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Viewing The Top Four Mistakes to Avoid when Learning GermanThe Top Four Mistakes to Avoid when Learning German
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By Michael Gabrikow I have noticed many 'learn German' courses and online language lessons that try to teach their students German bluntly, without worrying about efficiency. I am not saying it is wrong to learn a new language 'the hard way', but in today's fast-paced world, everyone wants to learn something with speed and efficiency. You might need to learn German for an exam with a fast incoming term, finish a German project with a quick deadline, or get ready for that business trip to Germany next month. In order to max out your efficiency ratio, you will be better off if you follow a simple set of rules and avoid some of the most common mistakes that occur when learning German. 1. Lack of Visualization Visualization is extremely important when learning a new language, even more so when learning German and its rough, hard-to-memorize words. Whenever you want to improve vocabulary, do not just learn words the hard way by popping open a dictionary and finding out what a word means. Instead, try to associate it with something in your mother tongue. For example, the German word 'Mauer', meaning 'wall' resembles the English word 'mower'. Picture someone running into a wall with a mower, or a wall crumbling on a mower. I know it is silly, but it doesn't even have to make sense. It is important that you remember the visual situation, since your brain is far better at remembering images and image-related information than just plain words. 2. Not Understanding your Weaknesses and Strengths This is crucial in saving time when learning German. If you take on a systematic language course, you will go through some steps that are easier than others. This is because each human being has a natural 'balance' in their learning process, with weaknesses and strengths. If you find yourself blazing through the grammar, do not waste any more time on it, except when revising. On the other hand, if your course's grammar section is over and you are still not clear with all the concepts and rules, focus on them until you understand them. It is important to pay attention to these details if you want to learn correctly and fast. 3. Not Balancing Learning/Evaluation Times If you get this learning/evaluation balance right, you will be able to speed things up considerably when learning German. Unfortunately, this is also one of the toughest mistakes to avoid, since each person has his or her own perfect ratio. Most language specialists agree that it is best to learn for around 10-15 minutes, then evaluate your progress and check yourself out. Afterwards, take a short break, then try another 15-minute chunk of learning. If you go on learning for 2 hours without evaluation, by the time you re-check yourself, you will find out that you have already forgotten some of the details, and you will lose even more time. 4. Confusing Fake Cognates for Cognates Words that are similar in look, sound, and meaning in English and German (or between any two languages) are called 'cognates'. For example, the English 'mouse' and the German 'Maus' sound and look almost the same and they share the same meaning. However, there are some words that look and sound alike in both languages, but they mean something completely different. These words are called 'fake cognates'. A few examples include (German word - English lookalike word - Germany true meaning): Schmerz - smart - pain; Baum - beam - tree; or Gift - gift - poison. You will probably have to memorize these fake cognates, or at least try to figure them out by the context. They can be very misleading to language learning newcomers, especially after you get used to the real cognates and expect any lookalike word to have the same meaning in both German and English. These are the main things to avoid when you learn German, but there are other things that can help to speed up your language acquisition process. Revising and evaluating efficiently for example, without over or under revising, or naturally building your vocabulary outside the learning sessions (from German TV shows for example) are also important. With these techniques, you can increase your German language comprehension rate by up to 4 times compared to simply learning in a robotic, straightforward fashion. About the Author: Increase your German vocabulary with online German games at www.InternetPolyglot.com. Article Source: A Language Guide - http://www.a-language-guide.com |
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