Better German Podcast

64 What Real Practice Looks Like

What Does Real Practice of German Actually Look Like? In this episode, you'll learn why most learners stay stuck — even after years of studying — and what to do instead. This is not about memorizing word lists or doing endless exercises. It's about how to turn words into something you can actually use . You'll learn a simple, repeatable way to practice vocabulary so that it sticks — and more importantly, so that you can speak with it . If you've ever felt like you “know” words but can't use them, this episode will fix that. 🎯 Join the Free Workshop: How to Actually Learn German If you want to go deeper and see exactly how to apply this method step by step, check out my workshop: 👉 bettergerman.info/workshop [https://bettergerman.info/workshop] Even if you're a complete beginner, there are questions for your level — and you'll still get clear guidance on what to do next.  🔑 What You'll Learn in This Episode * Why most German learning methods don't lead to real speaking ability * The 80/20 rule of language learning — and why practice matters more than theory * How many words you actually need to start speaking German * The right way to practice a new word (step by step) * Why pronunciation is the first thing you need to get right * How to move from “recognizing” a word to actually using it * How to build simple sentences — even if you don't know all the grammar yet * Why learning articles (der, die, das) with the noun matters * How long it really takes to learn and use new German vocabulary * Why traditional school methods fail (and what to do instead) * How to practice German with a partner effectively 🎓 Get Talking German Course Ready to stop guessing and start speaking? Here is our German for Beginners & Restarters course: 👉 bettergerman.info/course [https://bettergerman.info/course] 🎧Mentioned in this episode 👉Episode 5 - Introduction to Articles [https://bettergerman.info/5] ✨ Join The Better German Podcast Community [https://bettergerman.info/community]       Find all podcast resources at one place! 📰  Sign Up for Our Newsletter [https://bettergerman.info/newsletter]        Get Tips & Updates Straight To Your Inbox! 🌍 Explore Our Podcast Episodes [https://podcast.bettergerman.info/]       New to the podcast? Head over to our podcast homepage to find other episodes you’ll love. 💬 Come See Our Approach For Yourself [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4h9u8z2pPA]       We believe in real understanding, not just memorizing grammar rules—come see how we do in this YouTube Video. 📲 Stay Connected and Follow Us On: * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susi_blumel/ [https://www.instagram.com/susi_blumel/] * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61580057243680 [https://www.facebook.com/61580057243680] * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German [https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German] * TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman [https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman] * Pinterest: https://de.pinterest.com/susibettergerman/ [https://de.pinterest.com/susibettergerman/] ⭐ Enjoyed this episode?       If you liked what you heard, give us a review on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-german-podcast/id1706307717] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/14g8a2g0IKITzp5dTAHtQs] or share it with a fellow learner!

63 Breakfast Words in German

What do you actually say at breakfast in German? In this episode, you'll learn the most important German words for breakfast — from Breakfast and Breakfast Buffet to eggs, bread, coffee, and more. You'll also see how German builds long words by combining smaller ones, and why some everyday words work differently than in English. This episode is about understanding what you'll actually hear and say in real life — especially in places like hotels, cafés, and bakeries. 🎯 Find out your REAL German level Not what certificate you have — where you actually stand today. Take the free Better German Placement Test and get a personal response from me with your real level and your best next step. Even if you’re a complete beginner, there are questions for your level — and you’ll still get clear guidance on what to do next.  👉 bettergerman.info/test [https://bettergerman.info/test] 🔑 What You'll Learn in this Episode *  What breakfast words mean in German (and why it's not sometimes the same logic as English)  *  How German combines words (like Breakfast + Buffet ) to make one word. *  Essential breakfast vocabulary (eggs, drinks, bread, and more)  *  The difference between standard German and Austrian words (like 'Paradeiser' for Tomato in Austria )  *  Why bread culture in German-speaking countries is different *  How small word endings (like -chen ) change the meaning of a word. ✨ Join The Better German Podcast Community [https://bettergerman.info/community]       Find all podcast resources at one place! 📰  Sign Up for Our Newsletter [https://bettergerman.info/newsletter]        Get Tips & Updates Straight To Your Inbox! 🌍 Explore Our Podcast Episodes [https://podcast.bettergerman.info/]       New to the podcast? Head over to our podcast homepage to find other episodes you’ll love. 💬 Come See Our Approach For Yourself [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4h9u8z2pPA]       We believe in real understanding, not just memorizing grammar rules—come see how we do in this YouTube Video. 📲 Stay Connected and Follow Us On: * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susi_blumel/ [https://www.instagram.com/susi_blumel/] * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61580057243680 [https://www.facebook.com/61580057243680] * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German [https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German] * TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman [https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman] * Pinterest: https://de.pinterest.com/susibettergerman/ [https://de.pinterest.com/susibettergerman/] ⭐ Enjoyed this episode?       If you liked what you heard, give us a review on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-german-podcast/id1706307717] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/14g8a2g0IKITzp5dTAHtQs] or share it with a fellow learner!

62 "To have" in German

In this episode, you’ll learn how “haben” (engl. "to have") works in real sentences! And you will learn how to add objects to a sentence (what are you having) - and what change is happening with the article "der". This is a very basic episode to make slightly longer sentences in German.  If you want to stop guessing and start forming correct sentences, this is one of the first building blocks. 🎯 Find out your REAL German level Not what certificate you have — where you actually stand today. Take the free Better German Placement Test and get a personal response from me with your real level and your best next step. 👉 bettergerman.info/test [https://bettergerman.info/test] 🔑 What You’ll Learn in This Episode * Why “haben” is not always used the way English “have” is, * How to say “I have…” correctly in German, * How to build a basic sentence step by step, * How small word changes affect meaning, * Why one word in the sentence sometimes changes form (your first step into sentence structure). ✨ Join The Better German Podcast Community [https://bettergerman.info/community]       Find all podcast resources at one place! 📰  Sign Up for Our Newsletter [https://bettergerman.info/newsletter]        Get Tips & Updates Straight To Your Inbox! 🌍 Explore Our Podcast Episodes [https://podcast.bettergerman.info/]       New to the podcast? Head over to our podcast homepage to find other episodes you’ll love. 💬 Come See Our Approach For Yourself [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4h9u8z2pPA]       We believe in real understanding, not just memorizing grammar rules—come see how we do in this YouTube Video. 📲 Stay Connected and Follow Us On: * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susi_blumel/ [https://www.instagram.com/susi_blumel/] * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61580057243680 [https://www.facebook.com/61580057243680] * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German [https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German] * TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman [https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman] * Pinterest: https://de.pinterest.com/susibettergerman/ [https://de.pinterest.com/susibettergerman/] ⭐ Enjoyed this episode?       If you liked what you heard, give us a review on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-german-podcast/id1706307717] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/14g8a2g0IKITzp5dTAHtQs] or share it with a fellow learner!

61 Self-Paced Courses Don’t Work… Right?

Many learners believe that self-paced courses are the problem. They assume they need discipline, pressure, or a classroom environment to finally succeed with German. But the real issue is something else entirely. In this episode, I talk about a conversation from one of my recent workshops with a learner who believed he couldn’t succeed in a self-paced course. His experience is actually very common: people force themselves through classes for months or even years — and still never reach the point where they can actually speak German. So what’s really going on? We look at why many traditional courses struggle to produce real results, why motivation disappears when learning stops making sense, and why learning at your own speed is not the problem — it’s often the solution. Free Live German Workshop How to Actually Learn German https://bettergerman.info/workshop [https://bettergerman.info/workshop] Get Talking German Course German for Beginners & Restarters https://bettergerman.info/course [https://bettergerman.info/course] Key Topics in This Episode • Why many learners believe self-paced courses don’t work • What really happens when people force themselves through classes • The difference between motivation and discipline in language learning • Why people naturally learn at different speeds • Why group classes often cannot adapt to individual learning speed • How learning can become easier when the process actually makes sense • What it really means to “learn to communicate” in German Mentioned in This Episode How to Actually Learn German – Free Live Workshop https://bettergerman.info/workshop [https://bettergerman.info/workshop] Get Talking German My step-by-step course for Beginners & Restarters who want to start speaking German in a natural and practical way. https://bettergerman.info/course [https://bettergerman.info/course] ✨ Join The Better German Podcast Community [https://bettergerman.info/community]       Find all podcast resources at one place! 📰  Sign Up for Our Newsletter [https://bettergerman.info/newsletter]        Get Tips & Updates Straight To Your Inbox! 🌍 Explore Our Podcast Episodes [https://podcast.bettergerman.info/]       New to the podcast? Head over to our podcast homepage to find other episodes you’ll love. 💬 Come See Our Approach For Yourself [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4h9u8z2pPA]       We believe in real understanding, not just memorizing grammar rules—come see how we do in this YouTube Video. 📲 Stay Connected and Follow Us On: * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susi_blumel/ [https://www.instagram.com/susi_blumel/] * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61580057243680 [https://www.facebook.com/61580057243680] * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German [https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German] * TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman [https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman] * Pinterest: https://de.pinterest.com/susibettergerman/ [https://de.pinterest.com/susibettergerman/] ⭐ Enjoyed this episode?       If you liked what you heard, give us a review on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-german-podcast/id1706307717] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/14g8a2g0IKITzp5dTAHtQs] or share it with a fellow learner!

60 German Umlauts: What Those Two Dots Actually Do

Many learners see ä, ö, and ü and immediately feel confused. What are those two dots? Are they new letters? Are they just decoration? In this episode, we look at German umlauts in a very practical way. You'll hear how they sound, how they relate to the normal vowels a, o, and u , and why they often appear when words change form — for example, when a noun becomes plural. Most importantly, you'll practice the sounds out loud with real examples so you can start getting used to hearing and saying them. If you want to follow along more easily, download the free cheat sheet with all the example words [https://bettergerman.info/umlaut] mentioned in the episode. 👩🏻‍💻Free Workshop https://bettergerman.info/workshop [https://bettergerman.info/workshop] 🗣️Get Talking German Course https://bettergerman.info/course [https://bettergerman.info/courses] ⬇️Download the Umlaut Cheat Sheet https://bettergerman.info/umlaut [https://bettergerman.info/umlaut]   Key Topics in This Episode * What the German umlaut actually means * Why German has the letters ä, ö , and ü * The connection between sound changes and word changes * Examples with a → ä, o → ö, and u → ü * Common singular and plural pairs ( Mann → Männer, Buch → Bücher , etc.) * How to practice umlaut sounds effectively  Mentioned in This Episode * Episode 18 — The German Alphabet [https://bettergerman.info/18] * Get Talking German Course [https://bettergerman.info/courses] You May Also Like * Better German Podcast → https://podcast.bettergerman.info [https://podcast.bettergerman.info] * Free Live German Workshop → https://bettergerman.info/workshop [https://bettergerman.info/workshop] ✨ Join The Better German Podcast Community [https://bettergerman.info/community]       Find all podcast resources at one place! 📰  Sign Up for Our Newsletter [https://bettergerman.info/newsletter]        Get Tips & Updates Straight To Your Inbox! 🌍 Explore Our Podcast Episodes [https://podcast.bettergerman.info/]       New to the podcast? Head over to our podcast homepage to find other episodes you’ll love. 💬 Come See Our Approach For Yourself [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4h9u8z2pPA]       We believe in real understanding, not just memorizing grammar rules—come see how we do in this YouTube Video. 📲 Stay Connected and Follow Us On: * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susi_blumel/ [https://www.instagram.com/susi_blumel/] * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61580057243680 [https://www.facebook.com/61580057243680] * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German [https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German] * TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman [https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman] * Pinterest: https://de.pinterest.com/susibettergerman/ [https://de.pinterest.com/susibettergerman/] ⭐ Enjoyed this episode?       If you liked what you heard, give us a review on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-german-podcast/id1706307717] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/14g8a2g0IKITzp5dTAHtQs] or share it with a fellow learner!