How to Learn a New Language As an Adult (University-teacher)

---<br><br>I am a teacher for the German as a second language course at the University of Freiburg. In these years I have taught and worked with hundreds of students who were all taking this course with the same goal in mind: to be able to go through their studies in German. Since moulding an adult into having a native-like fluency is a massive effort, the majority of my students begin to take shortcuts at one point or the other, because their sheer workload does not allow them to manage their time any other way. This, naturally, makes them struggle with their own studies and puts a toll on our relationship. I have compiled and written down 3 tips that I give my students every year so that they can make the most out of our course:<br><br>***<br><br>1. **make sure you have a good note-taking system**<br><br>I don’t mean digital notes. During lectures or lessons I want you to have a very simple system of organised notebooks. Buy two moulded ring binders. You can also have two small ones and carry them everywhere with you if you prefer, but I would recommend one spiral notebook per class. This notebook should be plain (no lines, no squares) and you should use the same color for it every time. I personally prefer a thin A4 notebook for moulded ring binders or an A5 spiral notebook. Now for the moulded ring binders, you should again only use one color and take notes in bullet points, preferably in the Cornell Note format. You could also use a star system to get the most important information in the notes: 3 stars would be something that will definitely be on the exam. 2 stars would be something that will need to be mentioned in an exam, but you don’t necessarily need to know it by heart. And 1 star would be something that you should at least be aware of, but it is not important for the exam. If you have a document or a handout from the lecturer, it should be put into the moulded ring binder. When you’re studying for the exam, the notes should be in your bag or somewhere else and you should only use the binders to recall the most important information and study from the documents and the binders. Each binder should have an index. The binder can be split up into different categories with dividers (if you’re studying a language, you could for example have grammar, vocabulary, communication and writing). As for the notebook, each page should have the date written on the right side. When the notebook is full, you should take it out of the bag and put it somewhere. This way you will see how much material you have covered and you will always have a reference for the exam if you can’t remember something. <br><br>2. **an organised schedule is the key to studying** <br><br>Each class will come with its own routine and rhythm. You yourself have your own daily routine and rhythms. You should be able to use this knowledge to pinpoint when exactly you have enough energy and time to study. You will need to set time aside for studying. The best way to do that is to create a digital calendar with different colours for each class (I personally use Google Calendar). Create recurring events for your study sessions and set reminders and notifications for each one. You can allow push notifications on your phone to remind you that you should be studying in the next 30 minutes, for example. During the week you should have a routine of studying at least an hour every day. You could even split up your study sessions and study for 30 minutes in the morning and again in the evening. You should also set aside some time on the weekends to review your notes and read the binder. Try to do the most important stuff in the morning and the passive stuff in the evening. <br><br>3. **It’s okay to take shortcuts, but only if you know what you’re doing**<br><br>Taking shortcuts is a part of life, but taking the wrong shortcut can put entire years behind you. If you have to take a shortcut, you should know what it entails and whether it is worth it. Shortcuts often require a lot of energy upfront, but then save you time in the long run. This is why I would highly recommend you to not fall into the trap of procrastination. A good example of a shortcut would be to buy the notes from last year. A bad example is to rely on Google Translate or AI generated answers. If you want my honest opinion, in the 3 years that I have been teaching, only 5 students have managed to pass their exams by relying on those AI tools. The pass rate at our university is 70%, so you can take your chances, but it is very unlikely that you will pass if you don’t put in the effort. Now onto the notes. If you want to buy notes from last year, you can do that, but you should make sure that you also take the time to attend the classes and take your own notes. You should also compare your notes with the notes you bought. Compare what is missing in order to make the notes you bought conclusive. It may take a lot of time upfront, but it will be worth it in the long run. You can also save yourself a lot of time by listening to the lectures during your daily commute or just by listening to them instead of writing down everything. You can always go over the audio recording again and take notes by listening to it. As long as the lecturer allows you to record the lectures, this is a good way to avoid procrastination and take mental shortcuts, if you will. <br><br>In conclusion, I want to emphasize that a good study routine with regular breaks and not overexerting yourself is the best way to consistently pass your exams and get good grades. It doesn’t matter if you have a learning disability or if you’re not good at the subject. With the right mindset each and everyone one of you can achieve anything you set your mind to. If you have any questions you can contact me via email or comment down below.<br><br>---<br><br>I hope you found these tips as helpful as my students have.