As an Indian, how did you learn German in less duration?

The German language, Deutsch, as it is known, is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. One of the most widely spoken/official or co-official languages in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol, German also enjoys the status of being a co-official language of Luxembourg, Belgium, parts of southwestern Poland, as well as a national language in Namibia. 

A language very similar to other languages within the West Germanic language branch, including English, Afrikaans, Dutch, the Frisian languages, Low German, Luxembourgish, Scots, and Yiddish, German exhibits close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic group, such as Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language after English.

The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) mentions the approximate time needed to learn the German language as an English speaker. To reach Speaking 3: General Professional Proficiency in Speaking (S3) and Reading 3: General Professional Proficiency in Reading (R3), an English speaker would take only 750 hours or 30 weeks that’s about 7-8 months. This also helps us understand how much of an effort a German speaker must give to learn English. Learning English for German speakers is actually a cakewalk as there are a lot of similarities.

English is taught in India as a first language,  and if you happen to be one with proficient too, then this will certainly lead you to success. However,  let me not miss mentioning the road to learning German without knowledge of English may be awfully tough! So I recommend you weigh your stakes before taking a plunge. 

The knowledge that English and German are complementary to each other! 

English and German are 60% Lexically similar 

German is a pretty difficult language to learn, but it descended from the same root language as English: Proto-Germanic. This is why English and German share a great deal of vocabulary. For example, Water in English is known as Wasser in German,  House as Haus, Mother as Mutter, Father as Vater and many more!

Related by the same Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family

Perhaps the most crucial point to make is that English is a language which originally derived from West Germanic more than 2,000 years ago. Indeed, both the German and English languages are considered to be members of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, meaning they are still closely related today.

Both English and German use the same Latin alphabet

One of the most obvious similarities between German and English is the fact that both languages utilise the same 26 letters which form the Latin alphabet.

German and English share a number of Cognates 

In addition to the vast number of words that are shared between the two languages, German and English also feature many words that sound extremely similar.

German and English have mutually borrowed words from each other

For instance, the words ‘Computer’, ‘Designer’, ‘Album’, ‘Image’, ‘Skateboarding’, ‘Aerobics’ and ‘Laser’ have all been adopted from English, and a few English words borrowed include which are both recognised by German speakers. The English language in reciprocation has borrowed words such as ‘rucksack’, ‘angst’, ‘spritzer’ (apple), ‘pretzel’, ‘strudel’, ‘bratwurst‘, ‘delicatessen’ and many more!

German and English often follow the same grammatical rules

The best example of this is the way many verbs change based on their tense. The English word ‘drink’ changes to ‘drank’ to ‘drunk’. In German, the same word changes the same three tenses, to become ‘trinkt’, ‘trank’ and ‘getrunken’! Despite German’s complicated grammar, an overlap in pronunciation and meaning eases the difficulty of learning German. 

Both English and German use the same Arabic numerals and numbering system. Much like in English, numbers have digits from 0-9 and while these numerals have different names in German, they follow the same core principles.

There is an immense scope of learning the German language in India, such as: 

A learner could seek a job in a variety of fields such as travel and tourism industry, translation, interpretation, proofreading,  editorial, content writer, curriculum designer, instructional coordinators, subject matter expert, a researcher in a variety of domains like social policy, economics, military, technology, culture and export and import houses, become a corporate trainer, German instructor at a college, University or Institute, or choose to join a school as a German teacher after completing a C1/C2 level German as may be required in your country of origin or choose to teach as an ESL teacher in German-speaking countries or Germany. Other than this, you could either secure a job at German companies with footprints in India,  such as BMW, Volkswagen, Daimler, Deutsche Bank, Lufthansa and Siemens in your country of origin or work for them in Germany or German-speaking countries. With relevant qualifications and knowledge of German language, one could practise as a lawyer in Germany, apply for a role of a Consul, Diplomat or an Ambassador, or seek jobs in embassies. One could also bag hospitality positions available at Casinos, resorts or at top ranked, star hotels from the receptionist to manager, be a Flight attendant, or work in a specialised KPO, BPO as a chat, voice or email support, or to extend support as a voice-over artist to dubbing movies, for commercials and cartoons.

And an insight into all these possible fields helped me boost my morale and get back to studying whenever I felt low or didn’t feel like studying. An engineer by profession, my goal was to seek employment in one of the largest German firms called Siemens! You could choose your motivation to stick to your learning plan!

To remind me of my goals I also followed a strict regime with bits and pieces of entertainment. Learning isn’t an overnight plan! Thus, I got my facts checked,  expectations in place! I created a realistic (not over-ambitious) study plan and set short and long term measurable goals. I divided my learning into short chunks, prioritizing topics I wanted to learn first. 

I further ensured consistent study using the Pomodoro technique by studying in shorter intervals in a day rather than studying for long hours on weekends. Unfortunately, my study was often marred by calls from friends or visiting guests; thus I started keeping my phone switched off, and room locked requesting not to be disturbed while studying.  I suggest taking the same approach; ensure no distractions while studying else it impacts the quality of your understanding and learning

I created a mini Germany in my home by putting up a lot of pictures from Germany that attracted me, towards the country Germany! I labelled them with their respective names in German I would sit there for hours, revising, trying to recollect German names of the objects in my house rather than translating the names of the objects from English to German in my head. Besides, I also started using flashcard apps like Memrise and Anki,  by creating my own decks and using the pre-existing decks to increase my vocabulary and learning. 

Eventually, I started by writing a journal, and a diary, capturing most of the phrases and words that were used repeatedly in day to day German-speaking, with their respective articles, thus increasing its practical usage. I would also collect conversation connectors and fillers that later helped me initiate my first conversation. Over a period of time, I was so comfortable with German that I actually started writing my grocery list in German! 

Reading out German loudly in front of the mirror or to my pet or my plant was something that amused everyone at home. But they were all supportive and that built my confidence. Sometimes I would entertain them by shadowing dialogues from German movies, I watched for a change when I didn’t feel like studying and mimicking German stars during interviews! And yes, my mnemonics were hit with my kids, and while my wife laughed at all those, my folks couldn’t figure out if I was learning or had gone or of my mind! While most of this looks great fun right now, I wish to put a word of caution, remember, if making mistakes or speaking funnily deters you then you may be at a severe disadvantage. I turned it over as family entertainment to gain more.

Apart from these, I happened to build a great friend on Italki, who started as a help to learn German on the platform, only to bump into each other a few years later, when I started working in Germany realising my dream. We were in the same company branch! You can find many such sites offering conversational partners at Hello Talk, Tandem, Conversationpartners, Languagepartners, and many more!

Whatever plans you may have for your future, know that knowledge of German will definitely increase your scope and options. German is the second most commonly used scientific language, the third largest contributor to research and development and offers research fellowships to scientists from abroad, ranked number 5 in terms of annual publication of new books. A wide range of important websites are in German and worldwide, that stand to offer you extended access to information. When you learn German you acquire a range of skills which can improve the quality of both your work and private life.  So what are you waiting for! Start learning German from Multibhashi today.