The radio d producers Paula and Philipp

An audio course for beginners

The Radio D language course consists of two series, each of which contains 26 fifteen-minute episodes. It is thematically related to the television language course Redaktion D.

Contents: Paula and Philipp lead the user through both of the 26-part series. The two radio producers have to travel across Germany to research mysterious cases.

Series 1: In episodes one through 26, Paula and Philipp visit Neuschwanstein Castle, where they meet King Ludwig. Then, from Hamburg, they report on a shark that's been spotted in the harbor. Later, during Carnival, the reporters meet up with witches …

Series 2: Episodes 27 to 52 take Paula and Philipp all around Germany. Their investigations include laser attacks in Jena and changes on the trail of the Berlin Wall ...

Target Group: The Radio D material corresponds to levels A1 (Series 1) and A2 (Series 2) of the European Frame of Reference for Languages. The course is geared to beginners with little or no previous knowledge of German.

Languages: Radio D is available in 16 languages (some of them are not yet available):

  • Arabic
  • Bulgarian
  • Chinese
  • Croatian
  • English
  • Farsi
  • French
  • Indonesian
  • Macedonian
  • Polish
  • Portuguese (for Brazil)
  • Romanian
  • Russian
  • Spanish
  • Swahili
  • Turkish

Details on the frequencies and broadcast times are available on each language's respective DW Website.

Accompanying Materials

Series 1: An accompanying workbook containing two CDs with the transcripts for lessons one through 26 is available for purchase. It supports the learning process and ensures that the user understands the basic phrases presented in each episode. In addition, it explores the corresponding grammar points and offers detailed exercises for further practice. It is also a help in establishing a solid basic vocabulary.

The workbook is entirely in German but contains specially prepared inserts with translations, instructions for the exercises, explanations and a grammar overview. It can be purchased in Germany from the Langescheidt publishing house (http://www.langenscheidt.de). Please direct all questions concerning the workbook to kundenservice@langenscheidt.de. In some regions, a bilingual version is available in local book stores. More information can be found on the Goethe Institute's Website: http://www.goethe.de/knt/deindex.htm.

Serie 2: Accompanying material is still in progress for episodes 27 through 52. We will inform you as soon as it becomes available.

Further information: Radio D is part of the multimedia language course Redaktion D, which consists of the following components:

  • Audio language course with accompanying materials
  • TV/video language course with accompanying materials
  • Online language course available for purchase (CD-ROM with tutorial)