How I Have Learned German (I am still learning.)	William Wieland
My ancestry is almost entirely German, therefore I am highly motivated. Since my great-grandparents immigrated to America, our European and American relatives have remained in close contact. I send Christmas greetings to about a dozen German families.
In high school I took a correspondence course from North Dakota State University. Though I earned good grades and learned to read and write a little, the cassette tapes were inadequate and I had almost no conversational practice.
As a scholar, I want to be at least bilingual. For my graduate degrees in music, I had to demonstrate reading proficiency in French, German, or Italian. I always chose German. My understanding of grammar improved, but I was certainly not fluent. I resolved to become bilingual and bought a book entitled How to Learn Any Language: Quickly, Easily, and On Your Own by Barry Farber. The book encourages multiple, simultaneous approaches. This was very effective for me.
For several summers, I checked out a different “Learn German” course from the library.
I quickly noticed that I frequently did not know words in my reading or did not know a word when I spoke. FLASHCARDS HAVE HELPED ME A LOT!!! To enlarge my vocabulary, I carry 7 flashcards in my pocket. I have a very regimented system based upon spaced repetition. (See How to Remember Anything Forever-ish.) It sounds onerous, but for me it’s like doing a crossword puzzle or sudoku. I have divided my flashcards into 6 groups. Flashcards I have not yet learned. I bought a box of 1,000 printed cards and 2 more boxes of blank cards. After many years, I have written on all 3,000 cards—including many complete sentences—and now I have begun cutting new blank cards from cardstock. Seven flashcards in my pocket. I review them at odd moments during the day. Every morning I determine how many of those flashcards I know. If I do not know one immediately, it remains in my pocket. Otherwise I place it in the next section. I replace it with a review flashcard from one of the following sections. When they are empty, I add a completely new card. Flashcards I review a week later. If I do not know them immediately, they go into my pocket. Otherwise I place them in the next section. Flashcards I review 18 days later. If I do not know them immediately, they go into my pocket. Otherwise I place them in the next section. Flashcards I review 1⅓ months later. If I do not know them immediately, they go into my pocket. Otherwise I place them in the next section. Flashcards I have reviewed as outlined above.
To improve my comprehension, I used to listen to shortwave radio. (I wrote unfamiliar words and phrases on flashcards.) Today I listen to and/or watch online news broadcasts including nachrichtenleicht — simple audio and text DW Nachrichten — intermediate text and audio that can be slowed down ARD — the German version of PBS or BBC ZDF — like BBC 2
To improve my own reading, I used to read German children’s books to my own kids including First books – Usborne First Thousand Words in German, Eric Carle Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt, and Marcus Pfister Der Regenbogenfisch Preschool – Janosch books including Oh, wie schön ist Panama, Post für den Tiger, and Ich mach dich gesund, sagte der Bär Elementary School – Astrid Lindgren Pippi Langstrumpf and Otfried Preußler Der Räuber Hotzenplotz, Die kleine Hexe, und Das kleine Gespenst Furthermore, a relative sent me a Bible. For a time I read the Gospel in German as I listened to it in English on Sunday mornings. As a graduate student, I read the libretto of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and created flashcards for any unfamiliar words or phrases. In the summer of 2019, my wife read a chapter of Harry Potter (Book 1) aloud, then my daughter and I listened to a German audio book of the same chapter.
To improve my conversational German, I mostly speak German to my children. Furthermore, several of us Germanophiles in Aberdeen meet on the first Monday of the month at 17:15 to enjoy a meal and speak German. Our location changes. Please contact me if you are interested in joining us!
To improve my writing, I e-mail my kids and my German relatives. In my opinion, dict.cc is the best online English-German German-English dictionary.
Finally, I tried Duolingo in 2017, but it frustrated me because I did not make time to work with it regularly and it kept making me redo sections I had completed. (With time, the medals expire.) However, Duolingo or another online app may be perfect for others.