Easy German: Learn German with native speakers | Deutsch lernen mit Muttersprachlern

691: Auf Fehler scheißen

33 min

In this episode, hosts Manuel and Carina discuss the fear of making mistakes in language learning. They argue that mistakes are essential for progress and advocate for a two-part strategy: ignore errors during real communication to focus on getting your message across, but actively study them during dedicated learning time. The episode also features a German expression of the week, 'Da beißt sich die Katze in den Schwanz' (the cat bites its own tail), and recommendations for a news podcast and a political video.

Summarized by Podsumo

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✨ Key Takeaways

1

The hosts propose a two-pronged approach: ignore mistakes during real communication to focus on message delivery, but actively study and correct them in dedicated learning time (e.g., with a 'Fehlertagebuch' or error diary).
2

School experiences, especially being publicly corrected or shamed for wrong answers, can create lasting anxiety that hinders adult language learning.
3

Manuel's 'Volleyball' metaphor: The goal of speaking is to 'get the ball over the net'—meaning, to be understood—not to be grammatically perfect.
4

The episode features a German expression of the week: 'Da beißt sich die Katze in den Schwanz' (the cat bites its own tail), describing a circular problem where one thing depends on another.
5

Recommendations include a news podcast episode ('Die Lage der Nation' on Russia) and a YouTube video analyzing the global rise of right-wing politics, highlighting how internet algorithms amplify extremism.

💬 Notable Quotes

"I would like to die without having made a single mistake in my entire life. Is that too much to ask?"

— Manuel
"If you don't make mistakes, you don't learn. You just go from 'I can't speak the language' to 'I can speak the language' in one jump."

— Carina
"When you're speaking, *scheiß auf die Fehler* (screw the mistakes). But when you're studying, *focus on them*."

— Manuel