Tips for learning German

pconn062

Hi guys, So I have been learning German for a few months now mainly using the Pimsluer Series and my previous knowledge from studying it in school some years ago. I was just wondering what tips any non native (or native) speakers would have for learning new words, word and sentence order, grammar? One thing I have been doing is sticking post-its on everything in my house with the German translation, the gender and the plural. Anyone got any other tips?

PS Would love to see this forum more active!

human 19

I worked in a boring hotel porter job in Hamburd and had in my pocketes, little bits of white card with an irregular verb on 1 side , and the 2 variations of the past tense on the back , and would whip them now and again and test myself.

rp

Things I used to do:

• When reading a book (in German), ignore words you don't know until they've appeared a few times (and you've started to guess the meaning from the context), and only then look them up in a dictionary: seems to stick better after that, plus you are not spending all your time flicking thru a dictionary - its also makes the book more interesting when you find out the real meaning of the word and the whole plot unravels...
• Watch moves with the subtitles in English, the mind sort of subliminally links what it hears and sees.
• If you can find music you like in German, listen to it - this is very effective, I used to be / am still a a big BAP fan, to the point I get mistaken for a Kölner (but not in Cologne itself...)
• Finally, German and English are both effectively dialects of the same language with some odd local conventions - focus on the similarities

peasant

This looks good to me (and it's free)

http://www.dw.de/dw/0,,2068,00.html

Alun

The "not looking up a word immediately" tip is a great one. In fact I've found that in many cases you'll be able to pick up new vocabulary without looking the words up in a dictionary at all just by examining the context a word is used in in two or three cases, and refining your idea of the meaning of the word appropriately. I think the reason it works is because this mimics the way young children pick up vocabulary too .. you don't see 5 year olds wandering around with dictionaries

On the movies thing, that can work well also assuming the sound track is clear enough, but if you're only just starting out it can sometimes be difficult to make out what they're saying a lot of the time. My solution? Kids programs! Seriously, Sesamstrasse is a great one ... nice easy vocabulary, spoken clearly and distinctly. News broadcasts and documentaries are good for this too.

pointer28

I was looking for a free podcast but had no luck in finding what I wanted for free so I signed up to www.germanpod101.com for a 3 month period and I must say I'm very happy with it so far after the first 8 lessons. I only took the basic package which includes the podcasts and the lesson notes and I find it more than adequate. I find it simple to use, easy to understand and well thought out.

I listen to the podcasts while running and then listen to them again with the lesson notes when I'm home.

The 1000 words of elementary German on www.memrise.com is a great tool for learning new words and quite addictive too.

The extr@ auf Deutsch series on youtube is helpful if extremely corny.

Slowly spoken news on www.dw.de is exactly what it say on the tin. While I still don't understand a word of it, I find it helps just to be able to pick out words here and there and get used to hearing spoken German. Find it under LEARN GERMAN / GERMAN XXL / GERMAN NEWS

Sykk

I can't stress how helpful it is to learn the article with the word and not just the translation of the word. I color code which I find massively useful, would take me ages otherwise.

die
der
das

Use one of those four colored pens - you can buy them anywhere.

Learning the artikel with the word saves so much hassle down the line when you start speaking with German people and you're not guessing the "the" word for the translation you already know.

On important words under each category I learn with cards. On one under my "Essen" pile, for example. I have a card (in black) that says "Potato" and on the other side I've written die Kartoffel.

I attempt these every day. The ones I know go into a separate pile from the ones I can't remember and I do this every evening for 10-30 mins with my girlfriend.

I also do the same with verbs in English then on the back I'd have the German, the perfect and the present. For Example to fall asleep on the front and on the back:

Einschlafen
Present: er schläft ein
Perfect: (haben) Eingeschlafen

Hope this helps.

murphaph

Sykk wrote: »

Einschlafen
Present: er schläft ein
Perfect: (haben) Eingeschlafen

FYI: Einschlafen is conjugated with sein not haben as it is a "change in status" verb. Ich bin eingeschlafen not ich habe eingeschlafen.

Sykk

murphaph wrote: »

FYI: Einschlafen is conjugated with sein not haben as it is a "change in status" verb. Ich bin eingeschlafen not ich habe eingeschlafen.

Whoops! Thanks for that. Mein Fehler. I guess Einschlafen goes in the "try again" pile for me

holystungun9

In the bathroom, stick some vocab sets or verb tables to the mirror. As you brush your teeth you can't escape. I've you're an appy sort of person, I recommend Simple Flashcard Maker or Cranberry. Can't remember but they are pobably a couple of euros each. I like S.F.M. as it has (a bloody annoying) reminder daily. I pick up my ipad to play some angry birds and it's 'Looks you you haven't reviewed your flashcards today, why not take five minutes to reivew them... You can ignore it but I've it set to remind me every day. There's no escape.

It may help (depending how you are and your goals) to put a little notice on the fridge effectively announcing what you are learning that week. It's a statement of intent and it can help whoever you live with can see what you are meant to be doing and maybe you can get them to keep on eye on you or ask you some questions. The one way to ensure you know if you know something well is if you can explain to a friend or teach them the words for a few things or explain how some things are conjugated or whatever.

I realise most people don't want to bother their friends with it but if it's a little thing once or twice a week, they might go for it.

A study partner is great to. If there is anyone you can have even the smallest daily conversation with or 'Was ist das?' etc. can be a great help.

Long and short of it, involve somebody else in your learning if possible, to either help or to check that you are doing what you set out to do.

Good luck!

holystungun9

Oh yeah, learning verbs is all well and good but on flashcards, also put an example sentence (vary which person you use). Also, learning vocab in context makes sense too.

pconn062

Some great suggestions there. I've been using that memrise website this week and even though the layout is a bit childish (the whole flowers thing) it is very good for introducing new words to your vocabulary. Would love to practice speaking more to put it to practical use but I literally don't know anyone whose speaks German.

Apanachi

Watching German TV is great, even better if you can get a hold of any movies/series that you already know in English and watch them in German.

The best and fastest way is if you have Germans around you with whom you can speak German, practice really does make perfect

SLOS2006

If any way possible, try and find a German speaker with whom you can speak the language. For me, immersion is the way to go. I've learned languages since eight years old and with languages (as with other things)the saying use it or loose is very true! Also, I have watched my children learn two languages simultanuously and it's all about speaking and repeating what is being said, thereby memorising it and using it in the right context.

smartergerman

Also late for you, maybe just in time for new members like me.

Regarding words:
Context rulez. Watch e.g. the Deutsche Welle telenovella for German learners 'Jojo sucht das Glück' after having prepared the episodes thoroughly with their transcripts and also search for the Linkword-method which enables you to learn up to 50 words per day.

Regarding gender:
I never liked the colors but that doesn't mean they can't be useful. They are just too abstract for me. Why don't you try to substitute the articles with concrete images like follows:
der becomes 'lion'
das becomes 'water'
die becomes 'the Queen' Just kidding, choose whatever female celebrity you like.

To learn der Wasserkocher the water cooker simply imagine a lion setting up hot water to make a cup of tea. I am sure you won't forget that image too quickly. Then when you have to remember the article of Wasserkocher browse through your substitutes (lion, water, queen) and you will remember the right one with ease, knowing that it substitutes the masculine article: der.
I am teaching German for over a decade now and there's no better method out there.

For the other topics like Plural, sentence order, search up my youtube channel. Most videos are for free. The rest you can ignore.

Learn properly. Bad German is making you feel bad for the rest of your life.
Viel Erfolg
Michael

peasant

Kleiner Wink mit dem Zaunpfahl fuer den smarten Deutschen:

Alte threads zum Zwecke der Selbstbeweihraeucherung wieder auszugraben ist nicht so smart.

Das dann gleich dreimal durchzuziehen ist schon mehr als grenzwertig ...also lass es bitte.