Introduction:

The German language is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a co-official language of Luxembourg, Belgium, and parts of southwestern Poland, as well as a national language in Namibia. German is most similar to other languages within the West Germanic language branch, including Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German (Low Saxon), Luxembourgish, Scots, and Yiddish. It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, although these belong to the North Germanic group. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language after English. One of the major languages of the world, German is a native language to almost 100 million people worldwide and is spoken by a total of over 130 million people.  It is the most spoken native language within the European Union.  German is also widely taught as a foreign language, especially in Europe, where it is the third-most taught foreign language after English and French, and the United States. The language has been influential in the fields of science and technology, where it is the second most commonly used scientific language and among the most widely used languages on websites. The German-speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of annual publication of new books, with one-tenth of all books (including e-books) in the world being published in German.

Learning German Can Change Your Life In Many Ways:

• If you love to travel, German will help you get by all across the globe. The ability to speak German while traveling opens up new experiences in all of the countries highlighted on the map above. In German-speaking countries, natives can often steer you towards insider tips and top suggestions for things to do that wouldn’t be possible if you didn’t speak the language.
• Learning German can do wonders for your career. With one of the strongest economies in the world, Germans are all about efficiency, working hard, and saving money. They love to plan and organize their lives to be comfortable, sustainable, and cost-effective. If you’re a professional working in an on-demand field, some German language skills might just open up new career opportunities for you.
• Learning German makes it much easier to learn additional languages. Having a knowledge of one foreign language makes it much easier to grasp the concepts of others. Once you start learning about new grammatical structures, their differences, and similarities, you will have an easier time adapting and applying your learning methods to other languages. Many Indo-European languages have words that are spelled similarly, or share the same roots so you’ll be able to decode simple words in related languages like Dutch or Danish.
• Enjoy Authentic German Culture. Germany has a rich cultural history, and learning the language will allow you to appreciate some of its finest masterpieces in their original state. Some of the greatest philosophical and literary works in the world were written in German and some of the most famous classical music composers come from Germany. German culture has had a tremendous impact on the rest of the world.

Step 1. Find your main goal for learning German

Even before you choose the preferred learning method or find study materials, you need to take a step back and analyze WHY you want to learn German. Determine your main goal and write it down so that it’ll motivate you on the way to language fluency.

Specify your goal as much as you can and don’t forget to set an exact time frame. Here’s a list of reasons that could be your reasons WHY:

• To enroll at the [Name of German university] in two years;
• To land a job in a German IT company in Frankfurt next year;
• To learn to speak German fluently with German-speaking family members;  
• To speak with German business partners without an interpreter within six months;
• To travel to Germany and talk to locals fluently.

Find your main goal, and you’ll discover that German language learning isn’t as hard as you previously thought. Studying with a professional tutor who guides you through the learning process makes language learning even easier.

Step 2. Master the alphabet

Begin with analyzing the difference between German and English alphabets. In fact, similar vowels and consonants sound different in these two languages. Learn the sounds first so that you can learn the words later and pronounce them correctly.

You can find the alphabet online and hear the right pronunciation of each letter. Pay special attention to the letters with an umlaut (Ä, Ö, Ü), as it completely changes the way a letter is pronounced.

Besides, notice how vowels or consonants sound alone, as two vowels or consonants used one after another could sound different than either of them used alone.

Step 3. Learn the most basic words

In order to get started and thus have your first basic conversation in German, learn some significant words and phrases such as: 

• Hallo! — Hello!

• Hallo! Wie geht’s? — Hello, how are you?

• Guten Morgen! — Good morning!

• Guten Tag! — Good afternoon!

• Guten Abend! — Good evening!

• Danke sehr! — Thank you very much!

• Tschüss! Bis zum nächsten Mal. — Goodbye! See you next time.

• Ich heiße [Name]. — My name is [Name].

• Ich spreche nicht sehr gut Deutsch. — I don’t speak German very well.

Step 4. Learn the key nouns, verbs, and adjectives

Once you understand the basic German expressions, you’ll be able to start a conversation with a native speaker easily. But if you want to keep the conversation going and find out more about a person you’re talking to, you need to know some key German words. Try to learn new words in context so that you can quickly memorize them. Keep things interesting by learning idioms and slang.

Step 5. Understand grammar and sentence structure

When it comes to learning German for beginners, grammar would be the hardest part. No doubt, the grammatical part can be quite tricky at the beginning. But there are almost no exceptions to the German grammar rules, which makes it easier to remember them.

What about sentence structure? Structurally, German is very similar to English, so it won’t be so difficult to understand the rules.

Step 6. Create a mini-Germany around you

There is no need to live in Germany to immerse yourself in the German language. Here are some practical tips and tricks you can use to teach yourself German from the comfort of your own home:

• Watch German movies and TV shows. If you want to know how to speak German, you need to learn how to listen at first. Also, it’s a useful method of learning new vocabulary in the context. As a beginner, watch films with subtitles on.
• Listen to podcasts. Listening to German podcasts like Warum Nicht, GermanPod101, and CoffeeBreak is an excellent way to learn a language on the go.
• Watch educational videos on YouTube. There are thousands of helpful videos for every level that you can use to master your skills.
• Read books. Start with simple books, such as books for kids, to memorize basic vocabulary. Read aloud to improve pronunciation.
• Make a German-speaking friend. Learning how to speak German will be much quicker if you have someone to practice with. 
• Make your computer multilingual. Surround yourself with German by changing an interface language on your computer. It’s a great language learning hack to help you learn new words day by day.

A brief afterword

How to speak German fluently? Start practicing every day! Even if you’re a beginner, you can start learning a language by yourself hands down. And now you have the needed tools to master your skills and make the most of your German studies. But to make fast progress, you may need the qualified help of an experienced tutor.

On Multibhashi, you can find the preferred German tutor to learn the language effectively depending on your schedule and budget. Each online lesson will be prepared according to your level and personal preferences.

Find the tutor on the website and start your German learning journey today!