A Personal Testimony: German in Grad School

Our longtime user, Doha, was kind enough to share her experience learning German with LingoLooper. Though she's encountered many challenges, her path demonstrates dedication, persistence, and hope for the future. We're proud to be a small part of Doha's journey! 

"I chose to learn German, despite its difficulty, because I believe that if I master it, one day I will reach an important place in life. This is something I truly believe in. The language was, in fact, quite challenging — it required a lot of time and effort, and I cried on many nights. After about a year and a half of learning and working hard, I started to feel discouraged. I was putting in so much effort, yet I couldn’t speak German, even though I had memorized many words and deeply understood a lot of grammar rules.

I began asking questions — why couldn’t I speak yet? I even asked my university professors, and the answer was simple: hard work alone is not enough!

This truth shocked me, and I felt hopeless about learning German. I started to see it as an impossible language. My professor told me I needed to practice speaking. But how? I live in Jordan, where everyone speaks Arabic. Very few people even speak English, and I couldn’t find anyone who spoke German to be my language partner. I felt frustrated and stopped studying seriously for two weeks, because I didn’t want to keep working hard without seeing results.

One night, after crying from frustration, I was scrolling through Instagram. By chance, I came across a reel about LingoLooper. It felt like such a nice app.

I downloaded it from Google Play and started my first conversation.

Have you ever felt hope after despair? Or joy after sadness? That’s exactly what I felt in that moment.

I subscribed to the app and began practicing. I started speaking little by little with more confidence, and I saw small results that made me incredibly happy. I kept using the app consistently for two months, and I felt such joy every time I practiced German.

But then I had to stop for a while. I had a falling out with my best friend, who left me even though I was deeply attached to her. That truly broke me, and I felt so sad. I lost passion for everything and thought: No one loves me. No one will ever love me. Why should I work hard and try to become someone important if no one will see me in the end? I’m sorry, but these were really my thoughts at that time.

Then my father told me that my future is more important than anything else. He promised me that after I finish my bachelor’s degree in German here in Jordan over the next two years, I can go to Germany to continue my master’s and PhD studies. He told me he believes in me and supports me.

This really touched me, and I wanted to return to my studies no matter the circumstances. And as I returned, LingoLooper was my very first stop for learning again.

I think I’ve fallen in love with this app — I honestly see it as the best language learning app in the world.

One more thing… during my journey with the app, I sometimes sent emails to the team behind it. And honestly, they are such a kind and supportive team. I’m so grateful to them — especially Maya and Simon.🫂❤️‍🩹"

-Doha