Education

Become conversational in German with these tips

September 09, 2021

Author

Kyle Carney

Many language learners mistake being fluent with being conversational. While there is nothing wrong with striving to becoming fluent in German, most people looking to learn German actually want to be conversational.

The difference between conversational and fluent is really the number of words you understand. The more German vocabulary you know, the more complex ideas you can express. In order to feel comfortable speaking German, you really only need to learn about 3,000 words. In contrast, being fluent in German is defined as understanding 10,000+ words.

While 3,000 words is obviously much less than 10,000, it is still a big task. So, how do you become conversational in German? These tips will help get you started.

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1. Start with words and phrases you're familiar with

One of the first mistakes most people learning German make is starting with words and phrases they might not need to use regularly. You probably know why you’re learning German. It might be for work or for travel or to speak with family members. You should use why you’re learning German to dictate how you learn.

What that means is choosing words and phrases that you are already familiar with in your native language. This will make it easier for you to understand how to build sentences with these words. This, in turn, will make it easier for you to progress further in your learning.

2. Don’t worry about perfection

One of the biggest differences between being fluent and conversational is perfection. Being conversational in German means being able to convey information. It means being able to communicate and feeling confident holding a conversation with a native speaker. It doesn’t mean speaking perfectly.

When you are just starting to learn German, your progress will be stalled if you are constantly focusing on being perfect. It will hold you back from progressing, mainly because it will hold you back from gaining confidence.

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3. Find ways to communicate with native speakers

There is a lot you can learn from language apps and books. But, if you want to gain confidence using what you learn, you need to actively use the skills you are learning. The only way to do that is to speak with other native speakers.

Not only will this give you the opportunity to speak the language, but you will also have the chance to listen to the language. If you find it difficult to track down a native speaker, you can look for an online German course that features live lessons with a native speaker.

4. Interact with German media

Practice is often thought of as the key to learning a new language. That is true, but how do you practice? One way is to consumer and interact with as much media in the target language as possible. So, if you want to become conversational in German, you should:

Watch German movies
Listen to sports in German
Follow German social media accounts
Read German newspapers

Anything you can do to expose yourself to the language is just as valuable as practicing the language.

In the end, if you want to learn German, you need to be dedicated. With the tips above, you will have a great start for your language studies. When you combine the above tips, you can do on your own with a professional German class, you will be on the path to becoming conversational. Once you are conversational, the leap to fluency is much easier.