Category: German
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16 things I’m doing to learn German as a new arrival in Germany: a beginner’s guide
I’ve been in Germany for nearly 6 months, and in this time, I’ve been plugging away at my German, using many different techniques to avoid the situation I ended up in whilst living in Belgium, where I existed in an English (and Spanish-speaking) bubble; you can read more about this in my How not to…
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7 essential phone backgrounds to use as the best learning resource for A1-A2 German learners
Do you ever find yourself stuck mid-sentence in German, wondering which case to use, which preposition to choose from or how to end an adjective in the sentence you’re trying to form? You need a learning aid which will, over time, help you to train your brain to come up with the goods automatically. A1…
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10 highly entertaining Netflix German series worth watching
If you’re learning German and want to start watching German series, start with these really compelling series, all available on Netflix!
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4 simple patterns to help you form past participles in German as a post-beginner
If German verbs seem totally lawless to you and you can’t see a way forward, then these 4 simple patterns will put you on the right track.
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Language learning trauma: why people trash our language skills and why it hurts so much
“I thought you were good at languages?”…”That’s not how you say it”…”I can’t understand you!” Why do people trash our language skills with reckless abandon? And why does it hurt so much? Find out why here.
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The beginner’s way to remember a noun’s gender in German and 5 other memory techniques
Remembering whether German nouns are masculine, feminine or neuter is difficult for beginners. Unlike in many other gendered languages, there aren’t tell-tale signs like uniform endings. Here’s a method that makes memorising each noun’s gender much easier.
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10 great podcasts with free transcripts for A1-B2 German learners
Bored of listening to other people learn? Zone out when natives speak too quickly? Here are 6 podcasts that will actually improve your German.
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Should you try the Lingoda language sprint? Here’s my experience and advice
If you looking for a course that’ll keep you motivated to progress in a short space of time, Lingoda just might be the ticket. Here’s what to expect and my recommendations.
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How to start learning any language: treat it like a crime you’re trying to solve
Sick of claims to get you to fluency with this course, that coach, or those book series? Me too! Cracking a language is like trying to solve a crime. Here’s how to do it.
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3 incredibly common barriers that are making you think you lack the language gene, and how to overcome them
There is no scientific evidence of a language gene; instead, it’s a product of our circumstances in monolingual cultures. Find out how to ditch these unhelpful barriers here.
