Introduction:

You’ll often hear people saying that German is a difficult language. But in reality, it is not, this is just a myth created by people to just scare you off. German is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. Approximately 130 million people speak German as their mother language, or as a second language. Learning German as a second language can open several doors of opportunities for you, in the academic field, business field, or just generally. Did you know that Germany has the highest number of Nobel prize winners in the world, which means one of the greatest Nobel laureates are from German-speaking countries? Not only that, Germany is a leading hub for world-class affordable education. Also, some great artists such as Goethe, Kafka, and Mozart are from Germany. German culture is very interesting and rich. There’s no lack of any good reasons why you should learn the German language. 

English and German share 60% of their vocabulary. So for example – the book is called buch in German and similarly, there are so many words that are the same and easy to pick up. German and English pronunciation is also very synonymous. Therefore, it makes it easier to learn German if you are a native English speaker.

• Be consistent

Learning German is not an easy task, it requires focus, determination, and patience. You need to consistently keep practicing German daily to fully grasp it and become fluent.

• Set clear goals 

You need to set your goals right away before starting to learn. First of all, determine the reason why you want to learn German, and then devise a study plan. A study plan also helps you to monitor your performance and manage your available time. You need to think about your personal goals and why learning German is important for you. Write it down on a piece of paper and every time your motivation drifts away, have a look at it.

• Learn words and Phrases 

German words are easy to learn and memorize as most of them are similar to English. German uses the Latin alphabet. It has, however, an additional consonant: the ß, called “Eszett”. It is pronounced as ‘s’. When learning German, you should start by learning some common words and phrases that are spoken in English or your native language and see how they are said in German. 

Let’s look at such words and phrases: 

Good morning – Guten Morgen 

ach so – I see 

Wie geht’s dir? – How are you? 

Bitte – Please/you’re welcome 

Danké – Thank you 

wo – where 

Junge – Boy 

Mann – Men 

Memorize at least 15-20 common words and phrases like this each day and maintain a vocabulary list that you can carry anywhere. 

• Learn Grammar 

German grammar is not very tricky as it seems. In German, all nouns are either masculine, feminine or neuter. This is called gender, and it’s just a way to sort sounds! In English, we say a man, a woman. But in German words like a change depending on the noun’s gender. 

Masculine – ein Mann

Feminine –  eine Frau

Neuter –      ein Kind 

Also, remember that all nouns always start with a capital letter. And the word ‘the’ is always used differently with different words; die, das, der are all different forms of the. You’ve probably noticed that articles are very important in German. So, when you study the vocabulary you should always consider the correct article. It’s not just “Haus” (Eng.: home) but “das Haus”.  If you do that right from the beginning, it will save you a lot of work afterward. Additionally, I would recommend learning the plural form right from the start. In this case that would be: “das Haus” and, “die Häuser”. (Eng.: “the house” and “the houses”.)

• Get the right tools

 You can learn German with the help of various resources available online. You can also find a tutor who can teach in the best way possible. Watch movies in German, listen to some Latin or German music, and most importantly read a lot of books in German. Apps are a great way of learning a language. There are lots of apps that you can use. The most popular one is Multibhashi, you can learn basic German through this app. To learn German with the help of videos of native people of German, you can use Memrise. Getting the right tools is essential to learn any language. Make sure you have everything you need. 

• Speak with friends 

What is the use of learning a language if you don’t have someone to speak with? Do you have someone in your family or among friends who speaks German as a native language? Arrange some meetings or start a pen friendship. You’ll definitely find some groups or forums that deal with German as a foreign language and who knows, maybe thereby you find some new possibilities to improve your German skills. Join these groups and take action as a user. Ask questions or try to get some useful advice. The purpose of these groups is the exchange of ideas or approaches, which might help you to get a better understanding of something.