Learning German

[Maya]

Yup you do, both prizes are written

[Edelweiss]

That is good if it is a few bucks. I would be too scared to use my friends account. I don't want to be sued by R+ ! Seriously I might want to post on the forum, but if I did use her account I couldn't. She said I could but I wouldn't want to do that incase she ever decided she wanted to post.

[Maya]

Everybody says that forum is shitty, hadn't read a positive comment.... maybe you aren't losing anything.

[Jorge]

I am sorry for interrupting this interesting forum-chat, but I will try to come back the topic: Learning German
Online courses:

- BBC's "German steps - German for beginners" http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/lj/ very simple topics, very useful for the "blitzvisit" of a weekend or a couple of days. Say hello, thanks, good bye and so on in German. Very easy, quite simple, but good for getting to know a few basic stuff.


@Waidmann, do you know the Nation's book, "Learning Vocabulary in Another Language"? (Cambridge Applied
Linguistics). I like it very much, but I won't put it down as a recommendation, as it is way beyond the objetive of "simply" learning a language for daily use.


Enjoy!

[saeda]

@jorge What learning level would you put that book at? I would say I'm past beginners German but I don't remember enough grammar to put me into a 2nd level class yet. Do you think the book would be good for me to help teach myself?

[Jorge]

^Hi Saeda,

No, I don't think so. The book is about how to teach and learn vocabulary, not grammar.

This book is a theoretical text about the teaching process, with methods and strategies studends follow better, and why some things work in long term or short term. This book is not for learning vocabulary, it is about learning vocabulary...

For example, somewhere the book explains that, as an average, for reatining a word or expression in your memory you have to use around 17 times. That explains that we, learners, are not useless, it is just that... we need repetition.

It is very interesting, but not really useful (not directly) for a learner who wants to learn, not to become an expert in the psychological process of learning I mention it to Waidmann as he teaches German as a foreing language.

It is useful, indirectly, of course, as it helps to understand why we learn in the way we do, and why any book with a title such "learn German in 30 days" is pretty much useless.


You can take a look to the introduction and index here, and you will see what I mean: http://www.corpus4u.org/forum/upload...0612351651.pdf

Cheers,

J.

[saeda]

^Hi Saeda,

No, I don't think so. The book is about how to teach and learn vocabulary, not grammar.

This book is a theoretical text about the teaching process, with methods and strategies studends follow better, and why some things work in long term or short term. This book is not for learning vocabulary, it is about learning vocabulary...

For example, somewhere the book explains that, as an average, for reatining a word or expression in your memory you have to use around 17 times. That explains that we, learners, are not useless, it is just that... we need repetition.

It is very interesting, but not really useful (not directly) for a learner who wants to learn, not to become an expert in the psychological process of learning I mention it to Weidmann as he teaches German as a foreing language.

It is useful, indirectly, of course, as it helps to understand why we learn in the way we do, and why any book with a title such "learn German in 30 days" is pretty much useless.


You can take a look to the introduction and index here, and you will see what I mean: http://www.corpus4u.org/forum/upload...0612351651.pdf

Cheers,

J.

@jorge I see. Well, I've also taken some psych classes and always been interested in the hows and whys of our memory functions. I might get it just for those reasons. Thanks for explaining it to me!

[Jorge]

The trick is persistence, to do exercises, read and practise. There are not special solutions, or magic answers. Try some of the simple texts recommended by Waidmann, they are very good! Or just take a look to a German newspaper every day. Make your home page in your internet browser to direct you to some German website... you won't notice anything the first day, or te second, or the first week, but eventually, everything starts to make sense in your mind

[Waidmann]

@Weidmann, do you know the Nation's book, "Learning Vocabulary in Another Language"? (Cambridge Applied
Linguistics). I like it very much, but I won't put it down as a recommendation, as it is way beyond the objetive of "simply" learning a language for daily use.

I know it and it's indeed an interesting read, but like you say it's not reaaally about learning German. However, I could recommend it for people who have it in their local library though, but not exactly for purchase in order to learn German with it. It has some very interesting ideas though. One is for example the mnemonics (not sure if it's in that version of the book though, the one I have in mind is from 2005). Like "der - die - das - die" you could just remember by the neologism "rese" (der - die - das - die).

Thanks for the positive remarks about the texts! I can name a few others if you like to!

Hope the learning German works for you guys. My interest in and respect for Rammstein doubled when I finally knew what they were about.

[Maya]

Thanks for the positive remarks about the texts! I can name a few others if you like to!

Pleeeaaaase

[Waidmann]

Cool! From the top of my head (and on Gutenberg Spiegel) some longer stories (about 30 pages - I'll look in for other ones later on):

Grimmelshausen: Der abenteuerliche Simpliccimus Teutsch (has many short chapters)
Heinrich Heine: Der Rabbi von Bacherach (warning: story was never ended by the author)
Franz Grillparzer: Der arme Spielmann
Joseph roth: Hiob (quite a bit longer but veeeeery good)
Max Dauthendey: Die acht Gesichter am Biwasee: Die Segelboote von Yabase im Abend heimkehren sehen (about 5 pages)
Gerhard Hauptmann: Das Märchen der 672. Nacht (about 15 pages)

For people who really buy books: check for cheap paperbacks from Reclam Verlag. They have all the german literature in small yellow books for 3-6 euros.
For poetry you could check people like Gottfried Benn, Georg Heym, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Georg Trakl and Friedrich Hölderlin.
For the more experienced readers I can give Arno Schmidts Schwarze Spiegel. I have it on pdf on my computer. Just pm if you want it.

[Edelweiss]

Everybody says that forum is shitty, hadn't read a positive comment.... maybe you aren't losing anything.

Curiosity got the best of me so when my bestie told me her info I logged in for a look around. It is not very active.
My bff signed up on here

[wheatie]

that would be me :-) I am ready to learn more German. I think we need to get together on this one! the more we speak it to each other the better too.

[Maya]

Curiosity got the best of me so when my bestie told me her info I logged in for a look around. It is not very active.
My bff signed up on here

jajajajajaja it couldn't be other way.

that would be me :-) I am ready to learn more German. I think we need to get together on this one! the more we speak it to each other the better too.

Welcome!!!!!!!!

[wheatie]

thanks!!!!!!!!!!!