Is it possible to learn the German language while only investing minutes per day? It sure is, if you use the correct approach! Below are a few simple German language learning ideas that will help you to learn quickly and efficiently without the long winded training sessions. Our goal is to only spend 30 minutes a day learning.

Step 1. Make sure you immerse yourself in the language whenever possible.

Listening to a German audio lesson or to German music can also be great for pronunciation. Spend time in language forums and make friends, this will keep your motivation up. You will be amazed what you can learn when travelling on the bus or train to work each day. This step is not about concentrated study, rather this is what you can do in your free time on top of any actual learning.

Step 2. Start a course right away. This can be in your local town or online.

Procrastination will get you nowhere. Start today. Local courses can be fun, but usually are quite short and are not available during holidays, you can also find yourself limited to the level of the other students. Online courses are great for 24/7 training and to progress at your desired level. Whichever method you choose, make sure to stick with it and to not keep buying the latest greatest training tools. You need to concentrate on one thing and get proficient. I prefer to spend 15 minutes in the morning and refresh with another 15 minutes in the evening. This will allow you to have a daily routine that is able to be followed and due to the repetition in the evening, will allow you to retain what you learned in the morning session.

Step 3. If you have the opportunity to have a tandem partner, take advantage of it!

You can’t beat learning with a native speaker; make sure to tell them to correct you whenever possible. During my first year in Germany, I was participating in three tandems a week, not only did I get a grasp of the language, I started to understand the German humor and culture first hand. The idea of a tandem partner is that you take turns at teaching/supporting each other. If you are an English speaker, you can have a tandem session with a German speaker, this allows for both parties to gain something. Best of all it is free. They usually take place in a public area like a cafe and I recommend at least 45 minutes.

The above three tips are a great start. Now it is up to you to get the ball rolling!

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Learning a new language is a highly rewarding activity. it opens the door to a whole new world of possibilities: a new culture and a new way of looking at the world. New research is also demonstrating the unexpected benefits of taking on another language.

In recent years researchers have discovered that learning another language helps children in their other scholastic activities. Interestingly researchers have also revealed that continued use of a second language also slows the onset of dementia in the elderly. Learning a new language will then clearly leave people with great benefits at both ends of the age spectrum.

Here are a few general tips to help you when you start your language program. These can apply to any language but in the United States it seems that Spanish is fast becoming one of the most popular languages to learn.

Theories of language learning offer contrasting ideas of what is the best way to learn a new language. For a long time language specialists believed that total immersion in a new language with no reference to the students first language was the best way to learn.

This is a theory based on how children learn a new language which as most people have observed is almost automatic. The problem with this theory is that it tends to ignore the essential difference between the brains of children and those of adults.

Children’s brains are more flexible than those of adults. Up to a certain age children are able to pick up languages without any effort. For adults it is a different story. New research is revealing that adult learners fare better when they use knowledge they already have to process information. This means that in many cases adults do better when they are allowed to refer to the knowledge of their first language to learn the new language. They cannot simply absorb it in the way that children seem to do.

So apart from relying on their knowledge of their original language to acquire a second language what else should adult learners do when they approach a new language?

Students should expose themselves to the language in as many ways as possible. This means listening to the language, it means reading and it means speaking the language so that all three modalities will enhance their comprehension and ultimately their performance of the new language.

It is necessary to study grammar to grasp the fundamental rules of the language but the student should be encouraged to read as soon as possible. There is more benefit in reading the organic language than just endlessly repeating grammar drills with no reference to how the language is used in written and spoken form.

Perhaps the most important thing is to take action and not be afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes are natural and normal and you will be surprised how soon you start to become aware of your own mistakes and correct them. If you take the initiative and push forward you will quickly see results.

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Why are you learning another language?

Before getting into any serious language study it’s imperative that you ask yourself exactly why you’re doing it.

About 7 years ago I made the decision to study French and Russian simultaneously while taking Ancient Hebrew and Koine Greek translation classes in college at the same time. I was only working a few hours a week so I convinced myself that I could handle 4 languages at once (on top of all the assignments and exams).

I remember picking up the Yellow Pages one day and phoning a few different Russian and French teachers in the area to ask about rates and having two of the teachers ask me the same question up front on the phone – what’s your reason for wanting to learn?

I didn’t have a real reason. I simply wanted to learn French and Russian.

With Koine Greek and Ancient Hebrew I had a goal. I needed to pass exams and I wanted top grades so I pushed myself hard for over 2 years doing translation and exegesis. The hard work paid off in the end and I learned both languages extremely well. Even after 5 years of not using them I haven’t lost them.

French and Russian were different. I studied both of these languages intensely for 3 months but the interest started to die off after I reached basic competence. Apart from the interest in languages and wanting to brag about how many languages I can speak, I had no real reason for learning them and in the end I gave up.

Make sure you create a purpose for your target language. If you’re like I was with French and Russian with no solid reason for learning then my advice is to make a reason. I initially started learning Arabic when I was 18 because I saw some squiggly writing on TV and thought it looked cool. I had absolutely no purpose and it wasn’t until months later that I started to come up with real reasons for learning it. I’m still pushing myself every day to achieve advanced learning goals for employment reasons.

If not for employment, come up with another reason to learn your target language. Set a travel goal or at the very least aim to broaden your understanding of another culture and make active steps to form new relationships with native speakers.

Learn with purpose.

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Over the years, I’ve met many English Teachers. Not long ago, I was sitting at the patio at the local Starbucks talking to a fifth grade teacher who explained some of the challenges she went through to get the kids really doing well with their reading. We discussed tricks of the trade, lighting, control of the classroom, and the differences between male and female students at that young ago. Then we got into the ESL (English as a Second Language) issues.

I’ve also over the years talked to English Teachers from many other countries such as China, India, UAE, and Japan too. In fact, my cousin taught Japanese students English and they paid her very well to live in Japan for a number of years. Just recently, I was talking to an English teacher in yet a totally different time zone and noted that in many regards; “English is one of the most “screwed up languages” in the world due to its influences of Latin, French, etc, etc, and I stated “I don’t envy you, but it is necessary because it is the business and computer language of the world,” well at least for now.

Indeed, I suppose in 50-years that might change to Chinese, Arabic, or Spanish due to the demographic changes afoot, those higher birth rates do seem to tell a future tale of the ethnic make-up of humans on this planet. Not sure if it will be a net-positive in the future, but, this is what the data does suggest, so we will see. Still, my new acquaintance suggests that Chinese or Spanish will not take over in at least the next 50-years, but that an “International English” or a mixture might eventually become the Global Human Language some day.

Okay so, this is an interesting point and that may be so in fact. After all we have what something like 400 million English Speaking Chinese now, yes most is somewhat broken, but it certainly supports such a forecast. With regards to “Spanish” there are a lot of emerging nations in South America of course, with decent birth rates. The Middle Eastern “procreation” in Europe is interesting to watch and significant, along with the self-segregating and maintaining their own language and culture too.

There are some decent current trends towards global assimilation of English, or perhaps as my acquaintance suggests an “International English” mixture. Well, sure, after all, that’s how languages survive historically, ad with the Internet, text messaging, etc. – we may find that to be. I’ve already noticed changes, and various dropped rules in the writing of English online. This was an interesting piece in the New York Times, which somewhat gives an interesting perspective on at least one of my thoughts, which supports this hypothesis of an International English for our future.

Reference:

1. Article, New York Times Magazine, “Everyone Speaks Text Message” by Tina Rosenberg, published on 12-11-2011.

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