Transparent Language has a German proficiency test online. I took this test and scored 125 out of a maximum of 150 points (83%). The test results put me in the advanced intermediate category.
I still think one of the best ways to learn conversational German, other than spending time in Germany, is to watch videos of TV shows in German. For $40 you can get a DVD drive for your PC, set it to Region 2 encoding, and watch videos in German. (PAL videos play just fine on a PC.) You can order the videos from amazon.de. Shipping costs about $20. I prefer videos that have both English and German language audio tracks. When I watch the show in English, I understand everything. Then when I watch the show in German, it's easier to catch the German words because I already understand the meaning and I am aware of the context. However, I usually watch the show first in German because it's more challenging.
Posted by Doug Sauder at October 16, 2005 07:39 PM