Hallo Freunden!
Also, ein Jahr ist vergangen. Habe ich es tun? Bin ich fließend Deutsch? That's a good question. And I will try to answer it. But first, I want to re-iterate my original goal which was "conversational fluency". Typically this is considered to be a high B1 to a B2. During this wide, fuzzily defined phase of learning, conversational fluency starts to take shape. I am going to lay out a few of my personal requirements and see how I did:
1. I wanted to be able to express myself in the spoken language with another speaker of German. By express myself, I mean be ale to discuss my hobbies, my life, my family, current events, and anything else that I would normally talk to people (friends or strangers) about on a daily basis.
2. I wanted my spoken interaction to be relatively in line with a fluent speaker's pace, prosody, and accent.
3. I wanted to be able to understand spoken German at a normal speed by a fluent speaker about the same types of things that I listed in #1 above.
4. I wanted to be able to read and write to a certain degree, but my primary focus was on speaking.
How did I do?
1. Nailed it (mostly). I can pretty much discuss anything outside of specialized fields (eg: science, gardening, politics, etc). Fortunately, I don't talk about any of those specialized things much in English, so I'm fine not being able to discuss them in German. Vocabulary is not really an issue here. I still make some grammatical errors, but I am getting better everyday and will continue to with practice.
2. Kind of. My pace is a little slow when talking but it is improving. My prosody is pretty noticeably non-native level but it doesn't seem to interfere with my being understood. My accent is decent but not great. I've actually been told that I have kind of a French accent when speaking German which I guess is better than an American accent.
3. This is one of my weaker spots. I struggle to keep up with a lengthy dialog from a fluent speaker. Shorter sentences or a slower pace help me a lot but I have a tendency to get lost ("Wie, bitte?") in some full speed interactions. This will come with practice.
4. Nailed it. I am a decent reader and writer in German and have no complaints about my abilities in either.
My big test.
My big test is going to come in 2 weeks when I go to a German speaking Meetup group. I've been putting this off for Months and the time has come to finally sink or swim. I will post my findings after that as well as (hopefully) my one year video.
Tschüss!
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Some Practical Advice and 9 Month Progress Report
Hallo! I know it's been awhile since I've posted so i wanted to give an update on my progress and talk about a few things that I have been doing lately.
I would put my level right now at a B1. I have completed several online placement tests and assessments and this appears to be the overall consensus. What does this mean? Glad you asked:
Language Levels explained here
With regards to me and my B1 assessment, here are my abilities/limitations in a nutshell:
Listening: "I can understand the main points of clear standard speech on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. I can understand the main point of many radio or TV programmes on current affairs or topics of personal or professional interest when the delivery is relatively slow and clear."
Reading: "I can understand texts that consist mainly of high frequency everyday or job-related language. I can understand the description of events, feelings and wishes in personal letters."
Spoken Interaction: "I can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. I can enter unprepared into conversation on topics that are familiar, of personal interest or pertinent to everyday life (e.g. family, hobbies, work, travel and current events)."
Spoken Production: "I can connect phrases in a simple way in order to describe experiences and events, my dreams, hopes and ambitions. I can briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. I can narrate a story or relate the plot of a book or film and describe my reactions."
Writing: "I can write simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. I can write personal letters describing experiences and impressions."
Now, as a disclaimer, some of these are no 100% true regarding me personally. My Spoken Interaction and Production skills are slightly better than listed above whereas my listening comprehension is not quite as good as what is described. Overall though, i'd say that is a decent overview of where I am at with German.
Now, as usual, I have some advice based on personal experience:
1. What are your goals? As I mentioned, my listening comprehension is somewhat behind my speaking production. This is somewhat on purpose and is related to the methods by which I have chosen to learn German. I have, from the beginning, focused on speaking. I have done extensive "self-talk" exercises as well as shadowing, The Pimsleur Method, The Michel Thomas Method, and Language Exchanges. All of these activities are designed around output. They are all specifically geared towards improving verbal fluency, accent, and production in general. I have not been as good at incorporating things like: Movies, TV shows, Podcasts and Skype conversations with native speakers. These are designed more around listening comprehension.
What should you do? I would suggest a nice mix of the two, but it really depends on your ultimate goals. You want to learn to read well in German? Read a lot of German. You want to speak? See above. You want to write German? Write a lot of German and have it corrected by natives on Lang-8.com
2. Verbs. I've mentioned this before too but it bears repeating. Verbs are the key to any language. Learn to use them and learn to use them well. You will be in better shape REALLY knowing 50 verbs and how to use them then you will be knowing 200 verbs but not having a good grasp on their usage and/or conjugation. This is true, not just for German but for other languages as well. There are verbs in German like lassen, ankommen, finden, halten, machen, stehen and ausgeben that have numerous meanings and usages (especially colloquially). A solid grasp on their usage and formations would have you head and shoulders above someone who went through and learned twice as many verbs but only one meaning for each. I try to learn 20+ vocab words per day but only one or two verbs.
3. Self-talk. I am a firm believer in self-talk exercises. These can be as informal as talking to yourself in the shower to as formal as picking a topic, learning vocab specific to that topic, and filming yourself talking unrehearsed. Will your grammar be perfect? No. Will your vocab always be correct? No. Will it make you more comfortable speaking? Yes. Will it improve your speed and ability to "think on your feet" when speaking? Absolutely. I do quite a bit of my self-talk with a dictionary handy to fill in missing vocab that I can add to my ANKI deck later. There is no right or wrong way to do this, but if you want to improve your speaking skills, you need to speak more. I said it above with reading and writing. Practice makes better.
4. Do something everyday. I went through a phase where I struggled with this. There were times when i went days without touching anything German related. While this can feel like a "recharge", I found it to be a major setback.
When I get exposure to German everyday, i find myself thinking in German sometimes. It may only be a minute until I catch myself, but I do it. I want to get to the point where I can "think" in German like I do in English. Maybe not to the same extent as I believe that those neural pathways are developed and cemented in very early childhood, but I have experienced brief flashes of it and it is a great feeling.
I've gotten slightly off topic here, but my point is that in order for You to learn something as complex as a language, you need to do it everyday. I compare it to Math class in school. After Summer break, it would always take me weeks (or months) to get myself back to the same level that I was when school let out 3 months earlier, much less be in a position to really learn anything new. Keep it fresh. Don't just review either. Learn SOMETHING new everyday. Even if it is one grammar point or one new verb or one key vocabulary word. Move forward.
5. Learn Colloquialisms. I'm not learning German to pass a test. I'm learning German to talk to other people who speak German. I want to know how German people talk. I don't talk like the sentences I read in ESL textbooks, so I know Germans don't talk like the sentences in my Pimsleur course. Language exchanges are good for this. Forums in your Target Language are good for this. There are books too but be careful as slang can change so quickly that you may sound like your Grandfather by the time the slang book hits the market. There are great websites devoted to slang in almost any language.
I have a friend who speaks fluent "textbook" French. She can conjugate verbs and has a strong active vocabulary but she struggles to watch films in French and to talk to real French people because she doesn't speak how they speak. She is embarrassed to tell people that she speaks French because she doesn't feel like she speaks the language like it is spoken in the real world. This is fine is she wants to book a hotel room or buy train tickets, but if she wants to meet French friends and hang out and be social, she struggles.
I dedicate an ANKI deck and at least sometime everyday to slang. I pick up sentences from online forums, from slang websites, from books (checked through Google for accuracy and frequency of use) and from emails with my email exchange partners. I have also been known to pull some slang from TV shows (like How I Met Your Mother and Friends) in German.
All in all, I feel like I am in a good position to meet my goal of conversational fluency (B2) within one year. I thank you for joining me on this journey and I hope to have a 9/10 Month video up within the next couple of weeks.
Tschüss!
I would put my level right now at a B1. I have completed several online placement tests and assessments and this appears to be the overall consensus. What does this mean? Glad you asked:
Language Levels explained here
With regards to me and my B1 assessment, here are my abilities/limitations in a nutshell:
Listening: "I can understand the main points of clear standard speech on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. I can understand the main point of many radio or TV programmes on current affairs or topics of personal or professional interest when the delivery is relatively slow and clear."
Reading: "I can understand texts that consist mainly of high frequency everyday or job-related language. I can understand the description of events, feelings and wishes in personal letters."
Spoken Interaction: "I can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. I can enter unprepared into conversation on topics that are familiar, of personal interest or pertinent to everyday life (e.g. family, hobbies, work, travel and current events)."
Spoken Production: "I can connect phrases in a simple way in order to describe experiences and events, my dreams, hopes and ambitions. I can briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. I can narrate a story or relate the plot of a book or film and describe my reactions."
Writing: "I can write simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. I can write personal letters describing experiences and impressions."
Now, as a disclaimer, some of these are no 100% true regarding me personally. My Spoken Interaction and Production skills are slightly better than listed above whereas my listening comprehension is not quite as good as what is described. Overall though, i'd say that is a decent overview of where I am at with German.
Now, as usual, I have some advice based on personal experience:
1. What are your goals? As I mentioned, my listening comprehension is somewhat behind my speaking production. This is somewhat on purpose and is related to the methods by which I have chosen to learn German. I have, from the beginning, focused on speaking. I have done extensive "self-talk" exercises as well as shadowing, The Pimsleur Method, The Michel Thomas Method, and Language Exchanges. All of these activities are designed around output. They are all specifically geared towards improving verbal fluency, accent, and production in general. I have not been as good at incorporating things like: Movies, TV shows, Podcasts and Skype conversations with native speakers. These are designed more around listening comprehension.
What should you do? I would suggest a nice mix of the two, but it really depends on your ultimate goals. You want to learn to read well in German? Read a lot of German. You want to speak? See above. You want to write German? Write a lot of German and have it corrected by natives on Lang-8.com
2. Verbs. I've mentioned this before too but it bears repeating. Verbs are the key to any language. Learn to use them and learn to use them well. You will be in better shape REALLY knowing 50 verbs and how to use them then you will be knowing 200 verbs but not having a good grasp on their usage and/or conjugation. This is true, not just for German but for other languages as well. There are verbs in German like lassen, ankommen, finden, halten, machen, stehen and ausgeben that have numerous meanings and usages (especially colloquially). A solid grasp on their usage and formations would have you head and shoulders above someone who went through and learned twice as many verbs but only one meaning for each. I try to learn 20+ vocab words per day but only one or two verbs.
3. Self-talk. I am a firm believer in self-talk exercises. These can be as informal as talking to yourself in the shower to as formal as picking a topic, learning vocab specific to that topic, and filming yourself talking unrehearsed. Will your grammar be perfect? No. Will your vocab always be correct? No. Will it make you more comfortable speaking? Yes. Will it improve your speed and ability to "think on your feet" when speaking? Absolutely. I do quite a bit of my self-talk with a dictionary handy to fill in missing vocab that I can add to my ANKI deck later. There is no right or wrong way to do this, but if you want to improve your speaking skills, you need to speak more. I said it above with reading and writing. Practice makes better.
4. Do something everyday. I went through a phase where I struggled with this. There were times when i went days without touching anything German related. While this can feel like a "recharge", I found it to be a major setback.
When I get exposure to German everyday, i find myself thinking in German sometimes. It may only be a minute until I catch myself, but I do it. I want to get to the point where I can "think" in German like I do in English. Maybe not to the same extent as I believe that those neural pathways are developed and cemented in very early childhood, but I have experienced brief flashes of it and it is a great feeling.
I've gotten slightly off topic here, but my point is that in order for You to learn something as complex as a language, you need to do it everyday. I compare it to Math class in school. After Summer break, it would always take me weeks (or months) to get myself back to the same level that I was when school let out 3 months earlier, much less be in a position to really learn anything new. Keep it fresh. Don't just review either. Learn SOMETHING new everyday. Even if it is one grammar point or one new verb or one key vocabulary word. Move forward.
5. Learn Colloquialisms. I'm not learning German to pass a test. I'm learning German to talk to other people who speak German. I want to know how German people talk. I don't talk like the sentences I read in ESL textbooks, so I know Germans don't talk like the sentences in my Pimsleur course. Language exchanges are good for this. Forums in your Target Language are good for this. There are books too but be careful as slang can change so quickly that you may sound like your Grandfather by the time the slang book hits the market. There are great websites devoted to slang in almost any language.
I have a friend who speaks fluent "textbook" French. She can conjugate verbs and has a strong active vocabulary but she struggles to watch films in French and to talk to real French people because she doesn't speak how they speak. She is embarrassed to tell people that she speaks French because she doesn't feel like she speaks the language like it is spoken in the real world. This is fine is she wants to book a hotel room or buy train tickets, but if she wants to meet French friends and hang out and be social, she struggles.
I dedicate an ANKI deck and at least sometime everyday to slang. I pick up sentences from online forums, from slang websites, from books (checked through Google for accuracy and frequency of use) and from emails with my email exchange partners. I have also been known to pull some slang from TV shows (like How I Met Your Mother and Friends) in German.
All in all, I feel like I am in a good position to meet my goal of conversational fluency (B2) within one year. I thank you for joining me on this journey and I hope to have a 9/10 Month video up within the next couple of weeks.
Tschüss!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
My Podcast Method for Learning German
Hallo Freunde!
I wanted to drop a quick post about a German Language resource I found online called The Slow German Podcast. It is a podcast series (in German of course) read at a slightly slower pace than normal speech. I'm not talking radically slower or anything like that, but slow enough to make out the difference between words.
So, I listened to a few of them and discovered they were a little beyond my abilities but they contained some great information. Of course I contrived a structured plan for tackling these podcasts and wanted to share it with you:
1. I listen to the podcast 3 or 4 times without focusing on it too much. I don't look at the transcripts yet and I don't try to pick out any words.
2. I listen to the same podcast another 2 or 3 times but with focused attention this time. I try to pick out specific words I know and I try to identify what the podcast is generally about. I can usually pick out some main topics through vocab but often I get very little else besides a general idea at this point.
3. I read through the transcript without listening to the podcast. I try to pick out as much vocab as I can. I am usually a little better at picking out vocab I know from written words than from the listening. At this point I have a much better idea of what the podcast is about.
4. I listen to one paragraph at a time while reading along with the transcript. I then copy/paste the paragraph into Google translate to get a more solid grasp on unknown vocab. Google Translate isn't perfect, but it will definitely help you figure out what they are talking about.
5. I jot down the main vocab words that I think will help me understand the podcast. I do not pull every unknown word, just the main vocab.
6. I review the list of words and try to play around with them by making my own sentences and just having fun.
7. I listen to the podcast again while following along with the transcript. At this point I usually have no trouble following along and understanding.
8. Finally, I listen to the podcast again without reading along. I might do this 2 or 3 times (or more) until I feel comfortable that I "get it".
This entire process can take me anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour+ depending on the length of the podcast. I also will review the previous day's podcast along with an older podcast on a rotating schedule to make sure I am keeping my new vocab fresh. I have done this with about 20 or so podcasts for Slow German and I think it is helping quite a bit. I am surprised at how much easier each subsequent podcast is thanks to the hard work on the previous ones.
I hope this proves helpful!
Tschüss!
I wanted to drop a quick post about a German Language resource I found online called The Slow German Podcast. It is a podcast series (in German of course) read at a slightly slower pace than normal speech. I'm not talking radically slower or anything like that, but slow enough to make out the difference between words.
So, I listened to a few of them and discovered they were a little beyond my abilities but they contained some great information. Of course I contrived a structured plan for tackling these podcasts and wanted to share it with you:
1. I listen to the podcast 3 or 4 times without focusing on it too much. I don't look at the transcripts yet and I don't try to pick out any words.
2. I listen to the same podcast another 2 or 3 times but with focused attention this time. I try to pick out specific words I know and I try to identify what the podcast is generally about. I can usually pick out some main topics through vocab but often I get very little else besides a general idea at this point.
3. I read through the transcript without listening to the podcast. I try to pick out as much vocab as I can. I am usually a little better at picking out vocab I know from written words than from the listening. At this point I have a much better idea of what the podcast is about.
4. I listen to one paragraph at a time while reading along with the transcript. I then copy/paste the paragraph into Google translate to get a more solid grasp on unknown vocab. Google Translate isn't perfect, but it will definitely help you figure out what they are talking about.
5. I jot down the main vocab words that I think will help me understand the podcast. I do not pull every unknown word, just the main vocab.
6. I review the list of words and try to play around with them by making my own sentences and just having fun.
7. I listen to the podcast again while following along with the transcript. At this point I usually have no trouble following along and understanding.
8. Finally, I listen to the podcast again without reading along. I might do this 2 or 3 times (or more) until I feel comfortable that I "get it".
This entire process can take me anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour+ depending on the length of the podcast. I also will review the previous day's podcast along with an older podcast on a rotating schedule to make sure I am keeping my new vocab fresh. I have done this with about 20 or so podcasts for Slow German and I think it is helping quite a bit. I am surprised at how much easier each subsequent podcast is thanks to the hard work on the previous ones.
I hope this proves helpful!
Tschüss!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Six Month German Learning Post
Hallo Freunde!
Well, the 6 Month mark has come and gone. Am I where I had hoped? Not really. Am I proud of what I have accomplished? Yes. Very proud. What have I been up to for the last Month?
1. Continuing with sentences. Yes, I feel like I finally hit pay dirt with this method. I am really getting a grasp on grammar this way without studying the boring textbook stuff. I have found that once I get the layout of a sentence, I can mix and match verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs to come up with dozens of variations for each sentence. This is VERY motivating as it feels like I am learning things at a quick pace.
2. Vocabulary. I have been slacking on new vocab words this last Month and concentrating on solidifying the vocab I already have. I try to use a lot of "self talk" to force this vocab into my active use but it is tough without easy and consistent access to native speakers.
3. Verbs. I have been pushing the verbs hard this Month and I am having mixed results. It seems like every time I learn 10 new verbs, I find a need for 20 more that I don't know yet. Language really IS all about verbs.
4. I signed up for Lang-8.com and have been submitting material for correction as well as correcting other people's submissions in English. If you have not checked this out, do so.
5. MUSIC! I know, every post I'm sure I've found the ultimate learning tool and this one is no different. I found some German songs on Youtube that I liked and I imported them to my iPod. I have been listening to this pretty consistently. What I do is: listen to a song all the way through about 3 or 4 times. I pick up a few words here and there and try to figure out what it is about. Next, I pull the German lyrics of the internet and follow through with the song a few more times. I pick up a lot more this way. Finally I pull the English translation off of the internet and go through the song a few more times. After this, I find that I really understand the songs and can stop focusing on translation and just enjoy the songs.I have learned a lot of good stuff this way. Here are a few bands to check out: Rammstein (heavy), Bosse (light rock), Tokio Hotel (Pop-punk), and Azad (rap). Much more enjoyable than studying grammar!
Tschüss
Well, the 6 Month mark has come and gone. Am I where I had hoped? Not really. Am I proud of what I have accomplished? Yes. Very proud. What have I been up to for the last Month?
1. Continuing with sentences. Yes, I feel like I finally hit pay dirt with this method. I am really getting a grasp on grammar this way without studying the boring textbook stuff. I have found that once I get the layout of a sentence, I can mix and match verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs to come up with dozens of variations for each sentence. This is VERY motivating as it feels like I am learning things at a quick pace.
2. Vocabulary. I have been slacking on new vocab words this last Month and concentrating on solidifying the vocab I already have. I try to use a lot of "self talk" to force this vocab into my active use but it is tough without easy and consistent access to native speakers.
3. Verbs. I have been pushing the verbs hard this Month and I am having mixed results. It seems like every time I learn 10 new verbs, I find a need for 20 more that I don't know yet. Language really IS all about verbs.
4. I signed up for Lang-8.com and have been submitting material for correction as well as correcting other people's submissions in English. If you have not checked this out, do so.
5. MUSIC! I know, every post I'm sure I've found the ultimate learning tool and this one is no different. I found some German songs on Youtube that I liked and I imported them to my iPod. I have been listening to this pretty consistently. What I do is: listen to a song all the way through about 3 or 4 times. I pick up a few words here and there and try to figure out what it is about. Next, I pull the German lyrics of the internet and follow through with the song a few more times. I pick up a lot more this way. Finally I pull the English translation off of the internet and go through the song a few more times. After this, I find that I really understand the songs and can stop focusing on translation and just enjoy the songs.I have learned a lot of good stuff this way. Here are a few bands to check out: Rammstein (heavy), Bosse (light rock), Tokio Hotel (Pop-punk), and Azad (rap). Much more enjoyable than studying grammar!
Tschüss
Monday, June 25, 2012
German Progress - Always Evolving
Guten Tag meine Freunde!
It's been almost 2 weeks since my last post, so I figured it would be a good time to update you on my progress:
1. I've been learning verbs. I haven't been learning them at quite the clip I was aiming for, but I feel like I am retaining the ones I do learn. I have been creating sentences with new verbs that I learn. This helps with context and helps me to remember the conjugations as well.
2. I have been learning sentences. Yes, complete sentences. I have been pulling them from multiple sources like: The dictionary, emails to/from my German penpal, forum posts, fiction books, and textbooks. I have been writing them down and reviewing them everyday. These sentences are not necessarily related to anything in particular, but they are all sentences that I could see myself using somehow in conversation. I have filled almost 2 dozen pages with sentences this way (over 200 sentences so far). This sentence method is doing 3 things for me: First, they are giving me some stock or "canned" phrases that I have practiced and feel comfortable with. Secondly, they are providing a grammar framework that I can use to form other structurally related sentences by substituting other nouns and verbs but maintaining the grammar structure and organization. Thirdly, they are helping me learn vocabulary (especially verbs) as these are sentences that are not necessarily sentences I could construct with my current vocab knowledge.
3. I've been listening to The news, read slowly in German. This has been helpful in continuing to "tune my ear" to German and to improve my vocabulary. I listen to it a couple of times and follow along with the written text (in German). Then, I try to determine what the particular article is about. I then translate it to determine how close I was. Once I read through the translation, I listen to it again a few more times with the translation in mind. I can usually get 3-5 news vocab words out it without really even trying. Every little bit helps, right?
And that is pretty much what I've been up to on the German front. It's a slow process but I am very proud of my progress and I feel confident that we will reach our goal of fluency in 7 more Months.
It's been almost 2 weeks since my last post, so I figured it would be a good time to update you on my progress:
1. I've been learning verbs. I haven't been learning them at quite the clip I was aiming for, but I feel like I am retaining the ones I do learn. I have been creating sentences with new verbs that I learn. This helps with context and helps me to remember the conjugations as well.
2. I have been learning sentences. Yes, complete sentences. I have been pulling them from multiple sources like: The dictionary, emails to/from my German penpal, forum posts, fiction books, and textbooks. I have been writing them down and reviewing them everyday. These sentences are not necessarily related to anything in particular, but they are all sentences that I could see myself using somehow in conversation. I have filled almost 2 dozen pages with sentences this way (over 200 sentences so far). This sentence method is doing 3 things for me: First, they are giving me some stock or "canned" phrases that I have practiced and feel comfortable with. Secondly, they are providing a grammar framework that I can use to form other structurally related sentences by substituting other nouns and verbs but maintaining the grammar structure and organization. Thirdly, they are helping me learn vocabulary (especially verbs) as these are sentences that are not necessarily sentences I could construct with my current vocab knowledge.
3. I've been listening to The news, read slowly in German. This has been helpful in continuing to "tune my ear" to German and to improve my vocabulary. I listen to it a couple of times and follow along with the written text (in German). Then, I try to determine what the particular article is about. I then translate it to determine how close I was. Once I read through the translation, I listen to it again a few more times with the translation in mind. I can usually get 3-5 news vocab words out it without really even trying. Every little bit helps, right?
And that is pretty much what I've been up to on the German front. It's a slow process but I am very proud of my progress and I feel confident that we will reach our goal of fluency in 7 more Months.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
This German Just Got Real (bad)
Guten Tag! So, I was at the local Brewery Bar last week with some friends from work and I had an experience I would like to share that really opened my eyes and made me understand exactly where my German shortcomings were.
There we were, about 10 of us, just chatting away, drinking our beer and somehow it came out that one of my co-workers spoke fluent German. Turns out, her Dad moved here from Germany and she was raised bi-lingual. Well, of course I told her I was learning German and she started to speak it to me. That's when the crushing blow came...
All of a sudden, I couldn't remember basic vocabulary. She was talking and I was not processing. I tried to speak back and baby talk spewed from my mouth. What was happening? I knew this stuff. She was speaking reasonable, short, basic sentences and I was just not getting it. She actually asked me "Wie viele Biere trinkst du heute Abend?" This translates to the super simple "How many beers will you have tonight?". My answer? "Ummm, uhhh, ja (yes) Bier (beer), ummm..." She looked at me like I had lost my mind. I hung my head in shame.
So, I found out 3 things that day:
1. I'm NOT very good at thinking on my feet in German.
2. My listening skills could use some sharpening.
3. I need more automatic "canned"-type responses to help give me time to gather my thoughts.
So, I started thinking about some things I could do to fix these:
1. The only I can do about thinking on my feet in German is to get more exposure to speaking to native speakers. No way around it. The more I talk the better I will listen and the better I will speak. This one is easy.
2. I need to kick my listening into high gear. More movies in German, more dialogs, and more podcasts. I have several audiobooks in German that I will add into my everyday routine. Again, verbs are an issue for me because of where they fall in the sentence but I have already addressed verbs in my last post.
3. I feel like I should explain "canned" responses. I hadn't really thought of this concept until this day. I can't help but think that if I had some stock sentences that I felt were automatic that I didn't have to think about then I could have recovered. These would be sentences that I had drilled and worked on so much that I couldn't help but spew them out even under the most stressful of circumstances. These would be sentences that steered the conversation in a direction I was comfortable with. In theory, this would help to de-stress me and as the conversation moved outside of my comfort zone, I could comfortably move with it.
I need to think about #3 some more... I'll see what i can come up with in a future post.
Do you have any stories like the one above (positive ones are great too)?
Tschüss!
There we were, about 10 of us, just chatting away, drinking our beer and somehow it came out that one of my co-workers spoke fluent German. Turns out, her Dad moved here from Germany and she was raised bi-lingual. Well, of course I told her I was learning German and she started to speak it to me. That's when the crushing blow came...
All of a sudden, I couldn't remember basic vocabulary. She was talking and I was not processing. I tried to speak back and baby talk spewed from my mouth. What was happening? I knew this stuff. She was speaking reasonable, short, basic sentences and I was just not getting it. She actually asked me "Wie viele Biere trinkst du heute Abend?" This translates to the super simple "How many beers will you have tonight?". My answer? "Ummm, uhhh, ja (yes) Bier (beer), ummm..." She looked at me like I had lost my mind. I hung my head in shame.
So, I found out 3 things that day:
1. I'm NOT very good at thinking on my feet in German.
2. My listening skills could use some sharpening.
3. I need more automatic "canned"-type responses to help give me time to gather my thoughts.
So, I started thinking about some things I could do to fix these:
1. The only I can do about thinking on my feet in German is to get more exposure to speaking to native speakers. No way around it. The more I talk the better I will listen and the better I will speak. This one is easy.
2. I need to kick my listening into high gear. More movies in German, more dialogs, and more podcasts. I have several audiobooks in German that I will add into my everyday routine. Again, verbs are an issue for me because of where they fall in the sentence but I have already addressed verbs in my last post.
3. I feel like I should explain "canned" responses. I hadn't really thought of this concept until this day. I can't help but think that if I had some stock sentences that I felt were automatic that I didn't have to think about then I could have recovered. These would be sentences that I had drilled and worked on so much that I couldn't help but spew them out even under the most stressful of circumstances. These would be sentences that steered the conversation in a direction I was comfortable with. In theory, this would help to de-stress me and as the conversation moved outside of my comfort zone, I could comfortably move with it.
I need to think about #3 some more... I'll see what i can come up with in a future post.
Do you have any stories like the one above (positive ones are great too)?
Tschüss!
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