Frequently asked questions

Start with A1 if you speak no German at all, or only a few words. Choose A2 if you can introduce yourself, handle simple everyday situations and understand short texts. Choose B1 if you can already talk about your work and your routine in simple German and want to take part in meetings and write proper emails.

Not sure? Write to us with a few lines about what you already know, ideally in German, and we will recommend a level.

Every cohort meets three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for 60 minutes. You choose one slot when you register: early bird from 07:30 to 08:30, lunch break from 12:15 to 13:15, or after work from 19:00 to 20:00. Times are Berlin time; the course pages also show them in your own time zone. Your slot stays the same for the whole course.

The evening slot is online like the others: no drive across town after work, no parking spot to find, no babysitter to organise.

Each level is one course of 36 live lessons of 60 minutes (48 teaching units of 45 minutes), three a week, so a level takes about twelve weeks. If a public holiday falls on a lesson day, that lesson is added at the end, so the course runs a few days longer but you never lose a lesson.

Not yet. We start with live online courses, which you can join from anywhere. Classes in person are planned as a next step. If you would like to hear about them, leave your email in the sign-up at the bottom of any page.

Choose your cohort on the registration page, fill in your details and send the form. You receive an email straight away with your confirmation, the contract summary, the terms and a calendar file with every lesson.

You then pay the €490 course fee by bank transfer, within 14 days and in any case before the first lesson. The bank details and your personal payment reference are shown after you register and in the email.

Yes. Choose “Invoice to my employer” when you register and enter your company’s name and address; we address the invoice to your company. You remain the participant and our contracting party. Want several colleagues to learn together, or a contract directly with your company? Write to us.

Each cohort takes at most 20 students. When one is full, the registration form turns into a waitlist. The entry is free and binds you to nothing. If a seat becomes free, or a new cohort opens, we write to you first.

A course runs with at least 10 participants. If fewer have registered seven days before the start, we may cancel it. We would tell you that day, refund anything you have paid in full, and offer you a place in another cohort.

Because every lesson is online, a business trip rarely means a missed lesson: join from the hotel room, the lounge or the train, in the same group as always. If you do miss one, your teacher gives you the tasks of that lesson so you can catch up before the next. Missed lessons are not repeated or refunded.

A laptop or tablet with a camera and microphone, a stable internet connection and, ideally, a headset. Find a quiet place where you can speak freely: a meeting room, your home office or a hotel room all work. The link to the virtual classroom (Zoom) reaches you by email before the course starts. A phone works in an emergency, but a bigger screen is better for the materials.

Plan about an hour a week for the short tasks between lessons, spread over a few minutes a day: on the train, in a break, before the next lesson. Your teacher gives you personal feedback on them. The more you speak and practise, the faster you progress.

Each level ends with an assessment, so you know where you stand. If you have attended at least 75% of the lessons, you receive a certificate of participation from Ja Wohl!. It is not an official exam certificate (such as telc or Goethe); if you need one for your employer or the authorities, you take that exam separately.

Yes. You can withdraw within 14 days of registering, without giving a reason: an email to hello@jawohl.org is enough. We refund everything you paid within 14 days. We grant this right to every participant, including those whose employer pays. If you asked us to start the course within those 14 days and then withdraw, you pay only for the lessons already given. The details are in our cancellation policy.

Each contract covers exactly one level and ends with its last lesson; nothing renews automatically. You can cancel for good cause at any time, in text form (an email is enough), and then pay only for the lessons offered until the cancellation takes effect. Where the Distance Learning Protection Act (FernUSG) applies, you also have its statutory rights of termination. All of this is set out in our terms.

Our language courses are exempt from VAT under § 4 No. 21 of the German VAT Act (UStG). The €490 per level is therefore the final price, with no VAT added, and your invoice says so.