“How do I learn German fast?” “How much time does it take to learn German?” These questions are on the mind of any aspiring German speaker. If you’re one of them, look no further! We have answers to all your questions in this comprehensive guide. Here’s what we’ll cover:
- How long it takes to learn German;
- The fastest way to learn German;
- How to choose the best language resources to learn German;
- The difference between active and passive German practice;
- How to create a good plan for learning German;
- Ideas to practice German often;
- Traveling abroad to improve your German;
- The best solution for learning German: Global General.
So if you want to become fluent in German fast, keep reading to find out how.
Let’s jump right in!
How Long Does It Take To Learn German? Things to Take Into Account
If you’re wondering how much time is required to learn German, we’re afraid we’re not able to give you a concrete answer. This is because there are a number of factors which vary greatly from student to student which can make a huge difference in the length of time required to reach fluency in a language. Let’s take a look at the main ones:
Your starting level and goal level
What’s your current German level? What level of German do you aim to reach? These are two very important questions that need to be answered to find out how long it will take you to learn German, or any other language. If you’re starting from scratch, you can expect it to take at least three months of dedicated work to reach each next level of German. You must first learn the basics of the German language, which might take a while.
If you’re already at the intermediate or advanced level, it could take a much shorter time to become fluent — but this, too, depends on how solid your understanding of German grammar is, how much practice you’ve had speaking the language, etc.
Your personal objectives
What do you hope to achieve with your German? Why should you learn German? This too can greatly impact the amount of time needed to learn the language. If you’re just hoping to speak with German tourists a couple days per year while traveling, you may study with a very relaxed mindset and take it slow. However, if your job is at stake, or if you need the German language in order to complete a degree, you will probably give studying German a lot more determination, effort, and importance — and this will definitely influence the amount of time it takes you to learn German!
Similarities between your native language and German
Parlez-vous francais? 你说中文马？Your native language, too, will determine how quickly you can learn German. If your native language has many similarities with German, you’ll have a much easier time learning grammar concepts, vocabulary, and perhaps even the pronunciation. German is most similar to other Germanic languages, such as Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Luxembourgish, Scottish, Yiddish, and Afrikaans. English also has many similarities in vocabulary. If you’re a native speaker of one of these languages, you’ll have an excellent head start to reaching the advanced level in German!
The resources you use to study
Learning languages can be fast and fun, or learning languages can be stressful and frustrating — the resources you use make all the difference. With a poorly made website filled with mistakes, it will not only take you much longer to learn German, but you may actually be learning German the wrong way! If you want to learn German quickly and easily, you have to choose quality language resources that can help you easily understand German grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, without confusing you or teaching you mistakes. You can take a look at our article on the best free and paid resources for learning German and make your choice!
The competencies you want to focus on
Any language is composed of four competencies: writing, speaking, reading, and listening. The first two are considered “active”, and the last two “passive”. It’s always easier to improve your passive competencies than your active ones, including in German. This is because you don’t need to remember words so well to understand languages passively: you can easily recognize a word in a book or movie, or understand what a sentence means, even if you’re not able to recall it and create sentences yourself. Improving in speaking and writing is a much greater challenge.
The time you dedicate to studying
Have you seen those “30-day body transformation” videos? Do you think those fast results were achieved by people who exercised just 20 minutes per week, or changed only one of their meals? Of course not! Well, you must apply the same logic to your language studies too. You get what you give: dedicate several hours per week (or day even!) to studying German, and you’ll learn German quickly and much more easily. But if you only “kind of” put in effort, you will also only “kind of” learn German.
How to Learn German Fast: The Best Available Solutions
Now that we’ve looked at the factors that can influence how fast you can learn German, let’s talk about the strategies you can implement to learn German fast!
Choose Resources Suitable to Your Level (Books, Website, Etc.)
If you just go with the first German book, course, or website you come across, you’ll probably find yourself looking for a new one a few weeks later… and then again a few weeks later. This is a lot of time wasted that you could instead be dedicating to improving your German! Do it right the first time and pick out a high-quality, reliable language resource for learning German that you can trust and stick to long-term, for efficient progress. Make sure it’s made by experts in German who understand how to present the language in a structured and organized way — simply being a native German speaker doesn’t make someone a good German teacher!
Alternate Active and Passive Studying (Films, Podcasts, Songs, Etc.)
As we’ve mentioned earlier, a language includes passive competencies and active ones. Though speaking and writing are both more challenging and more valued, it would not be very beneficial to focus exclusively on them — that’s just a great way to make yourself exhausted! Alternating speaking and writing German practice with listening to a German podcast or song, watching a fun video or movie in German, or reading a book by a German author is a great way to mix it up and have fun at the same time! Passive studying is also a great way for children to learn German!
Learn German Fast: Stay Consistent and Respect Your Plan
Improving your German quickly requires two things: creating an efficient plan to learn German, and, of course, sticking to it. Create a personalized plan that suits your day and your lifestyle — whether it’s getting up half an hour earlier to study, using your lunch break to review, or cracking open the books after work. Incorporate a way to track yourself — you can put check marks in your calendar, use a goal tracking app like Strides, or agree to send updates on your language learning journey to a friend who can keep you accountable.
Get Some Practice Every Single Day to Learn German Fast
To learn German fast, you should practice it as often as possible. You might be thinking you don’t have time to study every day, but you’d be surprised how many other ways there are to incorporate the German language into your everyday life! Set a German song as your alarm in the morning. Turn on a German radio station as you have breakfast. Play a German podcast on your way to work. Use a language app to review during your coffee break. After work, choose a German movie or book to wind down before bed. You could even be creative and follow German influencers on social media or try playing video games in German. Lastly, if a friend of yours is also studying the German language, you can agree to text each other every day in German!
Travel Abroad to Improve and Practice With Native Speakers
If you’re tired of the same old routine, why not switch it up a little? Germany is only a plane ticket away! Choose Germany as your next destination to combine relaxation and travel with a great way to put your German language skills into practice in the real world. You can enroll directly in local German language courses in Germany, you can read German books or watch German movies from anywhere, but there are only a few countries in the world where you can ask for directions in German, talk to restaurant servers in German, and even ask where the washroom is in German!
lastly, you should take a look at our article on the 7 best places to learn German in Germany and Switzerland!
Learn German Fast With an Easy Online Solution: Global General
We’ve already given you many tips on how to learn the German language fast, but we still have one more, and we’ve saved the best for last — Global General! It is an e-learning method developed by GlobalExam, which helps beginners and intermediate students learn German fast from the comfort of their homes. Global General also offers four other languages: Spanish, Italian, English, and French. This can allow you to see how hard is it to leanr German compared to French or other languages.
Every language is divided into levels based on the CEFR standards and requires a minimum of 12 study hours to complete (except for English, which requires 25).
Learn German fast with Global General! Here is what we can offer you:
- Lots of flashcards to help you study new German vocabulary fast
- Simulations to practice German in real context, for all four language competencies: reading, listening, speaking, and writing
- A “did you know” section with tips and fun facts to help you learn more about the German language and culture
- 5000 detailed corrections
- Personalised feedback from our dedicated German coaches
- Validation of the acquired competencies after every 5 simulations
- 150 hours of unique content
- 500 audio tracks
Here’s Why Global General Is the Fastest Way to Learn German
Though there are many platforms available nowadays, learning German with Global General is one of the best you could possibly choose. With our platform, learning the German language will be not only fast and easy, but also fun and dynamic. You won’t have any gaps in your knowledge, and you will never find yourself bored! With Global General, you can study German online from the comfort of home — or even the office or the beach! But you’re certainly not alone in your journey: you’ll have our team of qualified German language coaches to support you with personalized feedback and help you learn at a fast pace.
Don’t let any more time go to waste — sign up now and start learning German fast today with GlobalExam!
