GERMAN

DIFFERENT

ASPECTS OF

LEARNING A NEW

LANGUAGE

HOW DIFFICULT IS

THE GERMAN

LANGUAGE?

LEARN GERMAN

TILL B2 IN 5-6

MONTHS

GERMAN
LEARNING
TIPS, TRICKS &

RESOURCES
THINGS WE TALK ABOUT IN THIS E-BOOK
Difficulty Level of German
Time Required to Learn German
Resources (Paid and Free)
Learning German Efficiently
Paid Resources
Tips to practice Speaking
BY BHARAT CHAUDHARY
My Recommendation
Important Links
 Difficulty
Level of German
Is learning a new language difficult?

Why am I talking about the

difficulty level of German?

Before and during my language learning journey, I

used to look up articles and blogs that talked

about the learning experience of different

language learners and the difficulty level of

German as a language.

Why did I do that?

I did that because it is all about mindset. If you

think that something is difficult, then most humans

tend to believe that it will be difficult. Finding

something that contradicts this thought process

makes us feel otherwise. So what is the final

answer? Is German a difficult language to learn?

Let's look at some stats.

 Difficulty
Level of German
Is learning a new language difficult?

German is a Category II language:

What does it mean?

The Foreign Service Insitute, with their experience in

teaching languages to U.S. diplomats, categorises

languages under 4 categories. Category I

languages include languages that are similar to

English, for example, French, Spanish, Portuguese

etc. Category II languages like German, Swahili etc

are in this category because they require a bit more

study hours. Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Russian, Thai etc. are

apparently harder than German and come under

Category III languages. Japanese, Chinese, Korean

and Arabic on the other hand are the most difficult

languages to learn and thus fall under Category IV

languages.
Bottom Line: German is not a difficult language

Souce: https://www.state.gov/foreign-language-training/
 Time Required
To Learn German
Realistic time estimate to learn German

Breakdown of Learning Hours

According to the Foreign Service Institue, the time

required to reach ''Professional Working

Proficiency'' for German is 36 weeks (900 class

hours). This can, of course, vary according to the

natural ability of the learner and the time spent in

revision. New language learners have to invest

enough time in self-study and revision. According to

most language learners, if you spend 3-4 hours

learning new things every day and 1-2 hours on

revision, then you can learn a new language in 5-6

months on a semi-fluent level.

A language is divided into 6 levels.

Realistically speaking, for German you
A1, A2,

need 2 weeks for A1, 1 month for A2, 2

B1, B2,
months for B1, and 2-3 months for B2
(if you study 5-8 hours on a daily basis)
C1 & C2.
 Resources
Available
Paid and Free Resources

available to Learn German

Free Resouces

1. DW Learn German (App and

Website)
2. Wordbit German (App for

learning new words)

3. German Podcast Shortstories

(App for listening and reading

practice)
4. Verben mit Präposition B1,

German Verbs (App for

Grammar Training
5. YouTube Video Series
6. Onleihe - Goethe's E-Library

(Free usage outside of

Germany)

Note: Free resources are good to familiarize

yourself with the language, but they are never

enough to become fluent. To become fluent or gain

Semi-Professional level proficiency, you have to

invest in books and language courses.

 Resources
Available
Paid and Free Resources

available to Learn German

Paid Resources

1. Language Books
2. Dictionary
3. Grammar books
4. Offline Language Classes and

Courses
5. Online Language Classes and

Courses
6. Learning German in Germany

Free resources can only take you so far.

If your goal is to Work in Germany or Study in

Germany in a German-taught course, then you need

to take language learning more seriously.

Before moving on to different paid options available

for learning German and the advantages and

disadvantages of these paid resources,

let's first discuss how you should actually learn.
To be more precise, I'm talking about the learning

methods that you can employ to learn German faster.

 Learn
German Efficiently
How to learn German Faster and Efficiently?
Tips and Tricks

Where to Start?

DW Learn German is a decent place to start

learning German. Since it is a free resource, it is

perfect for dipping your toe in the language

learning process. But before jumping to lessons and

exercises straight away, you should focus on

getting the alphabet sound right. You must

understand how words are pronounced in German

in order to improve your German accent and word

pronunciation.
 Learn
German Efficiently
How to learn German Faster and Efficiently?
Tips and Tricks

How to go through the lessons on DW

Learn German

Where and how to begin?

Video Lessons Did You Know?
Exercises
In Other Tools, you can print

Grammar
the script, vocabulary & the

Vocabulary
grammar from the lesson.
Scripts

My Recommendation:
PRINT THE VOCABULARY & SCRIPT
Writing words and sentences with

a pen on a paper helps a lot.

 Learn
German Efficiently
How to learn German Faster and Efficiently?
Tips and Tricks

How to go through the lessons on

DW Learn German: Making Notes

Maintain separate sections for grammar and vocabulary

Maintain different columns for nouns based on articles
Group similar words together. For example words

associated with a Car or a bike can be grouped

together
Write the Vocab section from DW Learn German

exercise in a notebook
Print the Script and write the meaning of unknown words

in the printed sheet.

Print the Script and write the meaning of unfamiliar

words in a notebook
Making tree charts for verbs with similar root structure,

for example, stellen, verstellen, umstellen, an stellen etc

 Learn
German Efficiently
How to learn German Faster and Efficiently?
Tips and Tricks

How to go through the lessons on

DW Learn German: Revision

How and
When to Revise
When: Morning and Night
How: Go through the
How it helps: You will

vocabulary before going

understand how words

through the scripts are used in a sentence.

Go through the scripts

Most learners say that it

right after the

is easier to remember

vocabulary and try to

phrases and use them in

recall all the unfamiliar

daily conversations.
words while reading.

When you cannot recall a word while reading, simply

underline it and go through th meaning after you

have finished reading the script as it is equally

essential to develop a reading speed.

 Learn
German Efficiently
How to learn German Faster and Efficiently?
Tips and Tricks

How to go learn German through

Smartphone Apps:
My Top picks + When to use them

For learning new

words:
WordBit German
When to use: Active learning while travelling or

watching something uninteresting. Basically,

whenever you think about opening Instagram,

YouTube or Facebook on your phone.

Listening and reading practice:

German Podcast short stories
When to use it: Great for passive learning while doing

monotonous tasks like cooking, riding a bike, driving,

cleaning etc.

Grammar training:
Verben mit Präposition B1, German Verbs
When to use: Active learning and grammar revision.
 Learn
German Efficiently
How to learn German Faster and Efficiently?
Tips and Tricks

How to make notes:

A sneak-peak inside my books
When I was learning German

I used the following books:

1. Pluspunkt Deutsch: Leben

in Deutschland for B1
2. Aspekte Neu for B2

For A1 you can use similar

books.
Some recommendations are

Netzwerk, Studio D etc.

Write the meaning of unknown words in the

book itself so that it is easier to recall when

you revise the text again.

 Learn
German Efficiently
How to learn German Faster and Efficiently?
Tips and Tricks

How to make notes:

Tips and tricks that work

For A1 & A2: Learn new vocabulary by making

sentences. Short sentences are enough.

When you learn new words, record them with

their meaning in your phone's voice recorder

and listen to it repeatedly later.

For B1: Try writing short notes on random topics.

For example, pick an object like a table and

write about it.

For B2: Write essays on different topics. Pick

something more complicated than a table. For

example, write about your entire day on a piece

of paper.
 Learn
German Efficiently
How to learn German Faster and Efficiently?
Tips and Tricks

Using Onleihe to Learn German

What is Onleihe?
Onleihe is a digital library provided by the

Goethe-Institut.
It has around 35 thousand german

language e-books, audiobooks, movies

and material for language learners.

Who can use it?

Anyone with a residence outside of Germany
(in Germany you have to pay for it)
 Learn
German Efficiently
How to learn German Faster and Efficiently?
Tips and Tricks

Using Onleihe to Learn German:

Resources on Onleihe

Click on the image to follow the link and

get access to the starting reading

material recommendation for different

levels.
 Paid
Resources
Details-Advantages and Disadvantages
of Different Paid Resources

Language Books

To learn German in a structured manner, you will

need books. By books I mean German language

coursebook and workbook. I earlier talked about

books like Pluspunkt Deutsch, Aspekte Neu, Studio D

etc that you can use.

You can buy them online or in a book store.

Disadvantages of

Advantages of learning

learning from books:

from books:
Sometimes you will need

You learn in a structured

additional resources to

manner and advance

understand some

slowly.
grammar concepts.

Understanding grammar can be tricky

without a teacher.
 Paid
Resources
Details-Advantages and Disadvantages
of Different Paid Resources

Offline Classes and Courses

The most traditional way to learn a

language is to take an offline course.

In an offline class, you study with people

in a classroom style format.

Advantages of offline 'traditional' language classes:
You learn with people who are also learning the

language.

Disadvantages of offline 'traditional' language

classes:
Time wasted in travelling to the language school.
Learning pace of other students can be slow.
You will have to learn at the pace of the class.
You indirectly also pay for the maintenance of the

language school.
 Paid
Resources
Details-Advantages and Disadvantages
of Different Paid Resources

Learning German in Germany

What better way to learn German than to

completely submerge and surround yourself in a

German environment.

Advantages of learning German in Germany:

You learn faster because you are entirely

surrounded by the German culture.

Disadvantages of learning German in Germany:

Extremely expensive.
You not only have to pay for the language

school but also for your stay here.

You still learn in a traditional classroom

environment and have to advance at a slow

pace if the pace of the class is slow.

 Paid
Resources
Details-Advantages and Disadvantages
of Different Paid Resources

Online Classes and Courses

Online courses are great if you want to be flexible

with your time and your learning process.

Advantages of online classes and courses:

Flexibility
No time wasted in travelling to language school
Can learn anywhere and any time
You don't have to pay for maintenance of the

language school.
Learn at your own pace without stopping for your

batch mates to catch up.

Cheaper than offline language courses and

learning German in Germany

Disadvantages of learning German in Germany:

You have to make sure that you don't get lazy and

neglect the course.

 Paid
Resources
Details-Advantages and Disadvantages
of Different Paid Resources

Online Courses: The Best Course to help

you Learn German

Faster German A1
Pros:
You learn German from a native speaker
You can be flexible with your learning and can

learn at your desired pace

You dont have to waste any time in travelling to

and from the language school

You get prepared for the Goethe A1 Exam after

you complete the course

You learn efficient ways of learning German,

the ones that actually make a difference.

You learn German at a fraction of a price

compared to other institutes.

 Paid
Resources
Details-Advantages and Disadvantages
of Different Paid Resources

Faster German Course:

What is so unique about this course?

(click on the picture to checkout the course)

Finish A1 German in just 14 days.

Fast
Self-paced
Affordable
Includes Quizzes
Lifetime Access
Vocabulary Lists
Digital Flashcards for
Fast revision
Exam Preparation for
Goethe A1 included
Built together with Native
German speaker
 Paid
Resources
Details-Advantages and Disadvantages
of Different Paid Resources

Faster German A1:

What is so unique about this course?
At such an affordable price, many can't even think of

getting access to a native German speaker.

The alternative is that many people resort to 'German

tutors/teachers' who do not speak German as their first

language, the pronunciations as a result are far from

how they actually sound in German. When you come to

Germany, you'll be mostly listening to native Germans

pronunciations.
This would never happen to you if you join our course as we

bring to you access to native German pronunciations.

 Paid
Resources
Details-Advantages and Disadvantages
of Different Paid Resources

Our Story
An ex-German beginner turned

C2 level German speaker who

did his M.Sc. in a German Taught

Program at TU Hamburg and a

German native speaker who grew

up in Germany :
We built this course together for

you because one of us has been

where you are at right now and

the other one can you give you a

window to the German

language, culture and

pronunciations.

A BETTER COURSE THAN THIS, HAS

NOT YET BEEN MADE.

 Paid
Resources
Details-Advantages and Disadvantages
of Different Paid Resources

The best way of learning a

language is by speaking it

Tips for practising speaking:

Think in German- easier said than done but still

possible.
Make conversations in your head.
Before you write a conversation, say it in your

head or out loud because it is easier to write

but difficult to speak.

Talk to yourself, your dog, your plants
JAM (Just a minute) Set a timer and speak for

one minute.
Forget Grammar and focus on fluency
Learn common phrases
Learn german songs, poems, rhymes etc.
Learn Conversations

MOST IMPORTANTLY TALK TO THE

VOICE ASSISTANT ON YOUR PHONE

 My
Recommedations
Which method of learning is best suited for

you?

Books: Who is it for?

If you live in the middle of nowhere (like I did), know

you have the discipline to follow a structure and learn

on your own (like I did), then books are a great

investment for learning the language! Couple them with

some penpals, YouTube videos or paid iTalki sessions

and you are good to go.

DW Learn German: Who is it for?

If you are already learning via books or a course and

want additional practice, go to Deutsche Welle! But

don't expect the website to have a lot of structure with

exhaustive materials for you to practice German in a

structured way. It is the Robin to the Batman (and the

Batman you choose for yourself)!

DuoLingo: Who is it for?

If you just want to wet your feet with the language

learning, definitely take a look at this app. BUT IT IS NOT

FOR SERIOUS LANGUAGE LEARNING! Do not expect to

get to level A2 in a month of using it! The sentences you

practice with are many a times very random and very

useless in real life scenarios!

 My
Recommedations
Which method of learning is best suited for

you?

Offline Language Classes:

Who is it for?
If you want to physically attend classes, attend

lectures with a group of people and already live in

a city where there are good language institutes

(IMPORTANT: don't go for just any language

institute! Make sure that they really are the best ones

for you!). The only cons that I find in this is the time

wasted while commuting and the inability of

learning the language on your own pace because

you are in a batch of students!

Online Classes:
Who is it for?
Our Faster German Course is for the people who

want to learn German from a native speaker in a well

structured way but don't want to waste time

commuting or just restricting themselves to books.

If you want to receive guided teaching for your

language learning, this is the best course out there

for you to start learning German.

 Important
Links
Links that you will need throughout your

language learning journey

Online Translating Softwares

DeepL Translator, Google Translate

Onleihe registration process video

(Click here)

Faster German Course

(Click Here)

Faster German Mini Vlog Exercise

(Click here)
 ABOUT ME
Alright! A lot of technical stuff up there!

It's time to introduce myself. My name is

Bharat and I come from a small city in

India called Kurukshetra. (It's in Haryana:

ever watched Dangal?). I came to

Germany back in 2014 at the age of 19,

when I flew to Friedrichshafen to submit

a research paper for an international

conference. This is also when I met my

then-girlfriend and now wife, Alina.

During my B.Tech. in 2015, I did a 3-

month internship in Berlin at a structural

engineering firm. But it wasn't until 2016,

when I finally started my Masters in

Structural Engineering at TU Hamburg

that I could move to Germany "properly".

All this time I wondered, how nice would

it have been if a fellow Indian would

have already shared his experiences of

living in Germany on YouTube. Things

would have been so much simpler!

This inspired me to start my own

YouTube channel back in January 2017.

3 years and 2 India Tours later, the

channel gained a massive audience of

180k+ subscribers on YouTube with over 10 million views. This is when

I realised "Bharat in Germany" became more than just a channel name,

it became a community of highly motivated students and professionals

who see Germany as their future study and career destination. To

guide students more closely, I started BiG Academy in August 2018

where I have my online course, "Complete Course for Studying in
Germany" to mentor students who are serious about pursuing their MS

in Germany and guide them personally with the help of the biweekly

live QnA sessions that I host for the students enrolled in the course.
 To share stories of the massive

impact studying in Germany had on

my personal and academic life, we

conduct seminars in India every

single year to connect with the

students who are either already

serious about starting their studies in

Germany or know about Germany

year after year. In 2018, we had but aren't sure yet about starting

around 1200 students who joined their studies there. The BiG India

the seminars all over India, but in Tours also keep on getting bigger

2019, the numbers almost

quadrupled with 4500 students

attending the seminars. These

seminars have massive emotional

value for us, because sometimes

through seminars like these, we are

able to meet students who have

a completely life-changing experience after they come in touch with us To

tell you what I mean by this, I am sharing the screenshot of one of my

favourite emails that one of the students enrolled in my online course

wrote to me:

Tap to see

more of

these stories!

Looking forward to receiving an email like this from you someday too!
Stay close to your dream of studying in
Germany by following us here:
You just have to tap once on the logos!

academy.bharatingermany.com

500+ enrolled students

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190k+ subscribers
11 million+ views

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4,8k+ connections

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