there was a study saying that there is not “the” best way of learning, but it is best to combine multiple ways, like with an app, by book, listening to audio only (i listened to radio stations via internet and got some exercise for free), a bit of talking, visiting a country that only speaks that language and so on. trying everything a bit in parallel.
that is because of our brain learns better when given more different types of “connections” to learn.
i started with duolingo (website only, not the app and only the free parts) 4 years ago and now i speak quite fluently. but i also partly read a book about grammatics, visited a spanish speaking country (more than once), viewed movies with only subtitle in my language and did lots of phone calls in spanish only.
my advice is:
look at free apps, whatever pleases you, take chances, listen to the sound (movies, radio), try to speak, and read easy books or go through exercise books.
duolingo is good to keep on going while not really motivated as the shortest thing that counts are really only minutes and one can choose to do something that is already easy. this way at least continuation is kept even if pace is down for a while. and it is much easier to go on with pace when not having really stopped.
I second Duolingo and Drops for mostly vocabulary learning, and then I’d supplement with a textbook for grammar and a more structured learning experience. I keep seeing the everything learning german book recommended, but really, just choose whatever looks reasonable and go through it doing all the exercises
worth checking out pimsleur. haven’t tried it for german but done other courses in it and they were good. It’s an audio course where you’re mostly practicing speaking while responding to a conversation, so you get lots of pronunciation practice. They’re half hr long with 30 lessons per unit, and usually have 5 units, so good for a commute.
someone else mentioned Michel Thomas and i feel like they’re complimentary to eachother, Michel Thomas is comparatively short so it’s worth checking that out. courses at language transfer are free and they’re very similar without the wet old man noises www.languagetransfer.org/free-courses-1#german
A man named Michel Thomas created a series of audio lessons to teach a number of languages, including German. He does it in a simulated classroom type of environment where one “student” makes common mistakes and he corrects them, so you get to hear someone else make the mistake first.
He also teaches you the necessary words to enable you to start understanding others speaking he language quickly. I found combining this with Duolingo and the super cheesy Extr@s TV series (once you have the basics) allowed me to go from 0 to speaking to people within 6 weeks and understanding 95% within 6 months.
I learnt Spanish and German from his audiobooks. They are worth the money if you can afford it and/or cannot pirate it.
I’d only recommend Duolingo to dip a toe in. If after awhile you’re wanting a bit more, I’ve had a good experience with Deutsch Welle’s german course. Also Babel is excellent but pricey.
Duolingo is quite terrible at teaching a language. It gives absolutely no context of grammar or conjugation besides what it beats into you through repetition. Don’t get me started on their “pronunciation recognition”.
It is pretty much only valuable as flashcardish games for vocabulary building.
Babel is expensive, but much better.
Actually textbooks are even better if you are dedicated to learn, but of course the best is a combination of that and a language partner and native person to talk with.
I started too with vocabulary, but grammar for sentence creation is a problem. The logic for word formation and expressions are so complex. German is one of the type of languages where you need logical stimulus with emotions in sentences.
And that thing where most German words have a couple of different meanings… God damn, it’s like I’m re-learning Russian, which has the same stuff going on with different type of logic.
Russian is a PITA and I say that as someone who just wanted to learn a couple phrases to help with gaming. At least I can say spasibo though 😌
Regarding Duolingo, I would really love to find something else to recommend to people. Once people know the basics, I like to recommend Clozemaster, but I’m yet to find stabilizer wheels for getting them going.
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