When it comes to foreign languages German sometimes gets a bad rap. People are quick to highlight the most difficult parts of the language and write it off as being next to impossible to learn. There are some unique features of the German language that can be challenging to native English speakers, but that need not scare new learners away. With the right focus, and a little persistence you can start speaking the German language correctly and comfortably. In this post we’ll take a look at how to master three of the most difficult parts of the German language. Why it’s important to pinpoint the hard parts of learning German As a new German learner the complexity of the language can seem pretty intimidating. It doesn’t help that... Show more

There are plenty of destinations where you can get by with English, but sometimes you want to do better than just ‘get by’. Here are 6 reasons you should learn the basics of the language of your next trip destination. 1. You will be able to discover your destination better than other tourists. Getting by is one thing, but actually experiencing a trip abroad is quite another. No amount of guidebooks and online research can compensate for a basic lack of language ability. Speaking the language of your destination permits you to explore that destination beyond the regular tourist traps. Your language skills will not only allow you to dig into all the hidden gems of your destination, but they will also allow you to mingle with the... Show more

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from everyone here at GermanPod101.com! We're grateful to have listeners just like you, and we're eagerly waiting for the upcoming year to learn German together! And when the New Year comes around, be sure to make a resolution to study German with GermanPod101.com! Have a healthy and happy holiday season. From the GermanPod101.com team!

Germany won last night 3:2 against Turkey, after a very spannend (exciting) match. Both Mannschaften (teams) played exceedingly well. Of course LOTS of people were watching, many of them at public viewing places, so they could share the Erfahrung (experience) with other fans. One of the largest public viewings was in Berlin between the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) and Yitzhak-Rabin-Straße. 500,000 people could fit there - and already one hour before the match that limit was reached and further fans could not be accomodated. Can you imagine that? A tenth of the Bevölkerung (population) of Berlin's larger metropolitan area was there to see the match, one hour before it even started! Also a lot of people were probably watching the... Show more

Welcome! This new category of blog posts will help you gradually improve your German by mingling German words with the English blog text (with translations in brackets). It is a very painless way of learning, much less tiring than reading an entire text in German, and you can easily include it in your schedule because it doesn't take much time. The posts will be about learning German, living in Germany, topics of German news or any kind of interesting observation really. The posts may also include short examples of real authentic German language, for example quotations or newspaper excerpts. Let me know what you think of this idea! I hope this blog will become a very useful and entertaining way for you to add some German to your... Show more