One of the best feelings when learning a new language is when you listen to or read something in your target language and you realize you can actually understand a lot of it. I remember when I first started learning German and my teacher gave us an article to read for the first time.<\/p>\n
Before that we had gone through handout after handout about verb conjugation, adjectives, and themed vocabulary lists. As we went around the room taking turns reading each sentence, it hit me that I was actually getting the gist of what I was looking at.<\/p>\n
Obviously I only knew a portion of the vocabulary and still hadn\u2019t learned all the complicated grammar rules German has to offer, but that didn\u2019t take away from the excitement I felt. Finally, my goal of reaching fluency in German didn\u2019t seem so far away.<\/p>\n
My four years of German in high school consisted mostly of those handouts with grammar rules and themed vocabulary. We didn\u2019t use a textbook but anyone who has tried to learn a language most likely knows the basic formula for beginner textbooks:<\/p>\n
This format works pretty well for beginners as it offers a good introduction to the language. It\u2019s also set up well for a lot of progress in a short period of time as you quickly pick up your first few hundred vocabulary words.<\/p>\n
But what do you do when you\u2019ve finished those beginner lessons?<\/strong><\/p>\n I hit my first plateau when I graduated high school and was no longer taking a German class.<\/p>\n After I finished German 4 and stopped receiving handouts of vocabulary lists or reading practice with new words helpfully defined, I realized just how far from fluency I still was.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, it\u2019s a moment nearly every language learner has to face at some point in their journey if their goal is to achieve fluency.<\/p>\n Like I said, the textbooks and curriculum created for beginners of a language are designed to help you rapidly start acquiring your new language. It\u2019s easy to progress when you first start \u2013 even learning basic greeting or the names of different animals feels like a victory.<\/p>\n When you first start learning those first 100, 200, 300 words, it feels like your vocabulary is huge.<\/p>\n This early rapid progress is especially true for German since so much of the vocabulary is so similar to English. I remember breezing through vocab lists and feeling like I was already that much closer to fluency. Even though I struggled with certain small but super confusing grammar concepts (case endings, anyone?) I got excited every time I could read a paragraph, reply to my teacher or pick out bits I understood from videos we watched in class.<\/p>\n After a while, however, this progress seemed to slow.<\/strong><\/p>\n Looking back, a lot of this was due to the way I perceived my language learning progress \u2013 after one month of learning German, looking at a paragraph and recognizing multiple words or even understand a full sentence or two makes you feel like you\u2019ve already achieved a lot. I set up expectations for my progress and assumed that if I got that far in only a month, surely after one year I would be twelve times for fluent.<\/p>\n The problem with this mindset is that I simply wasn\u2019t aware of how different each step of a language-learning journey can be. I kept trying to use the same techniques I had always used without realizing those technique were only really good for certain things.<\/strong><\/p>\n I was also creating certain expectations for myself and when I didn\u2019t meet those expectations, it was a huge blow to my confidence and therefore my motivation.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s a reason it\u2019s called a plateau and not a wall.<\/strong>\u00a0Hitting a plateau shouldn\u2019t mean the end of your language-learning journey, so long as you have the desire, determination, and a willingness to try new things. I\u2019d like to share some of the things that have been helping me overcome my own plateau with learning German, and hopefully some of these will be able to help you as well.<\/p>\n In my experience the primary source of a language plateau is a limited vocabulary. Even if you\u2019ve mastered the grammar of your target language, you can only use all those grammar rules to make sentences if you have the words to put in the sentences. When you\u2019re faced with an article that you can hardly understand or you\u2019re trying to have a conversation with someone and can\u2019t come up with any of the words you need, it can feel like you\u2019ve hardly progressed past a beginner level.<\/p>\n It should come as no surprise that daily conversation does not consist 100% of types of animals, names for fruit or words for specific types of clothing. Unless, of course, you work at a zoo, sell fruit or own a clothing shop.<\/p>\n But even then, your interactions throughout the day won\u2019t consist of just those simple words.<\/p>\n That isn\u2019t to say these basics aren\u2019t important \u2013 if you\u2019re aiming for fluency every word matters. But the majority of a language\u2019s vocabulary can\u2019t be put into neat, themed vocabulary lists.<\/p>\n Once I got past those easy vocabulary words, I started to realize I had a much harder time getting new, more complex words to stick in my memory.<\/p>\n I found that the easiest, most effective way to remember more complicated German words is to learn them in the context of full sentences.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve used\u00a0Duolingo<\/a>\u00a0for your beginner German studies, you\u2019re familiar with this technique. Learning vocabulary this way means you aren\u2019t just learning the meaning of the word, you\u2019re also learning how it\u2019s actually used in context.<\/p>\n One of the strategies I tried to use to improve my vocabulary was to go through my favorite German songs, pick out the words I didn\u2019t know and study those. The problem with this was that I would try to simply memorize the English translations for each word, some of which were pretty difficult. After several repetitions in a study session I would feel confident that I had memorized a word but I would always struggle to recall it later on.<\/p>\n What I now do is to study both the definition and how the word fits into the context of a sentence, similar to how Duolingo teaches. This helps you to recognize patterns and often the context of a word can affect its meaning.<\/p>\n Clozemaster<\/a>\u00a0also uses this technique to help you memorize new vocabulary. It uses the same sort of technique as Duolingo but introduces far more advanced vocabulary, so it’s a great next step for Duolingo learners.<\/p>\n One feature I\u2019ve found very useful that Clozemaster offers is the option to study German vocabulary by most common words.<\/p>\n Studying vocabulary thematically might be a quick way to pick up new words but I\u2019m sure anyone who has been studying a language for a while has realized that often those words don’t actually come up in common conversation.<\/p>\n By studying the most commonly used words, it becomes much easier to see progress.<\/strong>\u00a0This has helped me tremendously in my confidence when it comes to comprehension because although I already had a good vocabulary base before, the words I already knew didn\u2019t really come in handy when watching a movie or reading an article.<\/p>\n Clozemaster also introduces a sentence with each new word, allowing you to see exactly how to use it in context. By bringing up these sentences each time you review a word, Clozemaster helps to build your confidence in your own ability to use your vocabulary in conversation.<\/p>\n This may seem to contradict what I said earlier about themed vocabulary being less effective but the point of this is to give yourself the motivation to study.<\/p>\n Say you\u2019re a big fan of sports. Would you rather spend your time trying to practice your German by reading old German fairy tales or by reading articles and news about your favorite sport?<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t know the basic vocabulary for common terms in your favorite sport, start by learning these. This can include words like score, goal, field, penalty, etc.<\/p>\n Then, look for news articles and other related content about that sport. At first you might not understand everything you\u2019re reading, but if you\u2019re interested in the subject, you\u2019re more likely to both have the motivation to look up and learn words you don\u2019t know and to remember those words because they seem more important to you.<\/p>\n I myself am a huge music lover. As I mentioned before, one of my favorite ways to learn new vocabulary is through song lyrics. This may not necessarily have the most practical, real-world application but the most important thing is I want to learn the words I don\u2019t know so I can understand the lyrics without having to read a translation.<\/p>\n I am far more likely to really learn new words when I have an interest in them.<\/strong>In the future I’d obviously like to learn as many words as I possibly can, but focusing my studies on something that I really care about was a major help in building my confidence and overcoming my plateau.<\/p>\n This might seem counterproductive. If you\u2019re making a lot of progress in your learning, I would advise you to try to watch without subtitles to practice your listening and comprehension. But when you\u2019re stuck on a plateau, attempting to watch something in German without subtitles can actually add to your frustration.<\/p>\n At beginner stages, it\u2019s helpful to watch shows in your target language with English subtitles (or whatever your native language may be) turned on.<\/p>\n When watching something in German with the subtitles, you\u2019re getting exposure to the language while still getting the translation of what you\u2019re hearing. This can actually make it easier to pick out the words you don\u2019t know and recognize them later on. (Fun fact: ~85% of my Korean vocabulary has come from watching Korean shows with subtitles turned on.)<\/p>\n But most people assume the next logical step is to jump straight from English subtitles to no subtitles at all, and this can end up just frustrating you when you can\u2019t understand enough.<\/p>\n I would recommend that once you get past the beginner level, if it\u2019s possible watch shows and movies with the German subtitles (or closed captions) turned on.<\/p>\n A lot of language learners see using subtitles as a handicap and even look down on those who use subtitles. But when you\u2019re at that weird, intermediate stage where many of us hit that plateau, your vocabulary often just isn\u2019t wide enough to comprehend enough to fully understand what\u2019s going on. When you have the closed captions turned on, you\u2019re seeing the words on the screen as you\u2019re hearing them. Often you can actually understand far more than you think, but because of the way native speakers tend to talk (faster, more relaxed) you often miss out on even what you know.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve found that when I watch a show in German with the German closed captions on, I am able to understand far more. Often it\u2019s not that I don\u2019t have the knowledge, just that I\u2019m not used to hearing certain things spoken in a natural context. In addition, if words come up that I\u2019m not familiar with, I can see how they\u2019re spelled and how they look in context rather than trying to pick them out of everything else just by hearing them.<\/p>\n This can be a great middle step from English subtitles to purely listening.<\/p>\n Another great way to\u00a0practice using fluent German in a realistic context is to analyze the language used by native speakers, and try to imitate it to the best of your ability.<\/p>\nChange the way you approach learning vocabulary.<\/h2>\n
Figure out what interests you and focus your studies on that subject.<\/h2>\n
Watch movies in shows in German with the subtitles ON.<\/h2>\n
Practice writing German sentences with The Great Translation Game<\/h2>\n