How to learn German fast - watch German movies

How to learn German fast - watch German movies

In my How to learn German fast blog I have covered many topics from how to prepare for the Testdaf to a Brief History of Germany. That is in addition to my system on how to learn German fast and enjoyably. Today I will be talking about German movies and in particular the one that I just watched, (yes, I know, I know, I am several years behind, but bear with me...) Der Untergang (Downfall).

One way of learning a language is to watch movies and shows associated with the language and in that particular language. I have recommended German anime, German shows and TV programmes and online programmes and online courses, and yet have not mentioned any German films. This post will remedy the lack of films and I will be talking about German movies that I have watched.

I have watched many German movies, because learning a language is not just simply about learning words and grammar, but also about acquiring culture, ideas and a whole host of other interesting things as well. That means simply that learning German is not simply about German vocabulary and German grammar, but more than that, German culture, history, tradition and more. For instance, I have watched Fritz Lang and his various movies, very interesting and artistic movies, I must honestly add; I have watched many modern German movies as well, and the one I just watched off the Internet (well, nowadays you can apparently watch anything off the Internet, can't you?) was very interesting.

Here is some name dropping, in case you have seen any of these German language films: The Tunnel (Der Tunnel); Vollidiot; 7 Zwerge, Eins, Zwei, Drei, ... and I can't remember the titles of the other German films that I have watched while learning and studying German. All of them contributed one way or another in the learning and acquisition of the German language and German culture.

As for Fritz Lang, wow. Fritz Lang is a real phenomenon. He has made so many culturally important and defining movies in German and I have had the good fortune to watch some of them: Metropolis, M for Murder (the German title is M - eine Stadt sucht einen Moerder), and Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse. They are all black and white and very interesting culturally and artistically. In addition, it's rather interesting to hear the characters call each other "Mein Herr" and stuff like that. At least to me. Most of those were great and I enjoyed watching them immensely because they were riveting and very exciting.

I was going to talk about "Downfall", the German language movie that I have just watched. It is very interesting and depicts the final days of Hitler's life in his bunker, just as the Allied troops are converging on Germany in the West, and the Soviets are already in Berlin and converging on Germany in the East. All looks bleak, and things are going badly. (A brief look at my post here on my How to learn German fast blog should remind you of Germany's history, if you need.) The really interesting thing about watching this German version of events is that it protrays Hitler as someone who is very human and very feeble. The issue of Hitler in German history and in the German culture and in Germany today is very very sensitive. Many do not like to be called Nazis; there is a real threat of a small but very virulent neo-Nazi group; the Germans have spent years coming to grips with their history. "Downfall" is nothing more than an amazing reawakening and opening up of Germany. I found the movie far more interesting than I had expected, because all I did expect was to see Hitler lose, and we all already know the plot, whether we know our German history or not. He got defeated in the end and killed himself. The end.

For my recommendation on German language movies, there are lots of German language films being produced every day, and as I have said, all shows in Germany are always dubbed and translated into German, so there are lots of opportunities for you to use your German skills and practise your German listening skills. Use every chance to improve or use your German. Listening to characters speak German is a very challenging but rewarding task, and you can improve on your language skills and language abilities by watching more and more. Even if you don't understand most of it, and you have to get by just by cheating and looking at the subtitles, don't be disheartened. You will be happy to know that it takes a lot of German language training, and lots of experience with speaking, writing and listening to German to be able to watch and appreciate a German film without difficulty.

In addition, I would strongly recommend that you start out with Ehrensenf, TV Total, youtube and the other recommendations that I made earlier first, then jump into the deep end of the German language pool. By starting out to understand German through those means, when you finally come to the German language movie, the understanding of the German words and the German sounds will come naturally to you. Listening to German passively can indeed help you to learn German, but it won't come to you naturally immediately, but only after a period of time and exposure to the language.

Current and further recommendations to help you improve your German language skills (be it listening or reading or watching shows):

1. Try German movies and films, and pay attention to the German words and phrases as well as the German culture and tradition portrayed

2. Vollidiot, 7 Zwerge, Der Tunnel and Der Untergang can be some starting points as you set out to improve your German or to enjoy and utilise your German language skills

3. Perhaps think about the German culture, phrases, words, language, ideas and history that you have seen and watched and ask yourself questions... this is something creative and good for your learning.

Cheers!

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Denglisch

Denglisch

This is a How to Learn German Fast blog, and deals mainly with a system and ideas and tips on how to learn German fast and enjoyably, which can be applied to any languages that you may wish to learn, but of course, German in particular. In other words, this here is about language, and in particular, German. I share my language learning system that I used to learn German with you, and also at the same time tell my tips and stories of how I came to learn German fast and enjoyably. Deutsch macht wirklich Spass und man kann viel lernen.

At the same time, this How to Learn German Fast website also deals with German culture, history, tips, examinations, fun stuff, and other stuff related to German, Germany and obviously language. Today's topic is Denglisch, and if you are here to this website to learn how to speak German fast and enjoyably, you should be visiting these pages:

How to learn German fast part 1

How to learn German fast part 2

How to learn German fast part 3

How to learn German fast part 4

How to learn German fast part 5

How to learn German fast part 6

How to learn German fast part 6.5

How to learn German fast part 7

How to learn German fast part 8

How to learn German fast part 9

Those pages will help you learn the learning system and have a clear understanding of how to learn German, from the basics of getting to know why you want to learn it to what level and how long you wish to spend on learning German, all the way to learning about how to take and pass your German language examinations. Read them slowly and surely to have a better understanding and do apply what you have learnt or gleaned from the information and ideas.

Alright, now on for today's post on a very interesting cultural phenomenon hitting Germany:

Denglisch - Deutsch und Englisch

My first exposure to Denglisch came during a German course lesson, with my teacher Frau Verry. She said: "Ich habe ein paar Seite geskippt" and then my ears pricked up, because I was wondering if there was a word called "geskippt" (til today I have absolutely no idea if there is really a German word called skippen meaning to skip pages). My German teacher Frau Verry started laughing and then started telling us this story which apparently happened in her class:

Student: Haben Sie schon meine Hausaufgaben gedownloadet?

Frau Verry: Falsch! Nicht gedownloadet. Trennbar! Downgeloadet!

Student: Have you gedownloadet my homework?

Frau Verry: That's wrong! It's not gedownloadet... because the word is separable, the rule is "downgeloadet"!

And so that was how I was introduced to Denglisch. Welcome to the world of Denglisch, where English and German collide, Englisch und Deutsch zusammen, and we have Denglisch, not Germglish, for goodness' sake. More examples of Denglisch are:

Angela Merkel ist ein smartes Maedchen.

Die Software ist gecrasht.

Ich muss den Computer unbedingt rebooten.

I have keine Ahnung.

Hitler hat ABC gejoined.

smart... crashen... rebooten... i have... joinen...

It is very fun and interesting to learn German, and it's even more interesting to know that the formal and clear cut German language that we learn in schools, in German language courses and in formal settings is made into this very interesting language called Denglisch in real life. There is a major controversy surrounding Denglisch. Some older Germans are very upset with it because from their point of view, Denglisch is corrupting the purer and more German form of the German language. In addition, Denglisch is sometimes invented, English instead of German, and Denglisch is something that older people or purists really detest. There are many things wrong about Denglisch to them.

On the other hand, many youths in Germany today are familiar with English and they speak it rather fluently. Not all speak English of course, and certainly not all German youths are fluent in either English or German or both. Yet to a large extent many Germans are speaking Denglisch informally. English seems to have taken over the world in a sense, because the cultural legacy and strength of English seems to have permeated everywhere. And also, Denglisch seems to be more expressive than formal German or the standard Hochdeutsch.

The use of Denglisch has been disputed, as I already mentioned, by people who hate it and people who use it for their daily expression. The issue is even more complicated, because the version of Denglisch that I have just spoken about is only one definition of Denglisch. There are apparently many many types of Denglisch, from the high brow to the low brow, from computer speak to normal everyday speak. There are many ways of looking at Denglisch and it is more than just a mere influence of English words or English words with German grammar. Denglisch has now spread to ...

English words replacing German words entirely, like Taskforce, Shopping, Service, und so weiter... (replacement of German by English)

English words conjugated with German grammatical rules (the examples that I have mentioned are usually of this nature)... (German grammar with English words)

English being used instead of German, or German being mixed with pure English sentences... (English and German hand in hand)

German being used purely, but with English grammatical rules and with the German grammatical rules being shoved aside and changed to suit the English language... (German words with English grammar)

The list is endless.

Learning German is very fun, but then again, why not learn a bit of Denglisch? It is fun too and it might also help you communicate with the Germans, especially the youth, since some Denglisch does not correspond to a mere influence and one-to-one exchange with English. As the example of downgeloadet shows, you still have to take separable verbs into effect and so on. It might be quite fun!

Nonetheless, German is a beautiful language and you should learn it to the best of your abilities, because after all, when all that's said and done, a language has a certain beauty to it. Communication wise, it is usually OK to know a bit of Denglisch in addition to your Hochdeutsch (which is definitely very useful in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and other countries). Note that standard German ensures that you are understood everywhere, regardless of youth language and youth culture.

At the same time, let's not make Schiller, Goethe and Nietzsche upset, and let's learn Deutsch the proper way and with the proper words and grammar.

We all know English is a rather beautiful language and that English is dominating the world currently. That is an undeniable fact. At the same time, German is beautiful too, and we have to appreciate this good and beautiful language too, after all.

If you're interested on this topic, I strongly recommend surfing the Net and looking around to find out more Denglisch words and more on Denglisch. Nonetheless remember to speak good German when you're in Germany! German, properly learnt, grammatical and fluent, will be invaluable to you.

Cheers!

HOW TO LEARN GERMAN FAST ;)

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Denglisch is fun, true... but correct German is expressive and beautiful too :)

Fun things related to learning German

Fun things related to learning German and Fun ways of learning German

Introduction/extract:

More tips to come on this post on how to learn German fast and enjoyably... On my How to learn German fast blog I have had a section already on ideas on how to do fun stuff with German, in How to learn German fast part 6 and How to learn German fast part 7. This is an entire post dedicated to learning German by using fun and interesting ways. If you have a lot of time to learn German or would like to learn German in a fun and interesting way, one way would be to learn it experientially and slowly by experience.

Fun things related to learning German and fun ways of learning German

I have already recommended some interesting websites to go to and some interesting singers, celebrities and the like for you to enjoy your German language learning.

Here I will share more about fun stuff related to learning German.

Have you ever tried German comedy? My current favourite is Oliver Pocher, and you might want to try him out. He acted in a movie called Vollidiot in 2007, I think, and acted as a very desparate German lad out to get laid, or in particular wanted this girl who didn't like him. Or something like that. Back then when I watched Vollidiot I didn't like Oliver Pocher very much and he certainly didn't attract my attention. Then came the powers of youtube to save his reputation in my jaundiced eyes... I saw him on "The Next Uri Geller". I kid you not.

Oliver Pocher, German comedian and actor, appeared in "The Next Uri Geller" as a fake magician/ psychic called Morta Deller. The reason why I knew he was fake was that his magic consisted entirely of making bread jump out of toasters, making foolish predictions like the phone would ring and stuff of that nature, and also because he memorably managed to use his powers to stop a train... as it was coming into the stop. Morta Deller was one funny fellow, and I laughed so hard, that I had to find out who it was. And it was Oliver Pocher. So that was how I got interested in Oliver Pocher and his German comedy. You might find him funny too, if you can get his rapid-fire and very fast German. Oliver Pocher loves to make impersonations of German famous celebrities like Oliver Kahn, Lucas Podolski and others. I would say that watching German TV, not just comedy in particular, would definitely be a fun way of learning German fast and enjoyably.

As regards anime, as I understand it, in Germany all the shows are dubbed into German and few, if any at all, are in the original Japanese. This is bad for the Japanese, but good for Germans and definitely good for learners of German. Anime is simpler to understand than movies and TV shows, for one, and there are many repetitions of common phrases for you to link the words strongly in your mind. I watched Sailor Moon and Detektiv Conan, and even now, the phrase: "Ich werde euch bestrafen" and "Es gibt nur eine Wahrheit und ich werde sie finden" can ring in my ears, even now!

Note that even if I got the grammar wrong (which I didn't, I am sure) the point is that when you watch cartoons and anime, the phrases that the protagonists keep on repeating will stick into your head. If the words are "Scheisse" and "Scheisskerl", then you're in a bit of a pickle, but if the words are good like "Gerechtigkeit" (Sailor Moon is pretty big on stuff like that), then you acquire a good command of certain vocabulary words and grammatical forms. You can definitely learn German from watching anime, because after all, isn't that how normal German children acquire their colloquial German to begin with? In our case as foreign adult or older learners (teenagers included), watching repetitive shows with common repeated German phrases will force us to focus on the words and the grammar. I suggest not watching it to absorb things passively, but actively listen and look out while watching the shows.

One Piece, Dears, Detektiv Conan, Sailor Moon, and many more anime shows are very popular on the Internet, especially youtube. You might want to do some research and exploring and find out other stuff, rather than just take my word for it. However, taking these ideas as starting points you can get very far in watching enjoyable cartoons in German.

Comics are fun ways of acquiring the German language too. I really do not know which are the best German comics. I grew up reading DC, Marvel and the like and not strangely they are all American companies. Nonetheless, I read Hagar the Terrible in German as well. Haegar der Schreckliche is quite funny. I also read Detektiv Conan comics as well, and I have found that they have improved my German immensely.

Now I have to say that there is an interesting thing to be gleaned from this: when you read comics like Haegar, which are one-liners or simple strips, you acquire German humour and you acquire German grammar structures that are simple and common and colloquial. Interestingly enough, when you read comics like Detektiv Conan, which are detective or mystery stories, you find that the grammar is harder and more complex and that the stories are very convoluted. It takes more effort to keep track... and that's when your German improves. It improves slowly with Haegar and the like, and very rapidly and very thoroughly with Detektiv Conan. Some people always forget to put the Partizip II verb at the end, "Ich habe etwas gegessen" but the moment they get through a mystery novel or a Detektiv Conan comic, successfully, they can remember all the different uses of the Partizip II, they can tell the difference between the Passiv and the other forms, and they can even use the Plusquamperfekt form perfectly, no pun intended.

Learning from singing or listening to CDs is also a good idea. I have already recommended Nena, Annett Louisan, Oli P, and Yvonne Catterfeld. They are not the only German singers around - you might want to try others. But now go further and do something better.

Sing Deutschland ueber alles. Sing the DDR anthem. It actually has meaning and isn't all propaganda. It will definitely help you learn German, and learn history as well.

Here is the song because I kind of like it a lot, although I know that Germans don't agree on whether they like it or not:

The DDR National Anthem

Auferstanden aus Ruinen

Und der Zukunft zugewandt,

Lass uns dir zum Guten dienen,

Deutschland, einig Vaterland.

Alte Not gilt es zu zwingen,

Und wir zwingen sie vereint,

Denn es muss uns doch gelingen,

Dass die Sonne schön wie nie 

Über Deutschland scheint.

Glück und Frieden sei beschieden

Deutschland, unser'm Vaterland.

Alle Welt sehnt sich nach Frieden,

Reicht den Völkern eure Hand.

Wenn wir brüderlich uns einen,

Schlagen wir des Volkes Feind!

Lasst das Licht des Friedens scheinen,

Dass nie eine Mutter mehr Ihren Sohn beweint.

Lasst uns pflügen, lasst uns bauen,

Lernt und schafft wie nie zuvor,

Und der eignen Kraft vertrauend,

Steigt ein frei Geschlecht empor.

Deutsche Jugend, bestes Streben

Unsres Volks in dir vereint,

Wirst du Deutschlands neues Leben,

Und die Sonne schön wie nie 

Über Deutschland scheint.

(borrowed from Wikipedia and edited by me)

There are also German folk songs, German music, German classical music (which will not be useful for language learning but very good for relaxation purposes) and much much more to help you with your German studies and enjoyment!

Simply: at the end of the day, what are some extra enjoyable ways of learning German and what fun stuff can one do to learn and enjoy learning German?

1. Comedy: Oliver Pocher recommended.

2. Anime: One Piece, Dears, Detektiv Conan, Sailor Moon und so weiter

3. Comics: Haeger der schreckliche und so weiter, the harder the standard of German the better it is for your learning, the lower the standard and the difficulty, the less you learn but the more you will enjoy

4. Songs: not Oli P or Nena again, but national anthems, national songs, folk songs, and other kinds of German music.

5. Other ideas:

- German newspapers! German games, or switch your games to the German language! German film festivals! German movies in general, or German movies from genres that you love. There are so many ways to skin a cat.

Have fun while learning German experientially and the time while whizz by as you improve your language skills and interest in German. In my next post I will be talking about Denglisch, a very interesting topic in Germany. Stay tuned!

HOW TO LEARN GERMAN FAST!!

Learn how to learn a language!

Learn German fast and enjoyably :)

Tips on TestDaF preparation

Tips on TestDaF preparation

Or: tips on Testdaf preparation

(In the course of this exam preparation article, I will refer to the German language examination TestDaF as Testdaf, because it is simpler for me to type it out here in this post in this particular manner "Testdaf".)

Many students worldwide are interesting in learning tips and ideas on how to prepare for the Testdaf, the Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache. In my How to Learn German Fast blog, I have outlined a system of learning German for beginners or intermediate learners. Now I will be giving tips and ideas on how to prepare and study for the Testdaf, because that is one of the more common foreign language tests for foreigners who want to work or study in Germany, and also because the Testdaf was the test that I did for my German language proficiency. I myself have done the Testdaf and it was a very interesting and useful examination for me, personally.

I will outline my personal journey and personal preparation for the Testdaf examination, and then offer a system or suggestions that you may wish to follow or adopt for your examination preparations.

Firstly, I found out all about the Testdaf examination, information, format and rubric from the Testdaf Institute. This was in December 2005 (I did the examination in April 2007). You can visit the Testdaf Institute at this website http://www.testdaf.de/.

It is important to know the rubric of the Testdaf, the sections and the requirements for the various differentiated gradings, and the like. The results are either 3, 4 or 5 for each section, where Testdaf level 5 is the highest, and Testdaf level 3 is the lowest possible, since 2 and 1 are not graded and not shown on the results slip. Testdaf level 5 means that you have an excellent command of the German language and that your skills are above and beyond what is required. It is a good idea to aim for all levels 4 and 5 when you take the Testdaf. The sections are: reading comprehension, listening comprehension, writing and oral/ speaking. These four subsections in the Testdaf examination all carry a grade from levels 3 to 5. You can see my own personal Testdaf results here on this post. In any case, all the Testdaf levels (Niveau) are available freely on the Internet along with the requirements, criteria and description of the examination levels and what they mean, and, in addition, there are many online German courses and German programmes that you can choose to have a look at, some dealing with the Testdaf and others dealing with the German language.

Secondly, I started preparing for the various sections. I did this individually and separately. By the way, if you have not read how to learn German yet, my system on how to learn German fast offers insight into a training programme that is viable and fun, and that involves technology in terms of courses and youtube and entertainment via the Internet, among other tips and ideas. If you have read my articles and my system on how to learn German fast already, then you can focus on the tips and ideas part of this post and perhaps skip my personal Testdaf journey.

To prepare for the reading comprehension section, I read the Der Spiegel Nachrichten every day, choosing articles that had themes and ideas similar to the Testdaf examination topics. I also borrowed books and magazines from the University library in order to familiarise myself with formal and standard German. It was a rather interesting and enjoyable academic time!

To prepare for the listening comprehension section, I stepped up my youtube entertainment programme and also listened to many podcasts by Angela Merkel and Der Spiegel TV Online. I also listened to Ehrensenf and TV Total and tried to pick out what they were saying. Later on this proved invaluable to me because the listening comprehension section of the Testdaf is actually read and recited much slower and more clearly than are the programmes on actual German shows and TV. In addition, Der Spiegel Online is extremely useful. Preparation for the Testdaf was interesting and fun.

To prepare for the writing section, I wrote an essay every day. The thing about the Testdaf is that the section on writing can be simply prepared for if you know how to. There will always be a form of graph or diagrammatic explanation, and so you will need to prepare for that. There will always be some argumentative essay or topic to write on, and so you should prepare for that, but this time, instead of writing in your first language, try writing it all out in German. The planning, the preparation for the essay, and the thinking and linking processes are all the same, whether it is English or French or Spanish, but this time you remember to express yourself in German. One good thing about the Testdaf is that it does not test you for your German grammar per se, but tests your fluency and command. Hence, not knowing the articles of some nouns won't be as detrimental here as opposed to many other European administered examinations.

To prepare for the oral section, there are only two ways to do so, in my opinion. I recited many texts aloud. And I also spoke German as often and as many times as I could. That was how I did it and how I prepared myself for the Testdaf.

A System or Suggestions on Preparing for the Testdaf:

1. You could do what I did, and that might work for you, as it did for me. I did a sectional and very thorough preparation for the Testdaf and that might do wonders for you too.

2. You could implement the strategies and systems outlined in my How to Learn German Fast system and programme for learning languages in general, and German in particular.

3. Do an online course that specialises in preparing you for the Testdaf. Many are paid courses that require you to pay a fee and some are free, but those are rarer. I'd say you should have a good look around and evaluate a few sites and a few courses - do your own personal research before committing to any online courses or programmes.

4. If you have time, a long term approach is best: read more, listen to more German, speak more German and find more chances to express yourself verbally and orally, surf and check out the Internet slowly and surely day by day. Languages are not acquired in a week, despite what some people say, like "you can learn a language in a few days etc".

5. If you have not much time, and the Testdaf will be soon upon you, the best way to learn and prepare for the Testdaf is to memorise all the key expressions that you will use for your writing and speaking sections. That way you will ensure that you can pass two sections well. "This graph shows", "This suggests", "increasing and decreasing trends" and the like are all the phrases you need to memorise and commit to your memory if you wish to ace the Testdaf. Memorise anything and everything you need for the writing and speaking sections of the Testdaf and dump those words and key phrases every time and every chance you get to do so. This is a common examination technique employed not just by desparate Testdaf students but by language students and other exam takers all over the world.

6. Listen to the German news often - Der Spiegel is not the only source. Try Deutsche Welle, the Austrian and Swiss News Services, try any podcasts that you can lay your hands on. This will help you in your listening... partly. For the other part, the writing down part, be sure that you can write down things as fast as you can catch them, as you hear them.

7. Get German tuition or some assistance for the Testdaf from your university teacher, professor, friends, German friends, or coursemates. It's better to work and prepare in a team rather than suffer alone in silence, perhaps.

All in all, good luck for your Testdaf if you intend to pursue it. You can read about examination techniques in general in this post, How to Learn German Fast Part 9, where you can also read about where to go once you have mastered my system for learning German.

HOW TO LEARN GERMAN FAST!

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A Brief History of Germany

A Brief History of Germany

You can find many English or German articles on the Internet about the history of Germany but many of them tend to be long and rambling and very few actually give you the heart of the matter. Or some English and German articles on German history tend to be boring. In any case, here in one single post here on my blog, is the brief history of Germany simplified for your understanding. Either you already know the history of Germany and just need a brief reminder, or you don't know the history of Germany but you would love to read about it, and a bit of German history will let you know about the interesting and chequered history of this beautiful but rather unique country with its dark history. 

The German language is interesting, and just as interesting is Germany herself.

Germany was born in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War, when Bismarck's troops attacked France. Under Bismarck, military modernisation had taken place and Prussia became a very powerful state, attacking Denmark in 1864, and then Austria in 1866, and then finally defeating France in 1870-1871. Prior to 1871 there was never any Germany, because what we know Germany as today was merely a collection of little little principalities and states that were all separated and disunited.

After the unification of Germany, Germany became powerful and then eventually started an arms race with the other European powers. They feared a powerful upstart, and here, Germany was richer and more powerful than them. The First World War was its result. We know today that it was not entirely the Germans' fault, but in those days, with the War Guilt Clause at the Treaty of Versailles, everyone thought that Germany was responsible for the War. That is a rather controversial issue, although the von Schlieffen Plan was a rather damning piece of evidence that showed that Germany wanted to invade France through Belgium. One day we shall know the entire truth about Germany and the War.

The Interwar period of 1919-1939 was rather interesting as well because there were many communist uprisings throughout Germany, but eventually the communists did not take power - the fascists did. This was the Nazi party and it came to power basically in 1933, due to the Great Depression, a lot of cheating, and some good luck. But come to power they did.

Under Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazis, Germany was plunged into totalitarianism and darkness - starting a war again in September 1939. His Thousand Year Reich paved the way for the massacre and murder of 6 millions Jews in the Holocaust, or what Hitler termed very euphemistically the Final Solution. Germany's past seems very dark and evil given this knowledge, but that is not the end of the story.

Eventually Hitler was defeated and Germany was split into 4 parts. The eastern part under the Soviet Union eventually became the DDR (the German Democratic Republic- which was not democratic at all) and the 3 other parts under Britain, France and the USA became West Germany.

An economic miracle took place under good leadership in the West and Germany finally became an important member in the world's international community. In 1989 communism started falling throughout Eastern Europe and eventually East Germany rejoined West Germany. After a long time, the two Germanies were once again reunited and today Germany is a powerful and rich country once again, but unlike the past, does not have the urge to dominate and destroy the world in order to pursue some lofty ambitions. Germany has apparently found her rightful place given her strength.

Here on my How to Learn German Fast blog, I will also be giving additional posts (apart from a Brief History of Germany) on German language tips, German culture, some travel tips on Germany and the like. The most important thing to remember is to have fun while learning German and enjoy every part of it! And even Germany's dark history can be taken to be a good learning point for all of us.

[This is my simplified and summarised version of German history :) ]

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How to learn German fast part 9

How to learn German fast part 9

You've finally learnt German - how do you maintain your German standards or how/where do you continue from here?

(Also: tips and good ideas on how to take examinations)

You've finally learnt German and mastered it to your own satisfaction according to your needs and your timings, if you have followed my system on how to learn German. Just to do a simple and very quick recap of my system on how to learn German fast and enjoyably, here are the key points that we have covered in my learning language course:

1. you first decided for yourself what "fast" and what "learn German" meant to your own satisfaction, and why you were going to learn German and for what purposes and intentions, and whether or not you were going to do it to a high level

2. secondly, you then learnt the basic grammar - you learnt the grammar because the grammar means the rules that the language is based on, and how it operates, and that is the fundamental part of German

3. thirdly, you then learnt some basic vocabulary, to flesh out the grammar with words and words and then more words...

4. forthly, you learnt and memorised some quick start phrases and some common things that you can always say in any situation - simple and key phrases that everyone should know... and you also learnt how to memorise the words to make them last in your long term memory

5. fifthly, you learnt and memorised all the advanced grammar and the needed vocabulary for your purposes and can speak German fluently and rather accurately (note that by this stage, even if you do make some mistakes when speaking the language, you have already come a long way from knowing nothing about the German language to being able to speak some basic phrases confidently and knowing a lot of grammar and vocabulary pertinent to your own personal purposes)

6. sixth, you did online courses or did online learning, either paid or free courses, both formal and informal learning or classes, and in terms of formal German and informal colloquial German

7. seventh, you did a lot of fun stuff to further improve your German skills and your language abilities

8. you prepared for an examination that you were supposed to take, ensuring that it was an examination that has good and high standards and that is well recognised

9. you can now speak German and are going to learn here on this blog how to continue and where to go from here.

But before that, I promised some examination tips, so here they are for you to improve your language examination taking skills:

1. Always find out the rubric of the examination early and in advance.

2. If it is a language test that is standardised, make sure you do as many practice questions that you can find.

3. Always visit the website or any online course, as that might give you an added advantage.

4. All good language examinations, either the Testdaf or TELC will always have a verbal/oral component, written component, listening component and a reading comprehension component, for that is the basis of language examinations... so prepare for those sections. Are you better at reading? Then focus more on writing. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Do you speak well but cannot listen to what others say? What can you do, and what can you do better?

5. Go beyond. This is the simplest and best tip. What this means that if the test has a need for you to know about politics or writing on statistics, don't be contented knowing a bit. Know all about German politics, German politicians, ideas and everything in German about political systems and political economy. For statistics, don't be contented with a mere "this is increasing/ decreasing", but memorise more phrases that you can throw into an exam paper with confidence.

6. Have faith and confidence in my language learning system and in your own abilities. Think about all the postive and good times that you had learning German and how you have improved and how you can improve further. See the test or examination in a positive light and have faith in your own test taking abilities.

7. Have common sense - like bringing your proper equipment and stationery to the test, having enough sleep, not drinking too much or partying the night or even a few days before, spending equal times on equal parts of the paper, not panicking about not knowing everything on the examination and the like, etc. Don't take risks during your examination - it's time to show the examiners how good and how fluent you are in German and what you have learnt.

There are many things you can do with your German and many ways to maintain your language abilities. Note once again that all the tips and knowledge that I have with respect to learning German also apply to mastering French, Spanish, Chinese and all other languages. This means also that the following tips can also enhance other languages apart from German.

To maintain and keep your skills and abilities in German you might want to do the following:

You may want to finally visit Germany or stay there so as to use your newfound fluent linguistic skills.

You may want to do another examination in German so as to ride on your initial successes. Try another course; try another examination that is different and has a more professional backing to it, perhaps, rather than a purely language / linguistic examination?

You can continue to do fun stuff like watching anime, watching TV Total, Ehrensenf, Der Spiegel und so weiter; you don't have to stop learning. Learning and experiencing German on the net can be a very good experience and very fun yet educational.

Talk as much as you can to people who are learning German or who know German or who are German. You can impress and improve at the same time. Impress them, and improve your German. You can make friends along the way too.

Use German as much as you can and in any other creative way that you can think of. Perhaps read this blog again to see what you might have missed.

All in all, I do hope that you have had a great time learning how to learn a language in general and German in particular, and do continue to improve and keep on learning and developing.

In later posts here on this blog I shall be giving more tips on various scenarios, and more on Germany. Culture, history, language tips, ideas, and more, all to come on my how to learn German fast blog. Stay tuned for more entertaining and educational posts! Thanks for reading and cheers. 

HOW TO LEARN GERMAN FAST!

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How to learn German fast part 8

How to learn German fast part 8

Prepare for the examination if you are taking one - part one: choosing an examination to take, or, what are the German examination options available?

There are many German examinations if you intend to take one, and there are many good reasons for you to consider doing any one of the German examinations actually. First, it will be a good guage of your ability; you may wish to work and live in Germany, and then again the most common reason is that you might want to study at a German university or a German institution, whatever the case may be. Nonetheless, the very first step that you should have done already, if you've read my blog up to this point, is that you will have decided what you wanted and what you intend to pursue, especially with regards to time, standards and which German examination you wish to complete.

The really important and necessary German examinations that you need to be aware of are listed below:

Zertifikat Deutsch (ZD)

TestDaF

TELC

and for business German examinations here are the really important and necessary ones that you need to be aware of:

Zertificat Deutsch fuer den Beruf (ZDfB)

Pruefung Wirtschaftsdeutsch (PWD)

I will be ignoring the rest of the German examinations because they are not important for the case of this blog and my course on how to learn German fast, but they are all freely available on the Internet, so do look around. Remember to always look around for more information and be sure that you know what you are doing, and so on.

I myself did the Testdaf, which is spelt TestDaF but I am too lazy to do so, and this is one of the better tests and I would recommend it. It is basically a German language examination that grades you based on oral skills, listening skills, writing skills, reading and comprehension skills in four different components. You can see my German testdaf result in an earlier post.

Here in this post I will be looking at the various language examination possibilities and what you can do and what you can take, and the choice and ideas are all up to you. Here goes the evaluation:

The Zertifikat Deutsch is rather good as a German examination, and consists of one written expression section, one reading comprehension section, one listening comprehension section, structures and vocabulary sections and a oral examination. It can be used to apply for German citizenship indirectly and hence is rather useful, because it is accepted as proof of German language ability when applying for citizenship. It is good for everday situations and is one of the more common German language tests. I would suggest it as one of your key choices, as many other German teachers would do also.

The testdaf is a very good German examination and lasts for hours with many sections, testing verbal oral skills, hearing and listening skills, writing skills and reading and comprehension skills. It is one of the best German examinations to take and I strongly recommend it. It is a standardised test and is implemented worldwide and is very stable, and provides highly academic testing that ensures quality. It lasts for life and can be used to apply to any German university.

The TELC is also like the testdaf and based on the Common European Framework of Reference for languages by the Council of Europe. I would say that this one would be something to consider if you don't intend to take the Zertifikat or the Testdaf, although it is my own personal preference to choose the Testdaf. Note that the TELC is more general because it offers all sorts of languages for the German language test, meaning that you can do this if you're from Portugal, France, and so on. I will honestly say that I don't see any difference between this and the Testdaf, except that this TELC intends to make different language examinations to teach and examine German, whereas the Testdaf seems to me to be entirely German, and German only. You can make your own mind up once you have done the research into the reach of the particular examination.

Don't take my word on any of the German examinations, but also do some research into them and look around, in terms of German examinations and German online courses that help you to prepare for them, because these here on the various exam options are only my own opinions. I had already intended to take the Testdaf last time when I was doing it, and in any case, my system is to teach you how to learn a language fast and efficiently, in particular, how to learn German fast, and I am not an expert in German examinations, but only contributing some ideas that might help you in your research. So please stand warned. It's sometimes as important to know what information is useful and what is not as useful, what is positive and factual, and what is normative and opiniated, and what test to take is definitely not my field, but your own personal choice.

That said...

For the business German examinations I am unable to provide much knowledge in the way of writing about them, but they are similar to the testdaf and only focused on business situations and commerce fields. There are structures and grammar sections as well, but not as much as in other German examinations and for obvious reasons. I hardly need to say that if you're considering doing business in Germany or learning professional business German, the two German examinations of ZDfB and PWD will prove invaluable to you - just choose one good one.

Having chosen an examination, there will be examination tips on how to study for German exams in the next post. Stay tuned!

PS ADDITIONAL NOTE: Some people have written to me to ask about O and A level German (GCE, UCLES, Singapore/Cambridge A levels, H2 German). The advice I give can also be applied to other examinations so do take what you can and apply those accordingly :)

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How to learn German fast part 7

How to learn German fast part 7

How to choose an online course for German/ How to do more fun stuff with German

I am going to conflate both parts 6 and parts 7 of my course about the German language into one single, gigantic post. Firstly I will deal once again with the Internet, but this time talk about some online German courses, both paid and free, and suggest some websites and resources about the German language that you might want to visit, and which will help you in pronunciation, speaking, listening, reading and writing. Having done that, I will go on to offer more fun suggestions on how to improve your German.

By this stage, you should know

why you are studying German and what level you wish to attain along with how long you want to study it,

have mastered the basic grammar and know the basic rules and tenses and cases of the German language,

memorised some vocabulary related to both colloquialisms and what you want to learn or study (your field, basically),

memorised a whole lot of phrases to kick start your language learning,

mastered the advanced grammar rules and the advanced vocabulary,

at least listened to TV Total, Der Spiegel Online, gone to youtube, or surfed the Internet for some available courses to augment your language learning and then now... you need to make some decisions regarding what kind of German courses you will want to take to advance your knowledge, if you want to pay for them, and if you don't want to pay for the course online, then where to find the free materials.

How to choose an online course for German? I have already suggested Linguaphone and Rosetta Stone for language studies in general and German in particular, but there are other courses as well in the paid German course arena, all reflected on my website and also all reflected in my earlier posts, where you can see which online courses and which German courses I recommend (my favourite being Berlitz actually). How does one choose a course then?

For a paid course, I suggest evaluating and having a look through all the options, especially Linguaphone and Rosetta Stone before making a decision to pick one. Maybe you would like to look at the costs before starting an online paid course? Maybe you would like to find out what books and materials are needed for a paid course that is not online? Maybe you would like to find out more about Linguaphone and Rosetta Stone before making a decision about which one is better? Ask yourself questions, and then ask some more. Look around.

For non paid courses, like those I have suggested as free sources online, you don't have to worry so much in the way of costs, but in the way of which sources and which courses online that are free would help me best? One that detailed all the rules of grammar would not be as effective for someone seeking to learn basic communication for leisure and holidays in Germany, and another website that offered lots of quick start phrases would be useless for someone seeking to do the Testdaf.

As a final suggestion, re-read this post and then the How to learn German fast part 6 once again, and then you should have a good idea on how to pick a course online, paid or not, and you should have by now a firm grasp of all the free or cheap sources, depending on your budget. Maybe bear in mind that the more money you pay and the more costs you incur, the language learning will be faster in terms of the resources that you acquire. Some free websites are free but only offer a teaser, and stuff like that, so beware sometimes.

How to do more fun stuff?

There are lots of fun things to be done to improve your command of the German language, and here are some of them suggested by me.

Here's up to your imagination:

Write German poetry and submit them to Yahoo Answers, and see what people have to say, especially Germans

Part of the fun is listening to how the Germans speak and interacting with them, so everytime you meet someone German on the streets where you come from, talk to them... ask questions, say simple things, ask for help and advice

Find something that is fun and enjoyable... after a while, youtube and Ehrensenf and TV Total do get boring, don't they? Take things further. Apart from Nena, there's Yvonne Catterfeld, Annett Louisan, Oli P, and more to listen to; there's the Next Uri Geller, there's all sorts of programmes old and new...

Why just watch and listen to the news with Der Spiegel online? Try a Swiss or an Austrian news service...

Go to your local library and look for German books; or go to your local bookshop and visit the foreign language section

You might want to have an immersion programme in Germany... by yourself, in a class, or with a group of friends!

Join the local German club and be a member where you can share and speak German, for instance, at the National University of Singapore there is the http://die-deutsche-sphaere.blogspot.com/ German society...

Lots more things that you can do, but I don't want to scare away my readers by writing more and more ideas on how to have fun. I am sure that you know how to have fun, and trust me, it's more interesting to learn language this way. Perhaps print out the lyrics to Eve by Annett Louisan and sing along, then try to do it without the lyrics to guide you, and sing by ear. That will help your German pronunciation. Maybe try 99 Luftballons, as that's a very famous song by Nena ... lots to do. Have fun experimenting!

Experiment, experiment, and then experiment again.

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How to learn German fast part 6.5

How to learn German fast part 6.5

On memory and memorisation

There are many things about memory and memorisation that need to be dealt with before you progress in any language course, especially German. This will be a short and intense article on memory and on memorisation with respect to language.

As I have said, the way to memorise is actually this, in terms of the old school of thought:
repetition, recitation, revision, overlearning, and testing.

This method can help you literally grind terms into your long term memory by brute force, but here I will talk about how the memory works with respect to language learning and then on memorisation in particular with respect to language learning as well. For those of you with perfect memories or excellent knowledge of learning techniques, you may wish to skip this section.

As human beings, our memory with respect to language learning functions using sight, sounds and kinesthetic movement. These are all my opinions backed up by medical science, common sense and experiences. Note that we have five senses - sight, touch, smell, taste and hearing, and touching, smelling and tasting are not of use with respect to language learning for the purposes of this post, here on this blog.

Sight is for things like the written word, where we can see how the word looks like. It is also related to pictures and when we see pictures, we can get a mental image. This operates by sight. Sound is for our sense of hearing, when we hear a word and can understand what it means. In addition, when we speak we can hear ourselves and thus that also helps us with our language learning, because when we speak we can also hear ourselves while picturing images or words in our minds. Kinesthetic movement is not that important, but for some people, moving their hands and legs enables them to learn language faster and more efficiently.

Now, when we understand that sight and sound play an important role in our memories, we can now analyse why the old and traditional brute force memorisation method actually works:

reading something, we get to use the sight of the words to help us remember

reciting something, we get to hear the word, and if we are looking at the page, we see the word, and if we articulate the word crisply, it is a form of movement that enables us to move our lips in the correct position for the word

overlearning means that we see and hear the word more often than we should, and that makes it familiar and more easily memorised

and so on. That shows that there was some wisdom in the rules of brute memorisation after all, with respect to language learning.

Now I will suggest two more ways of memorisation that appeal to sight and sound and are not brute forces:

1. mental images

2. exaggerated sounds

The first method of memorisation with respect to language learning is to create a mental image of that object and then attach the word to it. If you have a good imagination, see the object in your mind and then attach the German word to it, or for that matter, attach any word to it, and you will find that the word and the image go hand in hand.

The second method is to exaggerate. Note that you can indeed have exaggerated images in the first method of memorisation, but in this second case, exaggerate the sound of a word, or a phrase. This works out well initially and will help you imitate language better in future when you meet native speakers.

For instance, ich bin hier.
EEEEECCH (screeching sound without the s), BIN, as in dustbin, and "HERE". You will remember this exaggerated sounding phrase for life.

Or ausgezeichnet (how the heck does a total beginner work this out, let's say?)

Break it down:
aus ge zeich net

Then apply the exaggeration:
OWS GER ZEI shhhh NERT

and wunderbar! even a beginner cannot forget this word.

There are many other ways to learn a language and memorise the many words that you need to do. All the best, and stick to the programme; it'll work out fine.


how to learn german fast!
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How to learn German fast part 6

How to learn German fast part 6

Using the Internet and Online learning to complement your German skills and knowledge

Having done a lot of advanced grammar and having improved your vocabulary of German up a notch, it's time to take things further and more fun. There are many ways to study German online and here I suggest two different methods that can be either employed one at a time or simultaneously. 

The first idea is to use free, accessible, easy to use and online resources that can help you with increasing your experience with German. 

The second idea is to use online, perhaps paid, resources such as Rosetta Stone language services or any other similar language computer programmes or online services (or my favourite Berlitz) to learn German specifically and for examinations. By the way, of course the online programmes and language programmes will be able to teach you any subject and any language you choose, except that you choose German if you want to prepare for that examination. I will expand on these further.

The first idea is to use free, accessible, easy to use and online resources that can help you with increasing your experience with German. For me this means services that are free to access but do not teach you German per se. You will be surprised, but now here is the really fun part that allows you to learn German and enjoy at the same time. Trust me and do follow the programme if you can.

Youtube, Der Spiegel Online, TV Total, Ehrensenf, und Hauptseite Wikipedia ... what do all these sites have in common? They are basically free to use and accessible to everyone, and they have German resources. We can all understand the other sources being in German, but what about youtube? That's where you need to find something that you are interested in. Let me explain.

If you type Nena Kerner or Stefan Raab into the search function of youtube, you'll get a lot of German songs and German videos. The point is that this first key idea to learning German is NOT to become a German singer or to learn massive number of songs (unless you want to, of course) but to get a feel for the language. How does the language sound like? How does German feel and sound when it is sung, and when it is spoken? Can I understand what is being said in the youtube video? These are the questions you'll ask yourself. You can type in many searches by the way, so don't type in "the German language", try Udo, try Lustige Sache, try Hindenburg, try DDR, etc. You can do anything you want and anything that interests you.

In addition, do you like anime? There are many German anime series on youtube, whether legal or not is not my business to say, but you can basically watch German anime like Sailor Moon, One Piece, Gundam Seed, etc (actually it's Japanese anime, but dubbed in German, but I was too lazy to type the whole phrase out...).

Der Spiegel Online is a news service, and is the one that I use the most to listen to the German language. Of course there are many other news services that you can use and they are all valid and very interesting too. Deutsche welle was the one I literally grew up with all those years ago, because in Singapore they had an international radio selection and it was on 96.7 or something like that. With the rise of the Internet, simply visit any news website, although I'd recommend Der Spiegel, and then either read the news articles or look through the podcasts. Most of you know what podcasts are, but for those who don't, podcasts are just videos, soundclips, and links that sort of allow you to view the news, as if it were some kind of TV. You probably won't understand anything on your first try; you won't understand most of it on your second try; but by your third try listening and watching the same podcasts and online TV you'll get the hang of things. Trust me. It usually takes a while for this effect to kick in, but it eventually will - a sense of understanding the sounds and cadences of the language. The German language is hard but NOT that hard.

TV Total and Ehrensenf are basically entertainment sections. You can laugh your head off once you understand these shows, but when you first start watching them you'd probably be lost. I suggest watching TV Total first because sometimes they invite English-speaking guests, and having a show half in German and half in English would probably boost your morale a little bit. Then, try Ehrensenf - it's totally fast, they speak like bullet trains, the language is both formal and colloquial at the same time, and then you can enjoy the show after a while. You can take my word and try out these programmes first, and then after that progress to go on to other sites. Now I will talk a bit about online courses and German programmes on the net.

Linguaphone and Rosetta Stone are rather famous online language companies. As we all know the Rosetta Stone was a stone that had language on it and convinced archeologists that they could transcribe and learn Egyptian, I think. Nonetheless, if you are serious about learning German, you can try an online programme or a real course. There are many resources for you to explore, some are online courses that are free and some are online courses that have to be paid for. I must warn you a little bit that usually the free courses are for beginners and not really for intermediate users of the language, and since you're here in the part 6 of my How to Learn German Fast course, you're probably quite advanced by now (I wouldn't imagine total beginners listening to Angela Merkel or watching anime auf Deutsch). Linguaphone and Rosetta Stone both try to make language learning fun and easy and efficient at the same time, so I'd say that they probably have programmes to suit your needs. They teach all sorts of languages including the German language and so I would say that they are recognised, accredited and trustworthy. I learnt German on my own and at the National University of Singapore, so I had a real teacher to assist me, so I never really experienced any of those courses. By the way, you don't have to take my word for it; just experiment and explore and settle on something that you choose.

In the next post, we will learn and go through ideas on how to do fun stuff that will definitely improve your German while feeling just like fun and enjoyment. Cheers!

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How to learn German fast part 5

How to learn German fast part 5

Advanced German Grammar and Advanced German Vocabulary

This is one of the easier bits of learning German in my how to learn german course. Suprisingly. Having gone through the difficulties of basic grammar and having studied some words and key phrases, that you will need and you will use in everyday situations and your targeted situations (exams, leisure, business situations), you will now have a degree of satisfaction. Here comes the work for improving your command of the German language.

The next step is to just step up this progress. I recommend two books: Eurolingua Deutsch handbook for grammar (The Learner's Handbook) and the Teach Yourself series. There are many books available and online resources around as well. Get yourself some nice textbooks and step up the learning. This will be fun and enjoyable for you now that you already have a basic understanding of the language.

Do not worry if you don't understand everything about the German language yet. Look on the bright side: what do you know? What can you do currently? Are these words familiar? Advanced grammar usually works on basic grammar.

Look, for instance:

Ich muss essen.

All modal verbs, like "must, shall, can and will" will be followed by the infinitive form of the word.

And then you learn advanced grammar:

All the verbs following werden, IF USED IN THE SENSE OF FUTURE, will take on infinitive forms too.

Ich werde essen.

See? Nothing to it.

For passive forms:

Er wird beobachtet.

What is the rule? Why is it Partizip II? It differs from the future form because this form is the passive form, that's why. It's similar to English. He was observed, see? This means that if you know what the sentence is in English, you have a colossal advantage in learning and mastering German. Ask yourself more advanced questions. If you can puzzle over the advanced rules and get the "click" to come on and the lightbulb comes on brightly, with a light clicking suddenly on in your head, then you have learn German to a suitably high standard. I feel that working it out for yourself can be very illuminating and interesting.

In addition, for passive forms:

also learn and memorise, present tense, past tense, perfect tense, past perfect tense, future tense, and future perfect tense. They all have rules and they all have patterns. Pay attention to them!

For vocabulary, especially for the German language, get a specialised dictionary or a specialised vocabulary book for German. You will find it immensely helpful. Also, you can try the following online dictionaries. This is good: http://dict.tu-chemnitz.de/ and I also use this translator: http://freetranslation.imtranslator.com/.

WARNING! Not all online translators are good, and online translators have the problem that they do not know anything about the language -after all they are just robots and computers. Hence take what they say with a pinch of salt sometimes. This translator I recommend is good for the German language as well as many other languages, like French, Spanish and Italian.

Cheers!

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How to learn German fast part 4

How to learn German fast part 4

Quick start phrases

The next step to learning German fast is the memorisation of quick start phrases. 

Now that you have a basic understanding of the grammar of the German language, which can be said to be the rules of the language, and since you also have a basic knowledge of some verbs, nouns and other vocabulary associated with what you intend to speak and hear, then you can start memorising some quick start phrases of the the German language.

I know that many teachers go about teaching German with quick start phrases immediately rather than grammar and vocabulary. This is a wrong approach, in my opinion. It ensures that the student has no idea what is going on and does only encourage blind memorisation. If there is no understanding of how the grammar works, and then no understanding of how the words look like by a memorisation of vocabulary, then one cannot understand why some phrases are written one way and some in another.

Example:

Ich gehe in der Schule.

Now, isn't school in the German language die Schule? But if you know your rules, it's Dativ and hence must be in der, as the question is "wo" (where). If there is an actual movement towards the school, then it's die, because of Akkusativ. My example shows that it is better and more efficient to learn the grammar and some vocabulary first, before going on to memorise phrases and learn how to join it all together.

Now learn some key phrases related to everyday conversation, and then some key phrases related to your tasks that you intend to do. I mean learn some key phrases that are related to the topics and fields that you intend to go into, and perhaps make up cards for those. Several learn German fast online websites actually have cards and other materials, resources and e-books that you can use to build your stock of phrases.

Always have a stock of phrases, or even better, a stock of questions. Maybe even have some questions to ask about the German language, so that you can better your grammar and ideas and concepts while talking to strangers, who will be happy to elucidate "Gentiv, deklination, Verben und so weiter".

Remember, learn the grammar, then the basic vocabulary (and please memorise those gender words!) and then some phrases. The hardest part of the learn German fast journey is now over. Fun and enjoyment will set in and make your learning journey so much better from now onwards.

Memorisation of a few basic rules, memorisation of some words, and then memorisation and learning of some phrases - tough indeed. But if you did that well, via...

repetition,

overlearning,

revision,

recitation,

and testing yourself again and again,

in a short time you should have made progress with the German language. Don't give up, because the fun is about to begin.

A SHORT NOTE ABOUT THE SKILLS OF MEMORISATION

I am going to talk a bit about memorisation. There are many ways: mnemonics, imagination, and the like, but I will focus on what I have told you:

repetition,

overlearning,

revision,

recitation,

and testing yourself again and again

repetition means to look at something again and again

overlearning means to repeat something till you know it so well... and then more

revision means to re-read what you know already... and is another word for repetition and overlearning

recitation means to recite and say something out loud over and over again

and testing yourself again and again means to test again and again....

what are we doing here?

MEMORISATION is merely doing something so many times that you get good at it. Period.

Practice makes perfect and makes permanent too! OK, the hardest part of the course is over, well done! :)

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