Wrestling the Bear: Reflections of a life-long language learner - Part I. The circuitous path of my journey into the study of languages, and German in particular, begins in the old tourist hilltop town of Perugia, Italy. It is July 1990 and I had arrived to spend three months among the paesani, the warm stone walls and RAI television blaring out of cafes and pizzerias. Together with a couple of hundred other foreign students, I had signed on to learn Italian at the Universita per Stranieri, fall in love with any girl bearing a resemblance to Sophia Loren (circa 1950), .. [Continue reading] The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages Anyone who might be thinking about moving to continental Europe or getting a job there will need to be thinking about the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, or CEFR for short. Your language proficiency is assessed at one of six levels: from A1 for beginners through C2 for advanced professional proficiency in a language. For an ordinary job, a minimum required level of B1 would be a reasonable expectation; to enter a university, B2 is more realistic. Flashcards will really .. [Continue reading] A User's Strategy to learn German - Part II By Stephen S. Hirsch—Pennsylvania, USA In part I of this blog I related my reasons for studying German together with the principal resources used. This part II addresses mainly the segments of German language study I've identified and my experiences using them. First, however, let me provide a few additions to Blog—Part I. One resource I omitted in my last communication is the About German Language weekly newsletter by Ingrid Bauer. That was because at the time she had just announce .. [Continue reading] Comparison of different language learning systems By Joyce T. B. My family and I all needed to learn enough German to live in a German-speaking country. So I've just finished several months of looking through a variety of online systems for learning German, besides watching my children use other systems: Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, Mango Languages, Deutsche Welle, Duolingo, Anki, and Memrise. After all that, I came to the conclusion that German-Flashcards was actually going to be the best use of my time and money. Rosetta Stone is proba .. [Continue reading] A User's Strategy to learn German Stephen S. Hirsch - Pennsylvania, USA I've been self-studying German for about 2 ½ years spending about 1 to 1 ½ hours per day on the effort. I am glad to share my experience with blog readers. We all have motivation for learning a new language. Let me begin by sharing mine. I am a chemist by training and profession. Germany was undisputed leader in the chemical sciences between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries. As a result, much of chemistry's findings were published in German. To .. [Continue reading] Finding a Job in Germany As a Canadian who has worked both in Canada and the USA, finding a job in Germany is turning out to be quite the experience. First of all, Germany has the same 'economic crisis' as North America. At the end of 2008 I turned a job down here because I wanted to learn more German and do some more travelling. After all, I had just arrived a few weeks prior. Now, in the summer of 2009 it's very hard to get even a nibble. Second is the resume (Lebenslauf or Bewerbung). Although you technical .. [Continue reading] Saying hello in Switzerland I'm sure you're familiar with using Du (informal) and Sie (formal). To say hello in Germany informally, you can just say 'Hallo!', while formally it's of course 'Guten Tag'. You can use 'Tschüß' to say goodbye to everyone, though I've heard it wasn't always the case, but rather a recent trend. However, this isn't the case in Switzerland - 'Tschüß' should be used only informally, and is considered rude otherwise. Better to say 'Ade' instead (for example when leaving a shop). The inform .. [Continue reading] Culture shock? Not really... At least for me, that is! I learned a few key phrases as soon as I arrived: - how to ask for something 'Ich hatte gern...' - please and thank you 'bitte', 'danke schöne' - my German isn't very good 'Mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut' Anticipation is key in everyday shopping. When I ask for a 'Bratwurst' (sausage) or 'Fleischkäsebrötchen' (meat loaf sandwich), I know they'll ask if I want 'Senf' (mustard) or 'Zwiebeln' (onions). At the bakery after I order a loaf a bread, I'm always asked .. [Continue reading] Greetings from Germany! Hello, my name is Dave and I recently moved from Canada to Germany. My wife is Swiss, and German is her first language. As we first got to know each other, I took a few evening courses in Beginner German, and tried some language software at home. Needless to say, without daily practice, neither the courses nor the software was enough! Courtesy of the German Integration program, I've been learning German for 3 hrs/day, 4 days/week. While not enough to make me feel comfortable in, say a job .. [Continue reading] German's Treasure Trove of Words Anyone who lives in a German-speaking country and is still trying to learn the language knows how long it can take to reach fluency. Long after coming to terms with the challenging grammar (e.g., three genders for nouns, adjective endings, all those trennbare verbs), or the unusual word order of a typical German sentence, many still find themselves on an uphill road. The reason? German's huge vocabulary. The average German Aktivwortschatz, that is, the active vocabulary that native speakers u .. [Continue reading] Long German Words One of the more noticeable aspects of German is its apparent love affair with long words. Instead of using two or more augmentative terms in isolation, German will happily bolt them all together, creating long and seemingly impenetrable words that look and sound deceptively technical. Where English might talk of a new 'hospital financing reform act', Germans would casually acknowledge the 'Krankenhausfinanzierungsreformgesetz'. And why not? For language lovers, really long words can be a s .. [Continue reading] An Expat's Experience in Germany Usually, childhood memories don't quite match reality. However, my memories as a child growing up in Wiesbaden were verified as an adult working in Rottweil. Albeit in different parts of the country, the beer was just as good as I remember, the scenery is just as spectacular and the Autobahn was just as fast (despite the speed limits here and there). The difference that I find most prevalent is the number of Germans that speak English now and the traffic increase. My German counterparts info .. [Continue reading] |
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