Can anyone learn German in 3 months?

German boasts 76,9 million native speakers, which makes it the language with the most native speakers on the European continent. It is also the second most spoken language in Europe. German is the official language in Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Principality of Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland. This is, without a shadow of a doubt, a great reason for at least considering whether it’s a mistake to not learn the German language.  The German-speaking population has profoundly contributed to Literature and the Arts. Among these, 13 Nobel prizes in literature and 30 Nobel prizes in physics have been awarded to German-speaking authors/scientists. Mastering the German language will allow you to read classics of literature, philosophy and social and exact science in their original language.

To learn a second language successfully depends on how determined you are and how clear your goals are when learning it. This means that learning German does not depend on whether it’s considered a language with ‘easy’ grammar and pronunciation. If you have clear goals such as studying, working or having a cultural exchange in a German-speaking country, nothing will be able to stop you in your learning process, because you will be constantly motivated to reach your goals. Furthermore, because German is part of the group of West Germanic languages, it shares many similarities with the English language. That means that memorizing German vocabulary will be easier because you can relate them to similar English vocabulary.

1. Set yourself a goal: You need a goal to work towards. It sounds obvious but believe us: not having an end goal – a reason why you’re learning – won’t be motivating enough in the long run.
2. Turn to learn German into a habit: It goes without saying that signing up to a term of face-to-face language classes or taking a trip to Germany isn’t on the cards right now. But don’t be disheartened: that doesn’t mean you can’t start somewhere. Taking a free online German language course on an app like Multibhashi is a great way to get started without stepping outside your front door.
3. Practise speaking German with online tutoring: While opportunities to practise your German may be sparse right now, you’re still learning German in order to speak it – so signing up to one-to-one online lessons with qualified German teachers on platforms like Verbling is a great way to start practising your conversation skills early and often. 
4. Hear and Repeat German Letter Sounds: Start with learning the German alphabet. Listen to how each letter sounds on its own compared to letter combinations. Listen for differences between English and German letter sounds, too. Just like in English, two letters together can sound quite different from either of the two letters by themselves.
5. Memorize Reusable German Phrases: This is one of those “language hacks” that can get you on the road to real German communication faster. Now that you’ve learned German word order, you can start hanging out with some basic German phrases. Just like with single words, begin practising simple phrases that you might say on an average day.

When you watch German movies after spending some time learning German, you’ll notice how many more German phrases you hear. It will no longer be white noise or jibberish, but instead, it will be a language that you understand.