My Struggle (and Small Victories) with German Writing: B1.2 & Remote Work

Okay, so here I am, almost a year into living in Berlin. “Fast ein Jahr,” they say, and it feels like a lifetime. The culture shock was real, let me tell you. But honestly, a huge part of getting settled has been tackling the language. And right now, I’m stuck on this TELC B1.2 writing task – expressing my opinion on remote work. It seems simple enough, but I’m finding it…challenging.

The Task: Remote Work – Do I Agree?

The prompt asks me to write a paragraph outlining my view on the idea of working remotely. Apparently, I need to include reasons for my opinion, and maybe even a little bit about the potential downsides. The assessor wants to see if I can form a clear argument, you know? It’s a bit intimidating, especially when I stumble over my German.

My First Attempt (And the Embarrassment!)

I started with what felt like a good idea: “Ich finde Remote Work ist gut, weil…” (I think remote work is good because…). Then I just…rambled. I used way too many “weil” (because) clauses, and the sentence just got completely tangled. My colleague, Mark, who’s been here longer than me, overheard me mumbling it to myself and said, “Moment mal! Das ist wie ein verworrenes Brettspiel!” (Wait a minute! That’s like a tangled board game!). He was right. It was a mess. I realised I was trying too hard to impress, and it just made everything more confusing.

Real-World German: Conversations with My Kollegen

I’ve been trying to get a better feel for how Germans actually talk about this. Last week, I was chatting with Thomas, a software developer at my office, and he was saying, “Ich habe drei Tage die Woche von zu Hause aus gearbeitet. Es ist super, wenn man seine Arbeit und sein Leben besser vereinbaren kann.” (I work from home three days a week. It’s great when you can better combine your work and your life). Then he added, “Aber man muss auch Disziplin haben, sonst wird man nie fertig!” (But you also need discipline, otherwise you’ll never finish!).

That gave me an idea. I need to show I can have a balanced opinion, not just a completely positive one. I started to think about the downsides – procrastination, isolation… I even managed to use the word “Isolation” – “Die Isolation kann ein Problem sein, besonders wenn man wenig soziale Kontakte hat.” (Isolation can be a problem, especially if you have few social contacts). It felt good to actually say that in German!

Vocabulary I’m Using (And Learning)

Here’s a little vocabulary list that’s really helping me:

• Remote Work: Remotearbeit
• Disziplin: Discipline
• Isolation: Isolation
• Vereinbaren: To combine, to balance (work and life)
• Vorteile: Advantages
• Nachteile: Disadvantages
• Produktivität: Productivity
• Flexibilität: Flexibility

A Slightly Better Paragraph (With Help!)

Okay, so after talking to Thomas and Mark, and with a little guidance from my tutor, Lena, I managed to write something that’s actually usable. Lena helped me structure it, and suggested I avoid the endless “weil”s. Here’s what I came up with:

“Ich finde Remote Work grundsätzlich eine gute Idee. Die Vorteile, wie mehr Flexibilität und eine bessere Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Privatleben, sind offensichtlich. Allerdings muss man auch Disziplin haben, um produktiv zu sein, und die Isolation kann ein Problem sein. Manchmal denke ich, dass es schwierig ist, die Grenzen zwischen Arbeit und Freizeit zu wahren. Ich glaube, es funktioniert nur, wenn man selbst für Ordnung und Struktur sorgt.” (I generally think remote work is a good idea. The advantages, like more flexibility and a better balance between work and private life, are obvious. However, you also need discipline to be productive, and isolation can be a problem. Sometimes I think it’s difficult to maintain the boundaries between work and leisure time. I believe it only works if you yourself ensure order and structure.)

It’s not perfect, of course. Lena pointed out I still need to work on my sentence structure. But it’s a start.

Looking Ahead – My Next Steps

I’m going to keep practicing, focusing on using the vocabulary I’ve learned. I’m going to try and write more dialogues, mimicking conversations like the one I had with Thomas. Lena also suggested I look at some example TELC writing pieces – maybe that will give me a better idea of what the examiners are looking for. And most importantly, I’m going to keep talking German, even if I make mistakes! “Fehler sind wichtig!” (Mistakes are important!). Hopefully, this will help me pass the B1.2 writing exam and feel a little bit more confident in my German. Ich bin sicher, ich werde es schaffen! (I’m sure I’ll manage it!)