Best resources for "learning" German in one week?
I’ve accepted a challenge to “learn” German in one week. Seven days from now I need to be able to have a reasonable conversation in German in order to win. I took 6 years of German in school, but I forget most of it. I suspect this would be more like a refresher, starting with basic German. Any tips on where to start? Free resources, only, please.
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A microchip implant? Good luck. How fluent do they expect you to be? I really thing that an intensive Berlitz Total Immersion Class may be your only hope. Very effective, extremely expensive. On the other hand, what kind of conversation are you expected to carry on? You might be able to design your own sort of total immersion program. Headphones embedded in your ears for a week, listening to language tapes, post-it notes of German vocabulary and usage all over the house; on the bathroom mirror, on the coffee pot, everywhere you go, someone drilling you with flash cards. Maybe that could work.
Not fluent. Just able to carry on a conversation with basic understanding. Conjugation and spelling don’t have to be perfect, just being able to carry on a simple conversation.
Again, I was fluent in German at one time.. I’ve just forgotten large chunks of it. I need a good, free refresher course.
I am also one of those people that picks up foreign language very easily (I’ve always assumed that came from growing up in a bilingual household.)
The library should have some CDs or DVDs. You might want to watch a German movie or two before then to remind yourself of some phrases/humor ;)
@SpatzieLover‘s idea is very good, the German movies. I took many years of French in school and didn’t think I could speak a lick of it and then I took a trip to France and just studied a little bit and when I got over there, after a few days, a lot of it started to come back to me and I was able to have some conversations, it was there in my head all the time, I just had no reason to access it until I was in France.
I agree. Netflix’ foreign section, here I come.
@ANef_is_Enuf No language can be learned in such a short period of time. Much less German because it has a fairly complex grammar. I have studied German for many years and have spent some time there and still cannot carry a decent conversation.
I have been teaching and studying languages for the past 30 yrs. and I can assure you that there aren’t any magic formulas. It takes time.
^Read the details @Porifera. She already has 6years under her belt.
@ANef_is_Enuf You’ll do fine. I think you’ll win. My husband finds his German comes right back to him when we watch Run Lola Run, or funny German crap we watch on YouTube.
I watched some YouTube videos on Spatzies the other day with my son. The conversations people have with birds are hilarious! ;)
These are all the language learning sites I use on the internet:
Besuu: Free and good for learning individual words.
Ling Q: Free and good for everything really.
Yabla: Small fee, but very good, check it out!
Try wikibooks or livemocha.
@SpatzieLover I did read the details. She says she has forgotten most of her grammar, and while some stuff comes back, a lot of brushing up and studying has to be done for all your grammar to get back in place to be put to active use.
When you say your husband’s German comes back, we’d have to determine what level of linguistic competence he actually had, and exactly what comes back to him when he watches YT. Remember there are four skills to be mastered in a foreign language: listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. Two are passive (LC & R) and two are active (S & W). Passive skills come back somewhat easier.
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The bottom line here is that @ANef_is_Enuf is not claiming that it is possible to or that she can learn enough German in a week to carry on a conversation. She has accepted the challenge to do so and whether that was a bright move on her part, (love ya’ nef) well, that’s debatable, but the deed is done and she is asking for help on how to meet the challenge that she has either bravely, or stupidly, taken on. :-)
That’s what we need to try to do for her.
She won’t do fine in seven days. If that were the case Berlitz would be out of business and I would be out of work too.
Ya I think this is a difficult one…even if you went to Germany for the week…
This isn’t a matter of whether or not I will master the language in 7 days. The question is, can I have a conversation with someone that already knows where I stand, and doesn’t expect a brilliant discussion. The comprehension is fine, I can follow and understand what I see or hear. My problem is remembering vocabulary and putting it into a sentence structure that makes some sense.
The challenge is coming from someone who speaks German as their native language and wishes to improve their English, and the goal is for me to brush up on my German. It’s all in good fun. I don’t expect to be fluent in a week, I just need to be able to have a basic conversation. And I happen to think that I can do it, or I wouldn’t have accepted the challenge. Not that I have anything to lose, either way. Even if I’m not capable at the end of the week.. I should be brushed up compared to where I would be had I declined. Don’t poo-poo at my confidence. If I think I can speak German by tomorrow, then let me think it.
@lillycoyote I read the question too.
…[she is not claiming]...that she can learn enough German in a week to carry on a conversation. I’m afraid you are wrong here, she did say that she wanted to “learn” to carry a conversation in one week.
My answers are still on topic though. But since I don’t believe it can be done, I am unable to provide any useful links to her.
@ANef_is_Enuf The Germans in my family never took German. They speak in German all the time they’re 4th generation here. I recall my German slang/swears just fine and use some daily.
I’ll bet if you recall a few humorous things to quip back with you’ll surprise your “opponent”.
@Porifera Of course you’re responses are on topic. But I read the question too. She actually said “I need to be able to have a reasonable conversation in German in order to win” the challenge. I stand by my statements too. She never claimed, at least in the original question, that it was possible or that she could, only that she needed to in order to win the challenge. So, she tries and she fails? Where’s the harm? Why not help her? It’s a bet, essentially, not a statement of faith.
@ANef_is_Enuf Don’t poo-poo at my confidence. If I think I can speak German by tomorrow, then let me think it. I am sorry if my comments can diminish your confidence. You need to understand this is my line of work and I take it very seriously and am very technical about it. Perhaps my standards are very high as a result.
You’ve been here long enough to know that when you post a question, you will get all kinds of responses even some you don’t want to hear. Good luck with learning German in 1 week!
@Porifera of course you’re entitled to your opinion, but you ought to know that responses in General are supposed to be helpful, and suggesting that I can’t do it isn’t helpful.
@lillycoyote correct, thank you. My goal is to be better a week from now than I am today. I don’t really care if the end result is me winning, I accepted the challenge because my friend thought that it would be a fun way for both of us to learn. Ultimately, that is the goal. To learn.
@lillycoyote Gosh…this takes so much energy :(
So, she tries and she fails? Where’s the harm? Why not help her? It’s a bet, essentially, not a statement of faith. I never said that people shouldn’t give her links to help her. I was just giving my opinion. Give her all the links that you know by all means.
@ANef_is_Enuf Yes, you are right this is general and I thought my comment was helpful too so that if you didn’t accomplish it, you wouldn’t think it was you, but that it simply cannot be done.
Explaining myself so much takes my energy away, when the truth is you can do whatever you want. Don’t know why my comments caused so much coming and going when you all should be concentrating in getting the links you need. Good luck again…I’m outta here…
Find someone who speaks German and yap away. 6 years of German should have you back in the saddle in 3–4 days!
Come to my area of Wisconsin…Heck, we have enough krauts to teach you a few choice words to add to your chat.
Do you have a German area where you live? Maybe an old guy name Fritz or Hunzie in your ‘hood?
I could walk down the street in one direction and shoot the sheisse w/Hunz or the other and John would gab my ear off.
I went on a student exchange to Germany with only one year of class and survived. 6 years I would have owned the place! Good luck!
@SpatzieLover nah, nothing like that in this area. We have a lot of eastern European areas, but mostly Italian overall. My grandparents lived in Germany for a time, but my grandmother’s German is pretty rusty, too.
There are lots of free foreign language podcasts on iTunes. You need to awaken what you already know. Start listening to the podcasts as much as you can, you’ll be hearing enough to bring it back to you.
I would focus on A1 German (beginner/elementary level). You can find a macro-level description of the competences at A1 here. Follow the external links for more thorough descriptions of the skills required at A1.
If you studied German for 6 years, where does “fluent” fit in the descriptors? It’s one of those really vague words that I hate as a language teacher, as it’s a relative term rather than a reference term.
Your level when you stopped studying would be, I suspect, at around high B1/low B2, provided you studied throughout secondary education and did not participate in immersion programs. How much of it do you really remember; how much is dormant? How much have you lost? I suspect that you will have a very spiky competence – you might find some stuff comes flooding back, while other stuff is totally ‘new’ to you again.
Taking a very simple, transactional focus in your conversation about concrete things – requesting food or borrowing something would be the simplest way to “win” the bet, but I’d agree on the criteria of success first.
@the100thmonkey yes, I think that high B1/low B2 judging by the link you’ve provided would be exactly where I would have placed myself at the time. As to where I am now, it’s hard to really pinpoint. Definitely not on this scale, though.. so below an A1, I suppose. For example, my friend speaks to me exclusively in German, and I speak exclusively in English. I understand what he is saying well enough to follow the conversation, but to reply in German is a challenge for me. I think my biggest struggle is with remembering a lot of vocabulary, and sentence structure is another biggie. After posting this question I dug out my old notes and binders from my earlier years of studying, and while scanning over vocabulary and basic grammar it all came flooding back. Much like you said, certain things were “new” again. I am having no problem recognizing what words mean, I’m just having trouble reversing them.. and remembering the word that I want in German. (I hope that makes sense.)
I think some good old fashioned studying and reviewing old school lessons will have me on track.
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