How to make learning German less of an ordeal

Original Photo Rubber Duck and Mallard! by Mike Prince on flickr.com under CC BY 2.0; remixed.

When it comes to learning a new language we've all faced the reality that it's a lot harder than what some people would have you believe. Let's face it, German is hard, like banging your head against the table when you can't even pronounce „Quietscheentchen“ kind of hard – I mean, it's a rubber ducky, how are children meant to pronounce that? But it's OK, we've all been there in those dark early days of learning a language, which is why Sprachenatelier Berlin is here to offer some helpful tips that will get you on your way to finally speaking German confidently in no time! 

Don't expect to be perfect, so don't let it affect your confidence

As we are well aware from reading the above, German is tricky. There is a lot to process when first learning the language and you'll find it will probably have many differences to your mother tongue, from the pronunciation of certain letters, different grammar, and what was my personal hell when I was learning German – long compound words like Siebentausendzweihundertvierundfünfzig, or as like to write, 7254.
 

It's not uncommon to sometimes feel a little embarrassed when trying to talk German when you haven't been learning it long, especially when all you get in return is the blank stare of a perplexed native speaker. But learning a new language means that sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone and make mistakes in order to improve, so as you've probably heard from every language teacher - practice is key! It's important to keep practicing and practicing regularly! But how do I practice learning German? I hear you cry, I'm glad you asked...

Practice speaking and don't ignore pronunciation

Honestly, when it comes to learning any language you can sit and study all the grammar rules and memorize all the vocabulary you like, but speaking the language is what's going to help you remember and improve! So it's a good idea to find yourself a German buddy to practice talking to, and if you can't find one practice talking to yourself – as crazy as you'll seem, it'll really help get the words to stick in your brain. Speaking out loud is the only way you can practice pronunciation, there's no point talking German if no-one can understand a word you say, and get used to pronouncing words with Ä, Ö, Ü and ß in them.

Be patient and don't overload yourself

Learning German is a lengthy process and will take a while before you can be fluent, so while you're leaning it's important not to cram your studies, it's far better to study for say 30 minutes a day every day than to study for hours without breaks inconsistently. It's also important to enjoy yourself when learning a language otherwise you'll just want to give up, so don't just stick to the same boring textbook and switch up the way you're learning every now and then, watch German TV, join German language courses, have conversations in German about things that interest you and read German books out loud – yes people will think you're strange but they'll soon be jealous of your perfect German know-how.

Progress is better than perfection

When learning German, it's common that you'll fixate on a certain grammar rule or groups of words and unknowingly challenge your textbook to a staring contest until you've learned it perfectly. It's important to cover a variety of topics and vocabulary and not Quietscheentcheust focus on one thing, so don't put all your eggs in one basket.

I'm not encouraging you to grab the nearest dictionary and read it back to front so you can try and work the word 'Zwinge' (the tip of an umbrella – why would I ever need to know this?) into conversation, but start with learning the most commonly used words and begin expanding into different topics - did you know the 1000 most commonly used words are used in 80% of spoken German conversation? It's also useful to make flashcards to test your memory, take them with you wherever you go and test your memory whenever you're waiting in line for a curry wurst. Also just go ahead and cover your entire house in little yellow sticky notes with important vocabulary on them, the more you see them the more you'll remember them!

Notes, notes, notes, notes...

My last little tip for you all is to start taking notes! Trying to immerse yourself into a language means that you're constantly learning, it's as if you've reverted back into a child-like state, I don't mean crying over minor inconveniences and getting spaghetti in your hair (although the crying thing is still pretty much me), I mean that you're always learning new words and expressions with every conversation you have. You'll experience new terminology, different dialects, slang words and customs, so it's important to try and take as many notes of these new experiences as you can in order to help you remember them.

If you feel like you need that extra bit of help check out the Sprachenatelier website, there you'll find a wide selection of German courses