Ich mag Deutsch

[Bjorn]

I'm trying to learn German.

I'm very much so a beginner so I've downloaded Memrise, Duolingo, Babel, signed up for CoffeBreakDeutsch, listen to videos on the internet, and do my best to drill at least one of these all a day.

I was wondering if anyone had any pointers, experience, or just wanted to teach me some cool phrases that you think will be useful!

Los geht's!

[anunitu]

Re: Ich mag Deutsch

Not so much pointers,but having had in laws who were VERY german,and having had to attend some family gatherings where every one but myself spoke German,and a lot of alcohol was consumed. I was a bit lost in a house full of loud and kinda drunk Germans,it got kinda intimidating. Good luck with your learning German..

[iris]

Re: Ich mag Deutsch

I learned Gernmam in school so I had a good starting point. If you can get your hands on a beginner grammar book you're off to a good start, because the grammar is hands down what I had the most difficulty with (And I haven't used it much in the last 7 years so it's rusty). But there are a lot of little rhymes to help. I'm a musical person so all the memorizing stuff was a lot easier for me with a little sing song rhythm.
' ich bin. Du bist. Er/sie/es ist. Wir sind. Ihr seid. sie/Sie sind.' That's the first thing that was drilled into my head.
I also used to read a lot of German youth magazines, they were better than the Danish ones... even bought one of my favourite books in a German translation. Watched a lot of interviews and stuff on YouTube. And of course spent quite a bit of time in Germany.
I'd probably say exposure to the language is a good way to start... I learned English from scratch watching children's shows - you know the one where they spend 10 minutes counting to ten really slowly and then sing some annoying song. It might feel silly, but when you don't know the language, they're a good starting point. There are probably some available on YouTube.

[anubisa]

Re: Ich mag Deutsch

I'm wanting to learn German too. I've got a German book and a few school books that I was able to obtain from the library. I guess it's like anything else worth learning. Just keep at it.

[Jembru]

Re: Ich mag Deutsch

I have forgotten all my German. I took night classes for a while and was in the 'advanced' class but it was pre-intermediate at best (it's just the way adult learning is organised here).

I'd really like to pick it up again at some point though. It's a beautiful language.

When I was in Germany I was teaching myself from an awesome (but very dated) audio course by Deutche Welle called Deutch Warum Nicht in which the learner follows the daily life of a German college student who has an invisible elf that follows him around and talks to him. It was good fun for a free course.

[anunitu]

Re: Ich mag Deutsch

I spoke and understood French as a kid,it was because My Grand Mother lived with us for a while. Although she could speak perfect English,she would not. She was French Canadian,originally from Paris. We kids had to learn french when she was living with us,and after she died,My Father would not allow us to speak it anymore. Use it or lose it,I can understand a little spoken french now,but not speak it anymore.

[Chessa]

Re: Ich mag Deutsch

I recommend finding other German speakers or learners to practice with. As good as the apps and flashcards are, you'll gain fluency faster if you can take those phrases and put them into actual conversations. I don't remember a single flashcard I've written, but I remember googling the word bed to tell someone about my weekend

[Jembru]

Re: Ich mag Deutsch

I recommend finding other German speakers or learners to practice with. As good as the apps and flashcards are, you'll gain fluency faster if you can take those phrases and put them into actual conversations. I don't remember a single flashcard I've written, but I remember googling the word bed to tell someone about my weekend

That's why HelloTalk is so awesome!!

[Dumuzi]

Re: Ich mag Deutsch

Good advice in this thread!

You can also try to start with things that are useful, practical and relevant to you. You want to be able to talk about a certain 'topic'? Learn nouns, verbs and adjectives related to that topic. Then start forming sentences using the new vocabulary you learned. Then practice with someone who speaks the language.

Makes mistakes, doesn't matter, just try to express yourself with the new language you are learning. It's all about communication. With time you'll perfect your language.

[Jembru]

Re: Ich mag Deutsch

Dumuzi has reminded me of something that helped me with Japanese. I kept (sometimes still do) a video/audio journal. This not only helped to improve my speaking away from the ears of others, but also helped me to learn the words and phrases needed to talk about my everyday life. Things I'd never learn from a text book.

Lang8 is good if you want to practice writing and get some feedback from native speakers, for the same reason; you're writing a diary, so learning the vocab most important to you. HelloTalk allows this too of course (and you can share images and audio as well as make free calls with your exchange partners, none of which lang8 can do), but it's only available on your mobile. If you like typing on a pc then lang8 is the best option at the moment. I find I write much longer posts on lang8 for some reason, but love the accessibility and social media feeling of HelloTalk.

[Tylluan Penry]

Re: Ich mag Deutsch

I liked learning languages... though found Latin hard. And didn't have the opportunity to learn Welsh properly (believe it or not it was only optional when I was young, whereas it is compulsory in schools here now.) I can speak and understand a bit, but not like Mr P. (There is a lovely song in Welsh in Empire of the Sun : https://youtu.be/yyf059psVew )

I am better at reading French and German than speaking it though (I still need to translate foreign history journals sometimes for my own work). I also enjoy watching foreign films in the original language. It's surprising what you pick up from that... I am starting to get a smidgin of Swedish now...

As to enjoying foreign films...so does Mr Penry. Especially Das Boot (I think he knows the uncut version by heart now and can watch without subtitles.) I hate dubbed films. One horrible example was Asterix and Obelisk Mission Cleopatra... the dubbed version just cut and missed out so much.

As Dumuzi says - never be afraid to make mistakes. On one memorable trip to Egypt I kept using my handful of words until I began to learn more that way. Plus, as my father always told me, it's polite to attempt the language. Never mind if you get it wrong, people usually appreciate the gesture.

[iris]

Re: Ich mag Deutsch

I liked learning languages... though found Latin hard. And didn't have the opportunity to learn Welsh properly (believe it or not it was only optional when I was young, whereas it is compulsory in schools here now.) I can speak and understand a bit, but not like Mr P. (There is a lovely song in Welsh in Empire of the Sun : https://youtu.be/yyf059psVew )

I am better at reading French and German than speaking it though (I still need to translate foreign history journals sometimes for my own work). I also enjoy watching foreign films in the original language. It's surprising what you pick up from that... I am starting to get a smidgin of Swedish now...

As to enjoying foreign films...so does Mr Penry. Especially Das Boot (I think he knows the uncut version by heart now and can watch without subtitles.) I hate dubbed films. One horrible example was Asterix and Obelisk Mission Cleopatra... the dubbed version just cut and missed out so much.

As Dumuzi says - never be afraid to make mistakes. On one memorable trip to Egypt I kept using my handful of words until I began to learn more that way. Plus, as my father always told me, it's polite to attempt the language. Never mind if you get it wrong, people usually appreciate the gesture.

[Chessa]

Re: Ich mag Deutsch

Learn all the children's songs! When you learn a new word that's in a song you know, you'll have a bit more context for the word, they're simple enough that you can learn them even when you have a limited knowledge of the language, and they're usually catchy enough that it's like a mini lesson running through your head all day!

( I did a little googling and found this http://www.mamalisa.com/?p=235&t=ec&c=38 )

- - - Updated - - -

Learn all the children's songs! When you learn a new word that's in a song you know, you'll have a bit more context for the word, they're simple enough that you can learn them even when you have a limited knowledge of the language, and they're usually catchy enough that it's like a mini lesson running through your head all day!

( I did a little googling and found this http://www.mamalisa.com/?p=235&t=ec&c=38 )

[Jembru]

Re: Ich mag Deutsch

Learn all the children's songs! When you learn a new word that's in a song you know, you'll have a bit more context for the word, they're simple enough that you can learn them even when you have a limited knowledge of the language, and they're usually catchy enough that it's like a mini lesson running through your head all day!

( I did a little googling and found this http://www.mamalisa.com/?p=235&t=ec&c=38 )

- - - Updated - - -

Learn all the children's songs! When you learn a new word that's in a song you know, you'll have a bit more context for the word, they're simple enough that you can learn them even when you have a limited knowledge of the language, and they're usually catchy enough that it's like a mini lesson running through your head all day!

( I did a little googling and found this http://www.mamalisa.com/?p=235&t=ec&c=38 )

Don't forget the BEST German kids song EVER..

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Ich mag Deutsch

I took one year of German in 9th grade and still remember quite a bit, over 40 years later. I liked it.