In the middle of your language journey, there are habits forming due to your language learning preferences.
You might not be aware, but some of the steps you’re taking to learn German might be wrong.
So, we’ve compiled some of the wrong steps to learn German to help you avoid doing them in the future.
You’ll notice changes through consistent practice
There’s no one easy way to learn German, especially, for example, if you’re an English speaker and only use English materials for learning a foreign language.
Even a native German speaker has difficulty following their grammar rules correctly.
One good thing about daily practice is noticing common mistakes when using German nouns, verb conjugation, and definite articles.
These mistakes only get noticed when someone tries to speak to a native speaker.
So, it’s best to address these problems before your brain is hardwired to these misconceptions.
Speaking of which, you’ll read one of the bad habits of language learners when it comes to grammar rules and policies.
Don’t follow these steps to learn German!
Hoping to be a fast learner? Time to unlearn the bad techniques.
How do you know if you’re not doing something right when learning? It’s not an automatic skill for us to detect which is right or wrong.
Sometimes, it may even become an excuse for you to say, you can’t learn German anymore.
In this issue, we’ll give you some tips while learning, even if you’re a beginner, in the middle of your learning (intermediate), or practicing to become fluent and advanced.
If you’re guilty of doing some of these steps to learn German, we’ve also included ways for you to change your practice slowly.
Moving to another topic after a week
We all have that moment of enthusiasm where we’re breezing through an article or lesson so fast that we tend to move on a topic so quickly.
You’re learning a lot of vocabulary, nouns, and phrases, and even can create sentences apart from introducing yourself.
Many people are eager to reach the advanced level of German (B2 to C1) and we can’t blame you.
Learning a language is so fun and exciting!
But, it’s better to take a review of your language skills and test yourself if it’s wise to move to another topic after a week.
It is a bad habit for everyone to just skim through a language lesson thinking that you can go back to A1 anytime.
This only makes it like you’re doing the required homework. You’ll be surprised how little of the language you might know when you’re already in Germany.
Be realistic in your time frame, if you’re able to answer even the next level questions without a guide, then go ahead and skip to the next lesson.
Taking more than what you can learn
Taking in more than what you can learn and moving to another topic after a week is like a hand in a glove.
You can’t have one of the problems without creating another.
People say that they’re good with multitasking, but, the application of learning languages in such a situation is either a make it or break it moment.
Some people are really gifted in learning a language easily and we acknowledge that learners have different techniques.
But most language learners only rely on what’s trending or popular.
In short, don’t underestimate or overestimate yourself with your language skills.
Language teachers suggest that when taking German language classes, at least try to ask yourself questions about your current level in different kinds of aspects.
Then if you can try to level it up to say, the B2 level, then check out which words you can’t explain or translate into German and then review it again.
Not following the gender and conjugation rules
Getting the hang of the die – der – das – or definite articles is dependent on the noun in German.
Knowing how to differentiate masculine (der), feminine (die), or neuter (das) and give it to the correct noun is crucial in German grammar.
You must constantly be aware of the gender of each word you learn; otherwise, you will be unable to use it appropriately in a sentence.
The gender of nouns is decided by what noun group the noun corresponds to (e.g. is a type of tree? Then it’s definitely a feminine word) OR what noun form it has.
Quick reminders on noun genders:
Don’t think that a gender noun is random. There are many old rules that have modern re-evaluation for today’s generation.
Frequently, the multiple criteria of noun groups and noun forms coexist.
Investigating noun genders and noun cases in general, as well as learning how to work with noun plurals. These rules are all related to der, die, and das.
Memorization is still the most effective method for learning German conjugation.
Skipping audio lessons
If you’ve noticed how much we emphasize audio lessons, that’s because, until now, there are many students with bad habits of not listening to audio lessons.
Sure, you can be listening to a Spotify podcast for German lessons but still don’t repeat the words you hear.
Or you might be watching a German Youtube language classes series yet.
A good way to relearn how to listen to audio lessons properly is to write takeaways from what you’ve learned.
It is also great that you speak while the host is speaking, even if you feel embarrassed talking alone. Besides, no one can hear you right?
Driving with your friends or family while listening to a German conversation will encourage you to have a speaking practice partner too.
Your German learning journey doesn’t end
It’s the same with any language with an end goal of achieving the native language level.
The majority of your life will be spent learning more words, rules, and even new methods of learning that same language over and over again.
Since communication evolves just as language evolves, you’ll find out that everyone will eventually have to adjust their techniques and tricks in memorizing a grammar rule or vocabulary.
One trick that many don’t know is that if you are a language learner and want to explore more Germanic languages, you may even try learning them simultaneously.
As long as you don’t repeat the wrong steps to learn German, you’ll find them all easy even if you don’t study in a language school.
