Exploring German- Part 2
Once I made the decision to learn some German, it became a matter of figuring out -how- I was going to do it.
Once I chose learning a new language as a 2004 resolution I figured my best way to start building a German vocabulary would be to do some multi-tasking. I was walking an hour a day, anyway, and I figured I could listen to German language audio CDs at the same time. I bought myself a set of eight audio CDs called "Instant Immersion German". I listened to the first one eagerly on several walks, repeating the phrases they were teaching in both German and English on the CD. I found that though I was able to retain the language phrases within the hour of the walk, very few of the phrases were actually staying with me after listening to the CD.
I've concluded I'm not a strong enough aural learner to study German in that way, at least not in these early stages of my development. I realized that to retain the language I had to see the phrases written down, too, see the words and the structure of the language to retain the speaking of the words, too. I realized I was going to need books and dictionaries, or better still, maybe an interactive CD-ROM program that would allow me to practice reading and speaking at the same time.
Debbie had given me a German phrase book when I first expressed an interest in German and I found it handy in looking up the phrases I was learning on the audio tape. The dictionary in the back was helpful, too. Just a few weeks ago I took the jump to ordering a CD-ROM language program. The computer program is the same company as the audio CDs, "Instant Immersion German Delux". I chose it because it was within the price range I was willing to pay ($60) and because it seemed more advanced then the few other programs in that price range. It came with five CD-ROMs, with beginner and intermediate lessons.
I was a bit alarmed when I first started exploring the program. It was -far- more advanced than I had expected a beginner program to be. Rather than teaching me my numbers, colours, days of the week, basic vocabulary, etc., it threw me in at the deep end with short interactive dialogues, including picture cues for comprehension. I was glad to discover, though, that rolling my cursor over the German phrases also revealed the English equivalent. Besides the dialogue each lesson also includes interactive exercises in word matching, crossword puzzles, a dictionary, an audio pronunciation guide for all phrases, scrambled sentences, fill in the blank, and dictation. One of the coolest features, requiring a microphone, allows you to say German phrases and then be ranked on how accurate your pronunciation is. The program also keeps score for all activities that you complete on a central chart.
It is very much the kind of program that I was looking for, except that I still feel that I don't have the background in vocabulary to feel confident in the exercises. It became necessary almost immediately to buy a better German-English dictionary (Langenschheidt's) and I've been using it plenty to make any headway in the assignments at all. Still, I'm realizing that this kind of exposure to written and spoken German on a daily basis is bound to help increase my vocabulary and pronunciation over time.
I would like to find a resource, though, to help me with more basic vocabulary and phrases as an aid to supplement the more complex CD-ROM program. Perhaps some kind of exercise book where you just write in the answers and that builds you up slowly with more basic language. I'm going to check local bookstores, the library and on-line to see what other resources might be good.
I liked the idea given in the comments of my last post that I also aim to increase my familiarity in German through the arts. I need to get some German songs (with lyrics) to listen to (do any German filkers have sound clips on-line or could you recommend a German music site to me? My funds are a little limited at the moment...), maybe some familiar children's books translated into German, maybe seek out a German radio station on-line to just listen to the cadence of the language.
Right now it seems an overwhelming task to start to tackle such a complex language, but it is a personal challenge, so one small step at a time.
Once I chose learning a new language as a 2004 resolution I figured my best way to start building a German vocabulary would be to do some multi-tasking. I was walking an hour a day, anyway, and I figured I could listen to German language audio CDs at the same time. I bought myself a set of eight audio CDs called "Instant Immersion German". I listened to the first one eagerly on several walks, repeating the phrases they were teaching in both German and English on the CD. I found that though I was able to retain the language phrases within the hour of the walk, very few of the phrases were actually staying with me after listening to the CD.
I've concluded I'm not a strong enough aural learner to study German in that way, at least not in these early stages of my development. I realized that to retain the language I had to see the phrases written down, too, see the words and the structure of the language to retain the speaking of the words, too. I realized I was going to need books and dictionaries, or better still, maybe an interactive CD-ROM program that would allow me to practice reading and speaking at the same time.
Debbie had given me a German phrase book when I first expressed an interest in German and I found it handy in looking up the phrases I was learning on the audio tape. The dictionary in the back was helpful, too. Just a few weeks ago I took the jump to ordering a CD-ROM language program. The computer program is the same company as the audio CDs, "Instant Immersion German Delux". I chose it because it was within the price range I was willing to pay ($60) and because it seemed more advanced then the few other programs in that price range. It came with five CD-ROMs, with beginner and intermediate lessons.
I was a bit alarmed when I first started exploring the program. It was -far- more advanced than I had expected a beginner program to be. Rather than teaching me my numbers, colours, days of the week, basic vocabulary, etc., it threw me in at the deep end with short interactive dialogues, including picture cues for comprehension. I was glad to discover, though, that rolling my cursor over the German phrases also revealed the English equivalent. Besides the dialogue each lesson also includes interactive exercises in word matching, crossword puzzles, a dictionary, an audio pronunciation guide for all phrases, scrambled sentences, fill in the blank, and dictation. One of the coolest features, requiring a microphone, allows you to say German phrases and then be ranked on how accurate your pronunciation is. The program also keeps score for all activities that you complete on a central chart.
It is very much the kind of program that I was looking for, except that I still feel that I don't have the background in vocabulary to feel confident in the exercises. It became necessary almost immediately to buy a better German-English dictionary (Langenschheidt's) and I've been using it plenty to make any headway in the assignments at all. Still, I'm realizing that this kind of exposure to written and spoken German on a daily basis is bound to help increase my vocabulary and pronunciation over time.
I would like to find a resource, though, to help me with more basic vocabulary and phrases as an aid to supplement the more complex CD-ROM program. Perhaps some kind of exercise book where you just write in the answers and that builds you up slowly with more basic language. I'm going to check local bookstores, the library and on-line to see what other resources might be good.
I liked the idea given in the comments of my last post that I also aim to increase my familiarity in German through the arts. I need to get some German songs (with lyrics) to listen to (do any German filkers have sound clips on-line or could you recommend a German music site to me? My funds are a little limited at the moment...), maybe some familiar children's books translated into German, maybe seek out a German radio station on-line to just listen to the cadence of the language.
Right now it seems an overwhelming task to start to tackle such a complex language, but it is a personal challenge, so one small step at a time.