grammar vs immersion, as a type of language learning

 Istanbul, 2nd Aug 2025, Sat.

This topic will be about generally grammar versus immersion when learning a new language.

Just recently I decided to start learning Deutsch (or German :) and I heeded directly to Duolingo, my favourite application for learning new languages. I have learned basic French there in 2023 and I liked it. Before that, my students (I was an English language teacher at some parts of my life, and sorry for my pathetic English here :) were asking me about which language learning applications were good for learning English or improving it. I answered their question that I don't know anything about the apps but I keep hearing Cambly and Duolingo, and that's all. Because the way I learnt English was through high school (2000-2005 BTTM :) and then through university (first at ODTÜ or METU prep pass with 64,5 pts I guess and then 98 pts on passing Ankara uni prep proficiency exam). 

My high school years (Bayramali Turkmen-Turkish high school :) was just learning English in a lesson, first year intensive English and then usual English courses later on. Additionally, our physics, chemistry, biology and astronomy lessons were in English. 

(I hate typing everything in all CAPS. Kudos to Turkmenistan for writing only initials of some proper nouns in uppercase and leaving everything else to lowercase letters. And it should be the same in all parts of the world, thank you Turkmenistan, I love that. I hate when people write in all caps as if that attracts attention. No, all uppercase, or starting every initial with capital letter makes me vomit, dislike it instead of liking it. Bad point here for Turkey and western capitalistic states.)

Basically, I was (and have always been) keen on moving to America. I love America. But recently, I thought maybe the USA is far away (weit weg in Deutschesprache :) from my reach, maybe I need to focus on the country that I can move. And there came Germany, a country which will be in need of skilled worker (as they call it) in many upcoming years due to their invisible racism. So, I started learning German. I had previous knowledge of it from 15 years ago, my freshman years at Ankara university, I chose German as foreign language (another option was French, which I later [in 2023] learned a bit), and English was my major. (Other departments studied English as part of their curriculum for foreign lang.) I am now at Duolingo German language level 17, early A1 for CEFR. My friend Öwez is at level 27, high A1 level CEFR. He started 2 years ago when I explained to him also why Germany was better option compared to the USA. You can use Germany as a stepping point on a success ladder, and continue to climb upwards if Germany doesn't treat you well when you reach there. But Germans are intelligent people and I hope they will learn from their mistakes and start treating well for the qualified immigrants, otherwise they will lose them to Canada, the States or to the U Kingdom. Let alone them, the Dutch and Scandinavian peninsula is also waiting for the skilled workers, educated personnels. 

(I don't know why I keep jumping from this topic to that, my bad :)

 Öwez (and his wife) got stuck in learning Deutsch and they started studying grammar books of it. They will choose the grammar path, but as an anti-grammarian myself, I will choose just immersion process. I will not study any grammar from now on in German language, and still I will try to pass the German language tests and locate to Germany. I will learn the language through immersion, natural process. I will use Duolingo, I will listen to podcast (now I am listening to Easy German channel on spotify, I suggest them. I understand only 2-3 words of 1-hr long podcast but I still continue to listen to them. I was on episode 30 in them yesterday.) I will also read books in German, I mean the usual reading ones, the story ones, not the grammar ones. Grammar is haram for me :)

Let's see how this grammar versus immersion method comes out. The experiment starts in 2025 summer and we will see the results in 3 years, in 2028 summer. I will try to keep updating it when necessary. Take care.