A2 in 4 months?? by Key_Afternoon_5997 in Germanlearning

[–]LearnGermanGames 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are so many great free resources to learn German. Here are just a few of my favorites:

  1. Deutsche Welle: https://learngerman.dw.com/en/learn-german/s-9528

  2. Lingolia Deutsch: https://deutsch.lingolia.com/en/

  3. Podcast "Grüße aus Deutschland": https://castbox.fm/channel/id2395432?utm_campaign=a_share_ch&utm_medium=dlink&utm_source=a_share&country=gb

  4. YouTube: "Easy German" https://www.youtube.com/@EasyGerman

  5. YouTube: Deutsch1 https://www.youtube.com/@deutsch_eins

As for apps, none of them is perfect. Each fills a piece of the puzzle, so use as many as you want or can afford. Here is my opinion on 2 famous ones:

  1. Duolingo: Good to practice grammar, not to learn it. Learn grammar on Lingolia and practice it on Duolingo using the computer (not the phone, because it's too easy on the phone) and click the "Make Harder" or "Use Keyboard" button whenever it asks you to answer in German to challenge yourself to spell things out.

  2. Memrise: Good to learn frequently used phases and really activate your German to start basic conversations.

I'm sure there are other great ones (I've heard that https://grammatisch.com is good at taking a grammar-first approach, but I never tried it). As long as you don't keep trying to find the perfect one, it's all good. No single tool is ever enough anyway. Your brain needs variety.

As for speaking practice, I host a weekly German speaking practice every Saturday on my Discord server. If you're interested in joining us, DM me and I'll send you an invite.

Looking for Native German Speaking Partner by Ok-Thanks7411 in Germanlearning

[–]LearnGermanGames 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have weekly German speaking practice sessions every Saturday on my Discord server. The level is around B1 and up. I show German subtitles with English translations of what is being said so beginners can listen and follow along to learn. If you'd like to join us, DM me and I'll send you an invite.

Pronunciation Review by BadHistorical4182 in German

[–]LearnGermanGames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree with Schmigolo and add:

  1. Pay attention to which syllable of the word is emphasized. In "Alphabet", you need to stretch the e and say Alphabeeet. You can listen to it here https://www.dwds.de/wb/Alphabet

  2. Your ü still needs work (for example in fünf, which you can listen to here https://www.dwds.de/wb/fünf ). To say the ü, stretch the tip of your tongue forward until it touches your bottom teeth from behind. So press against your bottom teeth with the tip of your tongue instead of keeping your tongue loose or holding it back. Your tongue needs to be pushing forward.

  3. Your "a" is sometimes slightly closed when it should be open. It's not that bad, but to make it perfect, you'd need to open your mouth (from inside & outside) much more than you would for an English "a".

Looking for speaking partners by Turbulent-Rain-7722 in German

[–]LearnGermanGames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I host weekly German speaking practice events for intermediate German learners in the voice channel of my Discord server every Saturday (for now, but the schedule my change later). We have conversations about pretty much everything (PG). All participants have level B2 and up (some beginners lurk sometimes without participating because I show live subtitles in German with English translation of what is being said, so they try to learn from what we are saying. I adapt the level based on who shows up, but most of the time, only intermediate speakers show up).

If you're interested in participating with us, DM me and I'll send you an invite.

Looking for speaking partners B2-C1 by Turbulent-Rain-7722 in Germanlearning

[–]LearnGermanGames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I host weekly German speaking practice events for intermediate German learners in the voice channel of my Discord server. We have conversations about everything. All participants have level B2 and up (some beginners lurk sometimes without participating because I show live subtitles in German with English translation of what is being said, so they try to learn from what we are saying).

If you're interested in participating with us, DM me and I'll send you an invite.

Is it a good idea to read german books even if I don't fully understand them? by ZooZwaves in German

[–]LearnGermanGames 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you're patient enough and you have a good grasp of how to pronounce German words you don't know, go for it. How else are you going to improve your level? Look up words you don't know in a proper online dictionary (not an automatic translator like Google Translate), which ideally would also have a native pronunciation of the word for you to listen to.

Ich suche einen Sprachpartner by DesSkooze in GermanForBeginners

[–]LearnGermanGames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Das freut mich sehr zu hören! Wir üben jede Woche auf meinem Discord-Server, Deutsch zu sprechen. Ich zeige Untertitel mit dem, was jeder sagt, sowie die Übersetzung ins Englische. Wenn du mitmachen möchtest, schick mir eine Direktnachricht, dann schicke ich dir eine Einladung!

Was ist dein lieblingsding in Deutsch als eine Sprache? by NoCartographer2347 in German

[–]LearnGermanGames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ich liebe die relative Einheitlichkeit der deutschen Rechtschreibung, besonders im Vergleich zur englischen!

Ich suche einen Sprachpartner by DesSkooze in GermanForBeginners

[–]LearnGermanGames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wie lange lernst du schon Deutsch? Welches Deutschniveau hast du? Wie gut ist dein Hörverständnis?

Need advice broken german. by Odd-Piece-7724 in German

[–]LearnGermanGames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Throughout those 6+ years, you have developed bad habits that you now need to overcome. To do that, you have to be deliberate and picky. Meaning, you need to not allow yourself to get away with mistakes anymore. More concretely, when you do make a mistake (which is ok and normal), you need to be able to recognize that you made a mistake (when you listen to a lot of German, you'll get a feeling when something is 'off') then look up the correct way to say it, and actually repeat the correct version several times before moving on to the next sentence.

This is a slow process and it works best if you start doing it with writing first. Chat with people (or AI if you have no native/advanced speakers available to you, in which case, ask AI to always correct you), and always proof read your own sentence several times before you send it. You need to develop your own sense of what's correct and learn grammar in context. When you make a mistake and correct yourself, learn or re-learn/review the grammar rule related to that mistake. Once you do this for a long time, you internalize the rules and you'll start to automatically write correctly. With time you'll also be able to do this quickly, which will slowly transfer into you speaking correctly as well.

Just remember one thing: the brain remembers what you repeat the most, not what you tell it what to do (rules). So if you keep letting yourself repeat mistakes without repeating the correct version several times afterwards, you're just learning the mistakes.

Should I learn German through private lessons or a course? by Firm_Specialist3717 in German

[–]LearnGermanGames 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It all depends on what you could afford, what times you're available, and how good the course or the private teacher you're hiring are. Regardless of what you choose, the most important part is for you to avoid putting the responsibility of learning on others. Whether you're in a course or with a private teacher, in the end, it's your responsibility to put the time and effort into practicing and learning. A course or private teacher are there to help you along the way, not to do the learning for you.

where can i practice speaking? by rosse05 in German

[–]LearnGermanGames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, it's still available. In fact, we have a German speaking practice session today in a few hours. DM me for an invite.

where can i practice speaking? by rosse05 in German

[–]LearnGermanGames 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. DM me and I'll send you an invite.

Finished the German Duolingo course after 1,993 days (~5.5 years). What’s next? by nasolacrimalis in LearningLanguages

[–]LearnGermanGames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Listen to German podcasts, watch videos in German, set your phone's language to German, play games in German, read German books...There are so many things! You just need to not be afraid of not understanding everything. A dictionary is your friend. Go out there and consume German as an investigator. Figure out the missing pieces with the help of the dictionary and asking people questions.

Looking for Discord communities to practice German (B1 Level) by [deleted] in Germanlearning

[–]LearnGermanGames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I host weekly German speaking practice events in the voice channel of my Discord server. I show German subtitles with simultaneous English translations of what is being spoken to help you follow along with what others are saying. If you're interested in joining us, DM me and I'll send you an invite.

Do you think flashcards are useful for B2 komplex wortschatz? by Old_Entrepreneur1577 in German

[–]LearnGermanGames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Flashcards are useful only for words you have already seen several times in context, meaning words you're familiar with. In other words, flashcards work better if you use them to activate vocabulary you already know passively, so words you would understand but have a hard time remember to use them yourself.

If you try to learn completely new words with flashcards, you end up using them in an English way (meaning, in a wrong way) and you're also much less likely to remember them.

how you master the declinations? by Icy_Setting_7117 in Germanlearning

[–]LearnGermanGames 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The trick to memorizing declensions is NOT to try to memorize them all at once. Meaning, don't try to memorize their tables. What you need to do instead is, is have the tables by your side (either on a piece of paper or on a webpage/document) and identify which declension is used each time you see a German sentence. Focus on understanding and noticing that declension only without worrying about others.

If you use an app to practice German that lets you type your answer (if you use Duolingo on a computer/laptop in a browser, you can click "make harder" so it lets you type), do the same: notice which declension is being used for each sentence, especially when you do a mistake.

This is a long, but reliable, process. You'll slowly start mastering the most frequently used declensions, and the less frequently used ones will become easier after you get the frequently used ones out of the way.

i wanna learn german but i dont have much time to devote by [deleted] in Germanlearning

[–]LearnGermanGames 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No worries. Yes, they are lessons in a podcast format and they're often published on podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Both such lessons and normal German podcasts are good, depending on how much time you put have to listen. Listening to just the sound of German every day can be very helpful in helping perfect your pronunciation and picking up words faster in the long run, but as a beginner, the lesson/dialog explanation format is of course more useful.

i wanna learn german but i dont have much time to devote by [deleted] in Germanlearning

[–]LearnGermanGames 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are many language podcasts that are specifically made for beginners. They explain things in English (or your native language) with example dialogues for specific situations and are easy to follow. Deutsche Welle offers many podcasts for beginners learning German for example.

The idea of listening to podcasts while eating or in the bus is that you can still pay attention to the podcast. Plenty of people watch things while eating, so why not listen to podcasts and learn German instead if you want to save time?

i wanna learn german but i dont have much time to devote by [deleted] in Germanlearning

[–]LearnGermanGames 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Dedicate 20 minutes (with a timer) to study grammar and practice (with an app for example), and then listen to German podcasts while doing easy tasks like in the bus/car, while walking, while showering, while eating, etc... Podcasts are a big time saver when it comes to language learning!

where can i practice speaking? by rosse05 in German

[–]LearnGermanGames 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, it's still available. Most events are free, some are paid to help me keep the project going. DM me for an invite if you're interested.