When you think of learning a new language usually there are two lines of thought. The first is what it would be like to spout off in another language. Impressing your friends , family and anyone listening. You daydream of all the places you could visit with ease and how knowing the language will let you explore the country so much more. The second line of thought is the hours and hours you think you will have to spend studying. The struggle it is going to be and how you aren't sure if it is going to be worth the work

There are a few things right with both lines of thought.

The first one is true, when you learn to speak fluently it will sound both impressive and be quite useful in travel. The second line of thought though only has part truths. Learning another language takes work and practice but it isn't like learning math or science where you have to spend hours and hours poring over a text book. Instead you learn some vocabulary and then practice. Then learn some sentences and practice and then learn grammar and how it works and then practice. You can do that walking down the street. You can practice during breaks at work or while you are eating lunch.

An even better bit of trivia is that if you have chosen to learn German you will be pleased to know that speaking English will greatly help. This is because English and German come from the same base language: Germanic. German and English are by far the largest Germanic languages in the world and they have quite a bit that go hand in hand.

German and English are very similar in the way their grammar is structured. Another big similarity is vocabulary. For instance this is a real German sentence: Winter kommt im November (Winter comes in November). Or there is: Mein Name ist Harry (My name is Harry). These are just examples that show you how similar learning German can be to English. There are quite a few things that different though so don't think you can just change a few words and speak German.

You will find similarities as you study German and learning German will probably turn out to now be as difficult as you might have originally guessed. Picking up a new language is both a great hobby and an excellent resume builder. It will take some work to learn don't fool yourself into thinking it won't but also don't get overwhelmed by making it harder than it is.