1. Introduction
We need way less grammar in the beginning of learning a language (or German in particular) than we may think, and this can be easily seen. A native speaker has learned their own native language well before they go to school. So, they start school at five or six, and after that they learn grammar. Because I’m very sure that you did not learn your language with your mom picking you up when you were two years old and saying:
“Okay, little Johnny (or Mary, or any other name)”,
“Yesterday, we learned nouns. So, by the way, what is the definition of a noun?”
And the child would probably run away at this point. I’m sure that’s not how you learned your own language. We can learn a language without learning so many grammar rules.
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Words
The first thing we need is to learn words. There’s actually a whole article and video I have about how to learn words properly. This is going to be published very soon. If you sign up for our newsletter, you will be informed as soon as it is available.
I’m not saying we don’t learn anything before we learn the words but focus on learning words. You need about 5,000 words to get along in any language and cover about 75- 80% of the day-to-day language.
Sentence Patterns
And then in my courses we use sentence patterns. A sentence pattern is basically a sentence with a blank. So, for example:
“This is a ________.”
And then I tell you which words you can put in this blank. And then you can say,
“This is a lamp.”
“This is a table.”
“This is a floor.”
“This is a chair.”
“This is a picture.”
And by using that, you can immediately say at least 20 sentences –– correctly.
Translation Tools
If you have someone who speaks the language you are learning and your native language, they can help you work that out. Or you can even use a translation tool and translate very simple sentences and see what’s the same in your own language and in German, and work with that.
Other Methods
And other than that, if you do not have a course or a person that can help you with that, I suggest you:
- Focus on things like watching movies with subtitles,
- Reading – you can use a parallel text. A parallel text is a book or a text that gives the same text in German and in your native language.
- You can even use a translation tool for a text that you have and work out sentence patterns – start with easy ones yourself and practice those.
Of course, again, if you’d learn it with me, we have these sentence patterns and we have put the whole grammar into these sentence patterns. So, you don’t have to learn grammar rules, but you learn a sentence pattern, and then you practice the sentence pattern until you can really use it and don’t have to think about it.
2. Grammar In Conversation
Singular Words
You will not learn German silently, and then after two years, suddenly speak in perfect sentences. How you learn is by speaking, you start saying simple sentences with probably bad pronunciation and making some mistakes, and then you will become better and better.
I can give you an example. When you have a son or a daughter, and they try to say a sentence for the first time, they start out by using singular words. When they start speaking in language, they will probably say something like:
“Tree,” and maybe they will say “Tree” to a lamp or a pole,
“Tree. Tree. Tree.”
And then they will figure out what a tree really is. And say, “Tree” to trees.
And you will be very happy about the progress they make.
Afterwards, they might learn “Dog”.
They say “Dog” to the cat and then to a bird. And finally, they say “Dog” to the dogs.
So, they’ve learned what a dog is. And then maybe they will, for the first time, attempt a sentence and say:
“Dog barking.”
And then maybe they will, for the first time, attempt a sentence and say:
“Dog barking.”
And you will be like, “Yes! Which dog? Which dog?”
You will not go and say, “No, you have to say, ‘That dog is barking.’”
No, you will be like: “Ha! ‘Dog barking’. My kid is a genius!”
Anyway, that doesn’t matter if you think he’s a genius, but that is the sentence. It’s the first sentence, and it’s not perfect, and it will become better and better.
Overcorrection
If you expect that you are being corrected on every mistake you ever make, or maybe you don’t expect it, but it just happens to you. What will happen is you’ll think it’s already difficult because firstly, you have to think of what you’re saying, and then you must do it in another language, then you will put things together, and maybe you will say something like:
“Tag schön.”
And if somebody says to you, “No, you have to say, ‘Der tag is schön’” and so on.
What it will do is it will make you look inside; it will introvert you, and it can make you feel insecure, which is not a good thing. I mean, if you become more introverted, when you learn anything, too much over-correction is not a good thing.
And this seems to be happening even more in German-speaking areas than it is happening, for example, in English-speaking areas. Maybe it’s just what I’ve seen, but I know that it can hurt. It can make people not want to speak, and that’s what they should be doing.
Too Much Grammar in the Beginning
And another thing: I’ve seen that using too many grammar rules right in the beginning of a course can cause the opposite to happen. Because many, many people are not 100% perfect with grammar, even in their own language. So, if I tell you in a complicated sentence with three foreign words, how to make a correct sentence in German, even if you maybe sort of understand what is meant, it will not get you to the point where you can apply this.
So, in the beginning, you need:
Much less grammar,
much less theory
and much more practice.
And then, after and only after you’ve learned enough German or any other language to the point that you can say sentences, you can understand the basic language.
Then you start dealing with grammar and learning more grammar, and making your sentences more correct.
3. Is Grammar Unnecessary?
I’m not saying we don’t need grammar. I think some people in my environment, some students, will testify that I’ve “tortured” them with grammar. Ha! No, I don’t think so. Nevertheless, it is very important. I want and encourage all my students to become very good at what they learn and to get to a very good level of German if they want to. It is entirely possible. And then after a certain level, they need to learn grammar, and they need to learn it properly.
But they may find that they must also learn the grammar of their own language, of their native language at that point in time, it’s possible that can happen.
4. In Conclusion
Maybe you have become desperate about learning German or understanding German grammar. I’m telling you, it’s entirely possible to both learn German and to understand German grammar. You don’t need to be a genius to do that. It’s not that hard. If you have the correct approach, if you have the correct course, if you have a method for you that works. However, if you are maybe at the situation that you think it’s super difficult, first of all, let me tell you, do not give up. You will be able to succeed. You can do it. But maybe you must consider finding a course that works better for you or finding a method that works better for you, because it’s very possible that you are at the stage where you need less grammar and more practice and more vocabulary, and more working it out and working on conversation, then actually learning theoretical rules.
Yes, so don’t give up and know and understand that if you get confused and desperate about grammar, it’s probably not your fault. It’s probably that you haven’t been taught right, and you need to fix that.
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