Learning German - How I Went About It

Basically a lot of reading and listening at home, and eventually speaking when I got the chance to visit Germany on business, mostly in the early 1990's.

Timelines:
0:15 My German background.
4:55 Reading materials I used for learning German.
6:20 Listening materials I used for learning German.
7:28 Visiting Germany.
8:21 I don’t bother about German grammar.
8:45 Thirty Year’s war tour.
9:26 Summary.

[zanezane]

Your stories are always very interesting Steve.

[Thelinguist]

As a beginner I suggest you go to LingQ. The audio book on the 30 years war is not for beginners, Georg Schmidt wrote it, and Bodo Primus reads it, from AME Hoeren. 2 cds 158 minutes long.

[Thelinguist]

@614jgirl If yo learn the languages through massive input, listening and reading, you tend not to forget them. I do not practice every day and go for months and years without using them. They often improve on their own while I learn other languages.

[hsun]

Thanks for sharing your experience Steve. Similar to your method, my biggest investment when started to learn English in the 70's was an novel in English which cost 1/3 of my monthly salary. I just delved into the book by using limited vocabulary and constantly checking the dictionary, as time went by the frequency of dictionary usage dropped dramatically. After reading several novels and other books I suddenly found that I could communicate quite confidently in English, I never tried to memorize new words, they just pop up in my mind whenever I wanted to write or say something, specially after a couple of beers. Lol

[Thelinguist]

@bigpete871 It is actually quite common for immigrant children to speak more and more English, which they learn at school and from their peers, and eventually that becomes the language they use with their parents.
No we always spoke English in Japan. We were there as temporary residents, not immigrants intending to become Japanese, and the kids went to international school and were really in an English not Japanese environment.

[whhhattevveerr]

He's my role model! I used LingQ to learn portuguese. Now I volunteer as a portuguese to english interpreter at my church. I also teach an english class to portuguese native speakers. Now I'm at a low intermediate level in German. I read German with LingQ, and recently found a native German speaker tutor where I live. Thanks Steve!

[Thelinguist]

When there are many words I don't know I read on the computer, and usually listen to the audio of the same text. I use LingQ, or I use a reader with a glossary for each lesson. It is only when I am further along that I read without a dictionary or glossary or without LingQ.

[Thelinguist]

@LukaSkrbic No my family was Jewish but they felt themselves, I think, more a part of German culture. As soon as Czechoslovakia was formed they went to Czech schools. I know that my father had mostly Czech friends at university etc. However, the coffee house that the Jewish community frequented in their town was apparently called the Deutsches Haus. This community was wiped out by Hitler and his willing henchmen, including many Germans living in Czechoslovakia at that time. History.

[Thelinguist]

Just check out LingQ. You will find lots of audio and text contents for free download, and a system that really works if you want to use it.

[Thelinguist]

@AndresJC777 As long as the kid wants it. But often parents push it too hard with negative results.

[claudiaweller]

Really interesting, I have an uncle situated in Vancouver who worked with lumber as well, of German origin. However, being in a country is what gives you so much input which no language course can ever give you. I just passed two days in Poland and enjoyed the possibility to try to communicate with people knowing few words I read before, asking for directions, also using sign language and accumulating so much in this little time. I think the most important is to not be afraid to speak, even if there is not so much basic knowledge and trying to go into depth afterwards and then try again. Must have a look at your method.:) By the way, I saw some of your videos and from my knowledge can tell you that your pronunciation in German and Italian is very good. Keep up the good work :)

[Thelinguist]

@vinayaka70 It is mostly in the last 10 years that I have been so keen on learning and improving in my languages, but there were other periods where I would go at it for a few months or so, as I will explain in the next few videos. I think that LingQ has enabled me to easily go and refresh in my languages. Today I speak them all better than ever.

[Thelinguist]

@vinayaka70 Just to show that I have been working on my languages at LingQ here are my known words total in all the languages as counted by LingQ. More than anything this just indicates my level of activity rather than what I know.
Czech (24686)
Russian (75885)
Italian (16012)
Spanish (16944)
German (17137)
Chinese (2728)
French (3910)
Korean (6077)
Dutch (365)
Japanese (1081)
Swedish (3173)
Portuguese (17218)
English (4788)

[Thelinguist]

@chasejapan I wrote one about 7 years ago. The Linguist, a language learning Odyssey. You can read it at TheLinguist(dot) com website or order it from Amazon. It has been translated into 5 or 6 languages and is available as audio books at LingQ.

[Thelinguist]

@Septhiy Not much I can say since they were born in 1910 and 1914 just before WW1.

[Thelinguist]

@archa000 I agree with this. I regularly review grammar, either to look something up, or just to flip through a short grammar book. It is just that I spend very little time on it, and never expect to remember or learn anything. It is just a part of getting familiar with how the language works.

[GingerGingie]

Great video, I love the story telling and it's helpful to know how you went about learning German. I'm trying to learn German now, but I also feel the rules and tables are difficult to remember-- I will try to do more reading and listening as you suggest. Thank you for sharing your experience!

German is HARD, i am learning it and i sweat for sure BUT i love it, so i take it easy with no pressure and just enjoy the road.

[archa]

I agree 100 % with Steve. The most important is to read and listen, you just have to start doing it, no matter how much. I suppose many people won't be able to read many pages in their first month, but start with some sentences, then do more as you progress. Same goes for any other language. Although I personally like to put some more effort in grammar too, but I do it i a manner that if I see a structure I don't know, I just look it up and learn it. I don't sit and read grammar like a book.

[Thelinguist]

@Imyirtshashem I don't see why the pride or interest of the parents should be foisted on the child.