Raising children 

How to quickly and easily learn German. Selective study of grammar. The main difficulties preventing you from learning German

In this section you will learn how to easily memorize German words and where to get a set of necessary words for free communication.

First, let's remember that there are different types memory:

    motor;

    emotional;

    figurative ;

    logical ;

    visual ;

    auditory, etc.

To remember a word, it is better to use all types of memory: write the word, pronounce it, come up with an image, insert it into a sentence, give the word an emotional coloring, hear it.

Also, our brain stubbornly resists when it sees a huge number of words that, in its opinion, are impossible to quickly remember. But, as experiments show, it is difficult to remember only the first 1000 words; the next 1000 words are easier and faster to learn. How to achieve this?

1. Learn words of one part of speech, for example:

    Verbs: I'm going, you're coming, he came, etc. Agree that by composing such simple sentences, you immediately feel that you can speak German.

In the section " German verb conjugation " you'll learn how to write these short sentences and find a large list of verbs to practice with. Verbs + easy grammar = freedom of communication.

    Take advantage list of useful German adjectives , to describe people, nature and everything that can be described. Put these words into short sentences.

    How to read German words? Reading rules

    Learn and apply     german words
    The first phrases in German are: video Grammar German language in 1 day Conjugation of German verbs and how to use them in speech Most Popular German verbs with examples Popular adjectivesand adverbs - used in speech The most common German words Russian-German phrasebook. German for tourists Linking words for German sentences
    Films and TV seriesin German with subtitles video Dialogues in German with text and translation - video Short videoin German with subtitles

German can be called the “first second foreign language” in Europe. Despite the apparent complexity, most often for studying the second after English language they choose him. What caused this popularity and why children should start learning German right now, experts told Mel.

For those preparing for the main school exam

Why learn a second foreign language

Today, knowledge of English is no longer perceived as something special - most employers consider it a basic qualification. Another foreign language gives an additional advantage when hiring, allowing you to build successful career in an international company. According to Markus Ozegovich, general director Volkswagen Group Rus, German is the key to a successful professional career.

"I worked a lot in different countries, and this is what caught my eye. Language, in my opinion, reflects the culture of a country. Culture, in turn, serves as a reflection of certain advantages inherent in this country. I want to say that such qualities of Germans as reliability of planning, accuracy and punctuality can be better understood through the German language. It sounds old-fashioned and conservative, but in business circles these qualities are incredibly important and lead to success. Studying German language helps young people join them,” says Ozegovich.

Polyglots have areas of the brain associated with problem solving and planning that are significantly more active than those who speak only one language. Research by psychologist Boaz Keysar from the University of Chicago has shown that such a person can make decisions faster and more rationally. And people who speak two or more languages ​​are less susceptible to diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's syndrome.

Why choose German

We are accustomed to consider German the language of philosophy, music and literature. But it is also the language of innovation and technological progress, new discoveries in medicine, design and architecture of urban spaces of the future. Learning German gives your child great opportunity to join this knowledge and in the future realize himself in any of the areas in which he is making progress today. In addition, you can get an education in Germany European level free of charge - all you need to do is pass an exam proving your level of German language proficiency is sufficient for studying.

Every fourth European speaks German. In Russia one of priority areas in economic development - cooperation with European partners. You can communicate with them in English, but communicating in their native language (if they are Germans) allows you to quickly create a trusting atmosphere at work.

German is most suitable for learning together with English because they belong to the same language group. The similarity of language structures facilitates the learning process.

How to properly combine learning two foreign languages

You can learn several languages ​​at the same time, as children in bilingual families do - this does not affect the quality of language learning. But it is much more effective to learn languages ​​using different methods: for example, English - through the alphabet, reading and writing, and German - through game form without alphabetization. This approach will save the child from confusion and unnecessary stress. In the future, when the basic structures of the first foreign language have been mastered, you can begin to thoroughly study the second, the motivation for which has already been created.

Based on the existing knowledge of the first foreign language, it is much easier for the child to assimilate the material of the second. He can analyze and compare, look for similarities and differences in grammatical structures.

At what level can you learn German as a second foreign language at school?

What success will a child achieve by studying German second foreign, depends entirely on who teaches the language and how. All components are important educational process and the contribution of all participants to it. The teacher’s task is to show the significance and beauty of German and to interest the child. Interest in a subject directly depends on personal and professional qualities teachers, and this point cannot be ignored.

A foreign language is a living substance. Times change, the language itself changes. And the level of mastering a second foreign language depends on the combination of all factors - the personality of the teacher, teaching methods and the interest of the child himself. Experience shows that you can learn a second foreign language even better than the first.

Where is the best place to learn a second foreign language?

The same principle applies here as with any other school or additional subject. If your child easily learns the material, is sociable, is not afraid to be the center of attention, and can work in a team, then language courses together with other children are suitable for him. Sometimes team spirit and a successful situation are very helpful in learning a language. If a child is withdrawn and embarrassed to communicate with others, then it will be more comfortable for him to learn the language individually. With a person whom he can and is not afraid to trust. In this case, the personality of the tutor and his competence play a primary role. He must be partly a psychologist and be able to find contact with the child.

How to learn German on your own

Success self-study depends on the child's motivation. The main thing is to involve him in a language situation and immerse him in the language environment. Authentic films, books, cartoons, songs and poems can come to the rescue. The publication Schrumdirum will be of interest to children, Vitamin.de is suitable for teenagers. A more universal option can be considered Deutsch perfect.

There are also useful online sources where you can find assignments different levels, starting from A1. Thus, on Deutsch-online, in the “Grammar” section, rules are collected, without which you will not get far in learning a language. There is also a “Vocabulary” - the minimum necessary for communication german words, sorted by topics “Entering Germany”, “Transport”, “Money” and so on. On this site great selection audio and video materials: TV series, cartoons and films, fairy tales, works of Goethe. You can download materials for learning German, master pronunciation and listening comprehension. Get acquainted with slang words and unusual phrases that cannot be found in a standard German dictionary.

Where to start

The more authentic texts a child surrounds, the better. At a very young age, learning should occur through play, unobtrusively. These could be cartoons that the child saw in Russian and knows their content, but now watches in a foreign language.

If children and teenagers begin to be interested in some music group, a film or character directly associated with Germany, better motivation in learning a language you can’t imagine it. If your children love modern music, give them this selection. Surely they will reach for German, if only to sing along with the popular rapper CRO.

30% of people “fail” at language courses. They give up because there is no time, it is difficult, there is no more energy, or because interest has disappeared. Why? It's simple. Outdated teaching methods that work against our brains. So how can you learn German quickly and forever?

At systematic approach You can learn German to an advanced level (that is, fluent communication on any topic, level C1) in 12-17 months, without living in the country of the language. System training includes:

    1. Set a language learning goal and go towards it
    2. Find a teacher or courses that fit your purpose. No independent learning, otherwise it will take years to reach your goal
    3. Presence of success factors

Now about each point separately.

1. Set a language learning goal and go towards it

First you need to determine what level you have now and what level you want to reach. If the level is beginner, and for your purposes you need to master the intermediate level, then the learning time will be significantly reduced to several months. The same thing if you intermediate level and you want to reach advanced.

Second important point— set yourself a time frame. By what time do I want to reach my desired level? What specific date and month? A time limit is an excellent motivator not to put things off until later, but to get busy, despite the rush at work, illness, holidays and lack of mood. The goal should have a specific date that you will strive for.

2. Find a teacher or courses

Classes at a language school and with private tutors can be divided into three types:

First type: The pace of classes is slow

To get an entry level, you need to attend for at least six months. Then another two years to master the intermediate level. The courses are usually inexpensive, but to achieve an intermediate level, you need to take 4-6 courses. The total is not cheap, and a lot of time is spent. This is the most common type of language school not only in Russia, but also in Germany.

Second type: The pace of classes is medium or fast

You will have to adapt to this pace. If you missed a couple of weeks due to a cold, you will have a lot of catching up to do. Most often on your own. No one will return money for absence from classes (at least without a medical certificate). There is no individual approach. I have also met tutors who worked at their own rhythm, moving on to the next topic even when the student had not yet mastered the previous one. This rush is especially common when the deadline for taking a test or exam is approaching. Although, in my opinion, it does not justify the tutor’s decision to move on.

Third type: The pace of classes is determined individually

Here the student pays not for the time spent studying, but for the result. For comparison: In the first type of courses we are told – “ Pay for six months and go to classes". Theoretically, in six months you can master half of the initial A1 course. At least that's what it says in the description. But if you don’t master it, you’ll have to repeat the course.

In the third type of classes it is proposed to pay for the result - “ Want an intermediate level? Please. Pay once and study until you learn everything. As much time as needed.“Some people manage in three months, while others need eight, because they work two jobs and because they have to pass the exam. But the price for both the first and second cases one, and the rhythm of classes is chosen individually. There are very few such schools, but they do exist.

How do you know what type of school is right for you? It all depends on life situation, ability and willingness to learn the language. You need to determine how much time you have per day and per week to study the language. Not only in courses, but also independently at home. You also need to evaluate at what pace it would be most comfortable to practice. You can also attend trial classes on several courses and choose the most suitable ones. If there are no language schools in your city or it’s a long way to get to them, you can use the services of online schools. Online courses today are not inferior in quality. And you don't have to go anywhere.

3. Presence of success factors

There are a number of factors that will help determine whether you can learn a language quickly and permanently in the place or with the teacher you are currently studying with. These factors play a key role.

Variety of educational materials

On initial stage You can study one basic and one grammar. But as the language level increases, the materials should expand - texts, videos, games, discussion training, projects, etc. Materials must be up-to-date, no copies from textbooks of the last century.

Selective Grammar Study

I've gone through all the German grammar, but in truth I only use 30-40% of the structures from the grammar books. In other words, like most Germans. No one uses all the rules described in the Helbig und Buscha grammar. It is important to train only 30-40%, and the rest to practice only for understanding, if suddenly it comes up somewhere. To quickly learn German, you don’t need to overload yourself with unnecessary information, otherwise the study will take a long time and the effect will be small.

Selective vocabulary

The logic is the same here - we don’t learn everything, but concentrate on common words and expressions. First of all, we train the words that we use in current topics(everyday affairs and a couple of specialized topics related to work and profession). First of all, we practice expressing our thoughts on these topics.

Learning spoken language

No expressions from the classics of German literature, no outdated words. Reading German literature is good, but learning German from it is not relevant.

Germans' eyebrows go up when they hear from a foreigner some literary phrase that they themselves have never heard before, and they are even more surprised by the question - “What, don’t you say that? And Thomas Mann wrote so!”

It is clear that before there were no other sources of original German texts, but now there is a lot of material, both text, audio and video.

Control

Not just at the end of the course. And not just written. And not only the official one. The teacher must monitor and record any progress of the student in order to react in time if something was not learned.

Feel constant personal progress

For example, you study with a tutor for a month or go to courses. What can you do in a month? Just say hello, introduce yourself and say goodbye? Or not only that, but also talk about yourself, your family and work, place an order in a restaurant, ask directions from a passerby and talk about the weather with your German neighbor on the plane? Do you feel the difference?

Motivation

Having set a goal for learning a language, we are already interested in studying regularly and completing assignments on time. But sometimes this is not enough. Therefore, the teacher must also not only convey knowledge, but also motivate in different ways– from interesting story about Germany before time limits on delivery homework. However, do not forget to motivate yourself personally. For example, you could wear a German flag bracelet or keychain as a reminder to exercise every day. Or the opportunity to write your first greeting card in German after this topic has been covered. You need to think about what can motivate and encourage you to study the language regularly.

Individual approach

To learn German or any other language, you definitely need to take into account an individual approach. There are language courses with a group of 15 people or more. Here you can hardly hope that the teacher will regularly monitor the personal progress of each student. Most often, if the majority of the group has understood the material, the teacher moves on to the next topic. What if you're in the minority? Still don't understand the topic and want some more explanations and exercises? What if you were not present for previous classes? What if you remember visual images better, but the teacher gives only text? Some people find it easier to learn words separately, while others remember them in context. How to tailor classes to suit yourself?

Ideally, the teacher leads the class based on the students' goals, using everything, and goes through the topic until all participants understand it.

I wish you to learn German quickly, quickly and well, well, so that you no longer sit over textbooks, but enjoy the result!

Good luck to everyone!

10 tips on how to learn German quickly and forever was last modified: November 2nd, 2018 by Catherine

To broaden your horizons, you need to learn foreign languages. They will help you better understand a foreign culture, touch the great works of the classics of world literature in the original, and learn a lot of new and interesting things. When choosing a language, you need to be based on your preferences.

People interested in Germany ask the question: is it possible to learn German on their own? Those who have achieved success in this important task confidently say yes. You just need to try a little and spend some of your free time.

What is needed for this?

For a positive result, you need to have motivation and set a deadline for achieving the goal. It is equally important to organize the learning process in an interesting way, otherwise the desire to master is quite complex language may evaporate quickly. Determine why you want to start practicing. Perhaps you will be traveling to Germany, working in a German company, or communicating with native speakers. There can be many reasons. After all, Germany is the leading country of the European Union, and its language is very widespread and popular.

To learn German from scratch on your own, it is important to choose the right teaching material.

  • A good option is audio lessons. They are convenient to listen to public transport, making good use of the time needed on the road and during the lunch break.
  • Along with an audio course, it is often necessary to use diagrams, special cards, textbooks, or other didactic material, helping to quickly master knowledge.
  • Along with audio lessons, it is useful to study the German language tutorial. Try using “German for Beginners”, compiled by V. Bukharova and T. Kessler. With its help, you will quickly remember basic phrases.
  • Be sure to purchase a comprehensive German-Russian and Russian-German dictionary. Set a goal for yourself to memorize 10 new words every day, and you will not notice how rich you are vocabulary.
  • Visual information is perceived more quickly by many people. Therefore, to learn the language and improve pronunciation, video lessons are needed.

If you can’t remember articles and irregular verbs at home without outside help, sign up for courses and study as part of a group. There you will receive regular tasks for self-execution, communicate with like-minded people and, perhaps, you will achieve success faster.

Alphabet and umlaut

You need to start studying from the beginning. The first step for a language learner is to understand the alphabet. For those who attended English classes at school, this will not be difficult. The languages ​​belong to the general group - Germanic, and their alphabet is of Latin origin.

  • If you set yourself a serious goal, you can master a language quickly. In it, words are written in the same way as they are pronounced, you just need to know the consonant and vowel sound combinations well and remember when an umlaut is placed above the letters Ä ä, Ö ö and Ü ü - two dots on top.
  • You need to figure this out and learn how to pronounce the umlaut at the very beginning, otherwise your speech will be difficult to understand correctly.
  • Most often, two dots appear in words used in plural, but sometimes they change the phrases completely. It is convenient to learn how to pronounce them by listening to educational audio or video material.

Some people mistakenly compare umlaut with a feature of the Russian alphabet - the letter E. In fact, there is absolutely nothing similar between them. These points have different meanings.

Start of classes

The main difficulty in the German language is articles. With their help, the gender of nouns is determined. German grammar differs from Russian, so at first students have to memorize nouns along with articles in order to speak correctly.

If you don’t give up on learning, articles will gradually cease to be a problem, and language acquisition will begin much faster.

Learn new words systematically. These should be not only nouns, but also other parts of speech. To successfully memorize prepositions and verbs, it is advisable to find educational poems or songs. In this form, they are stored in memory faster.

Remember learning a foreign language at school. At first, children learned to describe pictures, memorized basic expressions, names of days of the week, months, and kitchen utensils. Don't neglect this moment. Simple words necessary for communication.

A little later, it is important to understand how Germans construct sentences. They do it differently than the Russians, so it’s difficult for beginning students to understand.

  • The Russian language has its own rules, and it is easy to arrange words in a sentence in a wide variety of orders. In German this is strictly prohibited. There, every word has its place, and their order is strictly fixed.
  • To understand, you need to learn conjunctions and remember that in German grammar The subject always comes first and the predicate comes second.
  • In addition, it is important to learn the forms of verbs, which can also be difficult. You need to learn how to manage them, decline them by case, use them in the plural and singular.

If you need to know how to learn German on your own and quickly, after mastering the basics, start watching films released in Germany. It is useful to include a film that you have seen many times in Russian dubbing, so you are well familiar with the plot and dialogues of the main characters. A simple way of studying will bring a lot of excitement and significantly increase your vocabulary.

Search the Internet for the series in German “Extra Deutsch”. It is designed specifically for learning. The characters in the film pronounce phrases slowly and clearly, so you can calmly repeat the expressions after them. Each episode is accompanied by subtitles in German, so you can remember the pronunciation and spelling of words at the same time.

What to do next?

To quickly learn a language, it is useful to use it in different areas life. Find a German news site on the Internet and read the notes published there every day. Right away you will need a dictionary and a lot of time for this, but gradually you will notice that you instantly understand what is written.

Read a fiction book in German. It is advisable to choose a familiar work, then you will have to look less into the dictionary, because you will understand some words intuitively.

Change the language in settings mobile phone and try to figure out the controls.

It is useful to study information about the origin of the language. This interesting topic, which is intertwined with the history of countries such as Sweden and Denmark.

Final stage

When learning a language at home brings positive results, think about communicating with the residents of Germany. Thanks to modern technologies, it’s easy to do without leaving your apartment.

  • Communities of like-minded people dedicated to the study of German culture, history and language have been specially created on popular social networks. There it is easy to find friends who are fluent in the foreign language you need, enter into correspondence with them and subsequently start communicating via Skype.
  • This practice is incredibly useful because mastering spoken language is the most important step in learning any language. It will help you perceive words by ear, recognize slang expressions and reductions.

At first, certain difficulties may arise. To reduce them to a minimum, arm yourself with the necessary notes during a conversation, open a phrase book and be sure to turn on the online translator on your computer. It will help you translate unfamiliar phrases of your interlocutor. By talking regularly, you will no longer need helpers and will understand everything on your own.

According to the observations of people who are interested in how long it takes to learn spoken German, it takes about 2 months. During this period, a huge vocabulary is developed and an understanding of how to correctly construct sentences comes.

To learn German from scratch, it is important to immerse yourself in the language environment, read more, listen to songs, and study the culture of Germany. If possible, it is advisable to visit this country, admire the beautiful castles, museums, nature and communicate with people. Having set a goal for yourself, feel free to do everything to achieve it. Of course, at first it will be difficult, but gradually you will get involved and the process will become easier. The main condition for success is regular classes, perseverance, and then you will quickly be able to speak German and understand native speakers of this beautiful language.

Independent learning of the German language from scratch is not fiction and illusion, but reality. If a person has the desire, a notebook, headphones and at least access to the Internet, everything will be possible. Although here you need something else, the most important thing, without which you won’t be able to fully study the German language on your own. Free time is necessary, and the more you have, the better.

Study plan

The first step is to carefully plan your “home” course. That is, make a plan for learning German. It is very easy to do this on your own, since a person will be guided solely by his abilities, prospects and capabilities. Of course, you need to start with the basics. That is, from the alphabet. You need to practice the pronunciation of letters and sounds, memorize them, because this is really important. Once this has been mastered, you can begin where everyone starts - the “Getting Acquainted” topic. This is the easiest lesson, since within its framework a person becomes familiar with the construction simple sentences, for example, such as: “Mein Name ist Anton” (translation: “My name is Anton”). And, of course, from this lesson a person begins to accumulate his vocabulary. The number of expressions, verbs, nouns, connectives and everything else is important. After all, the richness of his German speech depends on how wide the student’s vocabulary is. And, of course, the question arises - where to learn a language, with what, what to use? There are a lot of courses, both free and sold for money. In addition, you can buy several books and study from them. There are a lot of ways, everyone can find the one that suits them.

Psychological attitude

After making such an important decision - to start learning a new language - you need to give yourself an attitude. The first thing you need to do is determine for yourself how much time you can devote to studying. You need to start from small things - starting from the number of hours per week and ending with the amount of lessons per month. It's not without reason professional courses are compiled hourly. You should also calculate how many minutes it will take to take a break. It is very important, sometimes you need to be distracted, switch to another type of activity - this way the information is absorbed much better. And besides, interest in the language will never fade away, since a person will always feel rested, fresh and ready to learn new things. Motivation is also important. It is necessary to record your successes, analyze your own achievements in order to see that there really is a result, and strive for perfection. And, of course, you can dream about a trip to Germany or other countries where state language is German. After all, by understanding the indigenous people, you can make your vacation much easier.

Success comes gradually

Many people, starting to study German on their own, ask themselves: how much time does it take to master it perfectly? The answer depends on many things. How often does a person study German, how many hours a week does he devote to it, how hard does he work on topics, and so on. However, we can say with confidence that ideally no one will be able to master it in two months. The German language is as rich as Russian. Just perfecting perfect pronunciation can take a year, since a person learns to speak in the process of mastering new words. But if you spend enough time on this and delve deeply into each topic, then in two years you can master German so that even the indigenous people, upon hearing his speech, will accept him as “one of their own.”

Immersion in the language environment

It will do self-study learning German from scratch is even easier. At least in terms of pronunciation. By the way, those people who communicate with native speakers of this language and listen to songs in German master it much faster. They say that you don’t have to buy textbooks or study courses to start speaking. You can simply move to Germany and bring your zero German to a good conversational level in six months. However, this option is not realistic for everyone, and not everyone can take the risk.

Audiovisual training

So how can you make learning German on your own easier? The film is the first thing that can help. Videos in German with subtitles, at the expense of soundtrack and simultaneous visual translation into Russian will help not only to learn to understand the speech of German residents. A person will also understand how to correctly pronounce and translate a particular word. This will make your independent learning of the German language more interesting and varied. A film is a combination of business and pleasure, since you can watch a new film (or “remember” something you’ve already seen before) and strengthen your skills in a foreign language. In fact, today you can find a lot of different films translated into German. For example, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, or “The Lord of the Rings”. By the way, watching films that you have already seen before is even better, since you already have an idea of ​​how events within the plot will develop, and you can pay more attention to subtitles and German voice acting.

The most difficult topic

Speaking about independent learning of the German language from scratch, a few words should be said about the complex topic, which exists in the program. If we exclude scientific terminology, then these are verbs and their correct use. The importance of this part of speech cannot be overestimated. After all, in fact, without a verb, not a single complete sentence can be made. But it’s not enough just to know how “to speak”, “to do” and other words are translated. It is necessary to memorize the table perfectly irregular verbs, learn their management, learn to decline by cases and persons. It will take a lot of time to master this topic, and therefore you should not leave it without due attention.

Communication

When self-learning German from scratch gives significant results, you can think about starting to communicate with native speakers. Nowadays, it is very easy to make this idea a reality. Fortunately, there are different social media, through which you can meet someone from Germany, and then, after correspondence, switch to video communication. This is a very useful practice because colloquial speech is the most important stage, which contains independent learning of the German language from scratch. The program, of course, is already very voluminous and consists of dozens various topics. However, only through communication will you learn to master German, learn to listen to dialects (of which there are a huge number in Germany and German-speaking countries), and understand abbreviations and slang. Of course, at first it will be a little difficult to communicate, but you can always have a translator, phrase book or notes at hand. This will serve as a reference material at first. And then, gradually, the need for hints will disappear by itself. After just a couple of months of intensive communication, the result will be noticeable - a much larger vocabulary, competent speech and correct sentence construction.

Constancy

Finally, there are a few things to consider when starting to learn German on your own from scratch. The main thing in this matter is consistency. Once you start, you shouldn’t give up, forget about lessons, or put it off until “later.” It is necessary to develop the habit of studying the language regularly, at the same time, for the same number of hours. Of course, it is advisable to increase the number of classes, but gradually. Many people, following this principle of self-studying the German language, leave only positive reviews. Of course, little can be achieved without difficulty, but what can be achieved today just like that?