Ask any new German learner and they will say German has a million parts and a gazillion words and then you can add the words together to makes new words and...

Stop!

There are only six parts to learning German.

No one part is more important than the other, either, as they are all part of the same machine, if you will.

Think of it like a car.

Does a car function well if part of it is missing or broken? Not usually!

A couple of weeks ago my car battery died (I'll spare you the details because it was a nightmare). Did any part of my car work? Nope. The engine wouldn't turn over and it didn't matter that I had a full tank of gas because that one vital part was missing.

Luckily my favorite mechanic could send a tow truck, which arrived quickly, and I had my car back working properly later the same day.

Phew!

Things were back in working order.

So how does that apply to German?

Well, if you have loads of grammar knowledge but your speaking is weak, you won't be able to communicate in person very well.

If you have loads of vocabulary but no writing experience, then it will be hard to express yourself.

Consider these 6 parts. Which ones are your strengths? And which ones need some attention?