Angelika Davey 
1972 a new TV programme started in Germany. It was Sesame Street. Although I was way too old for children’s TV (no comments, please ;-)) I loved watching Sesame Street because it was shown in its original language and allowed me to improve my English. A German version of Sesame Street – Sesamstraße – followed soon, … Read more
My adult students sometimes lend each other German DVDs or books and sometimes they bring gifts. Today one of my students brought a bag of surplus goods from his allotment and he handed out carrots and flowers. For me, he said, he had a special surprise. With that he handed me this: Aptly labelled Die gedrehten … Read more
That’s not a quote from somebody famous, it’s what my English teacher said to my mum 1975 when I changed schools. Up until then I had no interest in English or any other foreign language. ‘I live in Germany, why do I need to speak another language’ was my attitude. At that time I would have … Read more
Image attribution: Engelbert Reineke The above quote is from Willy Brandt, a former German Chancellor and I think about it every time I see a website which has been translated by a translating website!Those translating websites aren’t a bad idea if you want to know something from a foreign website. Sometimes they translate well, sometimes … Read more
How often have you had those thoughts? Especially if you are learning a foreign language? Does the following sound familiar? You are learning a foreign language and are beginning to get a bit confident, when after a few weeks or months you come across a text, maybe a newspaper article, in that language ……… and you feel you … Read more
This post contains affiliate links to Amazon. It means I might get a few pence if you buy anything – at no extra cost to you. As I said in my last blog, there are 3 ways of saying ‘the’ (actually, there are lots more, but we ignore that for the time being!). Whether you need … Read more
This is a question I hear a lot from children when I teach at schools. But often adults don’t know either. They know how to spell words and how to pronounce things, but when asked what these words are they don’t know, which led me to understand that they would not understand grammar either. When … Read more
I have been teaching a new beginners German class tonight and at the end of the lesson one student came and told me a funny story.It was about a Battle of Britain celebration he went to a few years ago. The RAF base invited a few German and Italian pilots to the celebration but then … Read more
I came across this picture today and I was wondering if birds shout louder if they can’t be understood. This little fellow seems to be shouting at the top of his voice just like it is said about English people when they are abroad. As tourists we can’t learn every foreign language but if you … Read more
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