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Learn German With These 3 Spotify Playlists
When it came to learning a language, linguists and academics stuck with old fashioned memorization and repetition methods for years and years. Thankfully, we’ve begun to abandon these archaic practices in favor of more engaging and effective ones. Now that scientists are studying language learning more meticulously, they’re realizing that the methods deemed “unconventional” are actually the best ones for memory retention and pronunciation.
Using foreign music as a language-learning aid is one of those “unconventional” concepts that click. Unfortunately it’s used all too infrequently. If you need some assistance learning German, look no further than this small, but mighty, list. It has more than enough songs to keep you busy learning for weeks, maybe even months!
This playlist was actually created by a student looking to learn German. After some research, he compiled a series of songs, each of which contains its own repeating grammar concepts.
For example, if you’re looking to practice prepositions, consider listening to the song “Der langsame Tod eines sehr großen Tieres” by Herrenmagazin. The best way to soak in the lesson is to read the lyrics as you listen. Another good example of some imbedded grammar practice is the song “Krieger des Lichts” by Silbermond. Have a listen if you’re working on the imperative form.
Each song has its unique grammatical focus. Keep your ears open and see if you can identify them on your own!
This is another list that was produced by a fellow German learner. It’s actually good for a variety of proficiencies. Though the creator is at a B1 proficiency level, he chose these songs because they have clear pronunciation and are easy to listen to. This means that the playlist will be just as useful for beginners as it is for those who already speak and write German at a basic level.
The impressive diversity in this list is another good reason to save it. Spanning a variety of genres and time periods, it might be fun to try and notice a difference in styles. Bonus points if you can guess the decade of each song correctly! I mean, how hard is it really to tell an 80’s classic from an early 2000’s song?
You can’t truly learn a new language without soaking in a little bit of the culture too. Hence our choice to include the top charts for Germany. Listening to the most popular songs the country is currently raving about is a great way to absorb the latest slang, colloquial, and idiomatic expressions. It’s best to perfect your pronunciation with music early on, so you can be prepared when you get the opportunity to speak with a native.
Make sure to choose the right playlist. There’s a whole list of them with similar names, and most will probably be fine, but for this post we’re referring to the one with the German flag color scheme: yellow, red, and black.
As you can imagine, these aren’t the only German playlists on Spotify; rather, they are just the tip of the iceberg. The more playlists you adopt, the quicker your path to fluency; so feel free to try as many as you like. Consider the ones listed above as your starter pack on your journey to learning German. What are you waiting for? Grab your headphones, it’s time to turn up the deutsche Musik!