English learners are certainly at an advantage when learning German because of the number of mutual similarities. German is an inflected language, like English, with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter); and two numbers (singular, plural). It has strong and weak verbs.
The majority of its vocabulary derives from the ancient Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, while a smaller share is partly derived from Latin and Greek, along with fewer words borrowed from French and Modern English. But learners must be aware that German vocabulary is gendered.
It is interesting to note that, German is a pluricentric language, with the standardized variants of German being German, Austrian, and Swiss Standard High German. Beginners are recommended to stick with the High German dialect. High German or Hochdeutsch is the standard version of the German dialect which is used in the business, political, and academic spheres. Nearly all German speakers are capable of understanding High German.
While German is quite uniform as a written language(it differs in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland no more than written English does in the United States and the British Commonwealth), as a spoken language, however, German is notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many varieties existing in Europe and other parts of the world. Some of these non-standard varieties have become recognized and protected by regional or national governments. Of the many dialects that exist, most belong to either the High German or Low German dialectal groups. The main difference between High and Low German is in the sound system, especially in the consonants. High German, the language of the southern highlands of Germany, is the official written language.
Hence, beginners must have clarity on which German dialect they wish to learn. They must not switch between two different dialects while learning as it may only create learning complications for them. Due to the limited intelligibility between certain varieties of German and Standard High German, as well as the lack of an undisputed, scientific distinction between a “dialect” and a “language”, some German varieties or dialect groups such as Bavarian and Low German have been variously described as either “dialects” or separate languages.
German words are legendary and their length can be epic. Their consonant combinations, intimidating! Freundschaftsspiel (friendly game), Lebensabschnittspartner (current companion), Fahrvergnügen (pleasure found in driving) or the die Autobahn (the highway). Beginners were suggested to hold their ground and not be threatened and intimidated by a new language, its usage, nuances, nitty-gritty or its grammar. A beginner cannot aim at being fluent in German right away, but they are likely to step up working steadily by being patient, and consistent! Having said that beginners must never lose faith in themselves or their confidence!
Treat every little interaction with German important. Celebrate each little accomplishment, you make in German as a step towards the bigger achievement and be proud of it!
As a beginner, there are several things that you need to chalk out for yourself before attempting to learn a language. These are the most crucial steps that a beginner must ensure in place so as to aim for success! Of the many important things, it is important that a beginner sets realistic timelines for himself or herself, realign his or her schedule to fit in daily learning/practice time for the language, define and acknowledge the necessity to learn the language and finally determine their precise goals!
If a learner is interested in learning German with an academic perspective in mind, then I suggest learning it with books, through the structured lesson by the lesson plan, starting from the grammar rules. And yes, the grammar isn’t always intuitive. So, step up the effort! Read the classics of German literature (think Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herman Hesse and Franz Kafka).
However, if the need is to grow with the language then, I suggest, a beginner must learn to speak German in a first; just like a child mimics his parents and learns the language without having to read or write it, if and only if, they are truly interested in learning the language, whether for business conversations, travel, to speak with peers, friends, anybody! In other words, they must make German a way of their lives! To achieve this we recommend getting hold of as many reliable audio resources as possible online or offline. A learner could select from one of the spoken dialects that appeals to him/ her and pursue learning to speak the same. There are millions of relevant and appropriate audio resources such as podcasts, videos, audiobooks, music videos, songs, talk shows, news channels available to learn from.
I recommend concentrating on spoken German to all learners by enriching your vocabulary, improving your pronunciation, getting stronger clarity on alphabet identification and usage of words, expressions, phrases, commonly used slangs and connecting them directly with their meanings without having to translate them in the head from a mother tongue to German.
Maintain a diary or a journal to capture commonly used expressions or phrases that will help the beginner build small but meaningful conversations at the earliest. Focus on the verb forms and make a list of relevant day-to-day used exchanges. These, however, will not empower you to engage in complex conversations. So don’t fret over it. Stay positive and motivated, you will be there soon! Take a day at a time.
To study German effectively through audio lessons, to improve your listening(actively paying attention to what characters are saying and using shadowing – repeating dialogues as you hear them.) I recommend using audios that possibly are structured and addresses the following needs of a beginner:
Help a beginner, introduce himself, with appropriate greetings and politeness, asking relevant questions, ordering food, talking about themselves, their family, work and hobbies.
Encourages them to implement both traditional and modern German pronunciations.
Set the foundations of German grammar in a clear and logical, step-by-step manner: like building blocks, by giving plenty of examples so one can also learn the German context.
Helps the learner stay organized, enabling them to prioritize important aspects of language over other things.
Enables the beginners to achieve a decent accent.
Create a Mini-Germany in Your Home by labelling objects around their house with their German names. You could turn your computer multilingual initially and then into a German-only system!
I recommend enthusiastic and serious learners to join classes online or offline that follow the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) directives to have a better grasp of the German language. CEFRL, is a guideline that is used to describe the achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and in other countries. The CEFR is also intended to make it easier for educational institutions and employers to evaluate the language qualifications of candidates for education admission or employment. It was put together by the Council of Europe as the main part of the project “Language Learning for European Citizenship” between 1989 and 1996. Its main aim is to provide a method of learning, teaching and assessing which applies to all languages in Europe. In November 2001, a European Union Council Resolution recommended using the CEFR to set up systems of validation of language ability. The six reference levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) are becoming widely accepted as the European standard for grading an individual’s language proficiency.
As a beginner, I recommend you stay focused on your priorities to speak good German, and not get lost in trying to be a nerd starting off with grammar that’s not going to get you any closer to speak good German. On the contrary, unintuitive grammar is likely to demotivate you and deter you from continuing on your learning, presenting it to be too tough to learn! Hence, I suggest not to jump the gun and refrain from exploring the grammar on your own because it’s likely to send you completely off tangent. It’s more complicated and you may need a little more help than just self-study.
Choose a learning method that helps you reach there sooner, with simpler, smaller sentences conveying the same meaning as complex ones. Remember, slow and steady wins the race. All beginners must time their learning in order to stay on track. With a lot of free resources, online one is likely to lose focus, hopping from one link to another. This is especially true when watching YouTube videos. A huge part of your success in learning the German language will depend on time management.
Beginners could also take help from Spaced Repetition Systems (SRS), which is a great method for memorizing vocabulary and phrases. I also suggest using your imagination to create mnemonics that will help you create associations and recall German words easily when needed. Learners are recommended to focus their study with the Pomodoro Technique, which allows you to break up your study sessions into smaller chunks of time resulting in better focus and a more effective learning experience.
Beginners are aware! Be aware of grammar and spelling mistakes in media content online. If you prefer to be on the safe side, you should stick to official media because their content is usually double-checked. Germans talk like they say 100 words per second! Before you get into a situation where you have trouble in understanding the German when they speak, and they don’t seem to understand you, please research well to learn the real German or the ‘Street German’ as some call it! Street German is quite different from the enunciated German pronunciation (like a TV news host would use) – and it’s also likely to be different from what you have learned in school. Enunciated German version works great when you are learning German pronunciation as this slower version can help you capture the right pronunciations to repeat! You must aim to learn from a German school that explains how to form the sounds: how to place your mouth, your tongue, your lips, so on and so forth.
Conversational connectors are a great way to sound more like a native speaker, for removing the awkwardness from conversations and forgiving yourself time to recall vocabulary. A few conversational connectors being, Um ehrlich zu sein – “To tell the truth”, Meiner Meinung nach – “In my opinion”, Leider – “Unfortunately”, Zum, Beispiel – “For example”, Übrigens – “By the way”!
Be consistent. 20 minutes a day, six days a week will get you 120 minutes of practice. Most people will have better results with a consistent schedule like that, as opposed to a 120-minute German blast in one sitting, which can be overwhelming.
Take breaks to avoid burnout. Some people need to take a day off to decompress, while others just need a coffee break. Either way, you need to recharge your German-speaking batteries. Anyone who has spoken a new language for a few hours can confirm that it can actually be physically exhausting. So avoid problems by not overdoing it!
Your trainer must himself or herself be well versed in German to be able to explain the basic grammar rules to you clearly; because there are many rules such that if you don’t know them, you can’t invent them. There are rules, and then there is the reality!
