German language isn’t so hard like every other language. As a matter of fact, it’s considered the second easiest language to learn after English. If you’re thinking of a language to pick, you should consider German also and if you don’t know why you should pick German, check out our next post on the importance of learning German. It will give you a clue of how awesome learning German can be.
The following are basic tips and ways you can follow to learn your German language even without paying anyone.
1. Hear and Repeat German Letter Sounds
This is the first step we take even when learning English and this can be applied to German language too. Start with learning the German alphabet. Listen to how each letter sounds on its own compared to letter combinations. Listen for differences between English and German letter sounds, too. Just like in English, two letters together can sound quite different from either of the two letters by themselves.
Pay particular attention to the letters with an umlaut (two little dots above the letter), as this changes the way a letter is pronounced, and therefore changes the way words can sound. You can start by using short videos on YouTube.
2. Master common words
After you’ve mastered the alphabet and letter sounds, it’s time to learn some “framework words.” These are easy, common words that will form the foundation of your vocabulary building. Think about the words you can’t do without in English, and look up their German equivalents. Fantastic starters are:
German greetings
Yes/no
Please/thank you
Excuse me/sorry
3. Expand Your Vocabulary with Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives
Once you’ve picked up some basics, it’s time to expand your vocabulary with nouns, verbs and adjectives. Try to set yourself a daily goal—for example, learn three new nouns, verbs and adjectives (for nine words total) every day.
Also Check Out: 2022 Beginners Guide to Learning Chinese Language
4. Start Putting Sentences Together
Okay, you’ve got some essential German words under your belt. Now it’s time to start using them. This is all about learning German sentence structure and word order. You can find a straightforward but thorough explanation of German word order at Dartmouth College’s German Department website. Then, you can practice using those rules for yourself with these free online exercises—just click a series of words in the correct order to build German sentences.
Luckily, people will probably know what you’re trying to communicate even if you get the word order wrong, but you should do your best to try and correctly order your sentences.
5. Memorize Reusable German Phrases
This is one of those “language hacks” that can get you on the road to real German communication faster. Now that you’ve learned German word order, you can start hanging out with some basic German phrases. Just like with single words, begin practicing simple phrases that you might say on an average day.
For example, “I would like a soy milk cappuccino please.”
Choose whatever would be most useful for you in daily life in Germany! (This won’t just help you learn how to speak German—it’s also very motivating to imagine a future life traveling or living in Germany.)
6. Watch Movies and Videos in German
Once you can understand some very basic German, you could be creative with your learning style and watch a movie you’ve previously seen—but watch it dubbed in German. You could even use English subtitles to make it easier. You’ll feel like you’re really getting a hang of things when you see “Titanic” in German with some English subtitles and you recognize half the words.
As your level improves, or to give it a boost now, try watching some German films with German subtitles. Reading the actual words you’re hearing (in German) as they’re spoken will be so helpful to your language pursuits. If you’d rather get some quick language immersion, you can watch German videos on YouTube. This has the benefit of letting you find content about almost any topic, so you can watch something that engages you and motivates you to learn.
Web videos can even be incorporated into full German lessons, especially if they have accurate German subtitles. In this way, you can learn and absorb German through multiple contexts: visual, audio and textual. Plus, since they’re typically short in length, these videos can help you prepare for longer media like movies.
When you watch videos and movies in German, it helps your mind make stronger connections between the words you’re learning and the contexts they appear in. It’s a great way to start thinking in the language, which is vital for becoming fluent!
7. Read the News in German
After getting exposed to some German movies, make sure you’re paying attention to those reading comprehension skills, too.
Reading German newspaper columns is a tried-and-true method to do this. Highlight any words that don’t make sense and then look them up later in a German dictionary.
8. Connect with Other German Learners or Speakers
Finally, we know this is a guide on how to learn German by yourself, but it’s super helpful to connect with native German speakers, or even fellow German learners!
Stick with these guides and see yourself exceling in German language.
