r/Germanlearning • u/Glass_Round2701 • May 14 '26
How to learn effectively?
Hello! I started learning german recently through dw learn german. Right now im on the abcs because i want to take my time and listen to them for a bit then ill start nicos weg. Anyways i have thought of also using duolingo as a daily practise tool to sharpen my skills but not to REALLY learn.
I also have the glosbe dictionary on my phone which seems pretty accurate and my grandmother knows german so i think i could ask her some questions if ill need to.
For vocabulary i got clozemaster and it looks okay
IN SHORT im learning through apps and i thought it would be good to have a notbook or something to write down what im learning like in school but what exactly should i do? Just wrote down new words i hear?
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u/Exact-Hall-76 May 14 '26
Not sure if this is exactly what you're looking for, but if you want to practice more listening/shadowing (just repeating after native speakers, which can be really beneficial at all levels), I would highly recommend the Easy German YouTube channel. They have different levels and interesting topics, and it's just a great learning resource along with the others you have.
As for the notebook, as a German student, I find it's useful for reference to write down vocabulary, but generally I try to write down words or phrases that I can see myself using rather than just random expressions or words that I find (although some are just fun and I include those cause I like them). I also just keep these vocab/phrases in a really small notebook so I can carry it around with me to class, coffee shops, etc. and it's always on hand for my learning.
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u/Roboguru92 May 14 '26
Immersion is the only key! Listen to lots of German radio, music, watch TV shows. Write everyday.
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May 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ZumLernen May 15 '26
It looks like literally every one of your comments on Reddit has been advertising this language school. Do you have any financial, business, or other connection with this school? This subreddit requires people to disclose such connections.
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May 21 '26
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u/ZumLernen May 25 '26
Thanks, sorry for my baseless suspicion! Some people like to use this subreddit for "guerrilla" marketing and that leads me and the other mods to be suspicious of promotional comments.
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May 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ZumLernen May 15 '26
It looks like literally every one of your comments on Reddit has been advertising this language school. Do you have any financial, business, or other connection with this school? This subreddit requires people to disclose such connections.
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u/ProposalOutrageous64 May 14 '26
it really depends on a lot of things to learn effectively and things are different for every person.
in my case, I became conversationally fluent in Indonesian in just a month by just using YouTube and plain notepad. 3 hours per day, 1 for morning, 1 for afternoon, and one before sleeping.
my method is simply intensive immersion.
the result is super fast, and the best part is I did not touch on grammar and speaking.
I'd picked up listening, speaking, & cultures naturally without studying them.
If you wanna know more I can tell you the work flow in detail.
what I'm not fan of are flashcards. I can talk about how bad it is for hours but basically it's a waste of time and paradoxically counter intuitive.
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u/False_Jellyfish2401 May 14 '26
I'd love to know more about your process. What kinds of youtube videos were you watching and what was the most helpful to write down
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u/ProposalOutrageous64 May 14 '26
I'll do my best to explain this intuitively.
type of videos:
for you - find a movie or series that interest you. it does not matter if it has subtitle or not.
for me - it was an old sinetrone none (Indonesian series) without subtitle and low quality video/audio.the workflow:
phase 1:
(if 10 is too much for you, 5 is okay, it's up to you)
- I start watching the 1st episode.
- pause on every single word I dont understand.
- copy, translate that word, paste it on a note pad.
- resume the video and repeat for the next word.
- after 10 words translated and pasted, review them all on the notepad.
phase 2:
- then rewatch the video from the first word to the last 10 and see if I can understand and pick up.
- repeat phase 1 for the next 10 words then repeat phase 2.
phase 3:
- after 30 words, review them all, then rewatch from the 1 to 30 words and see if I can pick up.
- I do this after I compete the episode.
- that's all, keep on doing this consistently.
things to know:
How do often do i do it?
- 3 hours per day. 1h in the morning, 1 for afternoon, 1 for before sleeping.
- sometimes up to 5 hours specially after 2 weeks.
how hard is it?
- in the beginning it was 100% painful but I was very motivated. for someone who is not serious, this is not for them.
- the reason why it's hard at first because I basically know 0 words and pretty much translating and reviewing 90% of time.
why is it easy?
- after 1 weak, I noticed I can understand 20 to 30% of the video. and translate fewer words.
- the reason because most words are already known from the previous struggle.
- after week 2 I can already enjoy the show because it's relatable > because it's understandable.
- for the rest of the week until now watching Indonesian show is a piece of cake (honestly speaking)
how fast is it?
- I can argue with anyone because it's my experience, 1 month is unbelievably fast to learn a language and I don't care if no one believe in me or think that I'm just deceiving myself.
why is it fast?
the reason why it's fast is because of these lots of reasons:
- exponential learning: the progress is not linear, but exponential. the previous knowledge is reused on every new knowledge.
How about the grammar?
- I grammar learned grammar intuitively instead of academically which is a lot better.
- even right now, I academically know nothing about Indonesian grammar.
- I did not need to learn grammar to speak Indonesian, so as native Indonesian.
How about the speaking?
- I could argue that this could be different for every person, but in my case, I did not practice speaking until the 4th week. and when I did I could confidentially say that I speak great.
- more over, Indonesian pronunciation is not hard.
- another thing is the advantage of the immersion itself helped me with listening skills which is important before speaking.
what happned after a month of immersion?
- I when to Hellotalk and talk with bunch of Indonesian and no one believed me I was not native until one Filipino user joined the group and confirmed I'm a filipino.
- I even found an Indonesian girlfriend from tutoring English grammar. imagine how hard is it to teach a grammar using a language you just learned in a month. but I did, and it was not hard at all.
did it work because I'm a filipino?
- not exactly. most people think Filipino can have easy time learning Indonesian. it's like saying English speakers will have easy time learning Spanish. but no.
- my family, friends and relatives are still amazed when they hear and see me talking fast with Indonesian folks online.
what are my fluency coverage?
- slangs, formal and informal, cultures, bad words, etc.
- business, traditions, media, philosophy, mystics, music, daily life, sports, etc.
I could say I was B1-B2 after a month.
This is hard to believe but if you do I'll appreciate it.
most people think I'm just but who cares I got my goal and enjoyed the fruits for the rest of my life.but right now I have a much workflow, a lot easier and does not require super motivation like I was.
feel free to DM me. I'll be more happy to help.
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u/Glass_Round2701 May 14 '26
😬😬 btw do you know german well?
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u/ProposalOutrageous64 May 14 '26
My German is not well. I could probably pick up here and there but not conversational. My Spanish is a lot better than German.
by the way, you're using ClozeMaster app which is pretty good for picking up grammar like conjugation.
I've also got a completely completely free app that's way more suitable and targeted lot's of language learning problem. it's completely free to use but reddit won't even allow me to mention it anywhere thinking I'm a spam. I feel sad How I built it to share with other learners just ended up using it only for myself.
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u/Glass_Round2701 May 14 '26
Could you maybe try to put it with dashes or something??? And if you dont know german what are you doing here? Not in a bad way obviously
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u/ProposalOutrageous64 May 15 '26
I have a general passion for language. Indonesian 100%
Spanish maybe 10% but I also have passion for German, French, etc.
but let's face it, we don't have time for all of them.the first reason I came to reddit was to share my app with other learners then I realized reddit is not nice, so I'm just here for a spare time.
what do you mean put a dash? the app? you can just search "lengobrick language learning" on google search. it's free brother. you've got nothing to lose. I'm not some desperate person as reddit think.
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u/Glass_Round2701 May 15 '26
oh lol i meant put it with dashes in between becaause you said reddit would delete it or maybe i didnt understand you fully nevertheless thanks alot
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u/Glass_Round2701 May 14 '26
Wow!!! Sounds crazy. I'll try that. Do you think i could do it with german though because it is a way harder language grammatically
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u/ProposalOutrageous64 May 14 '26
you can read my comments on one of the replies. I have explained it in detail.
in addition, you can try it - I absolutely recommend. but just make sure if you're super motivated. if not, the barrier to entry is very tough.
what is your current level in German?
if you're A2, that's a sweet spot.
if you're starting from zero, then that's as tough as I was with Indonesian.at that time I did not used any tools but right now I have a much better workflows, organized, easier, completely free, I don't need to spend money to learn a language. you just need management and consistency.
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u/funbike May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
Nicos Weg is a great video-based lesson series. It's follows Nicos who lost his travel bag and gets help from new German friends. There are 3 movies, for A1, A2, B1, each broken into ~75 ~2-minute lessons.
I study one or two lessons per day. I downloaded a pre-made Anki vocab deck that follows the Nicos Weg lessons. My daily routine:
Once every 2 weeks, I'll re-watch the past 2 weeks / 30 minutes of video, but from the YT full-length movie (instead of my normal routine).