How to Speak German

The Faster Way to Learn German

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In my travels around the world and in my conversations with language students, I have noticed that German is often seen as a difficult language.

Yes, German vocabulary is gender. Yes, there are some very long words to learn. And yes, grammar is not always intuitive.

But there are many things about German that are also easy.

I would like to share six steps to help you learn to speak German. This is the language hacker’s approach to learning German, so try these steps and you will be speaking German faster than you thought possible.

1: find your great why to learn German

Even before thinking about what materials to study, or his method of learning German, he must step back and understand his underlying reason for wanting to speak German. This is your big why.

My “big why” is an unconditional passion for languages. It’s not something measurable like “So I can talk to an X number of people in the world,” but it has to do with enriching my life with friendships and experiences, which really can’t be measured.

Here are some reasons to learn German that could be your big reason why:

• Have conversations with members of the German-speaking family.
• To find work in a German company (Germany is one of the largest economies in the world)
• Talk to natives while traveling through the heart of Europe.
• To read the classics of German literature (think of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herman Hesse and Franz Kafka)
• To have an internal vision of German culture

2: Create a Mini-Germany in your home

You do not need to live in Germany to immerse yourself in the German language. There are many ways to dive head first in German wherever you live. These are some of my best ways to bring Germany to your hometown:

Make your computer multilingual. Why not turn your computer into a German-only system?

Find German speakers in your city. Believe it or not, there are many German-speaking communities around the world. You can be close to one and not even realize it!

Watch TV and German movies. Force yourself to concentrate watching without subtitles.

Listen to German music and podcasts. One of my favorites is GermanPod101.

Not sure if this approach is for you? Read more about how I learned Japanese while living in Spain and Egyptian Arabic while living in Brazil.

3: Use language hacks to learn German quickly

Language hacks are shortcuts that help you learn a faster language.

These are some of my favorite language hacks that can help you learn German quickly:

Use spaced repetition systems (SRS). SRS is a great method to memorize vocabulary and phrases. It is probably the most effective hack you can use to learn new vocabulary.

Use Mnemonics Mnemonics helps you create associations to easily remember German words. The key to mnemonics? Use your imagination.

Focus your study with the Pomodoro technique. This technique allows you to divide your study sessions into small periods of time, resulting in a better approach and a more effective learning experience.

4: use conversational connectors: how beginners can get their flow

Like most languages, German uses a set of call and answer phrases that I call conversation connectors. These are crucial for everyday conversations, but are generally not found in phrase books.

When my friend Anthony Lauder introduced me to the conversation connectors a few years ago, they left me speechless. They are a great technique to sound more like a native speaker, to eliminate the discomfort of conversations and to give you time to remember vocabulary.

Here is an example of how they work. When someone asks you “How is your hotel room?” Instead of answering with “um … well,” which practically ends things on the spot, you can add phrases and expressions to create a more organic feeling than you are saying. . You could say: “To tell the truth, that’s a good question. The hotel room is good. Thanks for asking. How is your hotel room? This is exactly the same answer with added conversation connectors.

Conversation connectors are extremely useful because you can use them in a variety of situations, such as agreeing with someone, sharing your opinion or changing the subject.

5: Find native speakers and speak from day one

To improve your German quickly, you must speak from the first day you start learning German. This approach from day one is the fastest and most efficient way to learn German, especially if you speak with native German speakers.

How can you find native speakers to practice? It is actually much easier than you think.

No matter where you live, you can still find people, either online or offline, to speak in German. I connect with German speakers by:

Navigating italki. Italki is my favorite place to find native German speakers. Prices are reasonable (especially compared to private and face-to-face classes) and you can meet in the comfort of your home.

Meeting with German students. On MeetUp.com you can find weekly German meetings in many major cities around the world. I have also succeeded using Couch Surfing to connect with German students and native speakers.

Install the HelloTalk application on my smartphone. Learn German Online Quickly helps you connect with other language students from around the world and is a great place to practice speaking German.

You can also join my intensive Speak in a Week course to give yourself a great boost of confidence when speaking German after only seven days. It’s free!

6: Focus on the easy parts of German

Many people think that German is a really difficult language to learn. I don’t buy that point of view.

In fact, German has many things in its favor that make it considerably easier than many other languages. When learning German, the trick is to concentrate on those parts of German that are easy to learn. On top of that, you can find tricks to help you get around the parts that are perceived as more difficult.

German is an easy language to learn because it has:

• There are no tones, as there are in Chinese or Thai.
• There are no links between words, as there are in French.
• Many of the same letters as English, unlike Japanese or Korean.
• No postposition or preposition suffixes, such as in Hungarian or Turkish
• There are no consonant strings difficult to pronounce as in Czech.

In addition, German is a phonetic language. This means that (with very few exceptions) you know exactly how to pronounce a word when you see it spelled. Similarly, when you hear a word, you can almost always write it. English, on the other hand, has all kinds of funky problems with pronunciation. “Corpse, body, horse and worse” sound different despite having the same “or” in their midst.

On top of that, many parts of German grammar are the same as English, since both are part of the Germanic language family. The oldest Anglo-Saxon texts are particularly close to the German language. Even the most recent classics, such as Shakespeare, are closer to the German roots of English.

Another way to see this is to ask yourself: “How would Shakespeare have said it?” For example, “you” is not far from the German “du”. Similarly, “yours” is very similar to “dein” in German.

Become a safe, fast German speaker

There are many ways to study German that accelerate your learning.

Just remember these important steps:

• Find your great why to learn German
• Immerse yourself in the German language by creating a Mini-Germany in your home
• Make intelligent use of language hacks
• Use conversation connectors to sound fluent and save time
• Talk from day one, especially with native speakers
• Realize that German is much easier than you think