Trying to Learn a language

Your German is coming along well, well done  Mine is probably going backwards (rückwärts) and we're passing each other along the way (travelling opposite directions)

No tips unfortunately but I'm interested in how you get on with trying different methods of learning.

I think our brains naturally retain some types of information easier than others. For me it's definitely easier to retain numbers, rather than words, and I can do so without trying. Like you I store in my head the prices of hundreds of different groceries in different stores. I also retain bank account numbers, credit card numbers, assorted membership numbers, etc in my head all without trying. 

However words and languages are a different matter entirely and it doesn't seem to stick. I managed to learn English as a child by reading a dictionary but I was always completely hopeless in languages at school. I posted on the thread about favourite subjects that I did so badly at O Level French that I was given a U grade (so poor it couldn't be classified as a fail). I would have preferred to do German but the lessons clashed with Chemistry on the timetable and I wasn't prepared to give that up.

I would like to learn a language one day and be able to travel more confidently as a result. I'm not sure how best to approach it though, unless there is a way to learn by numbers! I know that my auditory processing difficulties are likely to contribute to how difficult I find it.

Hi, Oh ok- I see, I quite like 1 to 1 especially if online, so I thought it might work for you too . Yet another example of how diverse autistic people are (I'm autistic too). 

Converting song lyrics sounds like fun! Here's one:

Ein gutes Herz ist heutzutage schwer zu finden!

Hi, thanks, I am hearing in a few places that this is a good strategy x

Hallo Allyboo. Ja, okay, danke. Entschuldigung für meine späte Antwort. Wie ist das Wetter bei dir, meine Freund? Vergessen Sie ihren Regenschirm heute nicht! Oh je, ich sehe, es ist Freitag, der 13.! (yikes)

Wünsche dir einen schönen Tag!

freundliche Wünsche, LangesFrettchen

(apologies, I think I got formal and informal mixed up!)

Have you tried watching German movies and TV with the subtitles on? Even casual watching and listening in will get you used to the sound and rhythm of the language and some vocabulary will seep in. Active listening and note taking makes it really powerful.

There’s loads of foreign language material on Netflix and YouTube. There are also lots of people who do simple stories in Spanish for learning purposes. I assume the same is available for German.

Gut danke, und dir?

Talking of madness, a quote I especially like from Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett is 'We are all born mad, some remain so'. I don't know that in German but I do know 'Was mich nicht umbringt macht mich stärker' from Nietzsche.

I like the phrase 'it's a pleasure to meet you' and have learnt it in 5 languages so far over the years as it's a potentially nice thing to say and use imo (although I haven't much so far) 'Ich bin froh Sie kennenzulernen' 

Thank you Ann, and Iain, good to hear from you, not sure 1to1 is exactly autism-friendly, for me the prospect of one to one classes scares me to death! I wouldn't be able to speak English let alone any German!

I'm hitting the youtube vids at the moment for now and trying to wrap my head around the rules again!

thanks though x

Vielen dank! Hallo Allyboo, wie geht es dir?

I'm going around the house saying "Ausgezeichnet, Ausgezeichnet, Ausgezeichnet" - partner says - talking to yourself [in german] first sign of madness!!

Ann :) said:

I think having a good 1:1 tutor would really help! Not sure how expensive that would be though.

It can be quite cheap - I pay about US$8 per hour for 1-2-1 sessions on an app called iTalki - essentially it is a way to locate a tutor for the language you want to learn and book sessions with them.

They are hundreds of tutors so there is some competition on price but the thing I found most useful if you can look for tutors with experience in some areas of vocabulary that you may want to explore in detail.

Prices may be different in the UK (I'm based in Brazil) but it is a free app so should be easy to check before you pay for any sessions.

The sessions I've used were done by zoom on my PC after booking the session through the app and paying through the app.

I think having a good 1:1 tutor would really help! Not sure how expensive that would be though. My mum (who is also autistic) gives language classes for adults (though not usually for german) and different people have very different needs when it comes to learning a language so she tends to adapt her approach. Some people really learn well in a visual way, with pictures etc- since you have such a good memory of number plates maybe that works well for you? Or maybe could you find a native German speaker to practice with- maybe in exchange for practicing English with them? It can really help to have someone to ask questions and who can explain things 

Ausgezeichnet  That's what our German teacher at school would write on our homework if we got full marks (I got it from time to time and was happy with that). If there was one error i.e. next grade down, he would write 'sehr gut' (which is good but not quite as good as 'excellent' )  

You could always try to get a job for a British company in Germany - I ended up spending 3 years in Frankfurt working for the European Central Bank at the time of the Euro introduction and was able to survive for 3 years on almost no German, but plenty of my colleagues took the work supplied courses and learned the language.

Immersion is certainly an accellerant to learning as I'm finding with Portuguese here in Brazil.

If you are a visual learner then the likes of Rosetta Stone is more aligned with that, or if you just want it for vocabulary then some English German visual dictionaries are a great way I found.

Thank you, saves me some time on searching, I'll add it to my tablet!

Hey Iain, thanks for the advice. Well that's a bit of a complex question that brings reincarnation in to the equation! I've just always had an affinity to German. Wish I was fluent! It seems so much more interesting than english. I took 'Spanish for Business' course in higher ed, as I was thinking of moving there at the time. Can barely remember a single word! Tried Portuguese lessons once too - same thing! 

I had a quick look and this is one of the video lessons ^^

https://youtu.be/r9os9Q6t6Xc?si=OVF9zy4_HjfovWYT

I was looking at YouTube to learn Italian.

I'm definitely better at learning visually for sure

Thanks yeah, that ties in with Goosey's suggestion too, I think you're right

Hi Goosey, thanks, no I've not tried that, good call, I know we turn to youtube for all kinds of practical stuff but I didn't think of languages on that platform, perhaps we are better trying to learn things visually as opposed to rote? 

Thanks, that's all really interesting. I'm considering printing out labels of all the german words and pinning them to objects/stuff in the house to try and hammer them in (as suggested by Ai). I quite like the idea of only speaking german in the house but I don't think my partner would be too pleased! I think you're right Allyboo (Guten Morgen by the way!), living there is gonna chuck you in at the deep end, and you don't have a choice in that scenario. I pick up little bits of Welsh over the years but it's a difficult language, with different rules for the same letters in different positions in words and different contexts, uber confusing! Sure (on the practice), I think I'd need to get going a bit first to get up to your level