How to Learn German Free

Would you like to travel to Germany or the German parts of Switzerland any time soon? Do you desire to read a book written in German? How about talk online to a German Myspace friend? Well, if you're on a budget and have limited time, you can still learn German for free, without spending a lot of money taking classes or buying expensive tapes. You can learn while driving in your car and listening to the tapes or CDs.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Time to listen to tapes/CDs and read textbook
• Pen and paper to take notes
• Time to practice
• Someone who speaks German to practice with (optional)

Obtain Materials to Learn From

1. The first step is to find a local free library near you. Pay the public library a visit and get a library card. Try a larger public library rather than a small one as you have more chance in finding what you need with a larger selection. Check out the biggest city in your county, for instance, to find the library.

2. Ask the reference desk to see their selection of language tapes/CDs. Most libraries will have language tapes/CDs in different languages that can be checked out for up to two weeks. Many of these language tapes originally sold for hundreds of dollars, but are free for you to check out from the library.

3. Look for the German language tapes/CDs. You will probably have more than one option. You may see such titles as Pimsleur, Berlitz, or DK Eyewitness Travel.

4. 
    
   DK Eyewitness Travel book that comes with tapes/cds

   Choose a set of tapes/CDs to check out from the library. The ones that have a small book with them for you to follow along with the tapes are generally the best. If you can't understand something said on the tape, you can then view the book to find out.

5. Now, ask the librarian to help you find the German language books. You want to find a textbook that will complement what you are learning on the tapes/CDs. Choose a textbook that looks like it will be easy for you to understand.

6. Check out the language tape/CD and the textbook using your library card.

Learn German

7. Now that you have the materials, you can get started. Read the first chapter or two of the textbook to get a basic understanding of the language, such as the vowel sounds and grammar.

8. Listen to the first few minutes of the tape, hopefully also dealing with the basics of grammar and sounds of the letters of the alphabet.

9. Go over what you have learned. You could write down what you learned, or just review the book and tapes over and over. Try making up your own quiz, or one in the textbook, to test yourself.

10. If you have a German-speaking friend, practice each step before moving on. With this first part, you could practice saying each letter of the alphabet correctly, for instance.

11. The best way to learn German or any language is to build on each layer one step at a time, and to make sure you remember the steps before. Start with grammar, move to introductions. Once you know both, then move to basic phrases and sentence structure. Do not go to the next step until you have reviewed all of the previous steps.

12. Continue to listen, read and review until you really have learned what you want to know. Continue to go further in the tapes/CDs and book until you reach your desired level of learning. You could stop once you've learned the basics, or continue on until you learn the entire set of tapes/CDs and textbook. You may be able to find advanced tapes/CDs and textbooks if you want to continue mastering the language.

13. Once you obtain the level of knowledge desired, make sure to refresh your memory from time to time. If you didn't practice enough or go over the materials enough, you could forget what you have learned.

Tips & Warnings

• The ideal situation is when you find a textbook that is organized like the tapes/CDs you have chosen. This way, you can listen to some of the tape, and then look at the chapter in the textbook that corresponds.
• If your textbook doesn't correspond to the German language tapes/CDs, then you will need to coordinate the chapters to the tapes/CDs yourself. For example, if the first ten minutes of the language tape is on introductions, find the chapter in the textbook about introductions.
• German language learning is comprehensive. Once you understand the basics, then you can learn more complex sentence structures and less well known phrases.
• If you run out of time to keep the books and tapes/CDs from the library, simply renew them. Once you meet your renewal limit, you will have to return them for a few days. Then, you can check them out again and start the process over.
• Once you are done learning, if you ever come across a German phrase you don't understand, or want to translate English to German, there is a great site you can use, listed in the resources section.
• The key is consistency. You need to listen to the tapes and read the textbook over and over again, until you recognize everything you read and hear. Then, you know you are ready to move to the next step. If you simply try to read the whole book and listen to all the tapes without reviewing, most likely you will not be able to recall much and learning also will not stick with you.
• If you have limited time and effort, just learn the basics. It is better to know how to ask for a bathroom and where the train station is and hello/goodbye then to try and learn everything and not remember anything at all.
• However, if you really don't have the time or effort to do this, and all you can do is listen to the tapes, listen to them over and over until you really learn them.

Resources

• Website to transfer phrases from english to german and vice versa