Does anyone know if learning German will help to understand spoken Yiddish. If so, do you know of any good resources for learning German?

Wow, thanks for all the information.

To answer your questions, my design is:

1) Tabletop or floor? Floor

2) What height? 4 Ft

3) What angle top? ~30 degrees

4) What angle footrest Slightly tilted (I’ll mostly used this pulled back while I’m sitting)

5) How large a top surface? Large enough to hold a regular-sized Gemara

6) How large a lip? Large enough to make sure that my regular-sized Gemara doesn’t fall off

7) Do you want a closable top compartment? No

9) Do you want to keep seforim in the shtender? No