Why do students find German grammar difficult to master

Students find German grammar difficult to master due to several reasons:

1. Complexity of Grammar Rules: German grammar has many complex rules, especially regarding the use of cases (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive), gendered nouns, and adjective endings that vary depending on case, gender, and number. This complexity can be overwhelming for learners. ^{1, 2}

2. Word Order and Sentence Structure: German word order, particularly in subordinate clauses and constructions like the “third construction,” is quite different from English and other languages. The variation and processing of word order patterns can be difficult to comprehend and produce. ³

3. Agreement and Case Marking: The use of grammatical agreement and case marking in German often causes problems, especially for non-native speakers who struggle with subject-verb agreement and suppressing unlicensed constituents in working memory. ⁴

4. Orthography and Capitalization: German orthography, including noun capitalization which is unique to German, adds another layer of difficulty in learning and lexical access. ^{5, 6}

5. Perceived Relevance and Motivation: Some students find certain grammatical forms hard to acquire because they perceive them as irrelevant for self-expression, which affects motivation and learning success. ¹

6. Teaching and Learning Approaches: The way grammar is conceptualized and taught can contribute to difficulties. Fixed views of phraseology and grammatical patterns without a functional perspective may hinder effective learning. ⁷

In summary, the difficulties stem from German’s intricate grammar system with its cases, gender, adjective endings, and sentence structure, combined with orthographic challenges and motivational factors among students. ^{2, 6, 3, 4, 7, 1}

References

• Students’ accounts of grammatical forms of German that are difficult, unattainable, and irrelevant for self-expression

• Hard Rules and Bad Memories: College Learners’ Accounts of What Makes Learning German Grammar Difficult

• Processing Factors Constrain Word-Order Variation in German: The Trouble with Third Constructions

• Agreement attraction in native and nonnative speakers of German

• Profiles of poor and good spellers in German noun capitalization

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• How Trainee Translators Analyse Lexico-Grammatical Patterns

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• Why Do Students Find Statistics So Difficult?

• Why do some nursing students find their science courses difficult?

• In Praise of Yellow Pages What is the point of referencing, and why do students find it so difficult?

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• The Effectiveness of Using the Digital-Based Flipped Classroom Model in Learning German Grammar level A2.1