How long did it take you to become fluent in German?

So peeps, I've been trying to perfect this godforsaken language. Between me and you, it's one tough code to crack.

Have any of you tried learning Deutsch before?

I'm doing it by myself through a few websites. My primary goal is to develop reading skills, everything else is secondary.

If you've been through this before, could you share your experience with me?

Reply 1

Emily_B

15

Original post by Aldwulf

So peeps, I've been trying to perfect this godforsaken language. Between me and you, it's one tough code to crack.

Have any of you tried learning Deutsch before?

I'm doing it by myself through a few websites. My primary goal is to develop reading skills, everything else is secondary.

If you've been through this before, could you share your experience with me?

Reading skills are great for helping learning vocab, grammar & sentence structure, especially with how awkward German grammar is. However, you won't have much luck speaking the language or understanding spoken German with just that, nor will you become competent/fluent in it. Watching videos/YouTube clips/news items with subtitles on will help with reading German AND listening to it.
It took me GCSE and A level to be able to get on with basics in German - including communicating in German - and until I'd done my year abroad as part of my German degree to become pretty competent. Oh, and I lived in a little town in Saxony where they have pretty thick accents.

Reply 2

Miss Maddie

19

I'm learning it. I'm reasonably competent. I've had 4 hours a week intensive training through my uni course

Reply 3

Toscana

22

im not learning german but it apparently has a 60% lexical similarity with english so its definitely not the hardest language in the world i think. good luck

Reply 4

username5021294

OP

9

Original post by Emily_B

Reading skills are great for helping learning vocab, grammar & sentence structure, especially with how awkward German grammar is. However, you won't have much luck speaking the language or understanding spoken German with just that, nor will you become competent/fluent in it. Watching videos/YouTube clips/news items with subtitles on will help with reading German AND listening to it.
It took me GCSE and A level to be able to get on with basics in German - including communicating in German - and until I'd done my year abroad as part of my German degree to become pretty competent. Oh, and I lived in a little town in Saxony where they have pretty thick accents.

Hey thanks for your reply!

Actually, for the nature of my work and what I want to use the language for, I only require the reading skills. After acquiring those, then I might think of expanding my fluency into other areas such as speaking, listening and writing. There is a time constraint for me to develop very advanced reading skills in six months, do you think that would be possible?

I'm currently at A2 level, if that helps!

Original post by Miss Maddie

I'm learning it. I'm reasonably competent. I've had 4 hours a week intensive training through my uni course

Hey, would you mind sharing how long you've been learning it for and what level you're currently at?

Original post by Toscana

im not learning german but it apparently has a 60% lexical similarity with english so its definitely not the hardest language in the world i think. good luck

That's true. It's the grammar and the way the lexical units are connected which make it complex! Knowing English does give one a starting advantage nonetheless. Thank you

Reply 5

Miss Maddie

19

Original post by Aldwulf

Hey, would you mind sharing how long you've been learning it for and what level you're currently at?

5 years in total. 2 years of intensive teaching at uni and I did a year abroad that helped me a lot.

I can hold a conversation in German. My writing and comprehension is terrible. I can't those

Reply 6

MichaMicha

8

Deutsche Welle has slower news broadcasts for people learning German, put on the subtitles for reading practice.

I grew up with it until I was 9 so I have an advantage, but getting back into it as an adult took me 2-3 years to be completely fluent again (C2). I took it at uni so that made it a lot quicker despite the fact that I wasn’t in Germany much. If you’re going to Germany a lot you will improve quicker - the more you speak with natives and interact with the language the quicker you will learn. I know that to just mostly want to read but speaking also accelerates how quickly you learn as you can’t pick and choose :wink:

. Language is holistic and just reading it sounds difficult to learn it quickly especially in just 6 months. I assume you’re looking to be around B2, and I find it doubtful if you’re only reading if I’m honest. What is it that you want to do?

But in essence, read everyday and a variety of things not just one type of material - even reading cereal packets helps (teaches you the imperative and persuasive language for example).

Reply 7

username5021294

OP

9

Original post by MichaMicha

Deutsche Welle has slower news broadcasts for people learning German, put on the subtitles for reading practice.

I grew up with it until I was 9 so I have an advantage, but getting back into it as an adult took me 2-3 years to be completely fluent again (C2). I took it at uni so that made it a lot quicker despite the fact that I wasn’t in Germany much. If you’re going to Germany a lot you will improve quicker - the more you speak with natives and interact with the language the quicker you will learn. I know that to just mostly want to read but speaking also accelerates how quickly you learn as you can’t pick and choose :wink:

. Language is holistic and just reading it sounds difficult to learn it quickly especially in just 6 months. I assume you’re looking to be around B2, and I find it doubtful if you’re only reading if I’m honest. What is it that you want to do?

But in essence, read everyday and a variety of things not just one type of material - even reading cereal packets helps (teaches you the imperative and persuasive language for example).

Oh you definitely had a nice kick-start!

DW is a wonderful site indeed. I am aiming at C2 eventually but I know it's going to be a long way before that happens. At first, I underestimated how hard it is to learn a new language from scratch. I was attending some classes at the Goethe-Institut but with the pandemic everything was put on pause after I completed the A1 successfully. Now, I'm self-learning through websites and books. My aim at the moment is to try to make sense of the grammar and expand my vocabulary base, my mental process seems to be gravitating towards the latter because it just frustrates me when I read a word that I don't know!

I think you're absolutely right in that language is holistic and that the more I integrate the different parts, the more accelerated my learning becomes through some sort of spillover effect.

To answer your question, I am (hopefully, given the current situation) starting a PhD in German intellectual history. I'm going to be writing up the thesis in English but it would be helpful if I can access some of the untranslated primary and secondary texts written in German which will add greatly to the quality of the end result. I now understand that it is more difficult to achieve this than I would've thought :frown:

I am just literally trying my best now and giving it my all. I'm definitely planning to take in-class lessons when I start my degree and to make a few trips to Germany because I also think that that would be beneficial.

And, finally, I really want to thank you for your reply, it was really helpful.

Reply 8

MichaMicha

8

German intellectual history sounds fascinating, but very difficult in terms of language as a lot of it is now outdated. I recommend ZDF Kultur, sometimes they have documentaries on those topics which can introduce you to key vocabulary as it would be presented to a native, although it is a higher level than A2 it's not impossible it might just take a while to watch an episode as there are sadly sometimes no subtitles. https://www.zdf.de/kultur/kulturdoku

Vocabulary is a never-ending problem for all of us :angry:

I understand your feelings completely. Luckily in a PhD you have a bit more time than say a masters or bachelors student would have to master the language, especially if you start now. I'm sure you will manage it, it's definitely possible to become B1 or just B2 in 6 months with a lot of effort, which will allow you to start tackling those types of texts if that's any consolation :smile:

. Best of luck!

How long did it take you to become fluent in German?

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