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Did you know that about Germany?

Over 95 million people in the world speak German as their primary language. The language is the official language of six countries, all in Europe. The most populated country where German is the official language is Germany. Germany has a total population of more than 82 million people. Of this total population, 91.8% speak German as their mother tongue. That is over 74 million people. About 5.6 million people speak German as a second language.

The six countries that have German as an official language are, in alphabetical order: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Over 78 % of all German speakers worldwide live in Germany. More than 8% live in Austria, less than 1% in Italy and more than 7% in other countries.

In addition to the six German-speaking countries, there are several dependent entities where German is an official language. These regions are the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol in Italy, the Opole Voivodeship and the Silesian Voivodeship in Poland, and Espirito Santo, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. In the villages of Krahule/Blaufuss and Kunesov/Kuneschhau, German is also considered a co-official language under Slovak law.

Although it is not an official language in some countries, German is used as a cultural or minority language in several countries around the world. These countries are:

Brazil, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Czech Republic

Denmark

Hungary

Italy

Kazakhstan

Namibia

Poland

Romania, Russia

Slovakia

Ukraine

In recent years, there have been many new ways to learn a new language. For example, numerous apps promise that you can speak a new language in just 2 weeks. (We've all seen that commercial: "A normal person learned 5 languages in just 1 year!"). This requires a lot of self-discipline, which we all too often lack. Is there any truth to this?

Incorporating a learning routine into a busy life and sticking to it long-term is hard enough. That's why many of us still go to a good, old-fashioned language school. A motivating teacher and a little positive peer pressure can work wonders to get you from A1 to B2 in no time.

1.

Know yourself

As with everything in life, you will only be happy with your choice if you know yourself enough to find something suitable. I admit that this is pretty easy, but many people push themselves and try to fit into a mould that they know they won't like. There is a wide range of German classes; you can afford to apply some filters. Consider a few things like:

How much time per week (and money) are you willing to invest each week for several weeks?

For some, it's more motivating to study intensively; for others, a lighter program is better. Some students prefer group classes, other students prefer private classes and learning directly with their teacher.

Do you personally prefer to learn in a group or alone with a teacher?

Be honest about this question. Introverts may be reluctant to speak in front of the class and slow their learning curve. Others may need social interaction to practise their skills in a larger setting. GermanMind offers an appropriate class size of 6 to 8 people to get the best of both worlds. Additional one-on-one instruction is usually available as well.

2.

Know your goals

What skills do you need to improve? Unless you are starting from scratch, this is an important question. Maybe you're good at grammar, but you're missing vocabulary. If you decide to take an appropriate course to catch up on a particular skill, that's all the more motivating. Here's your chance to give meaning to your commitment. This way, you avoid the feeling you had in school when you wondered why you would need all those meaningless maths theorems in real life :)

With meaning comes motivation. And with motivation comes commitment.

When you start learning a new language from scratch, it can be helpful to set a realistic goal that you'll reach with a language test at the end. This way you avoid the feeling of going a very long way without a sense of progress. At GermanMind we structure our classes based on levels A1 to C2. Real life goals like a trip to Berlin to speak with locals or the opportunity to apply to multiple jobs are also worth their weight in gold.

3.

Feel the mood

German teachers at GermanMind specialise in adult education and we teach our German classes in a relaxed, professional environment that doesn't resemble the old-fashioned, dusty classrooms. We make sure that our students feel comfortable and make friends. A friendly environment is often a good indicator, as it gives you extra motivation to come to school. It also helps to immerse you in the language.

4.

Did you know that the official German A1 vocabulary is 650 words according to the German Goethe Institute? - that's the bad news. Wow, that's a lot, you might think. The good news is: you're already on your way, and we're here to help you.

You can expect to be fluent in German by the time you've learned all the words on this list.

First of all, memorising 650 words would be extremely repetitive, boring and ineffective. In other words, you will forget them faster than you can learn them. Your brain must first build connections (bridges) to these words, and merely repeating the word-translation pair will not help you recall them when you need them.

In-depth learning and building knowledge is much more enjoyable and efficient. That's what we are here for.

We'd like to give you a few tips on how to most effectively edit your A1 vocabulary list so that it's useful for actual use. One way is to search the Internet for the words you use most often. There are lists for all levels, so you can always find something that suits you. For example, you can search for "The 500 most common German words" and learn a few every day or every week.

This is the most effective way to learn German A1 vocabulary:

If you come across a word you've seen before, you won't be able to remember it if you immediately look up the translation. The chances of learning that word are much higher if you try to remember its meaning before looking up the translation.

On the other hand, when you come across a new term, in addition to the translation, look up its meaning (or different meanings), usage information, and example sentences - that way you can build a bridge to that word.

Pick a word that you have trouble remembering and use it in every learning session. Flashcards are a really great tool for this purpose. By repeating new words, we anchor them in our long-term memory. Plus, you can use traditional flashcards to practice written German as well as improve your reading skills. And remember, flashcards can be used to learn vocabulary as well as grammar, so try to take full advantage of them.

Sometimes it can be very helpful to see a word in context - in a sentence, for example. If a word is new to you, type it into a search bar and look at sample sentences.

The Top 10 Most Frequently Used Words In the German Language:

1. ich

• I

• me

2. sie

• they

• she

• them

• her

3. das

• the

• that

• this

• it

4. ist

• be

5. du

• you

6. nicht

• not

• no

7. die

• the

• which

• that

• who

8. und

• and

9. es

• it

10. der

• the

• which

Of course, these are just some of the common German words. If you want to learn German fluently, visit Germany or make friends with native speakers, you need to learn other words as well and constantly try to expand your vocabulary.

You can create your own list of words that interest you, or you can choose the ones you need the most. A fun way to learn vocabulary is to pick 5 to 10 words in your language each day that you think you'll need that day, look up the German word for them, write them both down, and learn them throughout the day. Here are our top 7 words:

Words of the Day for you:

Hallo = Hello. Every conversation starts with a “Hallo!”, which means “Hello” in German.
Liebe = Love. It’s all about love. Love is a universal feeling, and we should all talk about it, feel it and give it each day. Are we right?
Blume = Flower. Flowers are beautiful – we love all kinds of flowers. Which one is your favourite?
Katze = Cat. They can be cute, and they can be evil. Are you a cat or a dog person?
Hund = Dog. A human’s best friend – this is what they say about dogs. Do you have dogs? Do you want to get one?
Lächeln = Smile. The world is more friendly if you put a smile on your face. A smile can also help you communicate with people better and get all the answers you need.
Ja = Yes. People say “no” so often, so it’s pretty thoughtful to cultivate saying “yes” more. Say “yes” to learning German.

Things to know. Did you know that the German language is known for having some of the longest words in the world? That's because Germans use compound words to express entire sentences - especially when it comes to economic and government terms. Therefore, the typical German word has more than ten letters

"Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft" is the longest German word in history, and it has maaany letters. Fortunately, it is not one of the most common German words. In any other language, the word would refer to the society for officials subordinate to the main operating management of Danube steam navigation, which consists of over ten terms.

5.

The German language is the language of philosophers and poets such as Nietzsche, Kant and Goethe. The German language is diverse and has a considerably larger vocabulary than is usually assumed. Linguists at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities recently identified a total of 5.3 million German words in texts from the years 1994 to 2004.

Although the German language is not one of the absolute leaders worldwide, it is still in 10th place among the most spoken world languages. In addition, more and more foreign students are coming to Germany and taking their first steps in the German language.

To learn German, most people attend a language course, read textbooks or follow the advice and practice instructions of private German teachers. Unfortunately, most German as a foreign language (DaF) courses do not pay enough attention to pronunciation.

As a result, some German learners have a very good C1 German level in writing and are still regularly not understood when they speak in German. This is very annoying!

How can I improve my German?

To help you avoid embarrassing situations and misunderstandings in the future, this article will tell you the best tips for learning German and what you need to pay special attention to in order to have a perfect German pronunciation.