10+ Best Ways to Learn German (How I Learned It?)

Thinking of learning German but don’t know how to start? Don’t worry, I know how it feels. I faced a similar situation when I was traveling to Germany. Naturally, it becomes important to know the basics of the native language of the country you are traveling in. I remember it was just 6 months before my trip, and I had no idea how to say ‘Hello’ in German. Of course, without wasting much time, I started using different ways to learn German.

From my experience, I can assure you it is very easy to learn the language if you are really into it. All you need to have the right focus on is what you are learning. So, get some motivation and find out what things I tried to learn in this language in just 6 months.

Best ways to learn German

Learn a new language and get a new soul.

Czech Proverb

I had heard this quote when I was learning Spanish but get to understand the meaning of it now. Really when you learn a new language, it changes your personality. Learning a new language is a tough task, especially when you are doing it by yourself. But with the right focus and enthusiasm, you can achieve your goal easily.  I am sharing some of the ways that I personally used to learn the language. So be ready to explore all of them-

1. Stay positive

As I discussed above, the first thing you must bring in yourself is a lot of positivity and motivation. Let me tell you, when I was learning German, I hardly remember what I had learned previously. But does it stop me from learning ahead? Undoubtedly no. I made it a point not to lose my motivation. And guess what? I completely learned it.

2. Consistency

Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.

Dwayne Johnson 

I totally agree with this statement. To be successful in any of the things, you need to be regular with it. This is what I did when I was learning German. Of course, we are human and want to take a break from what we do regularly. It happened to me a lot in my whole journey. So, whenever I didn’t have the mood to practice or learn new lessons, I gave myself 10 minutes to revise the old content. It helped me stay consistent.

3. Using the right platform

Let me tell you, I am a big fan of Duolingo. Every time I have to learn a new language, Duolingo is my first choice for it. Fortunately, Duolingo has a German language. I loved how the course was created. The course is created in a fun manner. It follows the gamified approach and all the exercises work like a game. Also, there are different challenges in which I took part. All the challenges helped me develop my knowledge of the language  After completing the Duolingo course, I looked for some other German classes to practice on. 

Tip: You can also start by using YouTube. YouTube is a hub of videos where you can get tutors teaching you the language or related podcasts.

4. Using a Journal or separate diary

The next thing I did was to get a writing journal for myself. As the alphabet in German is somewhere different from English, I write it down fully in the beginning. After that, I divided my journal into sections. I kept half of my journal for the words and their translations and the other part for phrases and their meanings. This made it easy for me to remember the tough words.

5. Using flashcard apps

After making the list, I was unsure if I would return to it. But, one thing I was sure about, I could engagingly revise the words and phrases. Thus, I thought to use some engaging flashcard apps. To revise them again, I have used the following two apps-

a. Memrise

Memrise is one of the flashcard platforms I enjoy a lot. This is because there are a lot of vocabulary lists available. Although it is said to be a language learning platform, in actuality, it is a revising app. It also allows us to make our own flashcards. So I could create decks of words and phrases I have learned so far. It also gives the ability to check the vocabulary lists of others.

b. Anki

It works similar to Memrise. Again there are lists created by multiple users. If you like Memrise, you will love Anki too. Again it allows you to create your own deck or get other decks. It is a perfect way to remember the words engagingly. 

c. Drops 

I really feel it is the best platform for someone who can not take 30 minutes to learn a language. Some visuals helped me to remember the meanings of the words. The reason I started using Drops was the duration of the lessons which is 5 minutes. So even if my whole day was busy, I could complete a single lesson in it easily.

6. Listen up the podcasts

There are different platforms, online websites, etc., offering amazing podcasts. Choosing the right podcast is very important. It is because if you are a beginner learner, and use a podcast that is designed for advanced learners, there will not be much benefit from it. Thus, I always ensure to learn the basics first and then shift to podcasts. Another thing that I kept in my mind was to look for the transcript along with a podcast. Some podcasts that I used to learn German are-

• CoffeeBreakGerman
• GermanPod101
• Slow German
• Easy German
• long story short

7. Immerse yourself in German

The biggest reason why people fail to learn the language is because they do not immerse themselves in it. I believe getting immersed is an easy way to boost German knowledge. What I did was to try talking in German. Also while going out shopping, I make the list in German language. Along with that I also look for people with whom I can talk in it.

8. Talking with family members in German

As I mentioned above, including the language while talking to others is a great way to start. Let me tell you, this was a quite fun activity. Think you are talking to someone in German and the next person is unable to understand you. How funny it will be. Although it was fun, I couldn’t practice properly. So, I started searching for something online.

9. Language exchange partner programs

Eventually, my research landed me on the term ‘language exchange partner program’. It is the term used to get a partner online to practice each other’s native language. Although it is difficult to get them, below I have mentioned the platforms that I used to get them from-

a. HelloTalk

Looking for a perfect partner to match your interests? Just check out HelloTalk. HelloTalk is a platform that I really love to use. It gave me amazing partners with whom I could practice as much as possible. Two features helped me in it – Autocorrections and Translation. Also, the platform is free to use with a limitation on the number of translations.

b. Tandem

Again a platform that is free, and, helps in getting a perfect partner to practice the language with. Like HelloTalk, there are two special features: Auto Corrections and Translation. However, if you opt for the paid version, you also gain access to a feature that helps you find a language learning partner in your area. I suggest avoiding it because many people end up using it as a dating app. rather than for learning the language.

10. Joining the online forums

Believe me, this is the best thing I did in my German learning journey. I never did that before. One day, when I and my cousin were discussing learning a new language, she told me how the online forums helped her in the journey. I also joined some online forums and groups. Surprisingly, I get a lot from it. Not only there were words and phrases, but there were a lot of Cultural aspects of the language. Additionally, I found people who became my language exchange partners and are now good friends of mine. In fact, when I traveled to Germany, I also met one of them.

11. Watching shows in German

Whether you are a fictional or science lover, there are a lot of shows available online. These shows are a great way to understand how the native speakers talk. What is the accent they are following? How a particular word is spoken? When to take a pause? Everything could be understood through these shows. However, listening is not only important. Thus, I make sure to repeat dialogues. Of course, in starting it may be tough, try to watch it with a transcript.

12. Shadowing in German

Shadowing means repeating what you hear. The repeating of the dialogues was one of my ways to shadow in German. The other way I prefer is by using slow podcasts. When I was choosing podcasts in German, some of them were especially for beginners. They were very slow and spoken. I tried repeating after them.

13. Read books

There is a very famous quote-

Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.

Margaret Fuller

Do you know what it means? It means to be the best, you must learn. And to learn you must read. Trust me the knowledge you get from reading books will be taught by no videos or podcasts. As a beginner, if you are using a platform to learn, you must add some good books. It will make it easy for you to understand the language. I have mentioned the books that I used when I started learning language-

• German Made Simple by Arnold Leitner
• The Everything Learning German Book by Edward Swick
• Grundstufen-Grammatik für Deutsch als Fremdsprache by Monika Reimann

I know the books have become costlier, and, not all can afford them. In such a case, I would suggest you buy it from a second-hand bookstore or get it online as a pirated book.

14. Hiring a private tutor

It becomes easy for me to get a private tutor to teach me the language. My cousin has completed her diploma in this language. So I asked her to give me classes. However, it’s not always that easy to find a tutor. There are chances that there is not a single tutor around you. In such a scenario, take the help of online teaching apps. Following are some online teaching platforms that I have used to learn different languages-

• iTalki –  for Spanish
• Preply – for Italian

15. Enjoy studying

Last and the most important one, enjoy what you are learning rather than just learning. If you are not enjoying it, you may forget what you have learned. Thus, try involving things to stay engaged with the content. Here are the things, I did to make my learning fun-

• Use the apps that follow the gamified approach. I make sure to add platforms that have engaging exercises.
• Try to keep the goals shorter. It is because if I keep unachievable goals, it will make me lose motivation.
• My favorite way – rewarding myself. Every time I tell this to someone, they laugh. Of course, they think it is stupid. But trust me, it’s not. When I know I am getting my favorite show after completing my goal, I will complete it faster.
• Whenever I watch a show, I try to watch the funnier one. It is because when you learn a new language, it is hard to understand the dialogue. Having some funnier dialogue made me enjoy the show.
• Are you a history lover? Try to read about the history of Germany. It will help you to get more knowledge and improve your basic skills.

Why to learn German?

Every person has their own reason for learning German. Mine may be different from yours. Here, I have mentioned the common reasons why people want to learn German-

• There are top universities to enroll in. Learning German will make it easy to get into the university.
• If you are traveling to Germany or areas around the European Union. This was my reason to learn German.
• To learn the German culture. There are chances you may want to shift to Germany. If this is the case, you just must know about the culture.
• Today knowing a second language makes it easy to get a new job. Thus, you may want to learn it to get a better opportunity.
• Makes a good impression. Whether you go to university in Germany or any other country, it will make a good impression on you.

Is it hard to learn German?

Like any other language, German is also hard to learn. It takes a lot of effort to learn it. Of course, it is tough, as it is different from the English language, I also faced a lot of issues with it. But eventually, with my consistency, it was easy for me to complete the lessons faster. Here are some of the things that I had difficulty in-

• Male and Female form of words
• Rules are different
• Compound words 

How many words make you fluent in German?

Generally, it is said that knowing 10,000 words in German will make you fluent in it. Here are some common words and phrases to make you fluent in any language-

• Hello
• How are you?
• My name is XYZ
• I am from
• Will you please help me?
• Sorry
• Thanks
• Bye
• Please

Although the above are common and important words and phrases to learn, here are some of the funny and weird once-

• Ohrwurm (Ear worm) : Used when a song stucks in your head
• Leben ist kein Ponyhof (life is no pony farm): Means life can be challenging
• Jetzt haben wir den Salat (Now we have the salad): Used when everything has turned into a mess
• Kummerspeck (Grief bacon): Term used for the weight you put on after a period of sadness

Famous food items used in German

Traveling to Germany and a food lover too? Here is a list of food items famous in Germany-

• Spätzle: Spätzle is a vegetarian pasta, including salt, eggs, flour, and little water.
• Bratwurst: Bratwursts are sausages from pork meat.
• Maultaschen: It is made of a lot of stuff like pork and beef. There is also a vegetarian version.
• Schnitzel: Fried slice of veal meat covered with flour, egg, and tiny pieces of bread, until it becomes golden on the outside. 
• Currywurst: A pork meat.

Conclusion

When I was going to Germany, I thought of learning German. It was never easy but also not impossible. My journey started with using Duolingo and YouTube. I kept my focus on learning the basics and slowly progressing to the intermediate level. There were a lot of podcasts and books, I added along my journey. Also, flashcard apps made my vocabulary stronger. Knowing German can help you travel in German and countries along the EU. It will also enhance your chances of admission to reputable universities or securing a good job.

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