One cold morning, I missed my train, and in the midst of my confusion, I met a stranger who taught me a life-changing lesson.
I was at the Berlin Bahnhof, and I had missed the 7:30am train that should have taken me to Potsdam. As I sat there waiting for the next train, and wondering how many of my classes for the day I would miss, a middle-aged man said something to me in German.
I looked at him, confused. Despite having spent 6 months in Germany, my language skills were still quite embarrassing. Sure, I could exchange pleasantries or order a Schnitzel or Frikadelle, but having real conversations? I just couldn’t.
I opened my German language App, trying to find out what he could have possibly said. When he noticed this, he smiled. ‘Lernst du Deutsch?’ he asked.
‘Ich versuche zu lernen.’ I responded shyly, after a few seconds of scrolling through my App.
He smiled again and then spoke to me in English, ‘You’re going about it the wrong way.’ I was shocked to hear him say this. And very intrigued.
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7 Days FREE TrialIn the next 20 minutes until the next train arrived, this stranger taught me four lessons that changed my approach to learning German.
The Four Lessons That Changed How I Learn German Fast
The first lesson he taught me was ‘Learn German in Patterns, not in words.’
He told me I had been struggling with German because I was learning individual words every day. He said, ‘Learn the patterns, and you’ll pick up the language easier and faster.’
For someone who was stuck trying to memorize ‘das Brot‘, ‘die Backerei‘, and ‘der Mann‘, this was new to me. He wrote out some patterns in my notebook and explained how they work.
Then, he asked me to change the words in between.
He taught me how the sentence changes when the noun changes, and this was a rule that could help me make hundreds of sentences.
Just like that, I had learned weeks’ worth of German in minutes.
While I was still reveling in the new information I had learned, he asked if I watched YouTube videos to learn German. I mentioned a few I had watched, and he nodded. He said, ‘Watch videos that teach the patterns and sentences, and not just words.’
He recommended this video: 1000 Common German Sentences Used by Native Speakers
I have since watched the video multiple times, and it definitely changed a lot for me. My German went from zero to confident.
But that’s not all the lessons I learned in those 20 minutes.
Another powerful lesson he taught me was that ‘the ears learn faster than the eyes.’ He asked me if English was my first language, and I said ‘Yes.’ He asked if I had read it first or heard it first to understand it. Of course, I heard it first.
He said, ‘You need to hear German more than you read it to understand it faster.’ Then, he made more recommendations.
- Listen to podcasts at a slower speed than normal.
- Watch shows with German audio and subtitles.
Since then, I have listened to podcasts like: Speaking Of Berlin, Coffee Break German, and Easy German.
I have watched and loved shows like: Babylon Berlin, Extr@ auf Deutsch, and Dark.
As I thanked him profusely in German, he raised his hand signaling that he wasn’t done yet. Then, he talked about Apps.
‘A lot of you language learners are using Apps wrong,’ he said. ‘You need to use them as tools, and combine them. Not as sole teachers.’
He asked for a list of Apps I use, and told me how to use them all together in a learning routine:
5 minutes for warm up, 10 minutes of German YouTube or German Podcast for listening, 5 minutes for shadowing, and 10 minutes for speaking.
At this point, I was scribbling like crazy. I didn’t want to lose any piece of information he was sharing. Then he looked at his wristwatch lazily, reminding me that the train would soon arrive.
‘Finally…,’ he said, ‘Start speaking now, otherwise you’ll never be ready to speak.’ He said it is better to speak, get embarrassed, and learn, than to never learn because you’re embarrassed of speaking.
He encouraged me to speak German to people, speak to myself, and even speak to inanimate objects.
It sounded strange, but at the same time, it made a lot of sense.
As if timed, the train arrived just as he finished speaking. We both got on, but we sat apart from each other, and I kept glancing at my notes in excitement. A few minutes later, I looked up to say thank you again and introduce myself properly, but he was already gone.
I have looked out for him many times since that day, especially when I take the train, but I haven’t been lucky enough to meet the stranger who taught me a different way to learn German fast.
How These Methods Transformed My German
I followed his teaching judiciously over a few weeks, and I can now boast of the following things:
- I can form sentences more easily.
- My listening skills drastically improved.
- I can pronounce German words better.
- I am now more confident about speaking German to people I meet.
From time to time, I wonder about the stranger at the train station. Is he out there somewhere, helping other people like me?
I hope so, because every German language learner needs to learn his methods.
Why am I sharing my story with you?
If I could learn German fast, with those life-changing tips? You can too. Give them a try; be consistent, and you’ll see results.
As for me, I found a platform where I can do it all, at once, and in one place.
With Jolii.ai, I watch videos with dual subtitles, learn phrases and patterns, and master speaking. All in one app.
If you’re tired of scrolling between apps or you’re getting bored, tired, or frustrated at your learning pace, try Jolii.ai for an immersive learning experience today!
