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Learning Method? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| EnglishEagle Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4585 days ago 140 posts - 157 votes  Studies: English*, German | Message 1 of 26 16 June 2013 at 4:38pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hiya,
I'm travelling to Germany in 8 weeks time and its been a motivating factor for me to be able to get by on some German. In 4 weeks time I have 4 weeks holiday before the trip. So I will have several free hours a day to learn. So far I've put approximately 20 questions/statements in Anki and I am starting to learn them (e.g asking where the toilet, something to drink/eat etc)... However, I need to address the bigger picture which is starting to learn German (which I've wanted to do for so many months). But, what I think is the problem is not knowing where to start. I haven't been through the process of learning a foreign language so I am stuck. Should I buy Assimil, Teach Yourself, FSI? Go through these get a basic understanding. Move onto graded readers and simple books and starting to pick out basic vocab and learn it. Start to teach myself grammar and sentence formation etc... Find a language partner to converse on Skype with? I am just lost on what to do and how to do it? I know everyone's method is different, but I am willing to try and test known methods to find the right one. Thankyou! (Sorry for the long post) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| daegga Tetraglot Senior Member Austria lang-8.com/553301 Joined 4531 days ago 1076 posts - 1792 votes Speaks: German*, EnglishC2, Swedish, Norwegian Studies: Danish, French, Finnish, Icelandic | Message 2 of 26 16 June 2013 at 5:34pm | IP Logged | ||
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4-8 weeks ... I think I would go through the Paul Noble and Michel Thomas courses and read through a phrase book (maybe SRSing it).
If you have never learned a foreign language before, don't expect too much in such a short time. After the trip, you can start thinking long-term. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5019 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 3 of 26 16 June 2013 at 5:40pm | IP Logged | ||
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For two months? I'd suggest Assimil and Themen Aktuell 1 (or TY). That should make you ready for for more than just the tourist situations. A language partner is a great tool but I'd wait until you have something to speak about if I were you.
One of the most important things right at the beginning:learn the correct pronunciation. That is something you can catch up on later really hard. FSI is wonderful for the pronunciation. The rest of FSI is quite good as well but there was a huge ortograph reform since it was made. Anki is a wonderful tool, just keep to it and you'll see nice progress. It sounds great, 4 weeks holiday and than Germany. How long will you stay there? P.S. That's not a long post :-) 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| EnglishEagle Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4585 days ago 140 posts - 157 votes Studies: English*, German | Message 4 of 26 16 June 2013 at 5:52pm | IP Logged | ||
Thanks for those who have replied! I think I will look at Assimil and purchase it on Amazon, tomorrow. I am going there for 1 week, so its not like I will have to use it extensively. I am just stuck on what type of courses to use. I think I will definitely use Assimil and possibly incorporate some more vocab and phrases. Maybe I can try and learn 10-20 phrases/new words a day whilst also doing Assimil? Realistically, how far will Assimil take me, a weak A2 level? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6607 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 5 of 26 16 June 2013 at 6:18pm | IP Logged | ||
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I think in your situation Michael Thomas would be the best quick guide to the German grammar.
When you have more time, add stuff from Deutsche Welle (such as Deutsch? Warum nicht!) and lyricstraining.com. Once you are able to make your own sentences, find someone to practise with. A language exchange partner might be difficult to find in such a short amount of time and especially in summer, so look either for a friend or for a tutor. Assimil would take you to B1 but you don't have enough time to do the full course. You can start it though - try shadowing! (you don't have to do all the steps or follow the schedule listed there) Edited by Serpent on 16 June 2013 at 6:21pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| EnglishEagle Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4585 days ago 140 posts - 157 votes Studies: English*, German | Message 6 of 26 16 June 2013 at 6:57pm | IP Logged | ||
I'll check out Michael Thomas! Is this the one? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Total-German- Michel-Thomas-Method/dp/144413308X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=13 71401565&sr=8- 1&keywords=michael+thomas+german I think I will also order Assimil. For the Deutsche Welle does that take you from A1 -> B1. I know I shouldn't be focused on the levels eg A1, A2 etc, but I think it would give a good guide of progression. I think I will probably have 100 hours to use for studying German (not including dead time). I also think I need to be aware of not burning out. Thankyou! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| g-bod Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5992 days ago 1485 posts - 2002 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, German | Message 7 of 26 16 June 2013 at 7:31pm | IP Logged | ||
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Assimil is not a bad place to start. The lessons come in an ideal size for daily study and as
a complete beginner I think the most important thing is to get into the habit of making the language part of your daily routine. You won't achieve miracles in 8 weeks, however you can at least get halfway through the passive phase of Assimil which will help you understand some of what is going on around you. And then hopefully you'll come back feeling highly motivated to finish the course. I also found, in addition to studying half the Assimil course, Michel Thomas (which you will hopefully be able to get from your local library), the free Deutsche Welle radio courses, plus a cheap pocket phrasebook to be helpful preparation for a trip to Germany. Plus listening to lots of German music! But don't try to do too much at once. Maybe aim to cover one Assimil lesson a day and then dip into other resources according to how much energy you have. One of my biggest problems is I have a tendency to find too many good resources but then feel overwhelmed because there's no way I can do all of them (and actually no need either). 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| EnglishEagle Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4585 days ago 140 posts - 157 votes Studies: English*, German | Message 8 of 26 16 June 2013 at 7:47pm | IP Logged | ||
Thankyou, I think that it is what I will do. I have been listening to a couple of German songs and have picked up a couple of words e.g etwas, schwerelos, Ich weiss etc I am hoping to increase my study time a month before I leave to possibly 1.5 - 2 hours a day. I think I will buy Assimil and see if I can get MT at the local library. How much time do you roughly have to put into studying to get to a B1 level. People say that around the B1 that is when you can start to communicate and that is truly my main purpose. Edited by EnglishEagle on 16 June 2013 at 7:48pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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