I like to think I speak rather good German. I was fortunate to learn it at an age still young enough to not sound too American, yet old enough to have a developed brain that could intelligently learn. I learned from school, from people I met, from the radio, and from reading. In recent times I find Google searches in German to be fun.

I was able to take a year of German in high school in Ohio before going to Germany. From a previous year of French, I had an understanding about learning a foreign language, and the year of German grammar and vocabulary gave me a good foundation for when I arrived. The first German word I learned was “Koffer” – suitcase – because one of my two suitcases didn’t make it to the baggage carrousel. The second word was, no great surprise, “Ausfahrt” on the Autobahn as my dad drove me from Frankfurt to Stuttgart.

My dad met a local German couple through one of his coworkers. I met them soon after I arrived. (We are still in contact today, 54 years later!) Having someone to practice with was very valuable. I learned not only “school German” but “real German” and culture too. I always try to listen to people’s word choice when they respond to me. They are fluent/native speakers after all! I then try to emulate their vocabulary and pronunciation.

I got tired of AFN radio very quickly. In trying to have something for everyone, they really didn’t have much for me (Maybe Charlie Tuna or Casey Kasem). So, I found a German radio station that played music I liked. I didn’t understand much at first, but I was surrounded by the rhythm of the German language. I think the first things I began to understand were the traffic reports. “Stau” joined my vocab before I was even driving!

I am an avid reader. I discovered if I bought German magazines on topics of interest to me, I could learn a lot. Captions explained the pictures. I was familiar already with the content. I had total control over the pace of content delivery. Everything was grammatically correct.

If you’ve studied communications, you are likely familiar with models that include barriers to communication. Thinking in English and translating into German is a barrier to communication. Translating responses from conversation partners into English is also a barrier. I decided one day to simply “speak German” instead of thinking in English, translating into German, saying the words “auf Deutsch,” and so on. It wasn’t easy at first, but it eventually happened.

By age 19 I had taken three years of high school German as well as a couple University of Maryland (European Division) advanced German classes and one class at the local Volkshochschule. I passed the language proficiency test to be admitted to study at the University in Tübingen. I believe this would be B2 in the modern European language proficiency scale.

Years later I was stationed in Stuttgart myself. And then in Wiesbaden. In both locations I was in glider clubs where I had the opportunity to talk about not just flying, but the weather, travel, life, and so on. Real uses of the language in a real environment. I learned a lot of car repair vocabulary too. During the two years in Wiesbaden I read close to 20 novels in German. I also took two C1+ level classes at the local Volkshochschule. (Although I didn’t test, my instructor thought I would pass the C2 level examination.)

Flying internationally (as pilot, not passenger!) requires a minimum of Level 4 (on a 1-6 scale) in either English or a local language. I tested as Level 5 in German (almost native speaker level). The examiner told me I would have passed Level 6, if there actually were a Level 6 test for German!

Funny side story – native speakers generally get Level 6 just for filling out paperwork. I was not able to prove that I had “spent six of my first ten years of life in an English speaking environment” so I had to take a test to prove I’m a native English speaker. A British guy tested my English ability. In a Chinese restaurant. In Germany. Cost €100. For a language no one doubted I could speak! Only the European Aviation Safety people could make it that complicated…

If you are in Germany with the military, you don’t have a lot of time to learn the language. Go to the local VHS for German class taught in German. They are the experts in teaching foreigners German. Two nights a week on base where 90 percent of the words in the room are in English will do very little, though certainly better than none! Good luck and hope my experiences help you.