Learn German Easily with these Tips and Tricks

Learn German Easily? That's a joke, right?

Actually not, please bear with me while I explain.

Maybe you have read Mark Twain and are now afraid because you think learning German is difficult.

"When a German gets his hands on an adjective, he declines it, and keeps on declining it until the common sense is all declined out of it."

Mark Twain, The Awful German Language

Let me tell you it's not that difficult, even my 2-year old son can speak it :-)

Jokes aside the way to learn German easily is like a child: with repetitions, immersion into the language and many many pictures.

Why do you think we show the children the car and then say the word "Auto"? It's just so much easier to remember the word together with the picture. We adults have forgotten how easy it is to learn a foreign language, because we've been taught with the wrong techniques for so many years.

Learn German Using Mnemonics

My friend Peter who is a German teacher at a Gymnasium (secondary school in Germany) has developed the perfect material for you to finally start memorizing those irregular verbs and other dreaded German grammar.

He initially developed the learning materials for his native students, but then started using it very successfully to teach German as a foreign language as well.

Learn German Using Mnemonics
He uses so-called mnemotechniques or mnemonics, that are highly sophisticated mental memory systems. What sounds difficult in fact is very simple. Hundreds of memory hooks will help you to finally "get" the German grammar and start talking almost fluent.

Make the most of your Trip to Munich

Learning at least some German will make your experience here so much better. Just imagine of all the fun you can have talking to locals about German culture and their secret tips what to do in Munich.

Or being the only one who understood why the underground suddenly stops and everyone has to get out, and -even more important- what to do next to reach your destination? What about being able to actually understand the directions you're given? And proudly ordering your meal in near-perfect German?

That said you definitely don't need to be fluent in German to get around Munich. Many people nowadays have at least a very basic understanding of English and can help you along with directions. Many restaurants carry English menus and sales assistants in the shops along Kaufingerstrasse (the main shopping street) are usually able to speak a few words of English, or even Arabic and Chinese.

But if you want to venture out into the surroundings of Munich, especially into the Bavarian Alps and some non-tourist little villages, then you definitely need a few German words for you survival.

A trip to Munich is the perfect opportunity to refresh your German before coming here, or even take language classes while you're here.

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