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Are you always on the lookout for some quirky German learning ideas? How about 18 ideas for July?
According to Kleiner Kalender (English version: Cute Calendar) each day of the month is also a special – and sometimes worth celebrating – day.
I’ve picked 18 of those days to give you some fun ideas for practising your German – enjoy!
1 July International Joke Day – Internationaler Witze-Tag
Jokes in another language are often difficult to understand – one of the reasons why many people think that Germans have no sense of humour! So today’s challenge is to find a German joke that you find funny!
2 July World UFO Day – Tag des UFOs
Depending on your interests, either google “UFO-Sichtungen” (UFO sightings) and do a little research in German, or find a German sci-fi video on YouTube and enjoy it!
3 July Disobedience Day – Tag des Ungehorsams
If you could, which German rules (grammar, traffic or else) would you not obey anymore? Use the conditional, for example: Ich würde bei Rot die Straße überqueren. What would you do? ‘Ich würde …’
4 July Sidewalk Egg Frying Day – Brate-Eier-auf-dem-Gehweg-Tag
Not sure if you’ll manage to fry an egg on the pavement, but what would you do if it was really hot? Depending on your ability use the perfect or imperfect tense sentences to write about something you did, future tense for something you will do, conditional for something you would do, or use modal verbs.
6 July World Kiss Day – Internationaler Tag des Kusses
Who would you like to kiss and why? “Ich möchte ….. küssen, weil …”
8 July Video Games Day – Tag der Videospiele
Today you’re allowed to play video games, but they need to be in German. Alternatively, if you’re not a gamer, research ‘Videospiele’ and find out more about them.
10 July Teddy Bear Picnic Day – Teddybär-Picknick-Tag
Have a real Teddy Bear Picnic and talk German (at least some of the time) or write about an imaginary picnic, in German, of course!
11 July Cheer up the Lonely Day – Muntere-die-Einsamen-auf-Tag
You’re meeting a German who is very lonely. Talk to him or her and cheer him up. What do you say?
13 July Embrace Your Geekness Day – Sei-stolz-ein-Geek-zu-sein-Tag
Although there are several German words for the word ‘geek’, it has made it into the German vocabulary. How many other English words do you know that have made it into the German language. Either list them or make sentences with them.
16 July Fresh Spinach Day – Tag des frischen Spinats
In honour of this day find a German recipe with spinach. If you can, cook it. Alternatively, find a German Popeye video on YouTube.
19 July National Raspberry Cake Day – Nationaler Tag des Himbeerkuchens
Today you have several choices. You can speak German while eating a raspberry cake or bake a cake using a German recipe or do some research on German websites about growing and caring for raspberries.
22 July Hammock Day – Tag der Hängematte
Imagine you’re resting in a hammock (or do it for real, if you have one). Describe in German what you can see and hear, and how it makes you feel.
23 July Zodiac sign Leo – Sternzeichen Löwe
Find out more about either the star sign Leo or the real lions.
24 July Virtual Love Day – Tag der virtuellen Liebe
This is the day when partners who met online are supposed to tell the real story how they met. Let’s add the German angle and write how you met your partner (for real or make something up, nobody’s checking :))
26 July Aunt and Uncle Day – Onkel-und-Tante-Tag
Textbooks rarely cover uncles and aunts, so instead of describing your immediate family, write about your uncles and aunts.
27 July National Sleepy Head Day – Tag der Schlafmütze
Sleepy head, Schlafmütze – aren’t they just great words. Find more sleep related German words, then either make a list or turn them into sentences.
29 July National Lasagna Day – Nationaler Tag der Lasagne
Do you like Lasagne? Cook it today – but from a German recipe!
31 July Mutt’s Day – Tag des Mischlingshundes
Write about your dog, whether it’s a mixed breed or not. Or write why you would or wouldn’t like one.
There you are, 18 quirky ideas for practising your German. Which one are you looking forward to do, or (once you’ve done them) which one did you enjoy the most?
If 18 ideas aren’t enough for you, you may wish to buy my book which has 365 ideas, one for every day of the year!
Available as paperback
And also for your kindle
