Can you learn German from home?
Until recently, the average Spaniard had the idea that German is a difficult language for a Latino to learn. Now, with the influence of technological advances, everything has changed, as science has entered the house and is showing us that what we thought impossible to do, fortunately today, is even easy to do and German does not escape this rule. But we must think that it is not that a robot is going to introduce us, as if it were a miracle, a chip in the brain and immediately we already know the chosen language. In schools and at home, any learning is also the will and desire of the student and German does not escape this.
Motivation is important and essential
The motivation must be personal, thinking positively and always believing that you are capable of carrying out your purposes in any circumstance and must also be objective, preparing the exterior that surrounds you to create an environment that reminds you that you are studying German, therefore , your room and some places in your house should be arranged in such a way that allows you to charge yourself with energy to succeed in your studies
How can you motivate yourself?
- Already parts in advantageous conditions. Studying at home allows you to work without stress or anxiety, knowing that no one is going to judge or examine you, therefore you impose the pace that you consider appropriate.
- The environment that surrounds you has been created by yourself and you will try to allow for tranquility and relaxation.
- Your study place should be a room where order shines bright, clean, and above all orderly.
Create a good work environment
Before starting your studies, you should have a plan that is affordable for your level to get the most out of it:
- Carry out a mental association procedure to easily remember the concepts, translation, etc., through cards, which are called mnemonic cards, in which you include a series of drawings related to furniture and other decorations that exist in your home, with the German name: bedroom, bed, table, chair, etc.
- Make mind maps, which are tree-shaped diagrams that express or represent ideas, tasks, linked with a keyword or a central idea. You can design them in the best way that they can serve you, using colors, drawings, images, etc. This method has been proven to help you remember German words and concepts while enhancing your imagination and creativity. You must use everything that exists around you: rooms, action verbs: read, write, etc.
Watch German Movies
At the popular level there is a tendency to believe that German in movies is very difficult to understand and that, therefore, it is not a good idea to start studying German by watching movies. However, this theory does not hold up to serious analysis, as they are nothing more than appraisals without criteria, movies teach you a lot, but you must be patient. Like all languages you will have to watch the movie several times and each time you will learn more and more:
- It will teach you a lot of vocabulary, naturally, you have to have a dictionary, paper and pencil at hand, to write down the words you do not know, or better, use the computer. In the following link you have a list of recommended dictionaries: https://examenexam.com/es/es/blog/dictionary-alem%C3%A1n-espa%C3%B1ol
- Listening through many films to the actors and actresses their correct pronunciation and trying to imitate said pronunciation.
- Almost without realizing it, the German accent will become familiar to you and you will try without great effort to emit it. Because from listening to German so much, your ears will get used to the language. The next step will be to open up to talking to natural persons.
Between classes
Modern media has all the ingredients you need to study your chosen language, without having to pay for it. In addition, they allow you to connect with the current situation of Germans, to understand them better, we advise you:
- Read the German press.
- Read books in German, which are not technical because for this you need advanced German. In the following links you have graduated German reading books for your level:
- Levels A1 and A2: https://elblogdeidiomas.es/lecturas-graduadas-en-aleman-a1-y-a2/
- Levels B1 and B2: https://elblogdeidiomas.es/lecturas-graduadas-aleman-b1-y-b2/
- Levels C1 and C2: https://elblogdeidiomas.es/10-libros-en-aleman-nivel-c1-y-c2/
- Read the Graded readers, which are books to learn German. They are not textbooks or grammar books, they are books written on purpose in several languages, in your case German, to learn this language through literature, romance, mysteries, adventures etc. They are books designed for students of German.
- Visit the website El alemanista ( http://www.alemanista.com/ ). In it you will find many resources, grammar explanations, useful phrases, texts, songs, videos, etc ... And information about the culture and history of the Germanic countries, travel recommendations and music.
Interesting facts about the German language
The German language has characteristics that make it very interesting for study:
- It is the language with the largest number of native speakers of the EU.
- It is the second language in the world that has more articles on Wikipedia.
- It is the most active language in social networks, therefore, it is one of the ones that offers the most facilities for learning.
- If you know English, it is easier to learn them, because they share many of the same words and also grammatical structures.
- Their verbs are conjugated as in Spanish.
Worth a try
For all that we have explained to you, we believe that it is worth trying, whatever the intention you pursue when studying German, the effort is more than justified, because you find yourself in front of a language that represents one of the countries most advanced in the world, with a rich history and extraordinary development prospects.