If you’re an IB student sitting the German oral exam this year, now is exactly the right time to start preparing really seriously. The oral exam is one of the most nerve-wracking parts of IB German — and also one of the most rewarding when you walk out knowing you gave it everything.

I’ve put together a dedicated IB Oral Exam Prep course, now live and available on Payhip. It covers the Individual Oral structure, how to approach the stimulus image, the kind of language that earns top marks, and how to make your spoken German sound confident and natural — even when you’re nervous.

If you know an IB student who needs this, please share. Exams are in a few weeks but there is still plenty of time to make a real difference with the right preparation.

This one is for the students — and honestly, for any learner of any age who has an exam coming up.

Over the past few months, I’ve been introducing my senior students to NotebookLM — a free AI-powered study tool by Google that is genuinely different from anything else out there. Unlike ChatGPT, NotebookLM doesn’t pull from the general internet. It only works with the materials you upload — your notes, past papers, vocab lists, teacher handouts. Every quiz it generates, every summary it produces, every question it asks is grounded in what you’ve actually been studying.

For IB and HSC German students with exams weeks away, it’s one of the most useful things I’ve come across. In my latest blog post I explain exactly what it is, how it works, and how to use it specifically for German exam prep — organised by Ab Initio, SL, HL, and HSC.

One of the projects I’ve been working on behind the scenes is a brand-new Resources page on germanwithnadia.com.au. It’s organised into tabs — Reading, Listening, Grammar, Kids, Exam Prep, and Free.

Whether you’re a parent looking for something for a primary schooler or an adult learner hunting for grammar practice, you soon will be able to find exactly what you need without clicking around forever.

It’s still growing, but there’s already some in there, worth having a look — and I’ll be adding more each month.

If your child is in an IB school and studying German — or if you’re wondering whether that’s even an option — this blog post is for you.

IB German B is German studied as part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma, and it’s one of the most internationally recognised language qualifications a school student can earn. But the terminology can be confusing: Ab Initio, SL, HL, Individual Oral, the five themes… where does a parent even begin?

In my newest blog post, I explain it all from scratch — what IB German B actually is, the difference between Ab Initio, Standard Level, and Higher Level, how each component is assessed, and what the Individual Oral exam (worth 25% of the final grade) involves. It’s a long one, but it covers everything — and I’ve had so many parents ask me these exact questions over the years that I wanted to put it all in one place.

If you know an IB family who could use this, please pass it along.

This month I’m taking you to Rügen — Germany’s largest island, sitting in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Mecklenburg. Right now, in June, it’s one of the most beautiful places in the German-speaking world: white chalk cliffs dropping into turquoise water, long sandy beaches, and the famous Bäderarchitektur — the elegant white “seaside resort” architecture from the 19th century that lines the promenades.

Rügen is where German families have been heading for summer holidays for over a century (it was a beloved retreat during GDR times too, which gives it a fascinating layer of history). The Jasmund National Park is home to the iconic Kreidefelsen — the chalk cliffs that Caspar David Friedrich painted in one of the most famous German Romantic artworks ever made.

If you ever get the chance to visit Germany in summer, skip the obvious tourist trail and head north. Rügen will surprise you.

One of the first things that surprises English speakers learning German is what happens when you use weil (because).

In German, weil sends the verb all the way to the end of the sentence:

Ich bin müde, weil ich nicht geschlafen habe. — I’m tired because I didn’t sleep.

This catches beginners off guard every time — but once you know the rule, you’ll notice it everywhere. And once it clicks, it starts to feel completely natural.

The trick to remember it: after weil, the verb is always last. No exceptions.

And because it is so much fun — weil is not alone with this rule! There are quite a few linking words in German that send the verb to the end, and some that don’t.