What is the best way of self-learning German?
German is an inflected language with four cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative) for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), and strong and weak verbs. German is the native language of more than 90 million people worldwide, placing it among the languages with the greatest number of native speakers. German is widely studied as a foreign language and is one of the Western world’s major cultural languages. The language which is known today as German is believed to have originated from Proto-Germanic, which began to develop around 2000 B.C., as people began to settle in western areas of the Baltic Sea. German is one of the official languages of Switzerland, is estimated to have approximately 90–95 million people speaking German as a first language, 10–25 million speaking it as a second language, and 75–100 million speaking it as a foreign language. This would imply approximately 175–220 million German speakers worldwide. German is a global language along with English and is extremely popular among students due to the benefits offered by Germany to students who speak German.
Let's now look at a few tips and tricks that will be of immense help when trying to learn German through classroom or self-study:
- Set achievable goals! Determine your chosen learning method, which will aid you in understanding the language. Priorities should be established. Start with spoken German if you want to learn German for business or vacation! Choose common phrases to start a conversation rather than more challenging ones that are unlikely to be utilised in ordinary settings! Engage in ongoing analysis to track your progress – repetition is key!
- Enrol in a Language course. When you’re initially starting off, keep translating German words/phrases into English to a minimum! As you progress, intentionally move away from it.
- Improve your listening abilities by listening to talk programmes, German news, and audiobooks, to mention a few internet platforms. Watch German films with English subtitles and English films with German subtitles to accelerate your study. Learn in your spare time by listening to music, podcasts, and whatever else you can get your hands on.
- Read aloud to improve your grammar. Choose a native German speaker as a conversation partner with whom you may practise talking and receive feedback. Don’t be scared to experiment and make errors. We’re both to blame. Why is it discouraging or humiliating you? By utilising it, you can improve your listening skills. Remember that self-studying is NOT for everyone! Be cautious of phoney online German learning materials!
- Avoid writing in your brain. Keep a record of new phrases that will help you create your first conversation, not simply vocabulary. Keep a German dictionary nearby.
- Studying on a regular basis for a short amount of time is far more useful than trying to complete it all in a one-weekend session! Practice without skipping a beat. There are no loopholes or methods to go around practising.
- Rather than English words, try to link German terms with visuals and visual events. Study a language every day in short bursts or for 2-4 hours, depending on your time constraints. The German are no exception.
Finally,
German Deutsch is the official language of both Germany and Austria, as well as one of the official languages of Switzerland. German, along with English, Frisian, and Dutch, is a member of the Indo-European language family’s West Germanic group (Netherlandic, Flemish). The recorded history of Germanic languages begins in the first century BCE, with their speakers’ first contact with the Romans. There was only one “Germanic” language at the time, and there were only minor dialect differences for several centuries after that. Only after the sixth century CE can one speak of a “German” (High German) language.
There’s an amazing new way to learn German! Want to see what everyone’s talking about! Click here.