Reached B1 in German but struggling badly with vocabulary, need advice
I reached B1 German and passed the exam around a year ago, but after that I took a long break from studying because of stress from work and other things. Now I want to seriously continue learning again and realistically aim for a strong B2 level, if achieved then I will focus on C1 after it.
In September I’m moving to Italy for a 2-year master’s degree, and after that I’m hoping to move to Germany and find a job there. Because of that, I really want to improve my German properly over the next two years.
The thing is, after starting again, I realized that grammar is not my biggest issue. I still remember most of the rules fairly well. What I struggle with the most is vocabulary. Outside of basic conversations and sentences, I often feel lost and like I don’t understand enough words, sometimes even nothing at all.
So, I wanted to ask people who learned German successfully:
- What’s the best way to seriously improve vocabulary?
- Is Anki actually effective long-term?
- Should I focus more on sentences instead of isolated words?
- Is it better to learn vocabulary by categories/topics (food, work, entertainment, etc.)?
- Are podcasts, YouTube, or reading useful even if I don’t understand the majority of what's being said?
- Any tips for memorizing and retaining words better?
I have no problem studying consistently, I’m just unsure about the most effective method and how to structure my learning.
Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!