{"id":677379,"date":"2025-06-26T17:05:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T14:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/learning-german-has-many-benefits-for-young-people-and-its-not-as-hard-as-its-reputation-suggests\/"},"modified":"2025-06-26T17:05:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T14:05:18","slug":"learning-german-has-many-benefits-for-young-people-and-its-not-as-hard-as-its-reputation-suggests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/learning-german-has-many-benefits-for-young-people-and-its-not-as-hard-as-its-reputation-suggests\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning German has many benefits for young people\u2014and it&#8217;s not as hard as its reputation suggests"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40fc463fbfa\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40fc463fbfa\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/learning-german-has-many-benefits-for-young-people-and-its-not-as-hard-as-its-reputation-suggests\/#Shared_roots_with_English\" >Shared roots with English<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/learning-german-has-many-benefits-for-young-people-and-its-not-as-hard-as-its-reputation-suggests\/#It_gets_easier\" >It gets easier<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/learning-german-has-many-benefits-for-young-people-and-its-not-as-hard-as-its-reputation-suggests\/#German_has_a_word_for_it\" >German has a word for it<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/munich.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/munich.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Credit: Anastasia Shuraeva from Pexels\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/munich.jpg\" alt=\"munich\" title=\"Credit: Anastasia Shuraeva from Pexels\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Credit: Anastasia Shuraeva from Pexels<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As the government is exploring a new EU youth mobility scheme and working towards a renewed association with the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ukro.ac.uk\/news\/outcome-of-the-uk-eu-summit-2025-uk-to-rejoin-erasmus\/\" target=\"_blank\">Erasmus+ program<\/a>, a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-uk-is-poorer-without-erasmus-its-time-to-rejoin-the-european-exchange-programme-227498\" target=\"_blank\">world of opportunity<\/a> may be opening up once again for young people in the UK. Studying or working abroad is not just an enriching experience\u2014it&#8217;s a powerful step towards building intercultural competence and a successful career in today&#8217;s globalized world.<\/p>\n<p>The German-speaking countries are among Europe&#8217;s most influential cultural and political forces and have therefore been an attractive destination for young Brits. And learning German could be the gateway to a period of cultural immersion.<\/p>\n<p>Learning a language has many professional, cultural and intellectual benefits. With almost 100 million first-language speakers across several countries, German is one of the most widely spoken languages in Europe. Germany is not just Europe&#8217;s largest economy but also the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/kpmg.com\/de\/en\/home\/insights\/overview\/economic-key-facts-germany.html\" target=\"_blank\">third largest economy in the world<\/a>. Knowing German can give you a competitive edge with employers and even <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/preply.com\/en\/blog\/lucrative-languages-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\">boost your salary prospects<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>More than that, learning a language gives you unique insights into different cultures, societies and perspectives, as <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/gfl-journal.de\/current-issue\/?issue=2025-issue-1\" target=\"_blank\">new research on learning German<\/a> that I have carried out with colleagues shows. It helps you look beneath the surface and connect with people on a deeper level.<\/p>\n<p>Understanding German also enriches your cultural experiences, as you will be able to enjoy German-language literature, philosophy, music, film and TV\u2014all in their original form. Of course it will also be useful if you are planning to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>, study or work in a German-speaking country.<\/p>\n<p>While there are all these benefits, German is sometimes thought of as a difficult language to learn. However, there are many reasons why it&#8217;s not actually as hard as some may think.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Shared_roots_with_English\"><\/span>Shared roots with English<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>German and English both belong to the Germanic language family and have a shared history. This means that there are many &#8220;cognates&#8221; (words that are historically related and therefore similar). These are often easy to guess for English speakers, particularly once you are familiar with some of the patterns.<\/p>\n<p>You can probably work out what the German words &#8220;Apfel&#8221; and &#8220;Pfeffer&#8221; mean (<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>le and pepper). In cognates, German pf and ff often correspond to a p sound in English. Some knowledge of the history of languages can help learners spot (and explain) these patterns and identify cognates more easily. This is one of the many reasons why <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/linguisticsinmfl.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\">my colleagues and I<\/a> have been arguing that all <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/linguistics-could-make-language-learning-more-relevant-and-attractive-for-school-pupils-255068\" target=\"_blank\">language learners should be introduced<\/a> to some basics of linguistics, the scientific study of language.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"It_gets_easier\"><\/span>It gets easier<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>German grammar sometimes has the reputation to be particularly complicated. It can&#8217;t be denied that it can be challenging at times, and unfamiliar grammatical concepts in any language can take a while to get your head around.<\/p>\n<p>The interesting thing about German grammar is that it is quite &#8220;frontloaded.&#8221; This means that learners will encounter many of those challenging new concepts\u2014such as grammatical gender, cases and some specific word order rules\u2014right at the beginning. You need to understand these basics to a certain extent to be able to produce even quite simple sentences.<\/p>\n<p>It is worth persevering, though, as German grammar gets easier further down the line. German tenses, for example, are quite straightforward. Whereas in English we differentiate between &#8220;she read,&#8221; &#8220;she has read,&#8221; and &#8220;she was reading.&#8221; There is only one form to learn in German: &#8220;sie hat gelesen.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, when it comes to pronunciation, there are some sounds in German that will be unfamiliar to English speakers to start with, such as the &#8220;umlaute&#8221; \u00e4, \u00f6 and \u00fc, and the ways in which ch and r are pronounced. It takes some practice to master these. However, the correspondence between spelling and pronunciation is much more predictable and consistent in German than it is in English.<\/p>\n<p>Take, for example, the different ways to pronounce -ough in the words &#8220;through,&#8221; &#8220;thorough&#8221; and &#8220;tough.&#8221; Such examples can be really challenging for learners of English. You won&#8217;t find such tricky differences in German.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ads w-100 my-4 article-main__more bg-light p-3 border\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-3\">\n        Discover the latest in <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a>, tech, and space with over <strong>100,000 subscribers<\/strong> who rely on Phys.org for daily insights.<br \/>\n        Sign up for our <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sciencex.com\/help\/newsletter\/\" target=\"_blank\">free newsletter<\/a> and get updates on breakthroughs,<br \/>\n        innovations, and research that matter\u2014<strong>daily or weekly<\/strong>.\n    <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"German_has_a_word_for_it\"><\/span>German has a word for it<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>German is famous for its <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2012\/sep\/21\/germans-word-long-language\" target=\"_blank\">long words<\/a>. These often consist of two or more words joined together to create a new compound word. While compounds are fascinating in themselves, they also tend to be very descriptive, which can be helpful for language learners.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if you know the words for &#8220;sick&#8221; (&#8220;krank&#8221;) and &#8220;house&#8221; (&#8220;Haus&#8221;), you basically know the word for &#8220;hospital&#8221; too (and you can definitely guess its meaning when you encounter it): &#8220;Krankenhaus.&#8221; And could you work out that &#8220;Spielzeug&#8221; (literally &#8220;play stuff&#8221;) means &#8220;toy&#8221;?<\/p>\n<p>Learning a language is never without its difficulties, and German is no exception. However, my experience of teaching German at British universities has shown me that German is much more accessible to English speakers than some might think.<\/p>\n<p>Many people enjoy the intellectual challenge of learning a new language and find it a highly rewarding experience, and it may be a gateway to some time spent in a German-speaking country. So give it a go, and don&#8217;t let the thought of learning German cause you any angst.<\/p>\n<div class=\"d-inline-block text-medium mt-4\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvided by<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Conversation<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon_open\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<use href=\"https:\/\/phys.b-cdn.net\/tmpl\/v6\/img\/svg\/sprite.svg#icon_open\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  This article is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/learning-german-has-many-benefits-for-young-people-and-its-not-as-hard-as-its-reputation-suggests-253263\" target=\"_blank\">original article<\/a>.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/253263\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLearning German has many benefits for young people\u2014and it&#8217;s not as hard as its reputation suggests (2025, June 26)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 26 June 2025<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2025-06-german-benefits-young-people-hard.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script id=\"facebook-jssdk\" async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-06-german-benefits-young-people-hard.html\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credit: Anastasia Shuraeva from Pexels As the government is exploring a new EU youth mobility scheme and working towards a renewed association with the Erasmus+ program, a world of opportunity may be opening up once again for young people in the UK. Studying or working abroad is not just an enriching experience\u2014it&#8217;s a powerful step&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":677380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/munich.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-677379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}