Stichwörter (Keywords):
Would you like to learn more German?
- Details
- Category: German learning methods
There isn't much of a secret to language learning because it's all about working with the language as much as possible over a length of time. However I can give you tips on how I learned to speak German fluently (and I mean--I could say anything I wanted or needed to say) within about 6 months. Konjunktiv II? Kein Thema. Polite discourse? Absolut! Telling someone off? That, too.
Don't get me wrong--learning German in 6 months was really tough. I started at an A2 level (the second-lowest level) and busted my way up to C2 (the highest level) and I did it without a whole lot of help outside of class hours. It was really difficult, painful, and even joyful and inspiring. Here's how it happened:
My First German Lessons
First, in the summer of 2002 I took 20 one-on-one lessons with a fantastic teacher at Eloquia, a language school in Frankfurt, Germany. I was in Germany without a whole lot to do during the day and to fill up my time, I took lessons and did homework. This teacher was key--because she prepared me in German grammar construction and corrected me by telling me why something was wrong.
Another benefit of these private lessons was that I didn't accidentally learn other peoples' mistakes! All I had to hear was my voice and my teacher's voice--I was immersed in quality language development.
- Hits: 86795
- Details
- Category: German vocabulary
The W-Fragen in German are question words. They are also known as 'open-ended questions. In English the W-Fragen also begin 'w': who, what, when, where, why, and how. (These questions are different from the ja/nein Fragen or yes/no questions in German begin with the verb ("Arbeiten Sie heute?" "Kommen Sie aus Bayern?").)
You begin learning the W-Fragen at the A1 level in German and at the A2 level you add another layer to it, followed by even more at the B1 level. It's like a 3-layered cake!
In most books you usually see a list like this, it's just the German and English translations. But is that really enough? Take a close look.
|
German |
English |
|
was |
what |
|
wann |
when |
|
wo |
where |
|
wie |
how |
|
warum |
why |
|
wer |
who |
If you simply memorize this list, that's one technique for learning it. And that would probably be kind of boring.
What if you had an example sentence which you could use like an anchor?
- Hits: 128989
- Details
- Category: German vocabulary
Picking up is not cleaning!
So what's the difference between aufräumen and putzen?
Many German learners want to know what "to clean" is. The verb "to clean" in German is putzen. However putzen is something very specific in German--it may not be what you think!
For Germans, putzen is the actual process of cleaning, and nothing else. Americans think of cleaning as vacuuming, putting away books that might be laying about, doing the laundry, and any other amount of things. However putzen does not indicate that things are being picked up. This is something different entirely.
Most Germans keep things picked up all the time, they are German after all. (Although I have seen some notable exceptions to this!) To pick up around the house or to clean off the table is aufräumen.
- Hits: 7914
- Details
- Category: German vocabulary
Für Geld gibt es im Deutschen gaaanz viele Wörter. Wie viele kennen Sie schon?
There are sooo many words for "Geld" (Money) in German. How many do you know already?
Nehmen Sie sich eine Minute und schreiben Sie so viele Wörter für Geld, die Sie kennen. Mit diesen drei können Sie anfangen:
Geld, Cash, Kohle ...
- Hits: 9883
- Details
- Category: German vocabulary
"Viel" oder "Viele"? Gute Frage!
It depends on whether or not you're speaking about something that can be counted. For example:
viel Zeit - lots of time. Time in general cannot be counted. (You can count hours, but not time itself.)
viele Menschen - many people. People can be counted.
- Hits: 44103