Maybe you are one of those German learners who dive into grammar rules, or you try to learn new German words. But how about starting with listening? Because German is a language that has a certain sound, a certain flow and rhythm. If you listen first, you will get used to this sound. Later, when you will learn grammar rules, it will not sound weird anymore. So how should you listen then? You should listen to short audios. It could be a short conversation, a slow dialogue or just some common phrases in German. You will not understand them at first, but if you listen to them several times, you will start to understand them.
Start with an audio that is not longer than 30 seconds. Listen to it once without reading. Just listen to the sound. Then listen to it again but this time read the text as well. And mark the words that are repeated. German language has a lot of repetition. You will hear a lot the words “ist”, “hat”, “und” and so on. So, when you hear them, it will be easier to understand the rest. Then listen to the same audio several times and try to speak with it quietly. Do not try to speak perfectly, just try to get the same rhythm. Do it several days in a row. You will be surprised how fast you will understand it.
When listening to German audio, try not to translate the words at the same time. Sometimes you will stop and it will not sound fluently anymore. German language has a different word order compared with English. Sometimes the verb is at the end of the sentence. So if you try to translate the words first, you will not know what the verb is. Just listen to the audio first. Then listen to it again and try to figure out where the verb is. Sometimes, especially when the sentence is longer, the verb is at the end. But sometimes it is not. So try to listen to the end of the sentence first. Then you will know what the verb is and you will understand the rest much easier.
Even if you do not have a lot of time, you can still do this for 15 minutes per day. Listen to an audio for 5 minutes without reading. Then listen to the same audio and read the text. And mark the words that you do not know. Then repeat the sentences. Try to say them fluently but do not care about the perfect pronunciation. It is not important at this point. Then listen to the same audio but stop after each sentence. Then try to repeat it. Just try for 2 minutes. Then you can move on. But even if it is just for 2 minutes, try to repeat the sentences from time to time. It will help you a lot. Do not listen to a new audio every day. Just stick to the same one. You will see that you need to repeat it. But it is not a waste of time.
The next day, you will hear some of the words much better than the first day. Some words that you did not hear the first day, you will hear them the next day. So just be patient and do not give up.