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I'm moving to the Berlin in the fall myself. Planning to use it as our home base for work/ exploring Europe from early Oct '17 to late Aug '18. I freelance as a

I'm moving to the Berlin in the fall myself. Planning to use it as our home base for work/ exploring Europe from early Oct '17 to late Aug '18. I freelance as a software dev (primarily Python, JS and PHP work) in the US now and would love to hear if anyone has tips on picking up clients as an foreigner. I've been studying German daily (15-30 mins) for the past 1.5 months, hoping to be near fluent by the time we arrive, so hopefully I can minimize the language barrier. Are there any good resources people have used for finding freelance work internationally or that are even specific to Berlin/ Germany?

MK999 9y ago
check out the youtube pheonix online its a german speaking roundtable program about current events very helpful for lang acquisition
sultanofsaltin 9y ago
As an aside: I kind of wish this thread had kicked off at a reasonable hour for those actually in Berlin right now :)
- thenaturalist 9y ago
  Ahem, late Berliner checking in... While I am not a freelancer, I happen to work with one (he's mostly doing Django for my startup). He's originally from London, happy to connect you if you'd like to get first hand experience. You can find contact details on my profile page.
boreas 9y ago
You're planning on studying German for half a year for 15-30 mins a day and becoming fluent? That sounds really ambitious. If you've pulled off a similar feat in the past, do you have any language learning tips?
- sultanofsaltin 9y ago
  Touché. My original sentence said reasonably conversant. I probably should've left it at that. "Shoot for the stars, so if you fall you land on a cloud. - Kanye West"
csa 9y ago
> I've been studying German daily (15-30 mins) for the past 1.5 months, hoping to be near fluent by the time we arrive, so hopefully I can minimize the language barrier. Assuming that you are an American with little or no prior language learning experience, you may want to adjust your expectations. It seems like you will have ~75 hours (5 months at 0.5 hours per day) of study by the time you leave. That should get you to a basic beginner level (CEFR A1) -- maybe A2 is you are really good. 5 months of full time study might get you to a minimal level of professional competence (CEFR B2). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_R... Of course, if you speak a language that is linguistically closer to German and/or if you have learned foreign languages before, then the expected time to reach a level can be shortened. Regardless, I encourage you to keep your expectations reasonable. If you have any questions, I will be glad to answer. This is an area in which I have quite a bit of theoretical and practical knowledge.
- sultanofsaltin 9y ago
  Yeah, definitely had the rose color glasses on for that one. CEFR seems like a really good benchmark, I've been using a combination of the Assimil method (books/ tapes) and Duolingo just for the benchmarking / competing with my girlfriend while we learn together. The CEFR seems like a great reference point though that I wasn't aware of so that could be a great more objective measure. We're hoping to add a few shows/ podcasts to our regime this summer to get our ears more accustomed.
  - csa 9y ago
    > We're hoping to add a few shows/ podcasts to our regime this summer to get our ears more accustomed. Try to focus on shows/podcasts that target children and/or teens -- the language will be more at your level. There may be more slang, but that will be relatively simple to navigate via various language forums. Once your ear gets tuned to listening to native-speed German, then you can move on to more adult-oriented topics (start with simple, fun stuff and then move on to material that covers "real" topics).
  - et2o 9y ago

MK999 9y ago

check out the youtube pheonix online its a german speaking roundtable program about current events very helpful for lang acquisition

sultanofsaltin 9y ago

As an aside: I kind of wish this thread had kicked off at a reasonable hour for those actually in Berlin right now :)

thenaturalist 9y ago
Ahem, late Berliner checking in... While I am not a freelancer, I happen to work with one (he's mostly doing Django for my startup). He's originally from London, happy to connect you if you'd like to get first hand experience. You can find contact details on my profile page.

boreas 9y ago

You're planning on studying German for half a year for 15-30 mins a day and becoming fluent? That sounds really ambitious. If you've pulled off a similar feat in the past, do you have any language learning tips?

sultanofsaltin 9y ago
Touché. My original sentence said reasonably conversant. I probably should've left it at that. "Shoot for the stars, so if you fall you land on a cloud. - Kanye West"

csa 9y ago

> I've been studying German daily (15-30 mins) for the past 1.5 months, hoping to be near fluent by the time we arrive, so hopefully I can minimize the language barrier. Assuming that you are an American with little or no prior language learning experience, you may want to adjust your expectations. It seems like you will have ~75 hours (5 months at 0.5 hours per day) of study by the time you leave. That should get you to a basic beginner level (CEFR A1) -- maybe A2 is you are really good. 5 months of full time study might get you to a minimal level of professional competence (CEFR B2). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_R... Of course, if you speak a language that is linguistically closer to German and/or if you have learned foreign languages before, then the expected time to reach a level can be shortened. Regardless, I encourage you to keep your expectations reasonable. If you have any questions, I will be glad to answer. This is an area in which I have quite a bit of theoretical and practical knowledge.

sultanofsaltin 9y ago
Yeah, definitely had the rose color glasses on for that one. CEFR seems like a really good benchmark, I've been using a combination of the Assimil method (books/ tapes) and Duolingo just for the benchmarking / competing with my girlfriend while we learn together. The CEFR seems like a great reference point though that I wasn't aware of so that could be a great more objective measure. We're hoping to add a few shows/ podcasts to our regime this summer to get our ears more accustomed.
- csa 9y ago
  > We're hoping to add a few shows/ podcasts to our regime this summer to get our ears more accustomed. Try to focus on shows/podcasts that target children and/or teens -- the language will be more at your level. There may be more slang, but that will be relatively simple to navigate via various language forums. Once your ear gets tuned to listening to native-speed German, then you can move on to more adult-oriented topics (start with simple, fun stuff and then move on to material that covers "real" topics).
- et2o 9y ago