Tips for becoming fluent in German from FluentU

1. Make Use of Your German Dictionary

You’re always going to have more questions than answers, and a dictionary helps you make progress in this area and allows more spontaneity in your learning.

If you don't have your own, here are a few suggestions: 

Langenscheidt language learning aids are high quality across the board.

If you want a challenge, the German standard dictionary “Duden” is for you. It’s universally respected and offers the definitive guide to past and current conventions relating to Rechtschreibung (orthography).

The Internet has many free websites which can help you on the road to fluency, including dict.cc (general accuracy, specificity and breadth of synonyms).

Google Translate can also be a useful tool, but refrain from relying on it too heavily. Google is frequently fallible and grammatically suspect, so you’ll need to check for errors along the way.

2. Use your German Textbook

You'll get a better idea of what remains to learn and what gaps still exist in your understanding of grammar and basic conversation.

3. Listen to German Music

Whether you love rock, reggae, rap, folk or fusion, there are German language artists waiting to fill up your music library and steal your heart.

Google around for artists in your preferred genre, get on YouTube and Spotify, see what you like and go from there.

Google radio stations in German cities for your preferred music genres and use their online streaming services.

Get artist recommendations from German music magazines like Spex. Many of them have music available on US iTunes and Amazon, or you can get adventurous and go through the process of downloading music internationally from MediaMarkt.de. [Remember – support the artists!]

3. Learn German Music Videos [on FluentU]

If you want to simplify the research and look-up process so that you can focus on learning, try out FluentU with its interactive captions – click on any word to see a definition, image, and examples. You can even see the word used in other videos.  [I believe you need to subscribe for the amazing caption service. --rsb]

FluentU takes real-world videos like music videos, movie trailers, news, and inspiring talks, and turns them into German learning lessons.  [Maybe you've noticed that I've recently posted quite a few of the items I've found on Deutsch-heute. --rsb]

One of FluentU’s features is

This demonstrates FluentU’s interactive captions in action.

5. Read German Children’s Books

You may like a reminder that I run a German library service. You can check all of the books you see on the shelves out from our classroom!  --rsb   They are charming and fun – plus you’ll gain cultural insights by learning the stories which Germans experience as kids. Some, like the Grimms Märchen (Grimm’s fairy tales) you may be familiar with in their English versions.

Others are German translations of English stories, like the classic “Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt“ (“The Very Hungry Caterpillar”).

6. Read German Translations of English books

Get your hand on one of the “Harry Potter” books for instance. I'm afraid many of my own favorite titles have walked away in recent years . . .  

[My version of the first Potter film can only be played on a universal DVD player.] --rsb

7. Get a German Sprachpartner (language partner)

Use your GAPP exchanger! --rsb

Otherwise, you could track down a native speaker who’ll meet you for regular conversation sessions, surprising you with sentences you would’ve never extrapolated out of lifeless textbook pages.
Alternatively you could ask a leading German learning Twitter feed for a retweet to help you find potential partners. The language center of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin even has an online tandem databank. There are options out there no matter your availability.

8. Find a Stammtisch (regular meeting of German speakers)

URI holds a Kaffeeklatsch every week. --rsb   Bored with talking to just one German speaker? Now it’s time for you to find an entire group of them!

Go meet them and learn their stories – many of these people have lived fascinating lives and will be happy to tell you all about it.

9. Follow German Twitter Feeds

 Use spare minutes to get the latest updates on all things German.  (Remember, you can also change your tritter language configuration to German!)  For humor, try

@NeinQuarterly

@mainwasser

@Aus_der_UBahn

@GrumpyMerkel

Learn through newsfeeds:

@SPIEGEL_alles

@dw_deutsch

@LearnXDGerman

Learn through phrases and single words:

@thegermanfor

10. Listen to German Podcasts

Search iTunes for Deutsche Welle and Goethe-Institut podcasts.

One I enjoy is   Slow German
It’s a fabulous way to accelerate learning for beginners and intermediates. The episodes are hosted by Annik, a journalist who lives in the city of Munich in southern Germany. For the absolute beginner, there are podcasts conducted in English which provide a gentle introduction to key German words.

There’s nothing like a good detective story!  In Radio D
 Paula and Philipp are “Radio D” reporters traveling across Germany to investigate several mysterious cases.

You'll find excitement and fun combined when you tune into  German Pod 101
With attention-grabbing podcast titles such as “How Far Will Klingon Get You in Germany?” and “Have You Ever Seen a Blind Fish in Germany?” the German language learner is guaranteed to be hooked from the start.  There are lessons designed for every level of ability, from the absolute beginner to the advanced speaker.

If you have 30 minutes to spare, take a coffee break with Thomas and Mark in Coffee Break German
Mark has a knack for asking the questions to which all students really want to know the answers. Explanations by Thomas are highly satisfying!


Prepare your conversational phrases and get ready to travel with host Stefen of Learn German for Free
which is a series for the beginner, with cataloged episodes covering basic greetings, numbers, ordering in restaurants, travelling on public transport, and so much more!

Programs like Deutsche Welle’s youth culture show “Pulse” and Goethe-Institut’s “Popcast” will also expand your German music repertoire.

Language learning isn't something anyone else can do for you.  As in mastering anything, your own time investment will pay off, if you just let it!  Please share her what works for you! --rsb  

Try @JabbaGerman

Something helpful from the UK!

Jabba German

@JabbaGerman

Learn German with daily German words, exercises and fun Twitter games to keep your learning ticking over ;-)

UK · jabbalab.com 

I like today's Word of the Day:  
der Freundeskreis

circle of friends

Mein Sohn hat einen sehr großen Freundeskreis.

My son has a large circle of friends.

Here's part of their blurb about that:  Learn a new word every day!

Sometimes we're flooded with so much information that we don't have time to absorb it all.
Word of the Day gives you 24 hours to meditate on a single word.
Read it, hear it, see a sample sentence, and grow your vocabulary - one word at a time.

Also, here's a sample of a blog article you might link to (if the topic interests you, they provide the link)

JabbaLab language blog

Thu, May 10th 2012

German Masculine Nouns Posted in: German Grammar German Masculine Nouns Should I use der, die or das? This is one of the first questions that you will ask when learning German. The first thing you need to understand is that it is not related to the perceived gender of the noun it is attached to. Here are a couple of quick examples: der Rock – the skirt die Hose – the trousers As you can see, traditionally a skirt is worn by women so your first instinct would be that it is a female item and therefore would use die. Also, trousers are associated more with men and therefore you would normally perceive the gender as male and use the der article. As you can see from the above two examples these are the opposite to what you would expect. Therefore it is important to get the idea out of your mind straight away that the articles der, die or das have anything to do with the noun itself, rather it is to do with the word. As a general rule, you should learn the correct der, die or das article by heart with each noun as you learn them. That means when learning a word, learn the article too and test yourself on the noun including the article. If you get the article wrong then re-learn it until you get it right. However there are a few general rules you can learn to help you in those situations where you don’t know whether to use der, die or das. The good news is: There are guidelines which will make it easier to choose between them. In this post we will be looking at the guidlines for der words Guidlines for Masculine Nouns 1. People/Animals All nouns which refer to a male person or animal are der words. Here is a list of the most common ones: German English der Mann man der Vater father der Junge boy der Opa grandad der Onkel uncle der Stier bull der Eber boar der Hengst stallion 2. Male Occupations Job titles which refer to a male person are der words. Here are some examples: German English der Lehrer teacher der Bäcker baker der Fotograf photographer der Polizist policeman der Rechtsanwalt lawyer der Zahnarzt dentist der Soldat soldier der Priester priest 3. Days, Months, Seasons and Points of the Compass There are some groups of words that are also mostly der words such as days, months, seasons, points of the compass. Here are some examples: German English der Sommer summer der Frühling spring der Montag Monday der Samstag Saturday der Juni June der Oktober October der Westen west der Süden south There are however few exceptions. For example: das Jahr – year, die Woche – week etc 4. Chemical Elements, Minerals and Stones There are some groups of words that are also mostly der words such as chemical elements, minerals and stones. Here are some examples: German English der Sauerstoff oxygen der Kohlenstoff carbonate der Wasserstoff hydrogen der Diamant diamond der Smaragd emerald der Rubin ruby der Rosenquarz rosy quartz der Bernstein amber There are however few exceptions. For example: das Kalzium – Calcium, die Kohle – coal etc. 5. Certain Endings Nouns that end in the following are always der nouns: ismus ner ich ling ig Here are some examples: German English der Egoismus egoism der Rentner pensioner der Gärtner gardener der Stich sting der Wellensittich budgerigar der Feigling coward der Essig vinegar der Pfennig penny The nouns that end in the following are also usually der nouns: er ist Here are some examples: German English der Keller cellar der Teller plate der Bauer farmer der Fernseher TV der Polizist policeman der Pianist pianist der Atheist atheist der Optimist optimist