HOW TO LEARN GERMAN WITH MUSIC

Adriana, 17th March 2021

Music is so powerful, that every time you hear a good song you want to listen to it a lot of times. My teacher at Deutschakademie always recommends that we listen to a lot of songs in German and try to understand the text. I always look at the lyrics when I listen to songs. When I really like the song I write it down, so I learned most of the new vocabulary that I use daily in Germany. When you listen to music it makes you feel happier! Now imagine that you also learn a new language at the same time – it’s great, don’t you think?

When you arrive to a country where they don’t speak your language, the first thing you find is music and at that moment you start to fall in love with another culture.

My favorite bands are Revolverheld and Berg. I learn German best in the following way:

  • First I pick a song that I really like and listen to it several times during the day.
  • Then I try to sing without reading the lyrics so I can improve my pronunciation.
  • Then I look up the lyrics of the song and start listening to the song while reading the lyrics.
  • Finally I write down all those words I don’t know and start writing sentences with each one.

This way I have learned new meanings of the words and also German proverbs.

I hope you will also enjoy learning this way!

 

HOW CAN YOU LEARN GERMAN ONLINE? DOES IT WORK?

Adriana, 11th March 2021

At first I always thought that online lessons were for lazy people. I was afraid that I wouldn’t learn anything and that my time in Germany would pass. Fortunately it wasn’t like that. On the online course there are many tools that will help you learn. With ZOOM, the platform DeutschAkademie uses for their classes, you can see the teacher’s screen. Accordingly she can send you videos, that you can understand faster. You can also write in your interactive book and have everything written down.

It is very important to have discipline and to want to learn every day more and more. I always do all my homework so I can come with new questions. I feel very proud when I learn a new subject and when I can talk to a German native and they understand me. At the beginning I thought „Oh Adriana, you will never be able to speak fluently with a native speaker“ but here I am, I can already speak very well and I can watch and understand movies. I want to tell you that it is possible and that it is not a complex language as all people use to say. If you like this language, I am sure you will succeed. 

GESUNDES NEUES JAHR: MIS PALABRAS FAVORITAS EN ALEMÁN

Dania, 9th March 2021

En Alemania no se desean un Feliz Año Nuevo, aquí se saludan con un ‚Gesundes Neues Jahr‘ que significa literalmente ‚Saludable Año Nuevo‘. Se desean salud, estar sanos y sanas. Esas palabras son las normales aquí desde siempre, pero se acoplan muy bien a los tiempos actuales en todo el mundo.

Entre el 31 de diciembre o Silvester (llamado así por el día de San Silvestre) y el 1 de enero, caminamos por las calles de la aldea donde vivimos deseando lo respectivo a las vecinas y vecinos. Durante Silvester o antes, se desea: ‚Einen Guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr‘, que significa: ‚Que tengas una buena deslizada/resbalón en el año nuevo‘. Y en el año nuevo ya, se dice Gesundes neues Jahr: ¡saludable año nuevo!

Estas son definitivamente mis palabras favoritas de éste, mi primer año en Alemania. Espero hayas deslizado bien (y mejor aún, resbalado sin trabas) en el año 2021 con tranquilidad y esperanza. Y deseo, como los alemanes, que tengas buena salud en este año que va. Nuestras clases de alemán en línea, siempre presentes, continúan.

DaniaPeru – Viajera por el Mundo

IG: @dania_peru

IN GERMANY. MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE LANGUAGE

Adriana, 5th March 2021

On the second of February last year, I arrived in germany. I couldn’t stop looking around me, I heard a crowd speaking german but I understood very very little. Then I met my host family at the airport. That day began my adventure. At the beginning it was very difficult for me. I had to go to the supermarkt and ask for meat and other things. I was very nervous and I didn’t understand anything. Using public transport was so confusing for me. I learned German on my own but I knew that I needed an academy to be able to speak with more people. A friend recommended DeutschAkademie to me and I was reading a lot of good comments, so I really wanted to start studying German with this academy. 

By now I can speak and write very well because I lived a whole year with a German host family. Last month I started a grammar course – that was what I needed! DEUTSCH AKADEMIE IS INCREDIBLE! I have learned a lot and now I understand things that I did not understand before. My teacher is so nice and patient, she explains very well and when me or one of my classmates doesn’t understand, she explains again. We are working with an interactive book. I have the book online and I can practice what we learned in each lesson. 

The start of my journey

Adriana, 3rd March 2021

WHO AM I?
WHY I DECIDED FOR GERMANY?

Hello! My name is Adriana and I am from Venezuela. 2 years ago, when I was 17 years old, I heard about a relatively new exchange program called Au Pair. At that time, I had to decide to which country I would travel. I researched a lot. My dream was to travel to the United States but after some deep investigation I realized that Germany was the right one for me. It is a beautiful country with a wonderful culture.

I knew that the German language is difficult, but I like challenges. I read that Germany is the most widely spoken language in Europe. More people speak German as their native language than any other language in Europe. Germany has the third largest economy in the world, and it is the economic powerhouse of the European Union and that is why knowing the language can offer great business opportunities.

I was so excited! I wanted to learn German right away. I started studying in Venezuela up to the level A2.1 (this level was the one required in the Au Pair program to be able to travel to Germany).  I got a host family that seemed very nice. I met them first through a video call. I got my ticket, and I was very close to traveling….

In my blog I will tell you about my impressions about Germany, how I decided to study with DeutschAkademie and how my German classes are going at the moment!

THE JOURNEY OF LEARNING GERMAN: BITS OF INSPIRATION

Dania, 26th February 2021

The German A level went quite fast, and I had an amazing experience with the teacher and the group in my last online course. We got to talk a lot because our vocabulary and grammatical knowledge is enough to get us going through longer conversations about easygoing topics and activities. We can speak in the past, present, and future tenses, which is interesting and makes us excited to practice more. 

One day, while talking about wishes, we all realized that one of our biggest dreams is to speak fluent German. It is not the easiest language to learn, and comes with challenges. To this, our lovely teacher gave us a great motivation dose. She read us a letter from a former student of hers.  

She started from the first course, and in twelve months, she got fluent in German and passed an official exam with a 1, the best grade one can get. 

She said in her letter, that she didn´t have any special talent, but she was curious and determined to reach her goal. If someone had told her in the beginning that in a year she would be writing this letter to other German language students, she wouldn´t have believed it.  

Amazing for her! And for us to: hey it´s possible, we can do it! 

DaniaPeru – Viajera por el Mundo 

IG: @dania_peru

FULL SUPPORT FROM DEUTSCHAKADEMIE TO MY NEEDS WHEN LEARNING GERMAN

Dania, 23rd February 2021

There is a wide range of teaching methods and learning styles that relate to various ways of understanding and learning new information. We have ways in which we prefer to learn, and we all use various skills and techniques. That applies as well to learning a language, in this case, German. 

It’s a great job of teachers to run a multicultural German language class with people from all over the world smoothly and find a balance that suits all. In online formats, teachers do their best at addressing in their lessons all senses while articulating a variety of skills that include reading, writing, listening, and speaking. 

It is important to say as well that some teachers will meet our needs more than others. It is life. At the beginning of the A2.1 course, I felt that what I was looking for in a class and my need for more oral practice was not being met. I communicated this to the school, and after checking my options, they offered me to change to another group. I agreed, and it couldn’t have been better! I changed to a class that suited me very well, and I improved my German skills much faster. 

I thank the staff of DeutschAkademieBerlin for their care. They are always willing to listen and find a solution according to our needs. We are not alone because the team is there with us! 

DaniaPeru – Viajera por el Mundo 

IG: @dania_peru 

STUDENT EXPERIENCE, SERVICE AND CARE: STRENGTHS OF DEUTSCHAKADEMIE

Dania, 19th February 2021

The process that DeutschAkademie Berlin carries out to take care of their customers and to ensure that the service they offer is excellent is very comprehensive. They want to make sure that every student has a wonderful time learning German. For that, the staff in charge consults us, asks, listens, communicates and solves problems, doubts and complaints very efficiently and quickly.

You can contact them by phone, email, or visit them in the office at any time, and you will always feel welcome. On top of that, they send out short email surveys very often that only take a few minutes to complete. There you can let them know if you are satisfied or not and write your wishes, comments, or any criticism and suggestions.

They appreciate our feedback for continuous improvement because they strive to provide high-quality German courses and services. I can tell from experience that if you give them any feedback, they will contact you as soon as possible to talk more about what you need and to discuss the best way to help you.

I feel lucky to be learning German in a school that cares so much and, even on distance on a phone call, makes me feel welcome and heard. It feels as warm as the sign says: they truly believe that it’s great that you are here.

DaniaPeru – Viajera por el Mundo

IG: @dania_peru

WE PLAY, HAVE FUN AND LEARN GERMAN

Dania, 19. January 2021

Once more, I have a great and diverse group of classmates. At the start of each class, it’s always fun to see each other and where we are. Others like, as much as I do, to enjoy the online class from their couches or favorite desk, or travel and join from the road or abroad.

For a few days, a classmate joined the lesson from a boat in the sea of Sardinia, in Italy. He enjoys the freedom of learning online and took holidays to celebrate his birthday and go sailing. While here in Germany we had rainy days, we could see through the camera that he had blue sky and sunny days, he showed us around, and we could travel with him for a little bit.

Right away, and to playfully compete with his amazing background, we tried the backgrounds of landscapes and other photos that the platform allows us to use (here, I´m in the class using a photo I took in Macedonia). That led to a fun conversation where, while playing, we were speaking German as fluent as ever. That is definitely a nice and fun way to learn German!

 

DaniaPeru – Viajera por el Mundo

IG: @dania_peru

UNA NUEVA Y ENRIQUECEDORA EXPERIENCIA AL APRENDER ALEMÁN

Dania, 14. January 2021

DeutschAkademie Berlin tiene mucha experiencia en el servicio y cuidado del estudiante, y éstas son parte de sus fortalezas sin duda. El proceso que lleva a cabo para atender a sus clientes, y garantizar que el servicio que ofrecen sea excelente, es muy completo. El personal a cargo, además de estar cerca de uno y disponibles para hablar y escuchar, trabaja de manera muy eficiente y rápida. Mediante encuestas, de manera presencial, por teléfono o email, siempre están listos para ayudar.

Al inicio de este mes les comuniqué algo que necesitaba, ellos lo tomaron muy en serio e hicieron todo lo posible para solucionarlo, y así cambié de grupo sin moverme de horario. Apoyaron por completo mis necesidades de práctica oral al aprender alemán, y estoy en una clase que me encanta mejorando mis habilidades muy rápido.

Como parte del cambio, en este grupo trabajamos con otro libro también utilizado en DeutschAkademie. Al cambiar de libro decidí tenerlo esta vez en formato digital, y aunque en general prefiero tener libros en su versión en papel, he encontrado el formato digital de este libro muy práctico, completo y preciso.  

Por aquí estoy repasando ejercicios del nivel anterior antes de comenzar la clase online. Aprecio mucho la escucha y el apoyo por parte del staff de DeutschAkademie Berlin! ¡Estoy aprovechando el nuevo rumbo al máximo!

DaniaPeru – Viajera por el Mundo

IG: @dania_peru