Finding Ways to Get Better At German

Hanna is an American student studying in Germany as part of the CBYX (Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange) scholarship exchange program.

Der, die, oder das.

Those are the three haunting indefinite articles that threaten to send shivers down my spine at night as I jerk awake. It is true, German articles are not made of nightmares but rather are the creators of them.

Not only does every word categorize into der, die, oder das, those articles also change with cases. For example, trying to buy a dog would be categorized into the accusative case, because the dog is the object. In that case, the normal “der” of the dog turns into a den. Then, you have to find the correct adjective to match the change in case. If the dog is the dative case, or if it is the indirect object, the “der” turns into a dem. 

In summary: German is such a difficult language to master grammatically that even Germans mess up their cases.

Still, I have come a long way. I came into the beginning of the year knowing basically nothing, and now I can confidently hold conversations with strangers on the street about another day of rain and clouds. And I can discuss politics with my host family.

To do that, though, I would give only one rule: Use minimal English. When I first got to my host community, I was shocked that most people spoke and understood English. I desperately wanted to speak English with my classmates rather than fumbling, trying to formulate sentences. However, taking that step to put English behind me and asking my German friends and family to be patient was the first step I needed to become better.

At home, I studied German further. I practiced grammar exercises on german.net and used Quizlet to memorize important and useful vocabulary. Once I got the hang of things, I began reading children's books in order to have practical application reading rather than just learning grammar. 

I would say a big help for me in learning new words has been to watch shows in German. For example, I was always a big anime fan and would watch the subtitled English version. The switch was simple: Instead of watching the Japanese dub, I was listening to the German one. After hearing the word “Teufel” 50 times in "Demon Slayer," I can never forget the German word for devil.

Learning languages is a difficult process, but having the will and energy to excel will always lead you further. My grammar and sentences may sound funky, but the most important part is that I try.