I'm moving to Germany. i have to learn German. do you know a way to start?

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eddievanhalen

I attended the Goethe Institute in Frankfurt, and it is quite expensive. Courses went every day 9-14 and it helped out very well. Other schools are also fine, it all depends on how much effort you put into the learning process. If you are still in the States and want to start out on vocabulary, try this simple trick: get a German dictionary and put 3x5 notes all around your house with things you use and see daily. E.g. put on your mirror "der Spiegel" - put a 3x5 on yout door that says "die TÃ¼r" and so on. When learning German vocabulary, ALWAYS learn whether "der, die or das" - similar to "el" & "la" in Spanish. Don't ask now why, trust me. It is CRUCIAL to learning the grammar in the future.

The advice on staying away from english speakers is excellent - avoid the temptation.

Good luck!

thetravelingmartins

Don't take INOTFRIEND's advice and learn dutch, you will be learning the wrong language. I lived in Germany for 3 years and the best way I learned was just to go downtown and just listen. You will pick up German very quickly. Have Fun!

fliege52000

Look in your town for the Language School "Berlitz". They teach very quickly. It's not cheep, ot look in the library.

Siri

go to your local library and see if they have audio language courses.... good luck...

Jâ™¥dida

Hope the link helps! I have the French Rosetta Stone and it's great!

Oberlehrer

The official institute for german language and culture is the "Gothe Institut" which is located in several countries. There you can take lessons and more information.

There are special magazines for learning languages: for beginners the text is simpel and in each section you find explanations/vocabulary. Overthere you can search the internet for "deutsch als fremdsprache".

After that you can start with reading newspapers ("Die Welt", "Die Zeit"), magazines ("Focus", "Der Spiegel", "Stern") or books. Very short textes you find in the "Gutenberg Projekt".

INOTFRIEND

private tutor or listen to dutch tapes

jacob b

I'm in germany right now doing the same thing....I put an ad up in the university and offered to trade english lessons for german - worked pretty well....

NYman

Start sleeping with a tall blond German woman.

Jo =)

take a class.

Rose M

Go to a website and go to www.google.com and type in how to speak german and you wil get lots of answers!

Blue

With no previous knowledge, this is a good place to start:
http://german.about.com/ (many links on the left)

Once you get to Germany, find your local "Volkshochschule" which is kind of like community college in the US... they offer language classes for very reasonable amounts. Another option is taking some university classes in case you'll be staying in a larger city.

Other than that... if you really want to learn the language, try to stay away from other English-speakers as much as possible once you're there and just dive into the local culture. Most people in Germany speak at least *some*
English, younger people definitely know it as it's mandatory at school - so when they see you struggle in German, they will automatically switch to English.

Germany is really a great place... have fun there! =)

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