I want to learn German

killwill

Right, pretty straight forward. I have always had a love for things German. For a while now I have had a desire to learn the language but never commited to it. But I feel now is the right time to start!
My partner also wants to learn and we want to teach our daughter along the way.
How do I start? Has anyone an "Idiots guide to families learning German"?
This has to include my 5 yr old daughter so I want it to be enjoyable.
Thanks in advance for any help.

human 19

Apart from the lessons...especially for your daughter at her age...move to satellite TV. All major german channels available free on AStra satellite at 19.2degrees east. While you are at it you may also want to get Freesat hooked up..all the basic BBC, UTV, C4, C5 plus lots more ...all free

Sulla Felix

human 19 wrote: »

Apart from the lessons...especially for your daughter at her age...move to satellite TV. All major german channels available free on AStra satellite at 19.2degrees east. While you are at it you may also want to get Freesat hooked up..all the basic BBC, UTV, C4, C5 plus lots more ...all free

I'm dusting off my LC German (little rusty after 10 years <<), this should help enormously. Thanks!

Sykk

Watch movies that you know well - in German. As well as German movies with English subtitles. Have fun!

livinginkorea

Have a look on youtube for Extr@ Deutsche. It's a language learning sitcom. It can be a bit high level at times but you can look for the scripts on the Channel 4 website. Each episode is around 25 minutes long and purely a sitcom, i.e. no grammar teaching or cut away white board stuff.

I used to teach the English series of it which has 30 episodes but sadly the German one only has 13 episodes.

Basically a new guy (American) moves to Berlin and makes some friends (3 Germans) who live beside each other. Every episode has lots of new language and some language mistakes as the American go around in various situations.

I watched the first episode last week it is well done considering it is for German language learners.

SLOS2006

I have started learning Spanish with my 3 and 5 year olds a few months ago and we've found a native speaker to teach us in private lessons once a week. I then do a little bit at home with the kids such as listening and singing to the songs we learned in the lessons and using the words we have learned. As I am teaching German as a foreign language to children myself I had a few ideas of what to do and what materials to use. It would be good to find someone that has some experience of teaching children as it is quite different to teaching adults. The focus should be on speaking and applying the language in a fun way. Watching telly (satellite) and listen to music is good for getting a feel for the language but for learning to speak you'll need someone to teach you so that you can start using the language. I also use a Spanish workbook for children I found in a book shop here. For materials suitable for children you can also go to the Goethe Instituts website.

annica860

Hi, as someone who has been learning English for over 12 years now and beein in an english speaking country itself now for a while I can just recommend you to talk to a native speaker (I am German by the way) from the beginning to lose your respect/anxiety talking a foreign language from the beginning because having fun and talking to a native speaker from the beginning on helps the most. This is what I can tell from my own experience. Also start reading books and watching german movies from the beginning.

livinginkorea

For me, I am in Germany but do not use German for my work (Business Skills Educator) so it is hard to actually speak it. I have a little for ordering meat in the local Edeka but that is all really. Been here a year now and really starting to feel that if I do not try to learn the language then I will be one of those non-Germans who doesn't care about speaking German.

Lawrence1895

livinginkorea wrote: »

For me, I am in Germany but do not use German for my work (Business Skills Educator) so it is hard to actually speak it. I have a little for ordering meat in the local Edeka but that is all really. Been here a year now and really starting to feel that if I do not try to learn the language then I will be one of those non-Germans who doesn't care about speaking German.

Just wondering, did you try to mix with the locals, outside work? Watching a match in a pub, talking to people on the bus or train?

livinginkorea

Lars1916 wrote: »

Just wondering, did you try to mix with the locals, outside work? Watching a match in a pub, talking to people on the bus or train?

Don't have enough of the language yet to say much to be honest. Also in the mornings, everyone has their own groups when travelling. No way I am gonna be able to break that force field for a while.

There are a couple of neighbors that I say hello and talk to but after you talk about the weather and how are things, there is nothing much to say (because I have to switch to English then).

But I am trying to say more phrases at work. Viel Spaß, Schönes Wochenende, Alas klar, etc.

Learned babbsac the other day. Basically, it's Hessish slag for a dirty, smelly man. How often will I be using this one?! :P

livinginkorea

Lars1916 wrote: »

Just wondering, did you try to mix with the locals, outside work? Watching a match in a pub, talking to people on the bus or train?

Just to follow up on this as well, I have to say that my listening has increased a lot and I started to hear a lot of smaller phrases when I started to listen to others on the trains.

Lawrence1895

livinginkorea wrote: »

Just to follow up on this as well, I have to say that my listening has increased a lot and I started to hear a lot of smaller phrases when I started to listen to others on the trains.

Let's put it this way, once you find people with similar interests, you will pick up the language much more easy, says my experience...or suddenly the whole lot of Frankfurt speaks English, thanks to you

Apanachi

Lars1916 wrote: »

Let's put it this way, once you find people with similar interests, you will pick up the language much more easy, says my experience...

Yep, all you need are few basic words to get you started and once you start speaking German (however little it may be at the beginning) it all falls into place in no time, just don't fall into the trap of letting everyone speak Emglish to you, you'll never learn German that way.

Lawrence1895

Apanachi wrote: »

Yep, all you need are few basic words to get you started and once you start speaking German (however little it may be at the beginning) it all falls into place in no time, just don't fall into the trap of letting everyone speak Emglish to you, you'll never learn German that way.

It might sound odd, but the older the person, you are talking to, the less is the chance, this person speaks English. I think, they made English compulsory in schools in the 1970s, so everyone under the age of 40 should have basic English.

munchkin_utd

Lars1916 wrote: »

It might sound odd, but the older the person, you are talking to, the less is the chance, this person speaks English. I think, they made English compulsory in schools in the 1970s, so everyone under the age of 40 should have basic English.

yup, or find someone 30+ years old from east germany who learnt russian at school rather than some western language like french or english!