It can be exciting to learn a new language; it gives you new opportunities, helps you learn more about another culture and happens to be very impressive! Whatever reason you have for deciding to learn German, here are five top tips to not only help you learn faster but learn smarter and be on your way to speaking and understanding fluent German.
Practice learning to speak German
Often, we can get stuck in the habit of reading textbooks, focusing mainly on how German is written down and the correct spelling and grammar. Whilst this is a fundamental factor in learning any language, it helps you understand it better if you can speak out loud. It will increase your speed, help you learn how to phrase words, and allow others to correct you.
Practice learning the specifics
The German language has ‘rules’ (like any other), but it can get confusing because there are 3 ‘genders’ depending on what you’re referencing and who you’re addressing. Nail these and keep practising and memorising them, and you’ll learn correctly and save yourself from having to go back and re-learn.
Pay attention to German media
It’s all very well learning by yourself or with a tutor. Still, in your spare time, you should try to listen to the language being used by native speakers to get used to how sentences are formed and how the language is used naturally in conversation. Watch German films, listen to German radio, even listen to German music and read German newspapers and magazines.
Persist with practising German
Initially, it might seem that you’re learning so much that it feels like you’ll be chatting casually in fluent German in no time! It’s natural to hit a brick wall at some point where you find it hard to retain correct usage of words, grammar, spelling and phrases. However, if you continue and practise every day, the language will become second nature, and what you’ve learned will stick with you.
Get help from a German tutor
The best way to learn correctly, to begin with, is to have a tutor help you. They will get you started on the right foot and stop you from forming bad habits, which can be easy to learn but hard to undo! This way, the other points will reinforce your learning even more effectively. If you’re looking for a German tutor in London, why not contact us?
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