Why most Brits never learn German (#3)

Learning German was a struggle for me. It took so much longer than had anticipated. Getting the basics right took such a long time. If you move country, especially as an adult learning the language can be really tough. In this video I share my struggles and also what helped me.

#learninggerman #learngerman #germanlanguage

[wingedhussar]

Dear Brits, if you want to learn German, just insist on it. If Germans reply in English even though you are speaking German to them, you need to be firm and direct: Please do not speak English to me; I want to speak German. Germans are not rude, but most Germans with a basic grasp of English simply want to accommodate people who are struggling with our language, and sometimes they simply want to use the opportunity to practice their own foreign language skills. Thus, you need to make it clear to them that your use of German is not about them, but that it is your explicit wish to speak German only.

[davidellzey]

I’ve been studying German for 45 years now, since I was 17. I now speak relatively fluent German (with near-native pronunciation) although I’ve spent very little time ever in Germany (one month) and rarely have opportunity to speak. The main fuel to propel my learning process has been FASCINATION with the language plus LOVE. I think German is so utterly beautiful and tender, and is a tremendous intellectual pursuit besides. I wish I could speak every day all the time. But I live in the USA and there are very few German speakers here. I wish all learners of German much joy and happiness in your journey!

[Aurora_Lin_o]

Native German here. Not that it matters much: Actually it is "die Bank" in both cases, bench and bank. Meaning in this case gets clear through context. Same e.g. with "die Decke", ceiling and blanket.

IT DOES NOT REALLY MATTER.

Please, dear German learners, don't lose much sleep about the grammatical gender, if your goal is not to write professional or official texts or literature. It rarely changes the meaning and those few exceptions can be easily remembered like vocabulary. Most native Germans also make mistakes with that from time to time, and noone will misunderstand you because of it. Often it's regionally different, and for neologisms people argue about the right ones all the time. (der, die, das Nutella?? xD )
Same applies to a lesser extent to the articles that go with the grammatical cases. Dem or den anyone? Even German newspapers regularly make mistakes with that. And where Genitiv should be, it becomes Dativ in colloquial more often than not.

Of course in an academic, scientific, journalistic or artistic realm certain standards are and should be kept. But hey, even IF you are in that fields, you still can look things up and there are all kinds of apps and add-ons that can help. Plus, not to forget, we live in the age of AI!

Please, do not obsess over these things. Go out there and SPEAK, READ, LISTEN, enjoy the culture, movies (with subtitles), music. Make mistakes, laugh them off, but be understood. Go to a language exercise tandem with someone that is learning your native tongue and also see, that you understand their imperfect sentences just fine and laugh yourselves toward precision together while buildung more understanding.

German can be pristinely poetic and charming. Do not let your motivation be dimmed by these in all honesty not very important aspects of the grammar. Focus on sentence structure, vocab, plurals and verbs... and speak speak speak.

I once studied Finnish, notorious for being very difficult and not without reason, but beautiful and unique beyond measure. So I know what it's like. A human brain can learn any language if open for it. Do not focus on what classical language tests ask of you, focus on practicality in daily life, effective communication and beauty and fun with the language.

[thomasalbrecht]

Unserious pro tip : Start by learning Czech or Polish. It won’t help much with German, but learning German is a doddle after that.

[mrridikilis]

I remember going to a party about 3 months after moving to germany. after striking up a conversation with some germans, they thought i had been in germany for at least a year or two. why did i learn the language so fast? when you're surrounded by a working environment in the target language, you pick it up REALLY quickly! i didn't even take a single german course; i just wrote down words in a notebook and checked the dictionary when i got home (this was before smartphones).

i teach english as a second language, but my biggest advice for people to learn a language is to DO something in that language. i've met syrian immigrants in germany who barely speak the language after 8 years in the country, but others who picked it up in months. many of those with success started working in a local convenience store, and german just slowly became second-hand to them. play basketball with germans, go to church in german, watch german daytime television. if you don't immerse yourself, you won't learn the language.

[mikethespike]

I once knew a woman from New Zealand who not only learned German within 2 years, but also managed to become a state certified translator within that time. She told me she had no choice, she needed a qualified job if she wanted to remain in Germany.

I've been told by German teachers of English that learning German is difficult at the start and becomes easier later on, but that English is easy at the start and becomes more difficult later on.

I am German. I am struggling with learning French for 5 years by now. This experience gave me a lot of humiliation and respect for migrants. People that come to a different country, who have to start all over, beginning with learning a different language.

[Crackalacking_Z]

Learning a new language is not a sprint, it's a marathon: pace yourself, celebrate each milestone and don't sweat it too much. I'm three years into studying Japanese 頑張ります, hehe.

[lukeb]

Ich kann nur für mich sprechen, aber (als Deutscher) höre ich täglich so viel Englisch, dass es für mich einfach die zweite Hauptsprache ist.
Ich versuche aber auch, den Leuten, die Deutsch lernen wollen, das Deutsch-Sprechen anzubieten.

I can only speak for myself, but (as a German) I listen to English on a daily basis to the point, that its just the second main language for me.
But I also try to offer everyone who wants to learn German, to also speak German with me.

[andrewclark]

Thanks for putting this video together - I found your advice very helpful. I started learning German 2 years ago, aged 51 - via the Duolingo app. I really enjoy it but will need to find additional sources of learning to give me experience at speaking and listening. I visited Berlin recently and everyone spoke English - I did try at every opportunity to speak German.
It will be a long process to learn the language to a good standard, but I’m enjoying it and my main motivation is to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the country and its culture . Vielen Dank !

[axelackens]

I (a German) didn't learn English at school until I was 14, then until I was 18, and then only continued to learn it at work.
I can't speak it perfectly, but it's OK.
I made the greatest progress in understanding the English language later, when I stopped translating every word in my head and started to understand the meaning of what was being said.

[cloudyskies]

I was a monolingual American English speaker until age 20 when I took my first college foreign language class. It was definitely not easy but I loved it. My first foreign language I was able to eventually test up to approximately the B2-C1 level (they don't use CEFR). It took me several years of sweat and was a very humbling experience but very rewarding.

German is my second foreign language. I passed the B1 last year and am currently studying to take the B2 in October.

[incomeguaranteed]

Hello, I completely agree with you. I'm from the Philippines and had been learning German for several years now. Language learning is something I do to spend my time productively..🎉

[anerley]

One of my best friends moved from London to Germany many years ago and we made an agreement to only speak German together. He had the same experience you talk about: everyone wanted to talk English with him. So it was essential for him to have someone he could focus on speaking German with. We actually DID read German poetry together as well 😊. His German was basically perfect after a few years, with just very few occasional mistakes. Interestingly enough, he eventually helped me to move to London.

[Phiyedough]

When I lived in Hungary I found it so difficult to learn Hungarian that I ended up trying to learn German, which is much easier. In my area of Hungary hardly anyone spoke English but a lot of people knew a bit of German. I think that is because east and west Germans used to meet up for holidays in the Balaton area during Berlin Wall times.

[dorisdeak-qreu]

Your clearly spoken English is refreshing. I grew up learning high German, hessisch and English pretty much simultaneously. My forte was accents. A German great uncle who liked to joke with us kids always enunciated and slowed down his jokes that related to the German language, such as slight tongue twisters or a play on words (hessisch dialect). It was great fun. Our German neighbor kids used to play a game called, "Der, Die, Das" which is basically a drill--germans have to work at learning their language too. Some ladies magazines will have ( at least used to ) occasional examples of letters written to officials with hilarious results as the writers attempted a more formal language tone but exceeding skill level.

[LambentIchor]

The point about being an English speaker in Europe is very true. I learnt Italian and became very fluent in it while living with some Italians in London. By the end of 2 years I could sit in a room with Italian strangers and they couldn't tell I wasn't a native speaker.
I recently went to Italy, along with a friend who speaks no Italian. I was really looking forward to using my Italian. But every time people would hear us discuss what we might eat, or whatever, in English, and I would then speak in Italian, fluently, invariably they would reply in English; and often very broken English. It was the desire to practise.
Next time I plan to go alone.

[ainternet]

My experience in German went through phases like this:
1 You‘re English! We‘ll speak English
2 You‘re English! Would you like to speak English?
3 Are you English? We could speak English
4 Where do you come from?

I had the advantage of learning German at school up to 16, but it did take some time and effort, especially in the beginning

[SteveRGash]

I went to school as an Englishman. In south Wales I was taught to speak Welsh and French. As an adult, I have learnt German

[klarissaclairiton]

Thanks for sharing your ideas and insight. The word order and usage of adverbs and prepositions in German get me stumped most often. English has so many adverbs and prepositions that have fallen out of usage. It's like going from a simplified language (English) to a rich linguistic tapestry when learning German. English has made itself atrractive to the masses with its simplified form.