Ways To Improve Your German

Here are some suggestions to help you with your goal to improve your German.

  1. Surround yourself in German:
    • Label your home, your workplace with German words. And don't label with nouns only. Do colours, verbs (such as öffnen /open and schließen /close on a door), adjectives (e.g. rauh/rough, weich/soft on different textures).
    • Paste the conjugation of verbs you have difficulties with on your bathroom mirror.
    • Change the settings on your computer to German.
    • Have a German site as your homepage.
  2. Learn at least one German word a day: More if you can retain them. Then practice it on someone that day or write it in a sentence, so that it becomes part of your spoken vocabulary and not just your comprehension vocabulary.
  3. Write in German every day: Keep a journal or diary, get an e pen-pal or join the one-on-one classes on our forum. Write your to-do lists in German.
  4. Read in German every day: Read, read, read!
    • Subscribe to a German newspaper/magazine, a German-American newspaper or read German magazines/newspapers online.
    • Use a German cookbook.
    • Read children's books. They expose you to basic vocabulary, don't have much jargon and often use repetition. As your vocabulary increases, try older children's/youth books.
    • Read dual-language books. They give you the satisfaction of reading more advanced classic books.
  5. Listen to German every day: Challenge yourself to watch a German podcast, show etc. or listen to German music every day.
  6. Find a German buddy: If there are no Germans near where you live, pair up with someone else who is learning German and commit yourselves to speaking only German with each other.
  7. Practice wherever you go: Though limited in a non-German speaking country, with some creativity, you can get some daily German practice. Every little bit helps.
  8. Become involved in your local German club: Also try the university's Kaffeeklatsch, the Goethe-Institute. Depending where you live, you may have the opportunity to attend German festivities, German film screenings, book clubs etc. If no such thing exists in your community, why not create your own "German club"? Even just a simple evening of German board games with two or three people will enrich your German learning experience.
  9. Take a German course: Check out your community college, university or language schools for courses. Study for a German proficiency test this year.
  10. Study/Work in Germany: Many German organizations and institutions offer scholarships or grants for a study abroad experience.
  11. Most important resolution to always keep: Believe that you can and will learn German.