Through some pretty neat circumstances, I’ve been living in Berlin for the past few months, and will be here for the better part of next year. Berlin! Like, Berlin Germany. Like, across the world: where doors open in the opposite direction, where apple juice is served carbonated (and often!), and where neither of my two “official” languages are the primary one. So what does a Canadian girl do when she finds herself a stranger in a strange land? Frequent the familiar (Starbucks, MacDonalds, H&M, etc) and coast on the fact that most people here speak fairly passible English? Well… yes, sometimes.* But she also tries her very earnest, Canadian darnedest to immerse herself in the culture, lifestyle, and language surrounding her. And she begins to learn German.

That is where I now find myself: fascinated by languages—all languages—and their complexities, humbled by the multilingual citizens that surround me, and mired in a sea of pronouns, “R” sounds that bring up my breakfast, and the longest words I have ever seen (“buehnneneingang,” anyone?). From this vantage I offer a few tips on the process, based on my struggles and triumphs so far. I am by no means an expert ex-pat, and if you have any hot tips of your own, I selfishly ask that you pretty-pretty please include them in the comments. But for now, here are some tools that have been helping me on my journey, in the hopes that they might spur a few of you to embark on similar ones. God speed, you lovely linguists. Let’s get fluent.

Duo Lingo
As with basically any problem or task, there’s an App for this. In fact, there are a few—amongst them Babbel, 50 Languages (Android-only), and my favourite: Duo Lingo. In the latter, a fun Learning Owl (wise) guides you through a variety of exercises that teach and test reading, writing, and comprehension. Lessons are grouped into categories such as Basics, Common Phrases, Food, Household, Conjunction, etc. There are multiple levels to pass and points to attain, which makes the whole process feel more like a game than a chore. And as with any good game, the pace is challenging without being impossible. If you’re the type who needs external motivators, you can also enable email and push notifications to remind you on a daily basis to practice up. There’s also a handy “Share” button, enabling you to connect with others using the App and to monitor your friends’ progress. The app is also apparently helping to digitize books, and translate the internet???, as explained in this fascinating TED talk by Luis von Ahn. And did I mention it is completely gratuis????? Dankeshön, Duo Lingo!

Rosetta Stone / Class / Textbooks
If you’re serious about getting fluent, fast, there are a few more intense methods—which also involve a more intense $$$$ investment. The Rosetta Stone program is largely regarded as the most efficient way to get proficient, but can cost upwards of $400 for the full program… not everyone’s financial jam.  Likewise, enrolling in a course is a fantastic (if costly) path to fluency, with the added bonus of immersion and interaction with your teacher and fellow classmates.  The U of T School of Continuing Studies offers a variety of language courses, with a Level 1 session starting at, again, around $400. If these methods seem a bit pricey, you could always be a fun sneak and purchase the textbook! And, as we live in The Future, many of the textbooks even come with CompactDiscs for computer browsing!

As someone who lives and dies by the local library, I’d be remiss not to recommend their selection of language books as well. At the very least, they’re sure to have that yellow “[Blank] for Dummies” series, which I can’t personally vouch for, but which people definitely seem to be reading a lot of in Pop Culture.

Get down with the “Rap Music”
Since moving to Berlin, I’ve gotten really into a few German artists; first and foremost of these is Peter Fox (you’re welcome for that link, trust). Curiosity led me to finding his lyrics online, and translating them has since become one of my favorite language-learning tools (I use a German-English dictionary when I’m feeling particularly ambitious, and the less-reliable Google Translate when I’m not). As I start to memorize the phonetics in the song by virtue of simply listening/dancing/running to it, I go back and re-read the English passages, and eventually associate the two. I wouldn’t recommend it as a way to get a firm handle on a language by any means, but it is hella-fun as an exercise. And obviously rap is particularly conducive to this kind of deconstruction as it is inherently preoccupied with words (we similarly fascinated with it in our own language). It’s also a fun insight into the way different cultures employing the idiosyncrasies of their specific language. Plus I can now say “come out the club, pressing on the siren,” in German, so.

Your home is your language castle (ie. your Le Chateau)
Speaking of The Club, turn your home into The Place to Be… for learning!!! Use sticky notes to label things around your house, from furniture, to appliances, to food, to your roommate’s delighted expression when they see what you’ve done (“stupéfier”). Conjugate verbs and paste them on your wall, write yourself notes, like “you look beautiful” on your mirror—basically go Full Pinterest with your space. You may find that, like the notes, the language itself eventually starts to… stick (Wiiiiiiink.).

*e.g. when you’ve just spent two hours in a foreign cellphone store and can’t seem to make sense of European SIM cards, gesticulating as if auditioning for So You Think You Can Dance Germany: “I need” [prayer hands] “enough data” [mimes typing] “for maps” [very dramatic pointing and a magnifying glass for some reason]. On that note, I would like to sincerely apologize to that lovely German employee at Vodaphone. I hope you read this English, Canadian Lifestyle blog for women and know this: we cool, man!