I've been looking for a good website for German grammar puzzles. Not because I'm into that kind of thing, but because I'm looking to practice the sorts of problems that students who attend German classes would be given and hence, the sorts of problems that would appear in the B2 exam (without exhausting the limited supply of free test material from the Goethe Institute).
I found a few websites but none of them really did "it" for me. One good one full of free exercises is here, but these need to be printed out. Good for times without an internet connection I suppose, but somewhat limited for my purposes, especially since I would need to mark by hand.
However, I recently found the DaF practice site of Ralf Kinas and this has exactly the sorts of questions I really seem to struggle with in the practice papers. Brilliant! On the left hand side you can see a list of options under Online-Übungen, and I've been having a go at some from the first item in the list - grammar/vocab.
Of course, the marking is automatic. Some even come with a "Tipp" (hint) button. Brilliant. If you're looking to do the B2 exam or DaF exam anytime soon, this looks like a great place for some practice.
Let us all know if you have any personal favourite example exam problem websites!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Quick update...
It's been quite a while since I've posted here at all, so it's time for a quick update. First things first - I completed the City2Surf with the flu and pushing my daugher in her pram, so now the training isn't such a high priority, though I'm going to try to keep up a good rhythm regardless so I'm better prepared the next time I want to start training for a specific event.
I still haven't decided on a new goal date for doing the B2 exam. I feel that lately I've really been getting some good speaking practice, and that I probably need to do that for several months along with other preparation in order to have a proper chance. Most weeks I still get my two changes for chatting in German - once with a couple of work colleagues, and once with a couple of friends outside of work. The actual average number of times for each has been about 3 times out of 4 weeks because, well, shit happens. People are volunteering their time to help me, so the sessions aren't fixed in stone, of course.
My friends outside of work also help me by writing down words I don't know and the translations. Later I take these words and add them to my Anki list, and just tonight I got fully up to date in this process which feels pretty good. In fact, any time I am near a computer and I learn a new word (for example, when translating something or reading email from German-speaking friends) I add that word to my Anki list, usually along with some close synonyms. Something else I always do for my own list, which I think is particularly important, is include the definite article (which shows gender - always learn German words with their gender!) AND their plural (since these are quite irregular in German). Since I've been doing this, I've been much more confident over the gender and plural of new words, which is very important.
I've been doing well in keeping up with my Anki practice lately - it helps that I've been able to access my work's guest network on my phone again! This has also allowed me to listen to a lot more Deutsche Welle throughout the day. And of course, I've been listening to the German programme on SBS radio every morning as I drive to work and its on, which is 3 times per week usually, but less on average because sometimes I miss it by going to work too early.
I've also done a little more from Lesetraining B2, mainly just adding words to my Anki list, but I'm currently halfway through Test 2, Aufgabe 3. This is something I intend to work back into my routine somehow. I also plan on working through as many of the problems as I can in the workbooks my Austrian friends bought to help me. This would mostly be grammatical exercises, but this would be great to help make my slightly nebulous knowledge clearer. I also think that, in the exam, there are a few question types which can be answered almost by just knowing textbook grammar answers off-by-heart, so if I can do this and get a few easy points, as well as shave off some of my many rough edges, then I'm all for it.
I haven't continued with Perfectionnement Allemand, mainly due to my current lesson being quite strange and boring. Make that - very strange, and not in a fun way. In the sort of way that makes you feel confused even when you understand it. I'm pretty close to just skipping it and not completing it in my usual way (of "shadowing" the speakers until I am word perfect at their pace) which would give me something extra to use while I'm driving to and from work. At the moment while I drive, I listen to a few articles I've downloaded and translated, or German music. Some more variety would do me good!
So, the plan now is to keep plodding on, making time to meet up with people for a good chat, and getting some more grammar-book style practice problems to start drilling these important details into my head!
When I figure out a good new target date for the exam, I'll update it here, of course...
I still haven't decided on a new goal date for doing the B2 exam. I feel that lately I've really been getting some good speaking practice, and that I probably need to do that for several months along with other preparation in order to have a proper chance. Most weeks I still get my two changes for chatting in German - once with a couple of work colleagues, and once with a couple of friends outside of work. The actual average number of times for each has been about 3 times out of 4 weeks because, well, shit happens. People are volunteering their time to help me, so the sessions aren't fixed in stone, of course.
My friends outside of work also help me by writing down words I don't know and the translations. Later I take these words and add them to my Anki list, and just tonight I got fully up to date in this process which feels pretty good. In fact, any time I am near a computer and I learn a new word (for example, when translating something or reading email from German-speaking friends) I add that word to my Anki list, usually along with some close synonyms. Something else I always do for my own list, which I think is particularly important, is include the definite article (which shows gender - always learn German words with their gender!) AND their plural (since these are quite irregular in German). Since I've been doing this, I've been much more confident over the gender and plural of new words, which is very important.
I've been doing well in keeping up with my Anki practice lately - it helps that I've been able to access my work's guest network on my phone again! This has also allowed me to listen to a lot more Deutsche Welle throughout the day. And of course, I've been listening to the German programme on SBS radio every morning as I drive to work and its on, which is 3 times per week usually, but less on average because sometimes I miss it by going to work too early.
I've also done a little more from Lesetraining B2, mainly just adding words to my Anki list, but I'm currently halfway through Test 2, Aufgabe 3. This is something I intend to work back into my routine somehow. I also plan on working through as many of the problems as I can in the workbooks my Austrian friends bought to help me. This would mostly be grammatical exercises, but this would be great to help make my slightly nebulous knowledge clearer. I also think that, in the exam, there are a few question types which can be answered almost by just knowing textbook grammar answers off-by-heart, so if I can do this and get a few easy points, as well as shave off some of my many rough edges, then I'm all for it.
I haven't continued with Perfectionnement Allemand, mainly due to my current lesson being quite strange and boring. Make that - very strange, and not in a fun way. In the sort of way that makes you feel confused even when you understand it. I'm pretty close to just skipping it and not completing it in my usual way (of "shadowing" the speakers until I am word perfect at their pace) which would give me something extra to use while I'm driving to and from work. At the moment while I drive, I listen to a few articles I've downloaded and translated, or German music. Some more variety would do me good!
So, the plan now is to keep plodding on, making time to meet up with people for a good chat, and getting some more grammar-book style practice problems to start drilling these important details into my head!
When I figure out a good new target date for the exam, I'll update it here, of course...
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