1. Slowly change your life to German
People in Germany use German to get and give information, that is, to communicate. For you, this means that your life should slowly become more and more German. This works relatively easy if you e.g. change the default language of your smartphone to German, listen to/read news and other texts in German. This way you focus on the content and less on the language.
2. Good speaking comes from speaking
You can improve your oral expression by speaking to your classmates in German already in class and during breaks. It is also a good idea to arrange to meet one or two classmates for leisure activities in the city and the surrounding area. The best way to communicate in German is to not realize that you are using German.
3. Courage to fill in the gaps
You know this: The text has many new words. It is difficult to understand it. In this situation it is important to ignore the new words. You will be surprised how much you understand if you focus only on familiar words. If this is difficult for you while reading, you can black out or cross out all the new words and then read the text again.
4. Pay attention to the assignments in the course
You find listening and reading comprehension difficult in class and in exams? The difficult part is not the texts, because most of the time you don’t have to understand everything. You should always look at the assignments first before listening and before reading. With the right problem-solving strategies, you will know what to focus on. So be attentive in class when you hear the word ‘strategy’.
5. Learn words only in context
If you have taken some courses, you know that there are many new words every day. In order for you to understand and use these words correctly, it is important not only to learn the meaning of the words, but also to use them in complete sentences by yourself. Only then can you be sure that you know the meaning and how they work in sentences. This is especially important with verbs.
6. Repetition makes perfect
Every day you are confronted with new things in the course. If you learn something new every day, you will forget other things. Therefore, it is important to regularly repeat what you have already learned. It is best to make weekly plans in which you note down when you want to repeat vocabulary on which topic and when you want to repeat which structures. The more often you activate knowledge, the more secure it remains in your head.
7. Do what you love
Do you have favorite books or movies? Great. Most internationally known books are translated into German, most movies are dubbed into German. So if you want to read your favorite book or watch your favorite movie again, try it in German. The advantage is that you already know the content. So you can concentrate on the words and expressions.
