A couple of weeks ago I was feeling overwhelmed. I seemed to have tracked down all sorts of good sources for German learning and material, I was listening to it as I drove, I was keeping up with my Anki reviews, and meeting up with my German-speaking friends.
But one day I realised that I felt like I was just spinning my wheels.
So, I decided to stop studying, stop worrying about Anki, and for the first week I didn't even listen to German as I drove around. I still met up with my German-speaking friends, but I didn't study. In the second week, I started listening again to German radio and podcasts as I drove, but still no other study, and I allowed myself to feel happy with not listening to German in every available moment.
Now, I must say that I really enjoy my German study time, but the break felt great. I managed to get through three books that have been calling to me on my shelf for quite some time now, waiting to be read. And I still had fun speaking German with my friends.
It allowed me to realise that I was unfocused precisely because I had so much available to me. This is a part-time project. I'm not throwing every minute I have into, nor will I ever. There's a lot of other stuff I also want to keep doing, including reading English books, training for some more upcoming events, spending time with my family, and even relaxing on occasion. And besides, I was making little headway through my study options due to my lack of progress.
My new rules/goals for study are:
* keep up with Anki (I have to catch up first, of course!). This isn't too much of a commitment once I'm caught up
* one source of study per week
* keep up my German conversations
* listen to German radio, podcasts and watch German TV whenever I feel like it and have a chance
I feel better about it already - like perhaps soon I'll be able to see my way through to the original goal of sitting the B2 exam! :-)
In the spirit of these new rules, I did some book study this morning. I did exercise 2 of Aufgabe 4 in Lesetraining B2. It was one of the types of exercise I seem to struggle with a lot - filling in the blank words in an article. I got 6 out of 10, and it didn't take long, so I was reasonably happy, actually. Most of the vocabulary felt very familiar, which is a big improvement over when I started!
Heading off now to meet my Austrian friends for our Thursday evening catchup.
bis nächsten Mal!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Podcast addiction...
I'm a bit of a latecomer to the podcast game, considering that I never saw the point in giving mp3's another name. Well, it's mp3 + RSS - how very Apple to name them i-something or pod-something.
Just recently, I discovered how useful RSS is for finding the latest episode in a series or the latest news. I used to like to listen to streaming radio, but I don't have access to it when I'm driving. Podcasts fix that problem Apart from a good selection on Deutsche Welle, I discovered dradio as well which has a good environment program and a really excellent science show (Wissenschaft in Brennpunkt). Links to their science show articles are here.
Of course, it's an addiction. There's only so much time available in a day to really focus on listening, after which it becomes background noise. I don't believe in passive listening, but I do leave it playing at times when I focused on other activities (especially at work) because I get a chance to focus every now and then, and I can take advantage of those little moments. I listen to good articles multiple times.
I did a little self-assessment recently, just on the basis of my own comfort level in certain activities, and I came up as B1 level for everything except speaking which was somehow B2. My speaking still feels pretty bad, so that doesn't leave much hope for everything else...
Just recently, I discovered how useful RSS is for finding the latest episode in a series or the latest news. I used to like to listen to streaming radio, but I don't have access to it when I'm driving. Podcasts fix that problem Apart from a good selection on Deutsche Welle, I discovered dradio as well which has a good environment program and a really excellent science show (Wissenschaft in Brennpunkt). Links to their science show articles are here.
Of course, it's an addiction. There's only so much time available in a day to really focus on listening, after which it becomes background noise. I don't believe in passive listening, but I do leave it playing at times when I focused on other activities (especially at work) because I get a chance to focus every now and then, and I can take advantage of those little moments. I listen to good articles multiple times.
I did a little self-assessment recently, just on the basis of my own comfort level in certain activities, and I came up as B1 level for everything except speaking which was somehow B2. My speaking still feels pretty bad, so that doesn't leave much hope for everything else...
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
German grammar puzzles...
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!
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!
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...
Monday, July 18, 2011
Update on Anki...
A long time ago I posted about how I use Anki. I never really updated that in detail, but I ended up doing much less with it. I currently just use two decks - one I downloaded from the public lists (German Intermediate to Advanced) and one I am making myself. For the latter, I originally intended it would just be words I didn't know in Lesetraining B2, but lately I have been using it for basically all new words - when I'm reading the news, or listening to German radio, or when after I've had a conversation with my German-speaking friends. I've found that the words that I add myself stick much better. The public list I downloaded has a lot more words than my own (currently) but I often find that they don't stick very well because they are context-free and sometimes vague or contradictory to what I already know. Still, I kept going with this big list and recently finally got to the stage where I have no more new words to learn - it's all revising from here and MAN, does it go faster now. I find it no problem to revise both my lists within just 15 or so minutes spread throughout the day.
So I've realised something... When learning an Anki list for the first time, don't try to learn too many lists at the same time if you're time poor. You'll just end up doing badly at all of them. However, now that I've finished the initial phase of learning the list, I can see that I could easily start learning another list without the first one being too much of a cost time-wise.
Not that I plan to add more lists. I will just keep expanding my own list as I do more from Lesetraining, and learn more from conversations, radio, etc.
I am now past my original deadline, and am still in the phase of deciding on how to reach my goal now that I should have a good idea of what's left to achieve. One idea I toyed with was completing Perfectionnement Allemand after all, aiming to be at a book-learning level of C1, which would help push me into a higher confidence level for the B2 test, hopefully...
I resumed my Stammtisch at work this week after a couple of weeks without it, and I'll also hopefully resume my in-person German conversation classes with my Austrian friends this Thursday. Fingers crossed. I am looking to ramp up my studies again now that I've got a bit of a rhythm with my training for the City2Surf in mid-August!
So I've realised something... When learning an Anki list for the first time, don't try to learn too many lists at the same time if you're time poor. You'll just end up doing badly at all of them. However, now that I've finished the initial phase of learning the list, I can see that I could easily start learning another list without the first one being too much of a cost time-wise.
Not that I plan to add more lists. I will just keep expanding my own list as I do more from Lesetraining, and learn more from conversations, radio, etc.
I am now past my original deadline, and am still in the phase of deciding on how to reach my goal now that I should have a good idea of what's left to achieve. One idea I toyed with was completing Perfectionnement Allemand after all, aiming to be at a book-learning level of C1, which would help push me into a higher confidence level for the B2 test, hopefully...
I resumed my Stammtisch at work this week after a couple of weeks without it, and I'll also hopefully resume my in-person German conversation classes with my Austrian friends this Thursday. Fingers crossed. I am looking to ramp up my studies again now that I've got a bit of a rhythm with my training for the City2Surf in mid-August!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Ich will...
One of the best ever songs for revving up a crowd at the start of a concert just has to be Rammstein's "Ich will". But not only is it a great pumping song, it's also a veritable treasure trove of practice for your German grammar, viz:
Ich will eure Stimmen hören
Ich will die Ruhe stören
Ich will dass ihr mich gut seht
Ich will dass ihr mich versteht
You get to practice the less-used "ihr" forms of the verb and pronouns, as well as some honest-to-goodness word order practice. It just gets better and better too:
Seht ihr mich?
Versteht ihr mich?
Fühlt ihr mich?
Hört ihr mich?
Könnt ihr mich hören?
Wir hören dich
Könnt ihr mich sehen?
Wir sehen dich
Könnt ihr mich fühlen?
Wir fühlen dich
Ich versteh euch nicht
Fantastic! "Do you see me?" followed by "Can you see me?".
The song then finishes off with some practice for the "wir/uns" forms (we/us). I mean, what more could you ask for?
Seriously, if you haven't listened to Rammstein yet and you're learning German, it's time to get with the program. Start with "Ich will" and go from there :-)
Got any other favourite German music which you think is helpful for your German? Let us all know in the comments!
Ich will eure Stimmen hören
Ich will die Ruhe stören
Ich will dass ihr mich gut seht
Ich will dass ihr mich versteht
You get to practice the less-used "ihr" forms of the verb and pronouns, as well as some honest-to-goodness word order practice. It just gets better and better too:
Seht ihr mich?
Versteht ihr mich?
Fühlt ihr mich?
Hört ihr mich?
Könnt ihr mich hören?
Wir hören dich
Könnt ihr mich sehen?
Wir sehen dich
Könnt ihr mich fühlen?
Wir fühlen dich
Ich versteh euch nicht
Fantastic! "Do you see me?" followed by "Can you see me?".
The song then finishes off with some practice for the "wir/uns" forms (we/us). I mean, what more could you ask for?
Seriously, if you haven't listened to Rammstein yet and you're learning German, it's time to get with the program. Start with "Ich will" and go from there :-)
Got any other favourite German music which you think is helpful for your German? Let us all know in the comments!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Free online tests to assess your German level
In the last couple of days I've tried a couple of online tests to guage my current level. The first one I present here is actually a test to assess for readiness for the Deutsch als Fremdsprache test, which is a B2 level exam, often taken as an entry requirement for German universities. The test can be found here. Here is my result:
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The site says that the further you are into the blue section, the better your chances in the TestDaF. So... my chances would be low, but not terrible. Still, I'd much rather be hitting the top end of this scale before attempting the test!
The other test was from a pretty good website called Deutsch Perfekt. A fair bit of free stuff there, and practice exercises to suit three different levels. Their assessment test gives an indication of which level of material would be most suitable for you. For me it recommended the middle level and said I was somewhere around B1 level. As I wrote some time ago, I have already decided I would be able to pass the B1 exam. So either I'm going nowhere, or my progress has just been quite slow. I do definitely feel I've made progress, but it's not measurably at the next level up yet, unfortunately.
I really feel like B2 level is a significant step up from B1 in terms of fluency of speech and comprehension. Like I've mentioned before, you're supposed to understand most of what's going on in a German movie by B2, and I'm not there yet!
Ihr Ergebnis im Lückentest und Ihre Chancen beim TestDaF
Sie haben 19 Punkte erreicht.
The site says that the further you are into the blue section, the better your chances in the TestDaF. So... my chances would be low, but not terrible. Still, I'd much rather be hitting the top end of this scale before attempting the test!
The other test was from a pretty good website called Deutsch Perfekt. A fair bit of free stuff there, and practice exercises to suit three different levels. Their assessment test gives an indication of which level of material would be most suitable for you. For me it recommended the middle level and said I was somewhere around B1 level. As I wrote some time ago, I have already decided I would be able to pass the B1 exam. So either I'm going nowhere, or my progress has just been quite slow. I do definitely feel I've made progress, but it's not measurably at the next level up yet, unfortunately.
I really feel like B2 level is a significant step up from B1 in terms of fluency of speech and comprehension. Like I've mentioned before, you're supposed to understand most of what's going on in a German movie by B2, and I'm not there yet!
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