How I learned German in 3 months

I moved to Germany after barely passing my A2 German exam but managed to secure a job in a company that was willing to give me a chance.

The first question the recruiter asked was:

"Can we do this interview in German, or do we have to speak in English?"

My response:

"English… otherwise this interview will be over shortly."

Nervous laugh.

This interview led to a second one, and finally a letter of offer. There was a clear reason for the company to be concerned. The role in question was a customer facing role, where 90% of their customers were Germans and would not appreciate having to speak English. Up until this point, they had only hired people who spoke German to a high level. They decided to give me a chance due to my technical background. But there was one condition.

I had 3 months to pass my probation meeting… conducted entirely in German.

The first three months were brutal. I was attending intensive German courses in the morning and working the rest of the day. My boss sent out an email to all my colleagues telling them that I had one month's grace period, where they were allowed to speak English to me, but after that all communication should be limited to German. English was only to be used when absolutely necessary.

My ability to get by in day-to-day small talk improved rapidly, but I still found myself completely lost in group conversations. I didn't have the courage to speak up in these, so there were many days where I remained silent in my own bubble. This was tough on the emotions, but I was reminded every now and again how far I had come and how difficult the situation I was in. I offloaded all written communications to DeepL. I had no capacity to write emails, and still relied on it heavily to even understand incoming messages.

Most days ended with a headache. I was completely exhausted and my motivation fluctuated a lot.

When the probation meeting finally came, my boss and HR were impressed. I passed.

A year and a half later, I'm still working at the company. The headaches have mostly disappeared, and communication is far easier now.

But I still remember what those first three months felt like. Looking back, being forced into German every day was painful, but it worked. There was no hiding behind apps or switching back to English.

I had to figure things out in real time.