Wie Zahlen Sie? Nein, Danke: Learning German in Germany

When I first thought about where I was going to study abroad, a major concern for me was learning a second language. As I’ve asked around, many people had the same priority. Back home I study Linguistics, the scientific study of humans and their capacity for language, and one of my favorite subfields is Second Language Acquisition, so I figured writing a blog post about learning a language on study abroad might be fitting.

If you ask someone who comes to Germany for the language what they hope to accomplish, they’ll probably respond, “I came here to become fluent in German.” They want to acquire some sort of mastery of the language to the point of being “fluent.” But what exactly does that mean? Sorry to say, there isn’t really a good answer. There is no universally agreed upon definition for fluency. Different agencies, like the US State Dept, the Council of Europe, and others have standards they set for their own purposes, but they often contradict each other, or else they clash with everyday ideas about fluency. So without some sort of gold standard, how do you define your goal?

I know someone who is more than happy with being able to order a beer in German, but I also have friends who want to be able to talk about highly technical subjects so they can work in German companies. It all comes down to your personal goals, and there’s absolutely no need to put in excessive work to live up to someone else’s standards for language proficiency. As far as research shows, very very very few people will ever be able to completely lose their foreign accent or pass as native speakers of a language they learn after a certain age (estimates range from 4 to 14). And that’s alright. Unless you’re planning on becoming a spy, having an unobtrusive accent won’t hurt you (being the foreigner with the cute accent can have its benefits). The most important factor is being understood, whether that means in ordering food, or giving lectures.

So what can you do if you want to learn a language, especially in country? These are some basic guidelines:

1.     Exposure, Exposure, Exposure:

Being in the country of your target language is a godsend for learning. Your mind figures out a new language by taking in as much data as it can and sorting out the rules, so living in a German city means you are learning just by going about your life. Obviously, it can be very easy to cloister yourself among English speakers, so take care not to fall into that trap.

Try your best to make German friends; not only are friends nice, but they’ll be a constant stream of exposure, and often language help. When you take the tram from place to place, listen to German music. It’s hard to soak in the language if every time you pull out headphones, you’re streaming English.

2.     Do what you like to do, but in German

Exposure is key, but it can also be draining. To make it easier, just adapt the things you already love into opportunities to practice German. If you like novels, read a translation of your favorite one. Knowing what you expect from the story can help you get the meaning out of the new language. If you like movies, try the German dub of ones you’re already familiar with. I love billiards, so I asked my German friends to come with me to a pool hall, and I learned all sorts of pool terminology in German.

3.     Try the “on/off” method with friends:

One of the benefits of living in a country that has a huge number of English bilinguals is that when you have difficulty, they can cut you some slack. When I was spending time with German friends, I would try to speak in German until the effort tired me out. We’d switch to English (something they were all too excited to practice), but after a bit, one would yell “Auf Deutsch!” (“In German!”) and we would go back, turning the German on and off. This way, I could practice without getting too frustrated.

4.     Speak!!!

Trying to speak in a new foreign language can be very difficult. Between remembering the right words, getting the accent right, and trying not to make grammar mistakes, it’s a demanding task. Add on the social anxiety of not wanting to mess up in front of friends and strangers, and it’s very easy to let everyone else do the talking. But that is just about the worst thing you can do. Besides getting exposure to your target language, producing it spontaneously is the most important part of learning. Getting used to expressing yourself on the spot trains your use of the grammar, helps you remember important words, and obviously, if you want to be at ease talking, you won’t get there without practice.

5.     Babble?

As silly as it seems, experimenting with the unfamiliar sounds in your language by repeating them (yes, by babbling like a baby), actually improves your ability to produce and perceive those sounds. Recent research trends have been pointing to the idea that by training the muscles of your mouth to make new sounds, you’re helping your brain to better recognize them, so when you hear the sound again on the street, or try to pronounce a word with the sound in it, you brain has a better idea what to listen for. So go ahead, practice those consonants. And if strangers give you that look, then clearly you were just clearing your throat.   

6.     Give it time

Learning a language is a positively massive cognitive feat. No one expects a marathon from a casual jogger. So take your time to build up your new language and recognize there isn’t a bar you have to get over. Even native speakers are always changing and improving their abilities to express themselves. Cut yourself some slack and enjoy the ride. You’ll need to ask for clarification, for a minute to gather your thoughts, and for the waiter to please bring that back, no I didn’t mean to order it, it just sounds like the thing I wanted and I thought I pronounced it right.

You laugh, but it’s a real story: I was with a friend at the counter of a döner shop, and after my friend ordered, the clerk asked Wie zahlen Sie? meaning “How are you paying?” to which my friend, thinking the man had asked if he wanted a salat, a salad, responded, Nein, danke, “no thanks”. Sure enough, he never confused those two words again.

Mad Dashing Across Europe: Traveling Advice, Part 1

This is the topic everybody wants to talk about. And because there’s so much to talk about, I’ll only be writing the first part of my series right now. Stay tuned for later installments.

So traveling, right? It’s why you came to study abroad in the first place, so you could spend every weekend flying around Europe----- I mean, you came to study. Right. To study. But, of course, if you happen to find sometime between studying intently for your classes, and reading all of those textbooks you thumb through for fun (and who doesn’t?), you might just happen to have time to travel around Europe and see the sights. What could be better?

            For many, study abroad is the first time in your life when you are sitting on the most culturally, historically, and politically important continent the world has ever known. Architecture, cuisine, fashion, history, art, and that ephemeral concept of “culture”; Europe has been the center of all of these for hundreds of years. It’s here that you can walk the streets of cities that are centuries, sometimes millennia old, see sights that define the term “breathtaking”, and appreciate the source of Western culture.

            So where do you begin? For many Americans (myself included), before study abroad, every trip you’ve taken has been painstakingly planned by someone else. Parents, maybe tour agencies, relatives, school administrations. Study abroad is an opportunity to test the waters and begin to learn the art of traveling. There are many opportunities for incredible adventures, as well as embarrassing mistakes. You will not, and I mean you positively will not be as comfortable with traveling as you think you are. You will forget at least one important article of clothing or important supply during your semester. You might even need to bargain with a man to let you on the last bus home because you forgot your ticket in the city. In my time here, I’ve seen a few things traveling, and I’ve come up with a few key points to keep in mind to help you make the most of your weekend getaways:

1.     Be realistic about your time:

Like I just made mention to, most of your study abroad traveling will be done on weekends (if you don’t consider every day spent in Germany traveling, which you probably should). Between classes, friends, and other activities you might not want to miss out on during the week, you’re trips will realistically last at most five days (Thursday through Monday, if you can set up such a nice schedule). Because your trips are lasting less than a week, you will not see everything. You’re not going to feel like a local in Paris because you took a photo of the Eiffel tower. Take some pressure off of yourself by remembering that anything you get to do is a bonus. Appreciate the little things and don’t be a perfectionist about getting to all of those sights. It’ll only stress you out.

2.     Pack light:

Just like in the last tip, you should always keep in mind that your trip isn’t for that long. You should be able to survive without some of your heavier amenities for a few days. We’re all traveling, and no one minds if you re-wear some of your clothing. A three-day bus tour of Bratislava is not exactly a situation that lends itself to showing off your fashion sense. Plus, you’ll thank yourself for a lighter bag when you’re lugging it out of your hostel at six in the morning to catch the bus home.

3.     Get ready for some weird hours:

Everyone tells you that weekend trains and flights are pretty cheap during study abroad, but no one ever tells you why: the best deals are for departures and arrivals at times no one in their right mind would ever go! The travel companies like GoEuro and others know that students are willing to travel at literally any time if it means they save a couple Euro, and they exploit that tactic endlessly. I can personally say that I found a full trip to Zurich, Switzerland, one of the most expensive cities in the world, for 30€, round trip. How did I find such a deal? We left my city at 1:30am on a Saturday morning and arrived at 6, before anything in the city was open. We left at 11:30, arriving home at 4am. Was it worth it? Of course, Zurich was great. Did I sleep on the bus? Not a wink.

4.     Find a traveling group:

Seeing all the great cities of Europe firsthand is an experience to itself. But it’s not the architecture, or the restaurants, or the landscapes that makes traveling worthwhile – it’s the fun you have with your friends there. Having stories to share for years is something you need others for. They’ll challenge you, help you, and if nothing else, split the bill with you. Usually the group will be other internationals, just as eager as you are to see what Europe has to offer. Having international friends gives you new perspective on the world, and by combining your individual skillsets, you can each contribute to the trip in your own way, making it a much better experience overall. Plus, later on, who knows, maybe they can invite you to come traveling in their home country?

5.     Go with the flow:

In much the same vein as my first tip, it’s incredibly important to go into these weekend excursions with an open mind. You don’t know what these new cities might offer you, or what they won’t. But if you let your idealized image of what your trip “should” be interfere with how it’s actually going, you’ll miss out on the actual adventure. So when your friend insists you go to that extra museum, or to small city in some country you never thought you’d care about, don’t shut them down. Take a risk and see how it goes. You might just stumble into an adventure. And those are EXACTLY why you came on study abroad.