lessons, German quiz, links, information about Vienna.

• BBC Learning Online Basic German Courses-- Several short online introductory courses, with audio and video support, from the British Broadcasting Corporation.

• Der Spiegel-- Famous German news weekly.

• Deutsche Kultur International-- Major source of information on German language and literature at home and abroad, including foreign cultural policies, exhibitions, conferences, libraries, schools, multimedia services, documentation centers, and student, scientist, or artist exchanges.

• Deutsche Welle-- The official German shortwave radio news and features service, with online audio. Note their  free online German language courses with audio, designed for beginners, advanced users, and teachers of the German language. There are also slowly spoken news reports in German.

• Dienstleistungsportal des Bundes-- Internet portal for information from the German federal and länder governments, as well as a directory for general information about Germany-- "der schnelle Zugang zu allen behördlichen Informationen und Service-Angeboten der Verwaltung."

• Fokus Deutsch-- "A video instructional series in German for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; 48 fifteen-minute video programs, audio CDs, and coordinated books. A co-production of WGBH Boston, Inter Nationes, and the Goethe-Institut." Entire series is viewable online with free registration.

• German Academic Exchange Service-- The main German sponsor of student and professor exchange between Germany and other countries, internationalization of education, promotion of German studies overseas, and German educational cooperation with developing countries-- the best source on study, research, and teaching in Germany, with information on and applications for each program.

• German Language-- About.com's colorful and helpful guide to things German, but especially to the language.

• German Studies-- Fine and thorough guide to online and printed sources from the Library at the University of California, Berkeley.

• German Studies Web-- Excellent site for selected and evaluated scholarly resources in German Studies, for all German-speaking countries, from the Western European Specialists Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries.

• German for Travellers-- Excellent site with extensive free online resources, with dictionary, audio, chat, and games, to help learn German, plus links and online and distance courses, by Dr. Peter Golz through a partnership of the University of Victoria and Lufthansa.

• germanistik.net: Internet Resources for Germanists-- Comprehensive annotated directory by Professor Alan Ng of the University of Wisconsin.

• Germanistische Fachinformationen im WWW-- Annotated guidance from the Freie Universität Berlin.

• Goethe-Institut-- German government-sponsored but autonomous cultural foundation with a worldwide network that supports "all those actively involved with Germany and its language and culture." Posts some of its publications and information on many aspects of Germany and the German language.

• Gut !-- Interactive Activities for German Teachers and Learners-- Many beginning, intermediate, and advanced free online exercises (reading, writing, and listening) and tests to learn German, with audio samples of native German speakers and exercises for interactive whiteboards. Requires free registration for certain times. Very useful.

• Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen-- Autonomous institute carrying out and posting studies on Germany's international cultural relationships and policies, as well as cultural issues in international conflicts and crises.

• Paperball-- Search engine for news stories in the German language.

• Web German: Deutsch im Netz-- "Interactive webexercises, animated grammar presentations, audio enhanced vocabulary lessons, and select links to sites in German-speaking countries.  Designed for German language learners, teachers and travellers who want to get the most out of the Internet for foreign language learning."

• WWW Virtual Library of German Resources-- A most inclusive source, at the Universität Karlsruhe.