Language Challenge: 4 Logical Reasons to Learn German

I have not always wanted to be able to speak a second language. As a child I did not realize the value of in-school language classes and consistently neglected my language studies.

They say learning a second language is much easier as a child – but personally that did not seem to be the case. When I was younger my attention span was lacking and (most importantly) I had no motivation to learn a whole new language. It was hard and I had no reason to focus myself on this class which everyone took for granted.

Now, as a slightly older 21 year-old I wish I could tell a younger me to listen more closely in Chinese or French Language Studies. Mainly because the skill of learning a second language is lifelong and incredibly valuable in Australia’s multi-cultural society and our world.

Language and Geographical Studies really should be focused on more in our schools so that the next generation is educated and aware of just how incredibly vast our world is. Then, maybe, we could get closer to taking valuable and critical steps as a united species towards protecting the planet we live on. The Earth is going to be around whether humanity fight for the environment or not – but humans may become endangered if we don’t make a change! But that’s another story.

Today’s story is about a pledge I am making. I recently begun teaching myself German with the assistance of the Duolingo app (which I could not recommend more highly). In the past I have attempted to learn French, Spanish and Mandarin with little to no success. I can remember numbers, the alphabet and a few phrases from all three, but would not consider myself proficient in any way, shape or form.

Inevitably after a few weeks of consistent study I lose interest and forget the whole reason why I wanted to learn another language in the first place!

So, I am making a promise to you – my few loyal readers – that on the last day of January 2017 I will write a blog post completely in German. Don’t get your hopes up, it will be mundane and simple and will most likely be packed full of grammatical errors. But that’s okay. Learning is about making mistakes and improving yourself a little along the way, and I’m very excited about the journey.

Now, some of you might be wondering – why German? Well, if you require motivation to start or continue studying a second language look no further for here are 4 logical reasons to learn German. Enjoy!

4 Logical Reasons to Learn German: 

1. German is the most widely spoken language in Europe. If you plan to spend any time in Europe it is very valuable language and would be worth learning the basics. And on top of that Germany is a beautiful place which I would love to visit without the language barrier.
2. 1 in 10 books in the world is published in German. Just think of the literature that you are missing out on! Not only fiction, but academic papers and innovative journals. The science! The science!
3. German speakers have a huge online presence. Basically, learning German opens up a whole new cohort of people which you can communicate with. Don’t you want to know what they have to say? I certainly do.
4. Learning German as an English speaker is not as hard as you think. Both languages evolved from a common ancestor language. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy, it just makes you feel slightly more confident going into it. 🙂

Not convinced? Give these a quick read and let me know what you think.

FLUENTU

GEOTHE

I cannot wait to see where this journey takes me – even if it only until the end of January with my first German blog post. We shall have to wait and see!

Auf Wiedersehen!

~ Gem.