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Would you like to learn more German?
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- Category: Speaking German
The long-awaited Ach-Laut video is here! Hurra!
The "Ach-Laut" means the "ach sound" and it is the airy, throaty sound you hear in the words "ach" and "machen."
Phonetically, this sound is written as /X/ and to that we say "ach." In this video I've broken down for you:
1. What the sound /X/ is and what it isn't.
2. How to feel where it takes place and
3. How to practice the sound, first slowly and then speeding it up step-by-step.
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- Category: German learning methods
“How do I make time to learn German?” you ask? The answer is to choose to work at learning German instead of other things. You can only spend your time once, so adjust a few things in your life to make serious progress for German.
Some of these tips listed here are things I’ve seen clients do to make themselves some more time for German, some are decisions my friends have made to help them manage their other commitments well, and some of them are recommendations I have collected from many, many hours reading about productivity and creating efficient working systems.
These are all methods and strategies I stand behind both as an instructor and a fan of efficiency. I very much hope you can take away at least one of them as a strategy to help you make more time for German and less time for something else.
Los geht's!
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- Category: German learning methods
Time is the most precious commodity we have—and once it’s been spent, it’s gone forever. When you’re learning German, you of course want to know how much time you need to put in to really learn it! It’s vital that you use the time that you have wisely. Thus I say:
Think in terms of learning sessions,
not in minutes of study time.
This helps you break down the work you need to do related to the time you have available. Schedule the work that needs to be done, not the time you think you should spend doing it. In other words, focus on the work, not on the time. And the time you have available is likely to be different depending on the day of the week. So the first thing to do is…
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- Category: German culture and food
When the calendar turns to the holiday season, it's time to talk about holiday greetings! This year Christmas and Hanukkah even take place at the same time. So here you've got all the holiday greetings you need for this week & next!
But wait! It's still Advent--it isn't even the Christmas season yet!
Advent! - die Vorweihnachtszeit
In the US we fever and shop and practically race our way to Christmas and Advent is often left up to the church calendar. However in Germany it's also cultural--Advent ist nicht Weihnachten! Advent is the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas--it's the time of waiting for Jesus' birth.
Words to know:
der Advent - Advent
die Vorweihnachtszeit - the pre-Christmas time. a/k/a Advent.
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- Category: German culture and food
Besides books and reading, it's safe to say the board games are an important German cultural element. Games are so important to Germans that there is a Verein (club) that reviews games every year known as the Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year).
German board games are awesome and some of them are now cult games of epic proportions. You might have seen Catan spread out on the coffee table in an episode of The Big Bang Theory. (Das war echt toll zu sehen.)
Here are a few games you could get to know any day of the year, and if you're looking for some German Christmas presents, they'll serve you well!
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