Yeah, another German word.

And it’s loaded. 

I love the German language for it’s ability to combine words so that they can deliver a fistful!

So, what does it mean?

Quer means at an angle. 

Einstieg means entry. 

If you bang with something head-on, you’re likely to rebound. 

If you chisel into something at an angle with great force, you are likely to enter that something. 

That’s the logic. 

And it works. 

Albert Schweitzer, was it?

The multiply famous nobel-laureate who proposed and demonstrated Quereinstieg into fluency with a foreign language?

The formula was, for weeks in a row, to read texts, delve into media, the whole works, all in the foreign language, without really understanding what’s happening at first, and then getting a hold of the language’s structure through Sprachgefuehl, or feeling for language. 

Within a month or so, one would be speaking the language. One’s skills would be enough to get by on the streets. Works. 

Sprachgefuehl in action is a prime example of Quereinstieg. 

These are fast times. 

Almost the whole day, one is multitasking. 

And then, something new comes along. 

A new problem. 

One has to find a solution fast. 

There is no time to start from scratch. 

All other matters must be pulled along. Many people’s daily lives and routines hang upon you pulling your load. 

So, where does that leave you?

Cut to Quereinstieg.

You delve into the new matter, fast, at an angle, without bothering how you’ll fare.

You keep all your faculties open.

Your senses are on high alert.

You use your common-sense.

You learn from the play.

As you keep playing, on and on, you master technique.

The matter is not a problem anymore.

You incorporate the new asset into your repertoire as you attack your daily routine with renewed vigour and an arsenal boasting your latest Quereinstieg conquest.