comments:
Peeking at this study calculator, assuming no prior language learning experience, high motivation, and two-hours a day, it's just possible to get to C1 in 2 years, 4 days. If you're referencing University-level language classes for two years, it's likely to leave you at B1-ish. To get to C1 in 2 years, this is how I'd approach it now. Find a nice self-study course. Luckily, since your TL is German, Nico's Weg is available and can serve as a self-study course. You'll want to work through it systematically and pair it with a spaced-repetition app, like Anki. (Here's a video on a set up you can use.) This is the background of your learning. Find reading material. Dino Lernt Deutch is a great graded reader set. You can also find some options on the Internet Archive. As soon as you have enough vocabulary from Nicos Weg, start reading. Make a dedicated YouTube channel for German, and find some learner-directed pages. (Sample list, look for "Comprehensible Input German"). Some of the videos are meant for true beginners with no background in the language. Start ASAP with watching videos attentively, you want to understand around 90% of what you're hearing. Get into the habit of recording yourself for a few minutes every day. In the beginning, it may be the same introduction every day for a week, but just get used to producing the language, whatever you can say. As you get better, your recordings will get longer and more complex. Buy a journal and write every day. Again, it may be five sets of "My name is..." or whatever, but get into the habit of writing. I always recommend handwriting. Do this for a few months, religiously. After a few months, when you're starting to feel more confident, add... 6. A tutor or exchange partner. There's no substitute for talking to someone. Potentially you may also be able to skip ahead in your German classes and that will take care of the speaking. To prepare the certificate, you'll probably have to pick up a tutor to do exam prep with anyway. If budget is a serious issue, consider working with a tutor who isn't a native speaker. You can likely find nonnative tutors with certifications in German that charge significantly less than native speakers. Exchange partners seem to be getting harder and harder to come by.