Better German Podcast with Susi

Susanne Schilk-Blümel
The Better German Podcast helps you understand German in a clear, simple and practical way. I’m Susi Blümel, your teacher from Vienna, and in each episode I guide you through everyday German, useful vocabulary, culture, learning tips and more.
Some episodes teach you the language directly; others help you understand how German really works.

You can listen to any episode on its own, but you’ll get the most benefit if you start with Episode 1 — the podcast follows a gentle step-by-step progression.
🎧 Episode 69: Why is German so difficult – or is it?
In this episode, Better German Podcast, Susi takes a closer look at one of the most common beliefs about learning German: that it’s “very difficult.” But is that actually true—or just something many learners have come to believe?
You’ll explore what makes German objectively more challenging than some languages (especially for English speakers), but also why it’s far from the hardest language out there. More importantly, this episode focuses on what really creates difficulty when learning—and how you can change that.

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Get early access to exclusive episodes, all podcast resources in one place, and the chance to ask questions and more!👉 Join here: https://bettergerman.info/community
There’s also a free version if you just want to get started.

 🎓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 German is considered “medium difficulty” for English speakers
  • The real reason German feels harder than languages like Spanish or Italian
  • How cases (der, die, das) and flexible word order work
  • Why pronunciation in German is actually more consistent than in English
  • A surprising advantage: German has fewer tenses in everyday speech
  • Why some languages are objectively harder than German
  • The difference between objective difficulty and your personal experience
  • The two main reasons why learning can feel “too hard”
  • How to recognize when your learning method isn’t working
  • Why missing steps—not lack of talent—cause frustration
  • How step-by-step learning makes German manageable (and even easy)
💡 Key idea from this episode
If something feels very difficult, it usually doesn’t mean you can’t learn it.
It means:
  • either the method isn’t right
  • or a step is missing
When learning is structured correctly, every step should feel doable.
🔗 Links & Resources
📌 You may also like
  • How to Actually Learn German (Ep 4)
  • German Cases Explained (Podcast series)
  • Pronunciation-focused episodes with repeat-after-me practice
⭐ Enjoying the podcast?
If this episode helped you rethink how difficult German really is, leaving a review is a great way to support the podcast and help more learners find it.

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