madteaparty Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 I don't even know if this is the correct term but basically DS, who just started studying German, does excellent in the writing work, horrible on listening (where he listens to a word and has to write it down). I realize he doesn't hear enough German. Time is limited here and this is just one more thing, but he identified the problem so I'd like to help...besides duolingo, anything else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 (edited) Would it help to listen to German with subtitles? My learners and myself (all of us in our first year of study) have been watching YouTube videos of some guy (never shown) reading kids early-reader books. Sounds weird, seems weird, but so far so good. We started with the book "Apfel, Brot und Butterkeks" it is about 3 minutes except that I try to pause before each page and read and translate it on our own first. There seems to be a series, same guy, other books. For more audio input, but more advanced, is there a "News in Slow German" like there is for Spanish? (Pause) Why yes, there is. But there is also a free "slowly spoken news podcast for German learners" here: http://m.dw.com/en/slowly-spoken-news-reports-learning-german/a-1833641 I may try that one myself... Edited September 24, 2016 by SusanC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 I just started using Babbel...looks promising but I don't have long term experience with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted September 24, 2016 Author Share Posted September 24, 2016 Would it help to listen to German with subtitles? My learners and myself (all of us in our first year of study) have been watching YouTube videos of some guy (never shown) reading kids early-reader books. Sounds weird, seems weird, but so far so good. We started with the book "Apfel, Brot und Butterkeks" it is about 3 minutes except that I try to pause before each page and read and translate it on our own first. There seems to be a series, same guy, other books. For more audio input, but more advanced, is there a "News in Slow German" like there is for Spanish? (Pause) Why yes, there is. But there is also a free "slowly spoken news podcast for German learners" here: http://m.dw.com/en/slowly-spoken-news-reports-learning-german/a-1833641 I may try that one myself... That YouTube is actually exactly what I'm looking for, thanks. Have you a link by any chance? . News in slow way too advanced for us now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 This may sound crazy, but we were part of LEX America and we would literally listen to CDs that switched languages every few minutes (between French, Spanish, German, English, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese) in the background. Just listening to all those sounds prepares the ear to hear new sounds, even though you don't understand. So I would recommend getting a book on tape in German and just putting it on in the background while doing math. Then, after listening 10 times through or so, start "singing" the sounds. Don't think of it as speaking German, but following the melody. It is really amazing how this can turn on your brain. And, BTW, I love the way Korean sounds. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted September 25, 2016 Author Share Posted September 25, 2016 This may sound crazy, but we were part of LEX America and we would literally listen to CDs that switched languages every few minutes (between French, Spanish, German, English, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese) in the background. Just listening to all those sounds prepares the ear to hear new sounds, even though you don't understand. So I would recommend getting a book on tape in German and just putting it on in the background while doing math. Then, after listening 10 times through or so, start "singing" the sounds. Don't think of it as speaking German, but following the melody. It is really amazing how this can turn on your brain. And, BTW, I love the way Korean sounds. Emily That's cool. math takes up all of our senses here though. ;)He is used to dictations in other languages and I wonder if that's actually part of the problem... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 That YouTube is actually exactly what I'm looking for, thanks. Have you a link by any chance? . News in slow way too advanced for us now. https://youtu.be/_tXG62AY6mI 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 You can get something called an ear trainer from Fluent Forever. Before doing that, I also recommend watching the (free) videos here called German Video 1, 2, and 3. Very helpful. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 I have learned a lot by watching German TV and movies. I don't speak German, but I understand a lot of it. I was amazed this last visit how much I understood. I was translating for my kids! I think it's all the German shows I watch with my husband. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 That YouTube is actually exactly what I'm looking for, thanks. Have you a link by any chance? . News in slow way too advanced for us now. https://youtu.be/rgrjCrj2ApU Here it is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted September 28, 2016 Author Share Posted September 28, 2016 Here it is. Have been doing these for the last couple of days, I think they're perfect! Many thanks for posting this! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleBears Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 We turn on German radio for ds who requested learning it. He is starting to pick up words here and there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 Would it help to listen to German with subtitles? My learners and myself (all of us in our first year of study) have been watching YouTube videos of some guy (never shown) reading kids early-reader books. Sounds weird, seems weird, but so far so good. We started with the book "Apfel, Brot und Butterkeks" it is about 3 minutes except that I try to pause before each page and read and translate it on our own first. There seems to be a series, same guy, other books. For more audio input, but more advanced, is there a "News in Slow German" like there is for Spanish? (Pause) Why yes, there is. But there is also a free "slowly spoken news podcast for German learners" here: http://m.dw.com/en/slowly-spoken-news-reports-learning-german/a-1833641 I may try that one myself... Thank you for posting this. I had not heard of News in Slow Spanish. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonmama Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 You've gotten some good ideas, but I will add that listening to songs sung in the language could help. If I were you, I would search for lists of good German modern or folk music, and then look for them on Spotify. Music listening is nice when you don't have a lot of spare time, because it is something that can be done in the background during another activity. For the benefit of anyone reading this thread who has younger children, I can recommend these traditional German children's songs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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