I'm Struggling With My Online German Lessons. What Do I Do?

There are times when you'll hit bumpy roads while taking online German classes and you wonder if your grades will improve. The first thing you should do is realize that mistakes will happen when learning German and after this you need to meet with your online German teacher to discuss problem areas and get assistance. It also helps to seek help from fellow classmates through the forums or email because they might help you in ways that the teacher cannot always do. Another thing you can do is read some online German language study guides from various university websites. Give yourself time to overcome your mistakes and practice writing and speaking as often as possible.

Befriend A Native German Speaker

If you have a neighbor, friend or coworker who is a native German speaker, establish a friendship with him but get to know him as a person before you discuss your intentions of allowing him to help you improve your written and spoken German skills. If he talks about the regional variations of German, learn them so that you won't be confused if the online instructor discusses it in class. Your friend may also have some German language magazines and phrasebooks on hand.

Turn To Online Video Tutorials

If you're struggling with certain concepts while taking German lessons online, it is a good idea to watch some online video tutorials from experts in the German language. When you watch the videos you can take notes and play back the sections you were confused about.

Record Yourself While Pronouncing German Words

Another way to improve your German skills is to record yourself as you're saying German words from the online lessons. When you hear yourself say the words you can get an idea of how successful you are with the pronunciations. You can even go beyond just recording the words and stating those words in sentences in German.

Watch German Language Media Online

Sometimes you can improve your skills by watching German media online through sources such as news broadcasts, soap operas, movies or kids' programming. Pay special attention to the way German verbs are conjugated and spoken and you should also look at how the sentences are structured on the programs you watch.

Locate Some German Textbooks

Aside from using the resources that your online instructor gave you, you can do better in the course by purchasing a few college or high school level German textbooks online to supplement your instruction. Get textbooks that have detailed lessons and plenty of examples as well as pictures. Go through one to two chapters a day and do the practice exercises at the end of the chapters.

Not all students learn at the same pace and you shouldn't feel bad if you are struggling to understand certain concepts. With the above mentioned strategies you can succeed if you're patient with yourself during the learning process. Finally, stay in touch with your instructor while working on your shortcomings.