Episodes

  • 66 Why People Study German Many Years Without Success

    66 Why People Study German Many Years Without Success
    Apr 16 2026
    Why do people study German for many years without success?

    Many people spend years learning German… and still can't speak it.In this episode, we break down why that happens—and what to do differently so you can actually start using the language.

    🎧 Better German Podcast+ — Exclusive Podcast and Community
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    🎓 Interested in Taking a Course? - Free Placement Exam:
    Free Placement with exam/questionnaire, personal program, and interview to confirm placement and answer any questions. Courses are online, include materials, and combine self-study and live lessons. Pricing starts at €100/month, depending on your program. 👉Take the placement exam: https://bettergerman.info/test

    🔑 What You'll Learn in this Episode:
    • Why speaking is often not practiced (and why that's a problem)
    • Why you should learn words first , not grammar
    • Why repeating word lists is not enough
    • The right balance between theory and practice
    • Why passing exams doesn't mean you can speak
    • Why many courses focus too much on theory
    • Why grammar is often taught in a confusing way
    • What actually helps you start speaking faster
    🎓 Join the next free workshop (April 21):Learn how to actually learn German by signing up for the workshop:
    👉 https://bettergerman.info/workshop
    🎧 Better German Podcast+ - Exclusive Podcast and Community
    Early access exclusive PLUS content via your own private feed, all podcast resources in one place, ask questions and more. Free version is available if you just want to get started.👉 Join here: https://bettergerman.info/community
    🧭 Want to Take a Course? – Free Placement ExamFree Placement with exam/questionnaire, personal program and interview to confirm placement and answer any questions. Courses are online, include materials and combine self study and live lessons. Pricing starts at €100/month, depending on your program. 👉 Take the placement exam: https://bettergerman.info/test

    🎓 Free Live Workshop | https://bettergerman.info/workshop
    🌐 Website | https://bettergerman.info▶️ YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German/
    🎵 TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman📌 Pinterest | https://www.pinterest.com/susibettergerman
    ✉️ Contact | podcast@bettergerman.info🎙 Start from Episode 1 | https://bettergerman.info/1
    ⭐ Enjoyed this episode?A quick review or share helps more people find the podcast.
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    24 mins
  • 65 German Weather Words for Everyday Use

    65 German Weather Words for Everyday Use
    Apr 9 2026
    🌤️ German Weather Words You’ll Actually Use
    Talking about the weather is one of the easiest ways to start speaking German — and in this episode, you’ll learn the core words and simple sentence patterns to do exactly that. From “the sun is shining” to “it’s raining right now”, I break it down step by step so you can start forming your own sentences immediately.

    🎧 Better German Podcast+ (referred to as "VIP") in the episodeGet early access to new episodes and exclusive PLUS content you won’t hear in the public podcast — delivered directly to your podcast app via your own private feed, plus you have a community environment!

    Inside the Podcast+ Community, you also get all podcast resources in one place and a space to ask questions and actually use what you’re learning.A free version is available if you just want to get started.👉 Join here: https://bettergerman.info/community
    🔑 What You’ll Learn in This Episode
    • The most essential German weather words (sun, rain, wind, clouds, and more)
    • Key descriptive words like hot, cold, wet, dry
    • Simple sentence patterns you can use with the weather words instantly
    • Workable word and sentence practice tips
    • How to say “there is / there are” in German (e.g., “Es gibt viel Wind” = “there is a lot of wind” and “Es gibt viele Wolken” = “there are many clouds”)
    • How to say what’s happening right now in German — without “-ing” (e.g., “It rains” instead of “It’s raining”)

    🎧Mentioned in this episode ➝ Episode 64 — How to Actually Practice Words
    If you want to remember and use the words from this episode, go back and listen to Episode 64. It shows you how to turn vocabulary into real speaking.
    🔗 Full Transcript & Episode Page👉 bettergerman.info/65
    🎧 Better German Podcast+ - Exclusive Podcast and Community
    Early access exclusive PLUS content via your own private feed, all podcast resources in one place, ask questions and more. Free version is available if you just want to get started.👉 Join here: https://bettergerman.info/community
    🧭 Want to Take a Course? – Free Placement ExamFree Placement with exam/questionnaire, personal program and interview to confirm placement and answer any questions. Courses are online, include materials and combine self study and live lessons. Pricing starts at €100/month, depending on your program. 👉 Take the placement exam: https://bettergerman.info/test

    🎓 Free Live Workshop | https://bettergerman.info/workshop
    🌐 Website | https://bettergerman.info▶️ YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German/
    🎵 TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman📌 Pinterest | https://www.pinterest.com/susibettergerman
    ✉️ Contact | podcast@bettergerman.info🎙 Start from Episode 1 | https://bettergerman.info/1
    ⭐ Enjoyed this episode?A quick review or share helps more people find the podcast.
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    24 mins
  • Welcome to the Better German Podcast +

    Welcome to the Better German Podcast +
    Apr 8 2026
    🌟Welcome to Better German Podcast Plus🌟

    Welcome! There's now a Plus version of the Better German podcast — and in this episode, you'll see what's different and how it can help you actually start using German. In this short welcome episode, you'll see exactly what you now have access to — and how to get the most out of it from the start.

    🔑 What You Get with Better German PlusThis is not a replacement for the main podcast; it's an upgrade.Inside the Plus tier, you now get:
    • Early access to new episodes (sometimes weeks, even months, ahead)
    • Exclusive VIP-only episodes and material every month (additional content you won't find in the main podcast)
    • Guided practice episodes to help you actually use what you learn,
    • The ability to suggest topics and shape future episodes,
    • Expanded resources, word lists, and sentence patterns.


    🎧 Better German Podcast+ - Exclusive Podcast and Community
    Early access exclusive PLUS content via your own private feed, all podcast resources in one place, ask questions and more. Free version is available if you just want to get started.👉 Join here: https://bettergerman.info/community
    🧭 Want to Take a Course? – Free Placement ExamFree Placement with exam/questionnaire, personal program and interview to confirm placement and answer any questions. Courses are online, include materials and combine self study and live lessons. Pricing starts at €100/month, depending on your program. 👉 Take the placement exam: https://bettergerman.info/test

    🎓 Free Live Workshop | https://bettergerman.info/workshop
    🌐 Website | https://bettergerman.info▶️ YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German/
    🎵 TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman📌 Pinterest | https://www.pinterest.com/susibettergerman
    ✉️ Contact | podcast@bettergerman.info🎙 Start from Episode 1 | https://bettergerman.info/1
    ⭐ Enjoyed this episode?A quick review or share helps more people find the podcast.
    Show More Show Less
    10 mins
  • 64 What Real Practice Looks Like

    64 What Real Practice Looks Like
    Apr 2 2026
    What Does Real Practice of German Actually Look Like?In this episode, you'll learn why most learners stay stuck — even after years of studying — and what to do instead. This is not about memorizing word lists or doing endless exercises. It's about how to turn words into something you can actually use . You'll learn a simple, repeatable way to practice vocabulary so that it sticks — and more importantly, so that you can speak with it .If you've ever felt like you “know” words but can't use them, this episode will fix that.🎧 Better German Podcast+ - Exclusive Podcast and CommunityEarly access exclusive PLUS content via your own private feed, all podcast resources in one place, ask questions and more. Free version is available if you just want to get started.👉 Join here: https://bettergerman.info/community🧭 Want to Take a Course? – Free Placement ExamFree Placement with exam/questionnaire, personal program and interview to confirm placement and answer any questions. Courses are online, include materials and combine self study and live lessons. Pricing starts at €100/month, depending on your program. 👉 Take the placement exam: https://bettergerman.info/test🔑 What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy most German learning methods don't lead to real speaking abilityThe 80/20 rule of language learning — and why practice matters more than theoryHow many words you actually need to start speaking GermanThe right way to practice a new word (step by step)Why pronunciation is the first thing you need to get rightHow to move from “recognizing” a word to actually using itHow to build simple sentences — even if you don't know all the grammar yetWhy learning articles (der, die, das) with the noun mattersHow long it really takes to learn and use new German vocabularyWhy traditional school methods fail (and what to do instead)How to practice German with a partner effectively🎓 Get Talking German CourseReady to stop guessing and start speaking?Here is our German for Beginners & Restarters course:👉 bettergerman.info/course🎧Mentioned in this episode👉Episode 5 - Introduction to Articles🎧 Better German Podcast+ - Exclusive Podcast and CommunityEarly access exclusive PLUS content via your own private feed, all podcast resources in one place, ask questions and more. Free version is available if you just want to get started.👉 Join here: https://bettergerman.info/community🧭 Want to Take a Course? – Free Placement ExamFree Placement with exam/questionnaire, personal program and interview to confirm placement and answer any questions. Courses are online, include materials and combine self study and live lessons. Pricing starts at €100/month, depending on your program. 👉 Take the placement exam: https://bettergerman.info/test🎓 Free Live Workshop | https://bettergerman.info/workshop🌐 Website | https://bettergerman.info▶️ YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German/🎵 TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman📌 Pinterest | https://www.pinterest.com/susibettergerman✉️ Contact | podcast@bettergerman.info🎙 Start from Episode 1 | https://bettergerman.info/1⭐ Enjoyed this episode?A quick review or share helps more people find the podcast.
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    22 mins
  • 63 Breakfast Words in German

    63 Breakfast Words in German
    Mar 26 2026
    What do you actually say at breakfast in German?
    In this episode, you'll learn the most important German words for breakfast — from Breakfast and Breakfast Buffet to eggs, bread, coffee, and more.
    You'll also see how German builds long words by combining smaller ones, and why some everyday words work differently than in English. This episode is about understanding what you'll actually hear and say in real life — especially in places like hotels, cafés, and bakeries.

    🎧 Better German Podcast+ - Exclusive Podcast and Community
    Early access exclusive PLUS content via your own private feed, all podcast resources in one place, ask questions and more. Free version is available if you just want to get started.👉 Join here: https://bettergerman.info/community
    🧭 Want to Take a Course? – Free Placement ExamFree Placement with exam/questionnaire, personal program and interview to confirm placement and answer any questions. Courses are online, include materials and combine self study and live lessons. Pricing starts at €100/month, depending on your program. 👉 Take the placement exam: https://bettergerman.info/test
    🔑 What You'll Learn in this Episode
    • What breakfast words mean in German (and why it's not sometimes the same logic as English)
    • How German combines words (like Breakfast + Buffet ) to make one word.
    • Essential breakfast vocabulary (eggs, drinks, bread, and more)
    • The difference between standard German and Austrian words (like 'Paradeiser' for Tomato in Austria )
    • Why bread culture in German-speaking countries is different
    • How small word endings (like -chen ) change the meaning of a word.

    🎧 Better German Podcast+ - Exclusive Podcast and Community
    Early access exclusive PLUS content via your own private feed, all podcast resources in one place, ask questions and more. Free version is available if you just want to get started.👉 Join here: https://bettergerman.info/community
    🧭 Want to Take a Course? – Free Placement ExamFree Placement with exam/questionnaire, personal program and interview to confirm placement and answer any questions. Courses are online, include materials and combine self study and live lessons. Pricing starts at €100/month, depending on your program. 👉 Take the placement exam: https://bettergerman.info/test

    🎓 Free Live Workshop | https://bettergerman.info/workshop
    🌐 Website | https://bettergerman.info▶️ YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German/
    🎵 TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman📌 Pinterest | https://www.pinterest.com/susibettergerman
    ✉️ Contact | podcast@bettergerman.info🎙 Start from Episode 1 | https://bettergerman.info/1
    ⭐ Enjoyed this episode?A quick review or share helps more people find the podcast.
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    25 mins
  • 62 "To have" in German

    62 "To have" in German
    Mar 20 2026
    In this episode, you’ll learn how “haben” (engl. "to have") works in real sentences! And you will learn how to add objects to a sentence (what are you having) - and what change is happening with the article "der".

    This is a very basic episode to make slightly longer sentences in German.

    If you want to stop guessing and start forming correct sentences, this is one of the first building blocks.

    🎧 Better German Podcast+ - Exclusive Podcast and Community
    Early access exclusive PLUS content via your own private feed, all podcast resources in one place, ask questions and more. Free version is available if you just want to get started.👉 Join here: https://bettergerman.info/community
    🧭 Want to Take a Course? – Free Placement ExamFree Placement with exam/questionnaire, personal program and interview to confirm placement and answer any questions. Courses are online, include materials and combine self study and live lessons. Pricing starts at €100/month, depending on your program. 👉 Take the placement exam: https://bettergerman.info/test
    🔑 What You’ll Learn in This Episode
    • Why “haben” is not always used the way English “have” is,
    • How to say “I have…” correctly in German,
    • How to build a basic sentence step by step,
    • How small word changes affect meaning,
    • Why one word in the sentence sometimes changes form (your first step into sentence structure).

    🎧 Better German Podcast+ - Exclusive Podcast and Community
    Early access exclusive PLUS content via your own private feed, all podcast resources in one place, ask questions and more. Free version is available if you just want to get started.👉 Join here: https://bettergerman.info/community
    🧭 Want to Take a Course? – Free Placement ExamFree Placement with exam/questionnaire, personal program and interview to confirm placement and answer any questions. Courses are online, include materials and combine self study and live lessons. Pricing starts at €100/month, depending on your program. 👉 Take the placement exam: https://bettergerman.info/test

    🎓 Free Live Workshop | https://bettergerman.info/workshop
    🌐 Website | https://bettergerman.info▶️ YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German/
    🎵 TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman📌 Pinterest | https://www.pinterest.com/susibettergerman
    ✉️ Contact | podcast@bettergerman.info🎙 Start from Episode 1 | https://bettergerman.info/1
    ⭐ Enjoyed this episode?A quick review or share helps more people find the podcast.
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    15 mins
  • 61 Self-Paced Courses Don’t Work… Right?

    61 Self-Paced Courses Don’t Work… Right?
    Mar 11 2026
    Many learners believe that self-paced courses are the problem. They assume they need discipline, pressure, or a classroom environment to finally succeed with German.But the real issue is something else entirely.In this episode, I talk about a conversation from one of my recent workshops with a learner who believed he couldn’t succeed in a self-paced course. His experience is actually very common: people force themselves through classes for months or even years — and still never reach the point where they can actually speak German.So what’s really going on?We look at why many traditional courses struggle to produce real results, why motivation disappears when learning stops making sense, and why learning at your own speed is not the problem — it’s often the solution.🎧 Better German Podcast+ - Exclusive Podcast and CommunityEarly access exclusive PLUS content via your own private feed, all podcast resources in one place, ask questions and more. Free version is available if you just want to get started.👉 Join here: https://bettergerman.info/community🧭 Want to Take a Course? – Free Placement ExamFree Placement with exam/questionnaire, personal program and interview to confirm placement and answer any questions. Courses are online, include materials and combine self study and live lessons. Pricing starts at €100/month, depending on your program. 👉 Take the placement exam: https://bettergerman.info/testKey Topics in This Episode• Why many learners believe self-paced courses don’t work• What really happens when people force themselves through classes• The difference between motivation and discipline in language learning• Why people naturally learn at different speeds• Why group classes often cannot adapt to individual learning speed• How learning can become easier when the process actually makes sense• What it really means to “learn to communicate” in GermanMentioned in This EpisodeHow to Actually Learn German – Free Live Workshop https://bettergerman.info/workshopGet Talking GermanMy step-by-step course for Beginners & Restarters who want to start speaking German in a natural and practical way. https://bettergerman.info/course🎧 Better German Podcast+ - Exclusive Podcast and CommunityEarly access exclusive PLUS content via your own private feed, all podcast resources in one place, ask questions and more. Free version is available if you just want to get started.👉 Join here: https://bettergerman.info/community🧭 Want to Take a Course? – Free Placement ExamFree Placement with exam/questionnaire, personal program and interview to confirm placement and answer any questions. Courses are online, include materials and combine self study and live lessons. Pricing starts at €100/month, depending on your program. 👉 Take the placement exam: https://bettergerman.info/test🎓 Free Live Workshop | https://bettergerman.info/workshop🌐 Website | https://bettergerman.info▶️ YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German/🎵 TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman📌 Pinterest | https://www.pinterest.com/susibettergerman✉️ Contact | podcast@bettergerman.info🎙 Start from Episode 1 | https://bettergerman.info/1⭐ Enjoyed this episode?A quick review or share helps more people find the podcast.
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    20 mins
  • 60 German Umlauts: What Those Two Dots Actually Do

    60 German Umlauts: What Those Two Dots Actually Do
    Mar 10 2026
    Many learners see ä, ö, and ü and immediately feel confused. What are those two dots? Are they new letters? Are they just decoration?In this episode, we look at German umlauts in a very practical way. You'll hear how they sound, how they relate to the normal vowels a, o, and u , and why they often appear when words change form — for example, when a noun becomes plural.Most importantly, you'll practice the sounds out loud with real examples so you can start getting used to hearing and saying them.If you want to follow along more easily, download the free cheat sheet with all the example words mentioned in the episode.🎧 Better German Podcast+ - Exclusive Podcast and CommunityEarly access exclusive PLUS content via your own private feed, all podcast resources in one place, ask questions and more. Free version is available if you just want to get started.👉 Join here: https://bettergerman.info/community🧭 Want to Take a Course? – Free Placement ExamFree Placement with exam/questionnaire, personal program and interview to confirm placement and answer any questions. Courses are online, include materials and combine self study and live lessons. Pricing starts at €100/month, depending on your program. 👉 Take the placement exam: https://bettergerman.info/test Key Topics in This EpisodeWhat the German umlaut actually meansWhy German has the letters ä, ö , and üThe connection between sound changes and word changesExamples with a → ä, o → ö, and u → üCommon singular and plural pairs ( Mann → Männer, Buch → Bücher , etc.)How to practice umlaut sounds effectively Mentioned in This EpisodeEpisode 18 — The German AlphabetGet Talking German CourseYou May Also LikeBetter German Podcast → https://podcast.bettergerman.infoFree Live German Workshop → https://bettergerman.info/workshop🎧 Better German Podcast+ - Exclusive Podcast and CommunityEarly access exclusive PLUS content via your own private feed, all podcast resources in one place, ask questions and more. Free version is available if you just want to get started.👉 Join here: https://bettergerman.info/community🧭 Want to Take a Course? – Free Placement ExamFree Placement with exam/questionnaire, personal program and interview to confirm placement and answer any questions. Courses are online, include materials and combine self study and live lessons. Pricing starts at €100/month, depending on your program. 👉 Take the placement exam: https://bettergerman.info/test🎓 Free Live Workshop | https://bettergerman.info/workshop🌐 Website | https://bettergerman.info▶️ YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@Better-German/🎵 TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@susibettergerman📌 Pinterest | https://www.pinterest.com/susibettergerman✉️ Contact | podcast@bettergerman.info🎙 Start from Episode 1 | https://bettergerman.info/1⭐ Enjoyed this episode?A quick review or share helps more people find the podcast.
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    20 mins