Do you have a busy work schedule and don’t have time to learn a language?
Don’t fret, here’s another motivational post you’ll apply when you learn German as your foreign language.
Let’s learn German in 1 hour.
Your learning process with an hour of learning German
So you’ve set a schedule to learn German in 1 hour per day given that you’ll be studying 7 days a week
But, what are the results? Do you need a German dictionary and memorize it all the time?
You can replicate our guide below to learn German in one hour on a daily basis:
- At least be able to say basic words or phrases
- Incorporate German grammar and speak the German words
- Add more vocabulary and watch music videos or listen to podcasts
- Start everyday conversations with your family, friends, or loved ones in German
- Make learning an enjoyable experience by studying German lessons in your own style during the weekends
Or if you want an intensive style of studying, you can already combine any of these and schedule them by 10 mins, 20 mins, or 30 mins.
Your progress might also depend on the type of learner that you are.
What you’ll learn in German in 1 hour
Any language will be a difficult language if you haven’t prepared for it fully. Sometimes, it depends on your language skills if you can pick up the German language easily.
Do English speakers have an advantage? Yes, it’s because both German and English are from the Germanic languages.
That means, there are many familiar German words that an English native speaker will notice as soon as they start their daily practice.
So, what exactly will you learn in an hour of practice time?
Greetings in German
To start a German conversation, you will learn how to introduce yourself in German.
Most greetings start with hello, good morning, good afternoon, and good evening.
Hallo, wie geht’s?
Hello, how are you?
Guten Morgen
Good morning
Guten Tag [lit. good day]
Good afternoon
Guten Abend
Good evening
Mein Name ist ...
My name is…
You will find interesting topics to talk about
What are the frequent topics that Germans talk about?
You will be surprised that you can find almost all topics covered by Germans in a 15-minute conversation.
Germans love to talk about innovations, the latest philosophies, and anything under the sun.
But you may have to crack their hard shell first. Germans aren’t the first to greet you or tend to have a lot of physical distance.
So they tend to avoid small talk and aren’t used to it.
Despite the stereotype of not having friends easily in German, you’ll instead get true, loyal friends.
So, don’t be shy and start initiating basic conversation with language learners or people whose German is their native language.
You can even find a community to practice these basic words and phrases during the second half of your one-hour study.
Just don’t limit yourself on which language learning method you’re using.
Necessary words for business, school, or work
Aside from the basic greetings, words, and phrases, you will also have to use German words for your work, business, or school.
You might encounter German to English (and vice versa) cognates or words that sometimes have the same spelling and look like each other.
Some of them are used for your work, such as the word “email address”.
There are even German loan words or calque where a German word is used in English as an everyday expression, term, phrase, or quote without translation.
Here are some examples:
- Daschund
- Null
- Lager
- Sauerkraut
- Rucksack
- Hamburger
Learning more about Germany: its culture, values, and traditions
Basically, if you’ve been listening to audio lessons and watching Youtube videos, the first thing you’ll notice is a German’s punctuality.
Germans like thinking ahead and to do that, they usually organize their goals into a schedule that they can complete for that day or week.
So if Germans love being on time, they dislike it if things don’t go according to schedule.
Although times are changing, it is always a constant thing for Germany to have values of thriftiness, hard work, and managing their time etiquette.
How long will it take for you to be fluent?
If you are spending 1 hour learning German, you’ll take up to two years or more to become intermediate level (B1 level) or even achieve a C level.
Some people will like to do intensive German learning, so that means going to Germany and immersing themselves by talking to a native speaker right away.
Whatever your method of learning is, it’s already a good step to learn German in 1 hour.
Also, be realistic since conversational fluency isn’t even easy for native Germans themselves.
Focus on what you can achieve in this one hour of learning.