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Language Hacking German (Language Hacking with Benny Lewis) by Benny Lewis
It's true that some people spend years studying German before they finally get around to speaking the language. But here's a better idea. Skip the years of study and jump right to the speaking part. Sound crazy? No, it's language hacking.
Unlike most traditional language courses that try to teach you the rules of German, #LanguageHacking shows you how to learn and speak German through proven memory techniques, unconventional shortcuts and conversation strategies perfected by one of the world's greatest language learners, Benny Lewis, aka the Irish Polyglot.
Using the language hacks -shortcuts that make learning simple - that Benny mastered while learning his 11 languages and his 'speak from the start' method, you will crack the language code and exponentially increase your language abilities so that you can get fluent faster.
It's not magic. It's not a language gene. It's not something only "other people" can do. It's about being smart with how you learn, learning what's indispensable, skipping what's not, and using what you've learned to have real conversations in German from day one.
The Method
#LanguageHacking takes a modern approach to language learning, blending the power of online social collaboration with traditional methods. It focuses on the conversations that learners need to master right away, rather than presenting language in order of difficulty like most courses. This means that you can have conversations immediately, not after years of study.
Each of the 10 units culminates with a speaking 'mission' that prepares you to use the language you've learned to talk about yourself. Through the language hacker online learner community, you can share your personalized speaking 'missions' with other learners - getting and giving feedback and extending your learning beyond the pages of the book . You don't need to go abroad to learn a language any more.
Unlike most traditional language courses that try to teach you the rules of German, #LanguageHacking shows you how to learn and speak German through proven memory techniques, unconventional shortcuts and conversation strategies perfected by one of the world's greatest language learners, Benny Lewis, aka the Irish Polyglot.
Using the language hacks -shortcuts that make learning simple - that Benny mastered while learning his 11 languages and his 'speak from the start' method, you will crack the language code and exponentially increase your language abilities so that you can get fluent faster.
It's not magic. It's not a language gene. It's not something only "other people" can do. It's about being smart with how you learn, learning what's indispensable, skipping what's not, and using what you've learned to have real conversations in German from day one.
The Method
#LanguageHacking takes a modern approach to language learning, blending the power of online social collaboration with traditional methods. It focuses on the conversations that learners need to master right away, rather than presenting language in order of difficulty like most courses. This means that you can have conversations immediately, not after years of study.
Each of the 10 units culminates with a speaking 'mission' that prepares you to use the language you've learned to talk about yourself. Through the language hacker online learner community, you can share your personalized speaking 'missions' with other learners - getting and giving feedback and extending your learning beyond the pages of the book . You don't need to go abroad to learn a language any more.
Unknown Binding
First published September 1, 2016
19 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
About the author
Benny Lewis
18 books354 followersBenny Lewis is a digital nomad and founder of the largest language learning blog in the world, www.fluentin3months.com. He is a world traveller and after travelling non-stop for 21 years, on the road to this day with everything he owns travelling with him.
His internationally best-selling book Fluent in 3 Months, published by HarperCollins, discusses how adults can learn any language from anywhere at any age. He is a polyglot who speaks over a dozen languages (7 of which are at a fluent level or higher), though he could only speak English when he started his travels at age 21.
He has also published multiple language courses with John Murray learning.
As a result of his travels and his focus on integrating himself into local cultures through language, Benny was named National Geographic’s Traveler of the Year in 2013.
His internationally best-selling book Fluent in 3 Months, published by HarperCollins, discusses how adults can learn any language from anywhere at any age. He is a polyglot who speaks over a dozen languages (7 of which are at a fluent level or higher), though he could only speak English when he started his travels at age 21.
He has also published multiple language courses with John Murray learning.
As a result of his travels and his focus on integrating himself into local cultures through language, Benny was named National Geographic’s Traveler of the Year in 2013.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 8, 2016
I was a beta tester for this book and I really liked it. Unlike other language courses this book doesn't just say: "now go and practise what you learned", but it does tell you what and how to practise. It's systematic and I especially liked the "me focus" - granted, I needed to put in the time and energy, but this way I'm able to talk about stuff I care about in German and not just about the weather.
The missions are broken down into 3 pieces and I always learned just a bit more and then practised a lot. I'm actually surprised that they released this as a $15 book. If one puts in the time and goes through the book and does what it says, one gets so much more out of it. I believe this brings the learner to a solid A2 level in German - but with a lot of experience and confidence under his/her belt. Highly recommended!
The missions are broken down into 3 pieces and I always learned just a bit more and then practised a lot. I'm actually surprised that they released this as a $15 book. If one puts in the time and goes through the book and does what it says, one gets so much more out of it. I believe this brings the learner to a solid A2 level in German - but with a lot of experience and confidence under his/her belt. Highly recommended!
April 5, 2017
If you read language articles on the internet, you've probably come across Benny Lewis. He runs the website Fluent in 3 Months and has been blogging and learning languages for over 10 years. Benny has previously published a book with a real publisher, which is an inspiring thing for all of us language bloggers.
More importantly, he brings a more modern approach to language learning into book shops. I'm very much on board with that!
This particular series, "Language Hacking", is a collaboration with Teach Yourself, whose materials have always been language learner favourites. I've checked these courses out and used them, and they're definitely one of the best brands for self-teaching materials on anything.
Advantages of The Language Hacking Book
My first impression was that this book is really good-looking! It's got a nice size to it, the design throughout is engaging and interesting, and it just feels very nice to hold in your hands. You can see straight away that they're trying to make #languagehacking into a thing, so the message is clear: This book is for 21st century learners.
The Structure
The structure of the book follows that of a traditional self-teaching language book, so it's not trying to overthrow everything good in the system. The design is lively and engaging, with vocab delivered in sentence structures, culture tips, conversation examples and exercises. It's a great "complete package".
What's different here is that this focuses very much on conversation as the goals and "learning outcomes". The book avoids mentioning grammar concepts in favour of setting the learner a mission with every unit. What I really liked is that each unit clearly sets out the mission as a use case, describing what kind of situation you would find yourself in when you will use what you are learning.
Read More From This Reviewer
This review is an excerpt from my full review at http://fluentlanguage.co.uk/blog/benn.... Please come by and say hello!
More importantly, he brings a more modern approach to language learning into book shops. I'm very much on board with that!
This particular series, "Language Hacking", is a collaboration with Teach Yourself, whose materials have always been language learner favourites. I've checked these courses out and used them, and they're definitely one of the best brands for self-teaching materials on anything.
"Language Hacking is a state of mind. It's about positivity and an approach that puts everything you're learning into practice immediately." - Benny Lewis
Advantages of The Language Hacking Book
My first impression was that this book is really good-looking! It's got a nice size to it, the design throughout is engaging and interesting, and it just feels very nice to hold in your hands. You can see straight away that they're trying to make #languagehacking into a thing, so the message is clear: This book is for 21st century learners.
The Structure
The structure of the book follows that of a traditional self-teaching language book, so it's not trying to overthrow everything good in the system. The design is lively and engaging, with vocab delivered in sentence structures, culture tips, conversation examples and exercises. It's a great "complete package".
What's different here is that this focuses very much on conversation as the goals and "learning outcomes". The book avoids mentioning grammar concepts in favour of setting the learner a mission with every unit. What I really liked is that each unit clearly sets out the mission as a use case, describing what kind of situation you would find yourself in when you will use what you are learning.
Read More From This Reviewer
This review is an excerpt from my full review at http://fluentlanguage.co.uk/blog/benn.... Please come by and say hello!
April 2, 2020
Benny Lewis' language hack books are designed for you to quickly learn the necessary skills for actual conversation with native speakers. It's a pretty good crash course option when you're going to visit or stay at some country and need to pick up basic conversation skills, so you can at least pretend to be a suave polyglot rather than some uncultured mug who has no other option than to rely on the desperate plea of 'ENGLISH PLEASE'.
German is notorious for being a hard language to learn, but the book repeatedly downplays that reputation and teaches you plenty of workarounds for some of the language's more obtuse rules. I think that's a good approach, and the book's encouraging tone is very evident from its constant reminder to not get discouraged if you're struggling with the likes of grammar and proper word order. Indeed, the first major hurdle to overcome when you're learning a second language is the initial anxiety of trying to everything right before you even dare practising; Benny pretty much yell at you to just practice and learn by making tons of mistakes along the way.
The book consists of units that focus on the most common subjects that you will encounter while talking to a German. Along the way, you'll learn by chunks about the rules of German language (including the German-specific gendered nouns and umlauts, obviously) in ways that are much more practical than theoretical. There are dialogues to learn from, list of phrases to remember, and even some cultural tips on how German people usually behave (how accurate are these I have no idea, although some of it sound suspiciously like overgeneralization).
A major part of the content is based on listening to audio files, recording your own speech, and sharing it with the so-called #LanguageHacker community. However, the link given the book directs me to the product sales page, and I don't really get a sense of a thriving community in the website. Nevertheless, the overall course is still quite handy for its purpose, especially considering it's way rarer to find a language learning book that's more focused on speaking and listening over writing and reading.
If nothing else, I found myself feeling more confident about my potential ability to speak German after going through this!whether I'd actually complete the exercises and practice is another matter entirely
German is notorious for being a hard language to learn, but the book repeatedly downplays that reputation and teaches you plenty of workarounds for some of the language's more obtuse rules. I think that's a good approach, and the book's encouraging tone is very evident from its constant reminder to not get discouraged if you're struggling with the likes of grammar and proper word order. Indeed, the first major hurdle to overcome when you're learning a second language is the initial anxiety of trying to everything right before you even dare practising; Benny pretty much yell at you to just practice and learn by making tons of mistakes along the way.
The book consists of units that focus on the most common subjects that you will encounter while talking to a German. Along the way, you'll learn by chunks about the rules of German language (including the German-specific gendered nouns and umlauts, obviously) in ways that are much more practical than theoretical. There are dialogues to learn from, list of phrases to remember, and even some cultural tips on how German people usually behave (how accurate are these I have no idea, although some of it sound suspiciously like overgeneralization).
A major part of the content is based on listening to audio files, recording your own speech, and sharing it with the so-called #LanguageHacker community. However, the link given the book directs me to the product sales page, and I don't really get a sense of a thriving community in the website. Nevertheless, the overall course is still quite handy for its purpose, especially considering it's way rarer to find a language learning book that's more focused on speaking and listening over writing and reading.
If nothing else, I found myself feeling more confident about my potential ability to speak German after going through this!
August 28, 2025
Definitely Improved My German
I studied German briefly at school and have used it from time to time since. However, the approach here has really helped me to get back to speaking some German more easily. Definitely worth studying to jumpstart your German.
I studied German briefly at school and have used it from time to time since. However, the approach here has really helped me to get back to speaking some German more easily. Definitely worth studying to jumpstart your German.
January 14, 2020
A great book to start speaking in Deutsch, with nuances of grammar as well.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews