My MUST SEE for you in my Home Country

Fabio, 02 June 2020

I come from the second most visited city in Brazil, behind only Rio de Janeiro. The Iguacu Falls are located in Iguacu National Park. The falls are divided in half between Brazil and Argentina. When you visit the Brazilian side you have and spectacular view from bellow, and you get completely wet from the water mist created from the water. On your way to the falls you observe wild life and the strength of the nature in the region. For the bravest there’s even a tour in a boat which takes you directly under one of the falls, that’s a real thrill. Through out the entire National Park there are several trails and tracks that allow the most adventurous visitors to experience the forest on their own.

This is the place I grew up in, I have been there uncountable times and  is one of the things I miss from my country. Being so close to such a nature wonder is a blessing, if you plan a visit to South America, this is a MUST SEE. I would suggest a two days tour so you can enjoy both sides of the falls, Argentinian side has its beauty also since it gives its visitors a panoramic view from above the falls. The viewing point is only for the strong hearted.

Germany in Brazil.

Fabio, 30 May 2020

Brazil is the third country with most German descents, behind only US and Germany itself. I come from the south of Brazil which is where most Germans migrated. In the very south of Brazil there are even cities which the second official language is German. As you can imagine is not the German spoken nowadays, is a post war dialect. Most of the Germans that migrated many decades ago have never returned to Germany even to visit, mostly because the travel is long and expensive.

I had contact with the German Language early, even though so far away from Germany, despite my Opa from my mom side being German, he never got to learn the language because he was already born in Brazil so were his parents. My mom’s best friend is German and her mother could speak only a very basic Portuguese. So often when we were by their house mother and daughter would speak few sentences in German. This is when I got to hear it for the first time, little I knew I would end up living in Germany and studying the language.

I am excited for my next visit home, this will be the first time I visit after moving to Germany and studying German, I will be able to have few conversations in German, I have exchanged few sentences via videocall with my mom’s friend and she was really happy about it.

 

 

Curry Wurst

Fabio, 26 May 2020

Each country has it’s own cousine and traditional food. Here in Germany there is a lot to try. But one of the most, if not the most, famous is the Curry Wurst, it is easy and quick to get.

Is basically a pork sausage served with Curry Ketchup, the sausage is fist steamed and the then fried. Usually is served sliced and along with fries in a small dish. Funny facts the most popular types are Krakauer and Warshauer, as the two Polish cities. A Polish friend told me that in Poland the most famous sausage is actually called Frankfurter. The kiosks that sell it also have a wide variety of snacks, including vegetarian dishes. So there is always something for everyone, regardless the snack Germany will not fail to desapoint your taste.

Your Online German Course now anywhere.

Fabio, 25 May 2020

Due to travel and movement restrictions, not only the students that are aready in Germany cannot attend the class personaly, but the ones that intended to come to Germany to study could not make their way. This has fortunetly not impacted the diversity of the online German Courses. At the moment I have classmates from Iran, Egypt, USA and Peru.

I noticed that my class became even more dynamic and culturarly diverse. Now we are not only people from all over the world but at all over the world, including our teacher. The flexibility of the online class is creating a new reality and showing to all of us we can learn online, together helping each other.

If you are watching your class from another country always remember the time difference, you do not want to miss out your class.

 

Be one step ahead in your online German course in Berlin

Fabio, 23 May 2020

For the past few weeks I have experimented a different way of approaching my online German course in Berlin. When I had a little extra time I decided to check the grammar that would be thought in the next class.

So before the class I looked at the next grammar box in the book, quickly read it and watched a quick online video from youtube. It helped me understand, the result was surprisingly good. When I had the class, I was already one step ahead, because I had a little knowledge of the subject and had already in my head questions related to how to use the grammar and parts which I could not understand. I could this way do the exercises faster, and help my colleagues with their questions.

We are always very accostumed to only do the homework, but once you create the habit of exploring things on your own your progress will go much faster and your satisfaction with learning the German language also.

 

Find your best way of learning with your online German course in Berlin

Fabio, 20. Mai 2020

While I was learning my second language, English, I realized that listening was my best way to learn languages. So when I decided to learn the German Language I knew that I would have to be surrounded by it constantly – listening and paying attention to it constantly. During my online German course in Berlin I also realized that I would have to start introducing different exercises of listening to my routine of studies.

I have mentioned before that small talks with people at supermarkets and small shops would increase greatly your skills. But also importantly is to be listening to it, even though you are not participating in the conversation. For beginners, small texts with catch phrases go a long way. DeutschAkademie website provides us with a material which is written in English while the narrator reads through it. There will be important phrases in German, so you can repeat and start to sink in all that information.

As I said, each and every person has its own way of learning. My friends for example need to write a lot, or read. Finding the best way you learn is half way for you to fully learn. But always keep in mind that developing only one skill is not ideal and you must also to make an effort to develop an equal capability in all three areas.

The 4 cases dilemma & Free Online Tutoring Service :)

Fabio, 18. Mai 2020

When it comes to learn the German Language, one of the biggest challenges I have faced, is the cases(nominative, accusative, dative, genitive). If none of the languages you speak have that characteristic, you will need to put an extra effort to understand and make use of the cases in your daily basis. Do not panic! They seem rather difficult to understand at first but the teacher will make sure they repeat enough times. My teachers made sure they would every class talk about this cases, review them and check if we knew the proper forms. It’s funny because at some point the content just stuck to you and you do not have to think about it anymore, you just know. In my online German classes we made use of a table, similar to this one to have it always at hand. The more you use it the less you will need to use it.

Every once in a while when I found myself in need of a further explanation I have actually made use of the Free Tutoring, which is offered by the school without a cost. At the moment is done online as all the courses. It was especially helpful for me to have another teacher explaining to me the cases. Each and every teacher has its own way of explaining and in this case two explanations are better than one. So no matter how much time you have you can just make use of this extra “tool” to improve your understanding of the cases.

Don’t forget to make use of the free exercises on DeutschAkademie website, there is a link for exercises just with the cases, that’s a good way to check how you are progressing.

Bikes/Scooters in Berlin

Fabio, 15. Mai 2020

The good weather is now here and we see more and more bikes and scooters all over Berlin, this means of transport are not only environmentally friendly but they are at times, faster and more fun. Berlin has in majority of streets dedicated bike tracks, I am sure you already got over one of them and them got spooked by the biker’s bells. Berliners are really in favor or using means of transport that help the environment and are cheaper. There are several companies for bikes and scooters, some of the bike companies offer 30 first minutes for free, meaning if you return the bike to a station before that time you are not charged, and you can take another one and start your 30 free minutes again, you can go a long way like that.

Whichever you choose, always remember to give it a look on the T&Cs and always beware of the traffic, be safe and enjoy the nice weather.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Finhabitat.com%2Fberlin-plans-at-least-12-new-bike-superhighways%2F&psig=AOvVaw0K5ByEittzGEtJQW4enCM2&ust=1588671587449000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCMjGxIX1mekCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

 

Test yourself with the Free German Grammar Trainer online.

Fabio, 13. Mai 2020

We all hate tests, and it is such a relief when we come to DeutschAkademie and we get to know that we would not be tested in order to proceed to next level of your online German course. Tests are not a very efficient way of assessing knowledge but tests do have their value, I have found a way to test myself and make a good use of the results.

I created the habit at the end of each module to check where are my areas of weakness and topics I should go back and give it a second look, the DeutschAkademie website offers with a free German Grammar Trainer more than 20K exercises, and the best part of it is that you can choose it according to which level you are, these exercises are aligned with content we get in class, we are always more willing to take a test when none is correcting or checking our mistakes, but those mistakes will push you to look into the content again and review what you did not fully understand, you can practice with these exercises at any time.

https://www.deutschakademie.de/online-deutschkurs/German-Grammar-Topics.php

How to keep learning while not in your online German course!

Fabio, 11. Mai 2020

Learning a new language is not an easy task, German is my fourth language, despite having a good base for comparison to the other languages I know, German requires an extra time and dedication because of it’s unique grammar, here are some tips from me on how to get yourself practicing more during your day and feel more comfortable with it.

Besides participating in your online German course, watch simple programs like the news or a German series with German Subtitles, the open TV provides a digital signal all over Berlin and that also comes with a option for subtitles, do not get yourself demotivated after five minutes, the point is not to understand every single word, but the context also get yourself familiar with the pronunciation of the words.

There is plenty of printed material to read, the internet is also a great source of simple texts that can help you improve your reading skills, after my teachers suggestion I bought a copy of Deutsch Perfekt, is a magazine with easy, medium and difficult texts for those wishing to improve their German, the key is that the difficult words of each text are explained in German, like a dictionary, so you can read it more easily.

Last but not least, practice what you just learned, anywhere you go, small words with a cashier at supermarket for example, small talks here and there will build up your confidence, with each and every time that will decrease your level of stress when trying to speak, until your fear of making mistakes is all gone and you just have fun, that is when you learn the fastest.