Past Tense

Learning to speak German is a great investment in both your social and business life. Some popular reasons for people to start learning German include being able to talk with German family, preparing for an exchange program at a German institution and for taking holidays in Germany. There are however many other great reasons to learn German that many people never even consider. These are some that come to mind:

Germany has the largest population of all the European countries and the language is very widely spoken internationally. Learning German can connect you with 120 million native speakers around the globe and you might be surprised to learn that German is the 3rd most popular foreign language taught worldwide. Learning German will allow you to communicate with German speakers all across the world and not just the Germans, Austrians and the Swiss in their respective countries.  

Germany has one of the strongest economies and is one of the world’s top export nations. Germany’s international trade earnings are proof of the high demand for German goods. This means that if you speak German you will have excellent international employment and career opportunities. The Germans are great innovators and Germany is on the frontline of new technologies.

While German workers are highly productive, it is clear they know how to play just as hard as they work. Year after year the German’s spend more on foreign travel than any other nation. Tourism companies, airlines, hotels and car rental businesses that can communicate in German will profit from the German tourism industry.

Also don’t be fooled into thinking that German is a language of the past. In number of books published, Munich is second in the world only to New York. As very few German books are translated into English, the only way to appreciate these books is by learning to speak German.

German speaking countries have a very rich cultural heritage. The Germans are well known for their poets, classical musicians and great philosophers. 10 Nobel prizes have been awarded to German, Austrian and Swiss German authors. The psychologists Freud and Jung forever changed the way we think about human behavior. Anyone interested in any of these fields automatically expands their knowledge and skill by knowing German.  Whether you’re interested in cultural and intellectual heritage of these countries or not, the fact remains that Switzerland, Austria and Germany all offer a very high standard of living, which make these countries very sought after and comfortable places to live.

You’re probably thinking that’s all well and good, but German is too hard to learn. Well you’re wrong! If English is your native language then you already have a huge advantage when it comes to learning German. Due to their common heritage, German and English share many similarities in both vocabulary and grammar. Also once you learn the German system of sounds, it’s easy to predict how the spoken word is written and how the word is pronounced. Besides learning German can be loads of fun, especially if you make use of resources like this free learn German podcast.