Quick German: Do you know the meaning of "Berliner"?
Actually there are two meanings:
(1) A man from Berlin, the German capital (A woman from Berlin is a "Berlinerin")
(2) A Berliner Pfannkuchen (in short called Berliner) is a traditional North German pastry similar to a doughnut (without a central hole) made from sweet yeast dough...
John F. Kennedy declared in his famous speech in Berlin on June 26, 1963:
"Ich bin ein Berliner!"
It caused German speakers (especially young teenagers, like me!) to chuckle slightly - not because they did not understand the point Kennedy was making, but because in German indefinite articles are not used in front of a person's place of origin/birth, nationality, profession, occupation, etc., e.g. "ich bin Hamburgerin"; "ich bin Deutscher"; "ich bin Arzt"; "ich bin Studentin." (Note, however, that you do use "ein/eine", when you add an adjective, e.g. "ich bin ein guter Arzt".)
(You might also chuckle, if a German were to tell you: "I'm a Hamburger", meaning that he is from Hamburg.)
Someone reminded us, however, that we should point out the following: In the context of Kennedy's speech, the use of "ein" was quite appropriate as he did not mean to define his origin, but rather his being "Berliner-like", i.e. he used "Berliner" as a predicate adjective, as in "Ich bin ein Berliner Mann".
Let us know any comments or questions you have and - keep learning.
There's nothing wrong with Flashcards, I love them for practicing vocabulary and we use them in our games as well.
But learning only with traditional flashcards - or sticking only to list learning, for that matter - is bound to keep you in the rank of beginner.
To bust through the beginner ceiling, you have to learn to use phrases and sentences as part of communication. That's where context learning comes in. Here are three simple reasons for learning German in context.
Pronouns
German consistently uses pronouns with specific verb forms (as opposed to Italian or Spanish, for example). But because some of the German pronouns are multi-functional or are part of an idiom, you need the context to understand what's going on.
A perfect example is “sie/Sie”: • Wann kommt sie? - When is she coming? [she - subject] • Wann kommen sie? - When are they coming? [they - subject] • Und kommen Sie auch? - And are you also coming? [you(formal) - subject] • Ich kann Sie nicht sehen. - I can't see you. [you(formal) - direct object] • Ich kenne sie nicht. - I don't know her/them. [her/them - direct object]
The word "sie" can also refer to a "feminine gender" object or animal: • Die Hütte dort, siehst du sie? - The hut over there, do you see it? [it(f) - direct object] • Die Katze dort, sie wartet auf ihre Milch. - The cat over there, it's waiting for its milk. [it(f) - subject]
And the German “ihr/Ihr” could mean in English: “you” [plural familiar], “her” [indirect object], “their” [possessive pronoun], “your” [formal] or also “to her” in various German idioms.
When learning the various uses of “sie/Sie” or “ihr/Ihr,” it is useful to have specific phrases or sentences in mind.
Articles and Cases
In German, articles and noun cases are matched – often in mysterious ways for beginners: • “der” is not only the masculine article, as in : [der See] Der See ist .... - The lake is .... [m – subject), • "der" can also can precede a feminine noun, as in: • [die Frau] Ich gebe der Frau ... - I give (to) the woman ... [f, indirect object] • [die Kirche] Das Tor der Kirche ist .... - The door of the church .... [f , possessive] • [die Stimme] Die Anzahl der Stimmen ... - The number of votes ... [f pl, possessive]
Similarly, “die” is not only the feminine article, "die" is also the plural form for all nouns that are a subject or a direct object, as in: • [das Haus] Die Häuser sind ... - The houses are ... [neuter, pl subject] • [der Baum] Die Bäume sind ... - The trees are ... [m, pl subject] • [die Straße] Die Straßen sind ... - The streets are ... [f, pl subject] • Ich sehe die Häuser, die Bäume, und die Straßen. - I see the houses, the trees, and the streets. [direct objects]
Idiomatic meanings
Some words change their meaning, depending on the context. For example (as shown by a post circulating on Facebook), the word “Bitte" has multiple meanings.
As a simple statement, “Bitte” basically means “Please”. But it can also mean “Go ahead.”; or “I don't mind”; or “You're welcome.”; or “Here you are.”; or “Not at all.” In addition, the question “Bitte?” is often used as “Pardon me?”
While “Danke” simply means “Thank you,” in a specific context, it can mean: “Yes, thank you.” or “No, thank you.”
And, the much-used word “gut” (good) can change its meaning in idioms such as: • “Gut, das machen wir.” - Okay, we'll do that. • “Mir geht's gut.” - I'm feeling great. • “Mir ist nicht gut.” - I'm not feeling well. • “Jetzt ist es aber gut.” - That'll do. • “Schon gut.” - That's enough.
Learning vocabulary is clearly necessary – and Flashcards are a great tool for that – but simply knowing groups of words is not enough to really understand and speak German. It's best to learn those words in the context of a topic that interests you.
You will better remember the words when you recall them as part of meaningful phrases and sentences. Moreover, when you use them in new sentence combinations, applying the grammar rules will be much easier.
And we certainly agree with author Andy Hunt (co-author of “Pragmatic Thinking and Learning”) whom we had quoted in My Rosetta Stone Blog - 3: “Always Consider the Context ... because it is important for understanding the world around us."
If you have been back to our site lately, you may have noticed several changes.
- Vocabulary Lists - On the Playing Page, with your completed or Scenes in progress, you can now download the vocabulary lists of the words, phrases, and sentences of such Scenes. While online learning has many benefits, many users apparently feel that having a vocabulary list available both on screen and as a hard copy is helpful.
- Mp3 audios - Once you have started the first Scene of each Level, you can now also download the mp3 audio of all six (6) Scenes of that Level (Except for Level 1, where the audio is available with Scene 2) By hearing “The Story” at the beginning of each Level you'll guess the meaning based on the context and on what you have learned so far – a valuable skill to use in "real life" when you want to understand a foreign speaker.
- Reduced Score Targets - We have reduced the score targets you need to advance to the next Scene. As iPad users can't score with "Record It" and "Recall & Record", moving to the next Scene became difficult.
- German Scene "0" - A new "Scene 0", added to our German 1 course, makes it easier for beginners to start a new language and we are inviting further comments from beginners of German.
- Memory Game Splits - We are splitting the "Memory Game" and some "Snap Clouds" into 2 parts to make it easier to navigate and replay. Users with some background in the language often skip directly to "Snap Clouds" or "Shooting Gallery" to test their memory.
- Students' Monitoring - Responding to teachers' and parents' requests we can now give them access to more detailed information about their students' or children's progress. Contact peter@gamesforlanguage.com, if you'd like to set up and start monitoring multiple accounts.
You can now connect with us on Facebook. We continuously add links, tips, and mini lessons to our Facebook page and you can easily stay in touch with our Blog posts and the latest progress in language learning.
Let us know, if you like the changes and we don't mind answering any and all of your language questions!
After you've initiated a conversation (see Part 1), you'll want to have a few topics up your sleeve to sustain it and, finally, to close your conversation in a gracious way.
(2) SUSTAINING A CONVERSATION
Know some basic information about the city and have a few phrases ready so you can introduce the topics that interest you:
Know also a few interesting historical facts about the country. This means that you should learn how to say dates. Remember that in Spanish, dates follow this format: day, month, year.
"Las olimpiadas de Barcelona se inauguraron el 25 de julio de 1992." (The Barcelona Olympics opened on July 25th 1992.)
Obviously, the old stand-by, if you did not understand:
"¡Eso ha sido un poco rápido de más!" (That was a little too fast!)
"¡Podría repetir eso por favor!" (Could you, please, repeat that!)
(3) CLOSING A CONVERSATION
It's always important to find a way to close a conversation gracefully. Spaniards are a little more formal about getting ready to go than Americans. Have a few exit lines ready!
a) Signaling the end:
-"Muchas gracias por las recomendqaciones." (Thank you for the tips.)
-"Ha sido un placer hablar con usted." (It was nice to talk with you.)
-"¡Vaya, que tarde es! Todavía tengo que ..." (Darn, look how late it is! I still have to ...)
-"He quedado con unos amigos." (I'm meeting some friends.)
b) When you're leaving:
-"Por desgracia me tengo que ir ahora." (Unfortunatley, I have to go now.)
-"Lo dicho: muchas gracias/he estado muy bien." (Again: many thanks/it was really nice.)
-"¡Que pasen una buen tarde/noche!" (Have a nice afternoon/evening!)
-"¡Adiós!" (Goodbye!)
Practicing some of these conversational phrases and expressions ahead of time will be quite helpful and impress your Spanish speaking contact. While such phrases will obviously not be sufficient for an intensive discussion, they will boost you confidence in speaking. The next step will be to add a few more topics and strategies to your conversational skills.
Many language courses - be they books, CDs, online programs, or apps - are structured around learning particular vocabulary topics: “survival words & phrases,” such as greetings, numbers, directions, shopping, time, days, months, etc., or "categories," such as colors, food items, parts of the body, animals, objects found in the home, etc.
Clearly, these words and phrases are important to learn and know. However, if they are just introduced as a list and without context, they are difficult to retain.
That's why GamesforLanguage.com has chosen a “Story-Approach”: Each new word is introduced as part of an ongoing story – a young man traveling to the country of the foreign language that is to be learned: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the U.S, the last one for speakers of Spanish.
Will this young man use all the vocabulary contained in the various topics mentioned above? Probably not.
But the 700 words that make up the many phrases and sentences in each GamesforLanguage course will not only be more useful, but also easier to remember and apply. That is what's important to most learners: acquiring vocabulary that they can use in daily life.
For learners who already have some background in one of the four languages, GamesforLanguage provides a fun and effective way to “brush up” on their foreign language.
They can skip the “Memory Games” and immediately focus on “Snap Clouds,” “Shooting Gallery,” or “Word Hero” to test their vocabulary; practice translation and sentence building with “Word Invaders” or “Shoot Out”.
Interacting repeatedly with the elements of “The Story” - hearing, saying, writing, and recording words, phrases, and sentences in context - is an effective way to memorize, retain and learn to apply the language you're learning.
This YouTube clip for French shows how all the new words of "The Story" are playfully being learned in various easy games. Learning with a story that continues from Scene to Scene keeps up one's interest more than the often unrelated dialogues so many language programs are using!
Many programs for learning a foreign language still rely on books, records, tapes, CDs, videos, films, and are being used in classrooms and by private tutors alike. Such materials are typically purchased (or may also be obtained through your local library).
The advent of the Internet has made large numbers of language learning materials available for free. And so companies and organizations that produce such materials find themselves in a similar position as newspapers and news organizations: Provide free content to attract readers/users, but also find revenue sources that allow for the development, marketing, and distribution of such content.
There is no mystery about the revenue sources for online language programs: - Product sales or subscriptions - Sales of ads on site - Grants/philanthropy/donations - A combination of the above
Examining the PC/mobile or online language programs that exist today, one finds that English speakers have a wide range of choices. Truly free programs such as DuoLingo.com, GamesforLanguage, or MOOCs (massive open online courses), low-cost programs, “Freemium” programs, (programs with free lessons that “up-sell” and/or have ads), and high-cost programs, with Rosetta Stone being the best-known in that group.
For language learners price may be a deciding factor, but quality, effectiveness, and a fit with one's personal learning style are not always proportional to price.
Years ago when I wanted to stop smoking, I used a technique that is well-known to psychologists: “Commit publicly” or “Tell your friends about it.”
We've also described this technique in our blog 8 Zenhabits for 2013 Language Learning. (For me, the "commit publicly" technique worked well, as I haven't touched another cigarette since!)
In today's connected world, “telling your friends about it,” is done mostly on Facebook and on other social media.
Indeed, many language sites encourage you to post scores or other achievements on your own Facebook page. We wonder how many language learners are indeed posting their scores for their friends to see and whether it helps them stay motivated.
Recently we have seen an increased interest by parents of homeschoolers in our courses (see also the reviews by homeschool.com and mommymaestra.com). We wonder whether homeschoolers, or for that matter other language learners, are more motivated to learn, if they compete for scores with their friends.
Let us know your experience with "committing publicly" or "telling your friends about it" when starting to learn a new foreign language. Did it motivate you more? Did it keep you going?
There are many different ways of learning a foreign language and each person has to find the one which suits him or her best. Personal tutoring has many benefits.
Using a personal tutor is a great way to getting a running start or accelerating your learning. If you have never considered this method, then here are 5 of the top benefits to think about.
1. Get Personalized Attention
One of the most obvious benefits of getting a personal tutor is that you get all of his/her attention all of the time. This is hugely important in any subject, but especially when it comes to languages. By dealing with your teacher on a one-on-one basis, you can increase your vocabulary and confidence very quickly. The amount of time you spend speaking is a vital part in the learning process and a group situation simply won’t give you the same number of opportunities to practice speaking.
2. Go At Your Own Pace
We all learn at different speeds. When you are in a big classroom, you run the risk of either falling behind the rest of the students or being frustrated at the speed they force you to go at. By using the personal tutoring approach, you can be sure that the pace of the teaching you receive is exactly right for you.
3. Concentrate on Your Weaknesses
No one learns a new language in exactly the same way as anyone else. We all have certain words or grammatical rules which seem to take longer to sink in. A personal tutor, however, can help you overcome your weaknesses by providing you the explanations and tips you need. As your tutor will be talking to you on a regular basis he/she will understand which areas you most need to work on in order to improve.
4. Focus on Your Needs
Another point to bear in mind when deciding how you are going to learn a foreign tongue is that we all have various reasons for learning and therefore not the same needs. You might be planning on moving abroad, need to learn a language for business reasons, or just be looking for an interesting new hobby. Each one of these reasons will lead to different learning needs, and a personal tutor can help you focus on those needs from the start and help you learn exactly what you want.
5. Find the Perfect Tutor
If you are going to get the most from your personal language tutoring then you will need a great tutor. The good news in this respect is that a reputable firm such as Language Trainers will give you access to a range of qualified native speaking teachers. This means that you can find the perfect tutor and learn in the best way possible.
Bio: Ivana Vitali represents Language Trainers. Language Trainers provides individually-tailored language training on a one-on-one or small group basis to busy people who need language skills for business, family and travel needs.
When in a Spanish speaking country, you certainly want the skills to deal with daily, practical situations: ordering in a restaurant, asking directions, greeting friends or strangers, introducing others, purchasing, paying a check, checking into a hotel, etc.
But you'll also want to be able to engage in conversations with locals or with a Spanish speaker you happen to meet anywhere. To do this, you must swallow your anxiety about speaking up and find ways to start, sustain, and eventually end a conversation.
Conversing with strangers can feel a little awkward in any language. A blog post that caught my eye:12 Ways To Make Talking To Strangers Less Awkwardhas some good tips on braving such a challenge. Of course, these tips also work for talking with strangers in a foreign language.
We've adapted them here for conversations with Spanish speakers. A good antidote to "conversation anxiety" is to practice some useful expressions ahead of time. You can start with the list below.
(1) WHEN INITIATING A CONVERSATION
Act confident and comfortable, this will put the other person at ease too. Be sure that you know how to address a stranger correctly to be appropriately polite. Best to use a neutral greeting such as:
“Buenos días,” “Buenas tardes,” “Buenas noches” (Good morning, Good afternoon, Good evening) or have a couple of polite phrases ready, such as:
"Perdone ..." (Excuse me …)
"Por favor ..." (Please [can you tell me] ...)
Formal "Usted" - Importantly, you should use the formal "usted" (the polite form of "you") as a starter with older persons, or in formal situations. If by any chance you’re being addressed with the formal “usted”, then you should use “usted” as well. That means, of course, that you also have to learn to distinguish between the appropriate Spanish verb endings. Listen HERE to a Spanish conversation where students talk about using the familiar "tú."
Spanish "How are you?" - By the way, in Spanish, it's fine to use "How are you?" (¿Cómo estás?/¿Cómo está?) as part of a greeting, even if you don’t know the person very well. Spaniards regard such a question as a token of genuine interest. Just make sure you use the appropriate formal/informal verb endings.
"Asking for directions" - Learn to ask for directions or for information; this may very well lead to a longer exchange. Start with a neutral greeting (see above) and follow up with a question, such as:
"¿Sabe dónde/cuándo ...?" (Do you know where/when ...?)
The "here and now" - Comment about the here and now. For example when you're at a café, a restaurant, a museum, in a shop, at a market, etc. Talk about what's around you, what you see; you can even mention the weather.
"¿Un cortado? ¿Qué es eso?" (A "cortado"? What is that?)
"¡Ese es un edificio realmente precioso!" (That's really a beautiful building!)
"¡Hoy hace un tiempo genial!" (Great weather today!)
Starting a conversation with someone in a foreign language may feel a little risky, but it's definitely something you can learn to do. Practicing some of these ice-breaker phrases and expressions ahead of time will be helpful. In our next blog post (see Part 2), we'll guide you on how to sustain and how to close a casual conversation with a Spanish speaker.
In English, you don't need to worry about noun gender. But in languages such as German, Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, etc. you do.
The Non-logic of it All
There seems to be little logic about the gender of nouns. Take the word for "sun," for example. In German, it's "die Sonne" (feminine), in French, it's masculine: "le soleil," and in Dutch, it's "de zon," a word of common gender, which is a masculine/feminine category.
On the other hand, "house" is neuter in both German and Dutch: "das Haus" and "het huis," but feminine in French: "la maison."
So, how can you learn the articles for all these nouns? Well, you can't get around doing it. But here are three ways you can make this task a little easier and stick better.
1. Auditory Memory
A language is a series of sounds. Even if you're just reading or writing, you're often silently "sounding out" the words in your mind.
Sound is a powerful tool for memorization. Don't memorize "Haus is neuter." Repeat "das Haus" a few times, focusing on the sounds that go together, in this case, "-s with Haus."
Later, when you're trying to remember the gender of "Haus," - the feminine or masculine articles will just not sound right with this word.
Similarly, if you say "la maison" a few times and remember that the "la" article goes with the "ai" sound, using the masculine article will not fit as well.
2. Visual Memory
Unless you only want to hear and speak a language, you'll spend plenty of time reading and writing it. These are excellent ways to get words, phrases, and structures into your visual memory.
Don't just memorize "soleil is masculine." When you write out "le soleil" a few times and remember the “e” in both the “le” and “soleil”, the feminine article will simply not look right with "soleil."
3. General Rules and Exceptions
There are no iron-clad rules about the gender of nouns. But there are general rules you certainly should add to your tools and each language has a few that can supplement your auditory and visual memory. (Following are just a couple of examples, it's by no means an exhaustive list.)
In French, nouns ending in "-e" are feminine, barring a few notable exceptions, such as "le problème."
In Spanish and Italian, nouns ending with “o” are generally masculine, those ending with “a” mostly feminine (with "el problema" [Spanish] and "il problema" [Italian] again one of several exceptions.)
In German, words ending in "-e" are mostly feminine; words that have the diminutive ending "-chen" or "-lein" are always neuter. For example, die Küche (kitchen), die Straße (street); and "das Mädchen" (girl), "das Sträßlein" (little street).
Learn to Trust Yourself
And once you've learned the general rules, you'll be able to apply your auditory and visual memory to the exceptions as well.
With time, you'll learn to trust your auditory and visual memory more and are on your way to building that wonderful, uncanny skill that we all strive for: a real feel for the language.
Let us know about YOUR experiences with visual and auditory memory!
Quick German: Do you know the meaning of "Berliner"?
Years ago when I wanted to stop smoking, I used a technique that is well-known to psychologists: “Commit publicly” or “Tell your friends about it.” 
There are many different ways of learning a foreign language and each person has to find the one which suits him or her best. Personal tutoring has many benefits.