Sprachportal.at

What Sprachportal.at is

Sprachportal.at is the German learning portal of the Österreichischer Integrationsfonds (ÖIF, the Austrian Integration Fund). It is a learner product first: adults and children learning German, mostly people who have moved to Austria, use it for live online classes, self-study exercises and test preparation, and German teachers use its downloadable materials. The English overview page says the portal "provides materials and online offers for adults and children" and will help learners "quickly acquire initial orientation in Austria." Everything is framed around everyday life in Austria rather than German in general, and the site itself can be switched from German into English, French, Turkish, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, Arabic and Dari/Farsi, among other languages.

Live online courses

The centerpiece is the timetable of free live classes. The home page advertises "Über 70 Live-Online-Kurse pro Woche" (more than 70 live online courses a week), held daily from Monday to Saturday with trainers. The FAQ says learners can join from a computer, tablet or phone, free of charge and without prior registration, whatever their location. Each level has its own course room with a direct link to the live session. A1 is for people who have had a little contact with German and want to manage everyday life in Austria; A2 is for those who have finished an A1 course; B1 and B2 work on specialized vocabulary for an occupation and for discussion of familiar topics. An extra A2/B1 course room covers catering and the hotel business, Austrian art and culture, and various occupations, and there is a separate course for Ukrainians on getting started in Austria.

Around the level courses sit speaking classes, exam preparation sessions (the FAQ says Fridays are set aside for preparing for an examination with a teacher), news in simple language, a course on understanding Austrian dialects, regional courses run by the ÖIF in the state of Kärnten, and online lectures with Ukrainian universities. For working migrants there is Deutsch für die Arbeit, with daily live courses, and a set of free job-specific online courses run with the Vienna Economic Chamber (WKW) for the restaurant trade, the hotel sector, tourism and retail, including "Job profiles" for beginners and "Insights" courses from A2 to B1. A Deutsch für Gesundheitsberufe track adds German for doctors and specialist exam preparation.

Self-study exercises and media

For learning between classes, the portal groups its free online exercises by level. The vocabulary trainer (A1) pairs short animated videos with exercises built on the ÖIF picture dictionary, on topics such as eating and drinking, transport, health and weather. The panoramic picture exercises (A1 to B1) are virtual 360° tours of Austrian scenes, such as a visit to a family doctor, a Viennese coffee house or a rescue on the Danube Island, with listening dialogues, reading texts and exercises. Doodle clips are cartoon-style learning stories from A1 to B1. The learning podcasts, titled "German in their luggage," are interviews from A1 to B2 in which immigrants talk about migration, multilingualism, dialect, work and daily life, each with matching exercises. Short videos on everyday life and values in Austria run in German, Arabic and Farsi, and interactive learning videos (A1 to B2) have exercises before, during and after each scene. The menu also lists an Alphaportal for literacy and links to Deutsch.info.

Test preparation

The ÖIF also runs the integration tests many of these learners need. The FAQ says the ÖIF offers integration tests at levels A1 to B1, while certified course institutes offer the integration and preparatory courses. Online practice tests cover A1, A2, DTÖ A2/B1 and ÖIF B2, and model and sample tests from A1 to C1 can be downloaded free, together with question catalogs on values and orientation knowledge (with answers) and a free app for practicing test questions. The menu lists accessible test material too, including model tests for Braille displays and screen readers. ÖIF tests can be repeated any number of times, though not in parts, and the FAQ notes that a fee may apply to each attempt.

Materials for teachers and children

A large share of the portal serves German teachers. Free worksheets and complete teaching units for A1 to C1 focus on Austrian everyday life and culture, with answers, follow-up links and background information attached. There are C1 listening units with dialect and colloquial versions of the texts, free extras for the Österreich Spiegel learner newspaper (A2 to C1), and Alpha START, which the overview page says has 35 lessons introducing the most frequent sounds of German. The "Deutsch lernen" teaching magazine (A1/A2) has a theme per issue, such as democracy, equal rights, customs, living or shopping; it comes out four times a year and can be subscribed to or downloaded free.

Under the motto "Sprache wertvoll fördern," which the English page renders as promoting language on a value-oriented basis, the ÖIF publishes children's books for children from age 3, the "Deutsch lernen mit Katze Mitzi" poster package, a vocabulary calendar and activity sheets for kindergartens, aimed at educators and parents. Not everything is free: some items on the home page, such as a children's book and an Österreich Spiegel issue, are marked "Kostenpflichtig" (paid).

Nursing care and vocational German

The free online course "German for nursing care" is for people starting or already in nursing or personal care work; it begins at A2, can be started at any time, and learners decide when and how often to study. A companion course covers German for first aid. The "Migrants care" program goes further for people whose first language is not German and who want an apprenticeship in nursing care: subject-specific information, individual advice, preparatory German courses and placement in an apprenticeship. The FAQ says it is funded by Volkshilfe, Hilfswerk, Caritas, Diakonie and the Red Cross and financed by the Federal Chancellery.

Funded courses, conversation groups and costs

Beyond the portal, the ÖIF provides funded German courses under the Integration Act, from literacy up to C1, for asylum seekers, people eligible for subsidiary protection and displaced persons from Ukraine; all courses from A2 upwards end with an ÖIF examination. Its "Treffpunkt Deutsch" learning groups, held by qualified volunteers, offer conversation practice from A1 to B2 and letter training for beginners. Course fees are explained at the ÖIF integration centers, and test fees are set by each test institute.

For migrants under the Integration Agreement, the FAQ sets out a cost refund through the blue ÖIF federal voucher: attend at least 75% of a certified integration course and pass the A2 ÖIF test within 18 months of the voucher being issued, and up to 300 teaching units or 50% of course fees are funded, capped at EUR 750. Up to EUR 5 per unit, half the fee is covered; above that, the support is EUR 2.50 per unit.

Who it suits

Sprachportal.at suits adult migrants and refugees in Austria who want free, structured live classes every day, along with self-study material and preparation for the integration tests. Working learners in hospitality, retail, health and care get job-specific tracks, and German teachers, volunteer tutors and kindergarten staff get a deep library of Austria-focused materials. Because the live classes stop at B2 and the content is built around Austrian life, values and dialect, it is less of a fit for someone abroad who wants general or advanced German with no Austrian connection.