That's a stupid question, I hear you say! Walking a marathon is a physical challenge, learning German isn't! True, but they are both challenges.
Imagine:
You're looking for a challenge and decide to walk a 26 miles marathon. You book your place and as it's quite a while before the walking date, you're not really worried about it.
You're looking for a challenge and decide to learn German, You book your place at an evening class and as it's quite a while before the course starts, you're not really worried about it. The date of the walk nears and you're getting worried: Have trained enough? Will I be able to walk the whole 26 miles? What if I can''t do it?
The start of the course nears and you're getting worried: Have I booked the right course? Will I be any good at learning a foreign language? What If I can't do it?
The marathon starts, you're off. The first few miles are easy and you're wondering why you were worried about it. Walking 26 miles is so easy - piece of cake!
The course starts, you're off. The first few words or even lessons are easy and you're wondering why you were worried about it. Learning German is so easy - piece of cake!
Then it's going uphill and suddenly you're struggling. It seems as if nobody else has a problem. You're getting worried: Will I be left behind?
Then you'll learn the first bit of grammar and suddenly you're struggling. It seems as if nobody else has a problem. You're getting worried: Will I be left behind?
No, you've managed the hill, it's going downhill again.... until you reach the next hill! No, you've managed the grammar, it's getting easier again .... until you get to the next difficult bit.
And so it carries on. Sometimes you feel as if everybody else can walk the 26 miles without any problems and you're the only one who is struggling. Sometimes you meet fellow walkers who struggle the same. Sometimes you overtake them.
And so it carries on. Sometimes you feel as if everybody else can learn German and you are the only one who is struggling. Sometimes you meet fellow students who struggle the same. Sometimes you understand things which they don't.
You may get a blister or two, or you walk comfortably throughout the whole walk. You may get a headache or two, or you attend every lesson without problems.
And finally you feel over the moon when you get to the finishing line and receive the medal/ certificate ... And finally you feel over the moon when you've passed an exam/ managed that conversation, held that presentation ...
Oh, and that's me walking towards the finishing line after 26 miles J
Posted by Angelika Davey. Posted In : learn German
Strammer Max is a very popular and simple meal (Hausmannskost) or pub meal (Kneipenessen) in Germany.
All you need is a slice of rye bread (or two, if you like). I used bread from a German baker, the rye bread you can get in the supermarkets looks different.
Butter the bread.
Add a slice of Westphalian Ham or Parma Ham.
Fry and egg and place it on top of the ham, add salt & pepper.
I read a great blog post this morning and liked it so much,
I’m copying it! Sharon (thanks for the idea btw) wrote that she got the idea
from Juli who got it from somebody else.
I have no idea who Juli is, but my thanks go to her, too ;-)
So for once you will be reading just about me – hope you can
cope J
Today was the last day again of another term at the German Saturday School. The four oldest in the group - Cissi, Charlotte, Abigail and Yona - had been doing work on TV programmes this term. So, for the last lesson they were allowed to make a powerpoint presentation of a poem about advertising (taken from the book 'Ja Klar 3, Deutsch als Fremdsprache für die Grundschule') We had one problem, though - we only had one laptop. Plus, it was a German laptop, which meant, it didn't have the QWERTY... Continue reading...
Posted by Angelika Davey. Posted In : learn German
I had an interesting conversation with a friend earlier about keep fit classes and language classes (she is also a language teacher) and how much easier it seems to go to Pilates classes instead of German lessons.
We started to compare them -
attending keep fit classes is good for losing weight
they are good for your physical well-being
if you miss several, you can still re-join later and carry on without any problem.
These points don't seem to apply for learning a language, don't they? Well, I d...
Actually, on this occasion, it isn't - It's in his handshake ;-)
German like to shake hands when they meet. If they meet friends or relatives they may hug or kiss, but if it's a business meeting or they meet an acquaintance then they shake hand. It is not uncommon to see a German arrive at a business meeting and shake hands with everybody present. Likewise when they leave.
So, how do you do the perfect handshake?
Well, I have searched high and low for you and have found the answer.
For the 12 days of Christmas between Christmas and Epiphany (the 6th January) many children in Germany dress up as the three wise men and go round people's houses singing and collecting money for charity.
A few days ago, while in Germany, I came across an interesting article about one of the songs the 'Sternsinger', as they are called, might sing. I could not find the tune or a version on Youtube but I did find the lyrics:
A few weeks ago some friends wrote blog posts about 51 things they learned this year (I could give you the links to their posts, but if I did you would want to buy a house in Spain and use Arrow Same Day Courier Services to get you there - and then you wouldn't want German lessons, so I won't J)
Anyway, I liked the idea, so here are mine:
Having the best son and daughter living abroad is not always fun.
Skype lets me keep in contact with them but also allows me to teach students as far as...
Nikki Pilkington's blogging ebook has been very helpful to me. Check out what other books you can buy from her by clicking on the '30 Day Blogging Challenge' book.
