Stichwörter (Keywords):
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- Category: Speaking German
Ope! Almost forgot to tell you this important thing about greetings in the Germanic cultures.
Although we have loads of people with German heritage in Wisconsin, and Charlie Berens has taught us the brilliance of the phrase "Tell your folks I says hi," here, this custom doesn't require as many elements as in the Germanic countries.
There, in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, it's different. And it's important. It's an important cultural custom that gets overlooked frequently if you don't know what to look for.
This is called Grüße bestellen (giving regards/"Charlie says hi"), and that's what you'll learn today.
First we'll map out an appropriate scenario, second we'll move through the sequence of who says what to whom, then we'll explore the why of it, and at the end, of course, your homework.
Where you'll learn why I say "Viele Grüße von Frau Warner!"
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N.B. While the GermanWithNicole.com Podcast no longer exists, you can still hear all of the audios here on the blog. The audios are available on the blog posts published between August 1, 2021 and October 1, 2024. Viel Spaß beim Hören!
Charlie Berens (Viele Grüße von mir!): https://www.youtube.com/c/CharlieBerens/featured
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- Category: German learning methods
Learning how to use a German-English dictionary effectively is one of the single skills which can really help support you in your German learning adventure.
German learners frequently ask: Which German-English dictionary should I buy? Is it worth buying the big one? How do I know which dictionary will be right for me? Are the online German dictionaries better?
In this blog post/podcast episode, I'll guide you step-by-step through which dictionary you can/should use as a beginner through the elementary level, both physical books and online options, and you'll learn when you need to decide to use a German-German dictionary written specifically for learners.
We'll cover a variety, so you can decide which dictionary is best for you.
And we'll even cover a very specialized dictionary for those of you who need to learn Schwiezerdütsch (Swiss German). I use it with my clients in Switzerland and it has been invaluable thus far.
N.B. for my clients: This information is part of the "Handbuch" in the Client Portal.
Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links to various sites, which means that if you click through these links and purchase anything, you will anonymously support GermanWithNicole.com at the same time as you support the other business(es). (You'll see the words "Affiliate link" where there is such a link.) You can read more about it here. Danke!
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N.B. While the GermanWithNicole.com Podcast no longer exists, you can still hear all of the audios here on the blog. The audios are available on the blog posts published between August 1, 2021 and October 1, 2024. Viel Spaß beim Hören!
German Dictionaries for A1-A2 Learners (Beginners - late Elementary Learners)
Physical Dictionaries
I've recommended these dictionaries to learners for years, basically since I began teaching German as a Foreign Language, and my students and clients have really enjoyed using them. They're a smaller size, have plenty of information, and will be a great investment for you for a long period of time.
Langenscheidt ISBN 978-1439141663
Affiliate links
Langenscheidt Standard Dictionary ISBN 978-3468980466
Affiliate links
Online/Digital Dictionaries
Collins English-German Dictionary
This is what I recommend people start with. The Collins English-German/German-English dictionary is easy to use, there are (usually) audios you can play to help you learn the word, and the main meaning of the words is available in red.
LEO [le:o] is the dictionary I've used for the past 20 years.
It's available as a website and as an app.
There are many meaning available, verb charts, and the forum often has helpful translations. (Still take them with a grain of salt.)
Dict.cc is very popular with translators, and often I can find idioms and expressions there that aren't listed elsewhere.
It's available as a website and as an app.
Langenscheidt online dictionary
The Free Dictionary - I use this dictionary frequently for idioms and new words in English. It has a great thesaurus.
German Dictionaries for B1 Learners (Intermediate-level learners) and up (B2, C1, C2)
Physical Dictionary
Basiswörterbuch Deutsch als Fremdsprache ISBN 978-3-411-04154-1 Affiliate link
(Sorry, no photo available of this one.)
Full disclosure I received my copy of this book because I won it and I'm really happy about that, because it's a wonderful dictionary for intermediate-level learners. It contains 7000 words and all of the words required for the Goethe-Institut's B1 test.
There are also about 30 pages of pictures with items on them labeled with the vocabulary, for example kitchen items, what you'll find at the check-out at the grocery store, insects, pets, and more.
Online/Digital Dictionaries
"If you love to get lost down the wormhole of German on the internet, this is the place to go." ~Frau Warner
This is the "Digital Dictionary of the German Language" and it is stellar!
It can also be completely overwhelming, so feel free to "get in and get out" when you look something up there.
This is the official German dictionary and the one experts refer to. If a word has been officially recognized in German, it is in this dictionary.
Swiss-German Dictionary
Schweizerhochdeutsch Wörterbuch der Standardssprache in der deutschen Schweiz
ISBN 978-3-411-70417-0
You'll have to perform an internet search or go use that big jungle site to order this one. Or order it directly from a German-speaking country.
Bonus - Aussprache
If you haven't yet, listen to the end of this podcast episode for the correct pronunciation of these vocabulary words:
das Buch, die Bücher = the book, the books
das Wörterbuch, die Wörterbücher = the dictionary, the dictionaries
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- Category: German learning methods
There are three elements which make German hard (or easy...ok easier...) to learn:
- Materials & Resources
- Methods
- Instructor(s) or lack there of.
Today you'll learn about these three elements and how they may make German harder to learn, or maybe easier.
Together these elements create one big constellation.
Which ones help you? Which ones are simply good enough? And which elements don't help you?
Definitely cue in to the next episode next week. ;-)
INSERT AUDIO
N.B. While the GermanWithNicole.com Podcast no longer exists, you can still hear all of the audios here on the blog. The audios are available on the blog posts published between August 1, 2021 and October 1, 2024. Viel Spaß beim Hören!
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- Category: German vocabulary
I got a little verklemmt in this one.
It's the One-Year Anniversary of this podcast! Hurra!
So first I answer a couple of questions.
Then there are three phrases in German on beginnings.
And to close it out: a boatload of thank-yous.
Danke. ♥
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N.B. While the GermanWithNicole.com Podcast no longer exists, you can still hear all of the audios here on the blog. The audios are available on the blog posts published between August 1, 2021 and October 1, 2024. Viel Spaß beim Hören!
Authors and such mentioned in this episode:
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Hermann Hesse
Friedrich Nietzsche
Sigmund Freud
Carl Jung
Ingrid Noll
Christa Wolf
Christine Brückner (new to me!)
die Schadenfreude = pleasure at someone else's misfortune
die Waldeinsamkeit = solitude of the forest
- Hits: 1011
- Details
- Category: Speaking German
Frustration can run pretty high when you take a German class but you just can’t seem to speak it correctly. The baker in Germany doesn’t understand you so you have to point and the person you ask for directions switches to English.
So why is it that you have taken class after class or lesson after lesson, but you still can’t speak German?
There might be more than one reason, and here are five which are common themes amongst German learners.
Which one stops you from speaking German?
INSERT AUDIO
N.B. While the GermanWithNicole.com Podcast no longer exists, you can still hear all of the audios here on the blog. The audios are available on the blog posts published between August 1, 2021 and October 1, 2024. Viel Spaß beim Hören!
Reason #1: You treat German as if it were English.
When North-American English is your native language, and because we live in the US (Hallo nach Canada!) without a major influence from another language (except some cities and neighborhoods), the default setting for someone from the US is “All English. All the time. Everywhere.”
That can make it extremely difficult to then ask your brain to wrap itself around another language. The words are different, the numbers are different, and the sentence order is the complete opposite of what you might expect.
It might be tempting to stay in comparison mode and concentrate on the fact that the sentence order is different, for example.
Push yourself to go one more step: give the new sentence order (or the different number pattern) a try.
Then give it another try.
Resist bending German to make it English, and you’ll slowly start to get used to it.
Reason #2: Your class only deals with German grammar.
Even for grammar geeks like me, this gets to be sehr langweilig (really boring).
Grammar is not the end-all, be-all of German! I repeat: grammar is not the end-all, be-all of German!
Too often people focus on correct grammar and they forget that the point of learning German is to actually speak German with other people.
Grammar is a tool you need to help you understand how the language works.
Think of grammar like training wheels on a bike; you might need the specific assistance of the training wheels (the grammar) for longer than you like, but once you find how to balance (how to create the sentences correctly), you’re good to go!
Reason #3: You don’t actually do your homework.
How much time do you spend in German class each week? 1 hour? 2 hours? And how much time do you spend on your homework? 30 minutes? That’s less time in a week than most people watch TV in a given day.
What if you spent 2 hours in class each week and another 2 hours on homework, learning, repeating and reviewing vocabulary, and reading your texts aloud to your dust bunnies?
You would double the amount of time you spend engaged with German, which doubles the chances that you’ll absorb it in an effective way.
Plus, if you don’t spend time between classes or lessons reinforcing the information, you’re hardly going to retain it.
Which means you’re basically throwing away your time, money, and energy.
On the other hand, if you don’t do your homework because you absorb all the information immediately, then go forth and speak German.
Reason #4: You get in your own way.
This one can be a simple matter of procrastination (oh! look! I need to wash the dishes before I sit down to study German.) or it can be a complicated matter of negative self-talk, anything like "I’ll never get this, it’s too hard and I’m no good at learning languages."
If you procrastinate on your German homework, then step back for a moment and consider what the easiest way to begin it might be. What is the easiest, shortest, or nicest way you can imagine beginning your homework?
Start with that.
If you constantly talk yourself out of learning German and it’s that Negative Nelly in your head telling you you’re not good enough at learning German / not smart enough to learn German / gosh darnit, no one in your German class likes you, then I highly recommend you tell that Negative Nelly to shut her pie hole and get on with your learning.
That Negative Nelly can get off your German bus, 'cuz her bus fare just ran out.
Reason #5: You sit around in class and talk about German…in English.
Most of you recognize this as symptomatic of many foreign language classrooms in the US. And it doesn’t seem to matter what the foreign language is, it’s not just German, but unless you’re attending an immersion school, you probably spend most of your foreign language learning time speaking English.
Das ist wirklich nicht gut.
That is really not good.
Are you in college? It might not very different. I’m not the only one who spent thousands of dollars on college German courses and got practically nothing out of it—it’s a common complaint amongst my clients.
It is, of course, not always the case, but it’s such a common complaint that I am now surprised when the opposite occurs.
Some college students can function so well in written German that they can identify all the parts of a sentence, translate vocabulary words perfectly, and can understand and discuss incredible masterworks of German literature...in English.
They can’t hold a conversation in German to save their lives.
Das geht einfach nicht!
That simply doesn't work.
Dissatisfaction or even downright disappointment in their other language lessons and classes is the number one reason people start learning German with me and the number one reason why they stay: because they start functioning in German from the very first lesson.
And then they keep on speaking German!
If you’re looking for more speaking time in your German class or lesson, speak up!
Ask for more speaking exercises in English or say:
Ich möchte mehr Deutsch reden.
Machen wir bitte mehr Sprechübungen?
Können wir bitte mehr Dialoge machen?
Take every opportunity to actually speak German.
Your Homework
Your homework for today is to read something aloud to your dust bunnies.
Einfach machen.
Einfach machen.
(Simply do it.)
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