(Updated 8-9-2017) Ken Burns' documentary “The Roosevelts: An Intimate History: Get Action (1858-1901)” brought back childhood and school memories. As the narration turned to Franklin Roosevelt's stay in Germany, I immediately recognized the spa where he had stayed with his parents four times during 1891-1896.
His father had sought the water cure there for his heart condition and Franklin even went to the town's public school for 6 weeks. While not identified in the documentary, the spa was located in Bad Nauheim. (Photo of Sprudelhof, Bad Nauheim, by Hiltrud Hölzinger.)
A Well-Known Spa and Famous Visitors
For 12 years I passed the “Sprudelhof” - as the square around the fountain in Bad Nauheim was called (see picture) - every day on my way to and from school. Now the complex of buildings surrounding the fountain is also recognized as one of the largest examples of Art Nouveau in Germany.
The mineral waters, which were believed to benefit various heart ailments, made Bad Nauheim a well-known spa between the second part of the 19th and the first part of the 20th century.
Three empresses stayed there: Empress Elisabeth (Sissi) of Austria and Hungary, in 1898, Czarina Alexandra Feodorowna of Russia, in 1910, and Auguste Viktoria - Empress of Germany and Queen of Prussia, in 1912.
As a child, I was greatly impressed by the story that a special railway station was built for the Czarina, so she could step from her private railway car directly into her carriage. And the German newspapers began to call Bad Nauheim the “Drei-Kaiserinnen-Bad” (three-empresses-spa).
Other royalty and famous people also sought the mineral water's curative power: Otto von Bismarck, Mark Twain (see also our Heidelberg & Mark Twain post), Richard Strauß, Albert Einstein, Edvard Munch, William Randolph Hearst, Anwar Al Sadat, Zarah Leander, and many others.
George S. Patton and Elvis Presley
George Patton only stayed for a short time in Bad Nauheim, the headquarters of the Fifteenth Army, to which General Eisenhower assigned him in October 1945. (General Patton died in December 1945 in a car crash on his way from Bad Nauheim to Mannheim.)
I still remember the stir that Elvis Presley's stay in Bad Nauheim created. He served his military service at the US garrison in Friedberg, a neighboring town, between 1958-1960, but was allowed to live off base.
He initially stayed in the Park Hotel in Bad Nauheim, but after complaints from other guests, he moved to the house on Goethestrasse 14. (On a visit to Bad Nauheim several years ago, we noticed that his memory was still being kept alive with a small shrine and fresh flowers.)
“Bad” Changes...
The German word “Bad” can both mean “bath” and “spa.” Towns that have “Bad” as a prefix, such as Bad Nauheim, Bad Vilbel, Bad Homburg, etc. are spa towns, which is an official designation for towns where cures for certain ailments are offered. Using this prefix in Germany requires governmental authorization.
Until Germany's Universal Health System clamped down on the free/paid-for stays in the “Sanatoriums” of German spas in the 1980s, towns like Bad Nauheim benefited greatly from Europe's popular spa culture.
Today there are still over 150 towns in Germany with the “Bad” prefix. The suffix “-bad/-baden” can also appear in town names such as “Wiesbaden” or “Marienbad” or make up the whole name as in “Baden-Baden,” arguably Germany's most famous spa town.
But while the heydays of German spa visits may be in the past, German spa towns (“Kurorte” or “places for a cure”) still attract affluent and famous personalities that do not have to rely on their health insurance.
The second chapter of his book gives a fascinating glimpse at how Roosevelt's German experience may have influenced his views and political decisions later on.
Bio: Peter Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. He is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact or below.
You Want to Practice Your German?
Our games and travel-story based courses are also a great way to practice your German. With our German 1 and 2 courses you'll learn and practice German for FREE - with stories of a young man traveling through Germany and - its sequel - solving a "Blüten"-mystery in Berlin. "The Story" and easy games will let you forget that you are actually learning German!
As lifelong language learners - by necessity and passion - we've used different methods for learning a new language. - English and French classes during in school - Assimil records, tapes and books - Immersion French courses in France - Pimsleur CDs to learn Italian and Chinese - Various Online courses for difference languages
We've also lived and stayed in various countries, sometimes for an extended time. It gave us the chance to use and practice the language in daily life. We also took courses there, and learned with local tutors and language exchange partners.
Classroom courses also involved reading novels and newspaper articles (activities that online add-ons can now also make more accessible for more advanced learners.) And for us, a story or interesting text made language learning both relevant and effective.
Overcoming Boring and Frustrating Beginnings
But beginning to learn a new language with CDs or online was often boring and frustrating. Many courses start out by teaching vocabulary and word combinations that seem useless and nonsensical. (Even Duolingo, a program we like a lot ourselves, started out with strange sentences, but is now constantly improving!)
While various grammar points, word order, etc. can obviously be practiced with out-of-context sentences, it's been our experience, that we recall vocabulary much better, if (a) we learn vocabulary in context and (b) we learn useful, everyday language.
With our Gamesforlanguage courses we are using a travel story right from the start. The vocabulary grows from a few simple words in an airplane to phrases and sentences that describe a young man's experiences as he travels through various European cities.
A Mystery Story for Non-Beginners
For our German 2 course, ( the full 76-lesson course is online and can be played for Free with simple registration), we are using a mystery story.
Michael, the young traveler from our German 1 course, returns to Berlin. The young woman who sits beside him in the airplane gives him a book, “Berlin Alexanderplatz,” which she does not want to finish. Without giving away too much, let's just say that this book plays a key role in the story.
Each lesson is built around 4-8 dialog or story sentences, which are broken up into words and phrases - then heard, read, practiced and, re-assembled again, and finally recorded by the learner.
German 2 will add another 700 NEW words to the 700 words of German 1, many of which will be recalled in various games of German 2. Learners will again have to exceed certain point thresholds with each lesson, before they can unlock the next one.
We believe that getting “to the end of the story” will not only be a worthwhile incentive to learn, but will also make learning more fun AND effective.
Since then, we've been following the recent developments in Catalonia with interest. (Left, view from Antonio Gaudí's Parc Güell)
Jordi, our friend in Barcelona, has continued to educate us about the historical background of Catalonia's differences with "Spain." And I certainly did not know - no sabía - that this struggle, has its 300-year anniversary this year.
Here is an excerpt from one of Jordi's recent emails: "When 'Spain' was founded by joining Catalonia and Castilia, each of the kingdoms kept its own laws, its economical and social systems, political structures, internal hierarchy, and its traditions.
All this was destroyed in 1714, when King Felipe V of Castilia invaded Catalonia and eliminated all the political, economical, and cultural systems of Catalonia. The language was part of this process, and Castilian, proclaimed as 'the Spanish', was imposed as the only language accepted, even in the private sphere.
For the last three centuries, Catalonia has tried repeatedly to recover the institutions of a free country but has been violently attacked by 'Spain' each time. The 'Catalan Republic', for instance, has been proclaimed five times. The last one, in 1934, ended when the dictator Francisco Franco invaded Catalonia, with the help of Hitler's and Mussolini's armies.
Since 1714, we Catalans have never been asked by the Spanish whether or not we wanted to be part of Spain. After the Franco period and 40 years of dictatorship, the new winds of democracy gave Catalonia some hope for change but, sadly, after more than 30 year of transition between dictatorship and democracy, the real democracy is still not here.
Besides, not only have the 'autonomy' and recovery of the Catalan institutions not gone ahead, but Madrid’s government is implementing a new plan of extinction of the Catalan culture, subtle but persistent."
If you google the Economist article "How to Make a Country for Everybody," you'll find some excellent information about the Catalan language and how other countries are dealing with language issues.
The article's final comment makes a lot of sense: "The cheapest solution is merely an attitudinal one: all Spaniards should treat Galician, Basque and Catalan not as regional languages. They are languages of Spain, full stop. Treating them as such, and not as a bother, would go a long way."
In Part 2 we'll let Jordi explain his view of the Catalan/Castilian language struggles and how the current language policies play out in Catalonia and Spain.
You can't become fluent in a foreign language without practicing to speak. This appears to be self-evident.
But learners often seem to forget it, when they practice flashcard apps on their phone or on mobile devices, and do so without repeating and pronouncing the foreign words and phrases.
Yes, learning vocabulary is important and yes, it's difficult to practice aloud in public, at work, or even at home while others are listening. However, there are no shortcuts: You have to practice your pronunciation and learn to speak.
The opportunities to speak are obviously greatest with week- or month-long language immersion programs, and also exist with private tutors or even in classroom settings. Learners are constantly encouraged and challenged to speak. With textbook- and CD/DVD-based, or online language programs speaking can become an option.
Even with popular programs, such as Duolingo, speaking is only required in, maybe, 30% of the exercises. However, in most online programs, including Duolingo and our GamesforLanguage, learners obviously have the option to repeat the foreign words and sentences they hear and read.
“Say It”
All our GamesforLanguage courses have a “Say It” sequence, which is especially popular with many beginners. In “Say It,” the learner hears a word or phrase spoken by a native speaker, which then is followed by a “Say It” command.
With time to repeat the word or phrase several times before it appears on the screen, the learner can then correlate the audio, i.e. what s/he heard with the spelling of the word/phrase. In these examples for German and French, you can see how it works. Repeat each “game” a couple of times and you'll be surprised how much you'll learn and remember.
Read Aloud
As your language skills start to improve and you begin to read paragraphs, articles, and maybe soon books, read aloud whenever you can. Don't worry, if you can't yet pronounce each word correctly.
At the start, it's more important that you keep trying to convert the written words into spoken language than trying to sound like a native. Think about how long it takes children to pronounce each word of their own native language correctly and give yourself time to improve.
Communicating
The earlier you start using your speaking skills in real life situations, the better. But unless you are living in a foreign country or a neighborhood were the language is spoken, have a foreign-language friend or partner, or are traveling, your options will be limited.
Online communities, using Skype, Facetime and similar networks can open the doors to speaking and communicating, but such arrangements have to be planned and scheduled.
Maybe not everybody can muster the time or commitment that Benny Lewis promotes with Fluent in 3 Months. But if you watch his clip and consider the points above, you will conclude as well:
To become fluent in your target language, start SPEAKING it whenever you can - right from the start! Creating a habit is not easy – but the start of a new year is a great opportunity to set some goals. Make this YOUR year to become fluent in your target language!
The truism proposed at the beginning: “You can't become fluent in a foreign language without practicing to speak it,” also means that any adult serious about language fluency has to plan where and how to practice speaking. In addition to the suggestions above, you'll also want to include speaking opportunities into your language practice plan.
Disclosure: The above Link to Fluent in 3 Months is to a site with revenue-sharing, should you decide to buy or subscribe.
We are often asked whether you can learn and/or practice German, French, Italian etc. by just using our GamesforLanguage program. Our honest answer is no.
The same way one cannot learn a foreign language by just studying a text book, you shouldn't just use ONE approach or program to learn a new language.
How About Language “Immersion”?
In our opinion, language immersion is likely the most effective way to learn a foreign language rapidly. Ideally such “immersion” takes place in the country whose language you are learning, supported by personal tutors, classroom sessions, or self-teaching courses, books, audio/videos, etc. (And I don't mean "immersion" CD or online language courses!)
There are language immersion schools in the US and in many other countries. In the US, the Center of Applied Linguistics (CAL) provides a directory of foreign language immersion programs in US schools. Many colleges and universities operate study-abroad programs and/or summer immersion programs.
Adults who have the time (and money) will certainly benefit greatly from such immersion courses (abroad or in the US), especially, if they continue to learn, and practice reading, speaking, etc. afterwards.
Classroom Courses and Personal Tutors
Many adults who have taken classroom courses during their school years know that they never became fluent or proficient without additional work and practice. But for some adults classroom courses are a way to stay focused and motivated.
And, if they supplement their course learning with other materials, e.g. books, audios, online courses and/or apps, audios, videos, movies/TV, find a conversation partner, etc. they are sure to progress. Personal tutors can also accelerate your learning with individual attention as they can focus on your strengths and weaknesses.
Self-Teaching Books and Programs
Many self-teaching books (a popular one is the “Teach Yourself” series) have now been joined by CDs/DVDs, online courses and, increasingly, apps for Apple or Android mobile devices. The self-teaching programs have many advantages. In fact, we subscribe to LingQ's Steve Kaufmann's notion: “Nobody can teach you a language – You have to learn yourself.” -
- Cost - there are many entirely FREE language programs, including Duolingo, Gamesforlanguage; “Freemium” programs with a free base version and premium upgrades, such LingQ., RocketLanguages, etc.; and pricey programs such as Rosetta Stone, Fluenz, etc., to just name a few – however, all are likely to be less expensive than immersion programs or classroom courses and tutors.
- Flexibility – you can learn by fitting them into your work schedule or life style. This advantage works for highly motivated and disciplined learners, but flexibility can become a disadvantage when motivation fades.
- Focus on particular skills – Some learners want to improve a particular skill (e.g. reading, listening, writing, speaking) and you can find programs that focus just on one or more skills.
Exposure is Key
One reason immersion programs are quite effective can be explained by the amount of time a learner is exposed to the new language. Hours and days of hearing a new language, being challenged to remember new sounds, words, and phrases and, most importantly - to speak - all will impact both your short and long-term memory.
A weekly 1-2 hour class or online session gives you only a fraction of exposure time to a new language, when you compare this to an immersion course of several weeks. So, unless learners that use self-teaching programs can substantially increase their language practice/exposure time (often limited by work, family etc), they will have to accept a slower pace of learning.
Clearly there are approaches and programs that can accelerate your learning: They all require motivation, time, and money in varying amounts.
As we outlined in previous posts for Beginners and Non-Beginners, there are a number of steps you should take BEFORE and AFTER you start learning a foreign language. And, by all means, use several programs and/or approaches so learning remains fun, exciting, and motivating.
The Rosetta Stone reviews had been missing from our “Online Sites” section and we are therefore adding them here now. Just click on one of the above links for the review. Rosetta Stone is still the dominant language learning site in the US. If you have used a Rosetta Stone course in the past and would like to leave a comment, put a visitor post on our Facebook page.
Disclosure: Gamesforlanguage.com has no business relationship with Rosetta Stone other than having purchased the Spanish (Latin America) course. See our PrivacyPolicy and Terms of Use for further details.
During one month in 2014, we created a game a day for German and were encouraged by the response.
We're now continuing to make German "Quick Games," at the pace of about one a week. As these games can be played without registering, we are looking forward to attracting more players to our site.
Several months before, we'd started adding "Quick Games" to our 36-lesson language courses and already have over 100 games for our four languages (plus a few Quick Games for our course "Inglés para hablantes de español," currently under development, with 3 lessons online.)
They include Trivia Quizzes, games for numbers, days-of-the-week games, common verbs, common phrases. We've begun posting our German games, on our new Learn German Facebook page (link below).
German - A Game A Day
During our one-month German - A Game A Day "experiment," we created and added a language game daily. We took one or two German words or expressions and put them into a game to teach and practice certain grammar points.
For example, the first few games practice the gender of compound German words, present tense verb forms, separable-prefix verbs, verb/subject inversion for questions, how the article for a masculine direct object changes, etc.
The games let the user discover key grammatical structures on his or her own, and provide brief explanations that sometimes confirm a learner's insights. Click here for: Learn German Facebook page.
Let's be honest: Most adults don't classify learning and practicing a foreign language as one of their favorite fun activities!
It's not because it's really difficult. But it requires persistence and endurance. You don't learn to understand, speak, read and write a new language in a few days or even a few months.
A “foreign language” isn’t something you cram for a week and then it’s yours. Learning a language is a journey of discovery. Putting parts of the journey into a games format can definitely lighten the experience.
Stories for Learning German
I remember how we enticed our American-born sons to learn German. We didn’t just give them the German translation of our daily vocabulary. Stories were key. We read stories to them. We unabashedly made up tales as we talked. We built on the stories that they invented. All of this in German, with explanations when they were needed.
And we played many German language games: The German version of Monopoly and many other German board games, such as "Spiel des Wissens", the German version of "Trivial Pursuit"; "Ich seh, ich seh, was du nicht siehst, und es ist rot" (I see, I see what you don't see, and it is red.), while walking or driving, and many others we invented on the go.
Our sons ended up mastering spoken German quite well. When I hear them switch easily into German while we're on a trip oversees, I know that all that story-making effort was worth it.
As the boys were growing up, video and later computer games were becoming enticing activities. How often did I wish that some of these games had a fun and worthwhile component for learning German!
Language Games Can Make Learning Addictive
That's how the idea for Games for Language was born. Google it, and, in addition to GamesforLanguage, you'll find many entries for language learning games, an ever increasing number for the educational market.
And even if programs like Duolingo are not listed here, most online language programs are now using games or gamified features, all for obvious reasons:
Learning becomes more effective if the playing becomes addictive: the learner keeps learning because s/he wants to improve the score, beat the game clock, earn a badge, doesn't want to lose a streak, etc.
Games can provide short intense challenges with quick closure. Done right, they can put you into a kind of quick “flow learning” that bypasses slugging things out mentally. An online language learning site is a great resource.
You can go there to play games when you feel like it - maybe even on an iPhone while you're waiting or just sitting around. You want to get easily into the game setting and pick up the game where you left off earlier.
With words, phrases, and sentences from our courses, these Quick Games can also be played for FREE as well, without even logging in. They are perfect, when you want to get a quick practice in.
For example, you can play games to practice numbers, months and seasons, basic phrases, essential verbs, or learn how to check into a hotel.
The games only take a few minutes to play, but keep the language you are learning in front of you for the day.
In Translating words from one language to another can be a very tricky thing and translation errors are common across the world. Even if you are proficient in a foreign language, specialized or technical language will often require professional translations.
In some cases,it is obvious what those making errors were trying to say (even if JFK had told the German people he was a plump and juicy jelly doughnut - see picture - as a persistent myth suggests, it would have been very obvious as to what he really meant) whilst others simply boggle the mind (such as a sign above a restaurant in Thailand declaring that their “food is guaranteed not to cause pregnancy”).
The fact that saying you are a Berliner (or a Frankfurter or Hamburger for that matter) may mean very different things depending on the context, highlights just how troublesome a minefield translation can be.
Whilst such lingual faux pas are amusing in certain contexts, many of the culprits no doubt wish they had visited translation experts such as thebigword rather than relying on free online tools.
Fortunately for all of us, some of the more extreme translation gaffes are simply hilarious and, rather than landing people in serious trouble, have simply given us something to brighten our days.
Translate Server Error
It is probably not uncommon for individuals to find the words ‘Translate Server Error’ staring back at them when online translations go wrong, although few would think that this is the direct translation of the words they fed in.
Yet this is exactly what one Chinese restaurant owner assumed, creating a huge sign to hang above his restaurant entrance declaring that ‘Translate Server Error’ was the name of his business.
If translating the name into English was a plan to attract more interest, we would say the restaurant very much succeeded.
What’s that smell?
One of the most common areas for a translation to fail is on a menu, some of them are simple spelling mistakes or written out of context, but few are quite so off-putting as the one which declared that a restaurant’s rice smelled of wee.
We are not quite sure what they meant to say, but we are hoping that ‘Hele soup smell of urine’ wasn’t the exact translation they were going for. If it was, they get top marks for honesty at least.
Sweet Dreams
Not all confusing translations are outright hilarious. Some are also kind of sweet. In one Chinese town, a sign asking individuals to keep off the grass had its meaning lost in translation in a very wonderful way: “Do not disturb. Tiny grass is dreaming.”
The baffling demand is most likely the result of back translating from English to Chinese to English since the Chinese translation above also makes no sense. However, who needs sense when you have something so whimsically delicious to enjoy?
Boots of Ascension
It isn’t just those in the East who have trouble translating words. Even right here in Europe where English is a much more common tongue, and our culture is not so alien, the same language issues can raise their funny little heads.
In one Austrian hotel, skiers were asked “not to perambulate the corridors in the hours of repose in the boots of ascension”. Whilst it starts off well, if unnecessarily grandiose, it is unlikely that many people in a ski resort will have a special wardrobe of shoes to ascend to a prominent position. Nor is it likely that Jesus will be popping in to say hi.
Getting what you asked for
Either the following translation lost its true meaning en route, or there is a hotel manager in Athens who is very much a masochist.
The sign declaring that “visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9 and 11 am daily” will not be very comforting to new guests and is either a poorly translated phrase or a master class in honesty and resignation.
Obviously though, these are worst case scenarios to translation that can lead to funny if not serious repercussions. This is where professional translation really is a requirement for businesses and individuals alike. In today’s world of instant communication, ever shrinking business borders and online reputation management, professional translations can be the difference between being seen as credible and trustworthy or, the complete opposite.
Author Bio: This article was provided by Gino De Blasio from thebigword. Thebigword is a global, technology-enabled language solution provider that delivers translation and interpreting services.
Disclosure: Gamesforlanguage has no business relationship with thebigword or Gino De Blasio, other than having published Gino's post.
This goes to show that plenty of Americans strive to overcome "monolingualism" - and are looking for tools to do so.
I posted the New York Times article, adding: "Language learning for adults has become easier than ever!" and shortly thereafter got a comment by a fellow language teacher.
He didn't deny that fun, inexpensive tools are a boon to language learning, but simply said: "Although, being immersed in the language as it is being lived is still the best way. And it is easier due to the ease of travel!"
Prepare for Language Immersion
Can't argue with that one. Acquiring a language through immersion by being in a country where the language is spoken is the ideal setup for learning. I learned two languages that way as a child (Dutch at age nine, English at age eleven), and three more as an adult, during prolonged stays in Rome, Paris, and Barcelona.
But the experience of language immersion reaches a new level when you've done some preparation beforehand. It goes without saying that if you're planning a stay in another country, you'd enjoy arriving there with some basic knowledge of the language - before soaking up a lot more during your visit.
Afterwards, you may want to continue to learn your new language, just as I have maintained my languages, by reading foreign newspapers, watching films, and sitcoms, participating in social media, and using various online language learning tools.
Short Trips, but a Life-Long Hobby
The point is that trips are short, though they provide vivid experiences that deepen our understanding, as well as allow rapid learning of a language. On the other hand, learning another language can become a wonderful life-long hobby that we start before a trip and continue long after. With the new, free or cheaper, inventive tools available online, it has become easier than ever to continue learning a language, forever.
A couple of weeks ago, a friend wrote me: "Language learning is definitely on top of my list. I especially want to learn Spanish. But life is too hectic!"
My reply to him: "Ten to fifteen minutes a day can boost your Spanish significantly. Just use the time - that you would otherwise waste - by jumping on Duolingo (gamified lessons); or Memrise, Anki (flashcards); or Digital Dialects, Mindsnacks, Gamesforlanguage (language games); Tunein (foreign language radio stations).
So, plan that next trip for language immersion, but add some preparation and follow-up with online tools, a language exchange partner, a tutor, or a local class. Not only will you enjoy the pleasure of communicating in your new language throughout your life, you brain will also thank you. But that's another story.
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of GamesforLanguage.com. She's a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments right here!
(Updated 8-9-2017)
