Learning standard German phrases is a lesson to focus on for beginner students. This lesson should begin by covering common salutatory greetings and standard farewells. Then introduce simple German phrases that are easy to remember and also part of everyday use. You will learn how to introduce yourself, family and friends to others. Other common phrases to learn include saying what you do and where you come from. As you get more advanced, this lesson can cover ordering food, talking about the weather, and activities for the day. See resources for common German phrase lessons.
Enhance your speaking and reading skills by learning proper German pronunciation. German is often seen as a harsh sounding language because it makes sounds that are different from the way we are used to speaking in English, and sounds much less smooth than the European romance languages. A new language cannot be properly spoken if you do not know how to pronounce words the correct way. A German language lesson that focuses on pronunciation will help you have an intelligible conversation with native speakers as you become more advanced in the language. Learn which consonant and vowel sounds yield different pronunciations than what you are used to.
A German language lesson on verbs should focus on essential German verbs that are commonly used by beginners. Such verbs include "to have," "to be," "to do," "to come," "to go," and "to make." Once the common verbs are understood, the lesson should focus on conjugation. Conjugation refers to the different verb endings for German verbs. For example, "ich habe" means "I have," while "du hast," means "you have." This concept can be confusing especially when introducing irregular verbs to more advanced students. See Resources for an online verb conjugator.
Grammar is one of the toughest concepts to grasp when learning a new language. The German language has words that change form according to the four different cases: nominative, accusative, dative and genitive. If you are just learning German, you do not need to know and understand the cases in the very beginning, but the fundamental rules of these four cases should be introduced to a German language lesson fairly early on. German cases are essential to understanding German and will appear in subsequent lessons as you become more advanced. See Resources for an explanation of German cases.