The approximately 100 million native speakers of German in Europe greatly outnumber those with English or French as their first language. Particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, many people choose German as their first foreign language. Thus in business, diplomacy and tourism, German comes second only to English in Western Europe, while in Eastern Europe it holds first place.

Test your German language skills

These tests aim to give you an initial idea of where you stand and should not be confused with official internationally benchmarked qualifications (eg ‘Zertifikat Deutsch’).

• DAAD German Language Test
• Goethe-Institut German Language Test
• BBC German Language Test

Learning German in New Zealand

The Goethe-Institut in Wellington as well as many schools, some polytechs and 6 universities in New Zealand offer you a great choice of German language courses. Whether you wish to join a beginners’ class, deepen your knowledge of German or participate in a course for advanced speakers – it will be worth it!

• Goethe-Institut Wellington
• Victoria University Wellington
• The University of Auckland
• University of Canterbury
• University of Otago