Neige Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 My mother speaks fluent German, and I went to a German afterschool program in my elementary grades. While we never spoke German at home (only English and French), I was still able to converse and read pretty well. Now that I haven't used it in 15+ years, apart from a couple short trips to Germany, it is beyond rusty. Dreadful to non-existent, really. Would something like Rosetta Stone be useful, or is that more just basic vocab? It's really the grammar and actually putting sentences together that I have a bigger problem with. Any other recommendations? I'd love to just move to Munich, of course, but that's not an option at this point in time :laugh: (My mother also will speak/read to DS in German when she visits, but it's only very occasionally. I doubt he's really retaining anything from that, so I'd love to be able to read to him in between her visits to at least try to have some sort of continuity.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mnemosyne Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Rosetta Stone probably won't get you what you need. If you have a good grounding in the language, watching native shows will help you much more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I would begin reading books and watching movies with subtitles. Pick books you will want to stick to - detective novels are great, because you will want to hang in there until you know who the murderer is. That's the first stuff I read in English (my 2nd foreign language) Depending on how much you remember, you could also watch some regular TV without subtitles. From what I know about Rosetta stone, I would not consider it suitable for your purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoppeltGemoppelt Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 I second the videos. You tube also has plenty of audio plays (Hörspiel), which can be really interesting for your son too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 I think one great thing about the internet is the access to international newspapers, radio, and tv. I would try listening to the radio and watching movies. If you can get any magazines, like fashion or decor where you don't have to read too closely, that could be fun too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Deutsche Welle has a nice website http://www.dw.de/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 I have found the absolute most effective way to keep up a language is reading, reading, reading. Movies and videos are also good, but for really getting your brain thinking in the language, and for optimal vocabulary retention, reading is unmatched. And long books are better than magazines and certainly than websites or other snippets. I always read quite a bit in both the foreign languages I speak, and I do think it has gone a long way to keeping them up after decades of not really having anyone to speak to regularly. There's lots of great German YA - Cornelia Funke, Kai Meyer, Michael Ende are great places to start. Amazon.de actually is fairly reasonable to ship to the US - oh, and there was a thread here recently that had someplace you could order German books with free shipping! I also have a region-free DVD player for movies/videos so I don't have to worry about PAL vs. NTSC format. I do not think Rosetta Stone would even be slightly helpful in your situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 oh, and there was a thread here recently that had someplace you could order German books with free shipping! http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/341024-free-shipping-on-german-books/ I was suggesting, say, replacing watching or listening to English language news on radio/ tv with German news. Or reading a newspaper/magazine in German INSTEAD of English. I think it's easier to have the radio on, say while cooking, and add to the language atmosphere in your house. And I suggested magazines with limited text with the assumption that someone was REALLY rusty, so she could get something out of it. I speak as the mother of bilingual kids for whom there is very little written or audio content in their other language, so maybe I have to be more creative and less picky than a speaker of a common language like German. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 http://forums.welltr...n-german-books/ I was suggesting, say, replacing watching or listening to English language news on radio/ tv with German news. Or reading a newspaper/magazine in German INSTEAD of English. I think it's easier to have the radio on, say while cooking, and add to the language atmosphere in your house. While I can get Tagesschau on my Roku now, I honestly find that I don't remember. I've never found German radio - oh wait, you linked it! Audio books could be a good thought too - but especially in a foreign language you're rusty in you'd have to pay close attention to audio - I'd think it would be hard to follow while cooking. Car is better :) And I suggested magazines with limited text with the assumption that someone was REALLY rusty, so she could get something out of it. This probably has less to do with how rusty she is than interest. My interest is not held well by magazines - bla bla this celebrity did that, bla bla newest diet, bla bla German politics. My interest is much more easily held by a story! Others may feel differently... :) Honestly it's also harder to get foreign language magazines than books... and an international subscription is $$$! Unless maybe she's got a library that has some German magazines? But I'd think that would be unusual? I speak as the mother of bilingual kids for whom there is very little written or audio content in their other language, so maybe I have to be more creative and less picky than a speaker of a common language like German. There indeed is a ton for German. I recommend YA novels because the reading level would be a bit lower, but also because they are engaging stories - for some reason most German written for adults is Serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 This probably has less to do with how rusty she is than interest. My interest is not held well by magazines - bla bla this celebrity did that, bla bla newest diet, bla bla German politics. My interest is much more easily held by a story! Others may feel differently... :) Honestly it's also harder to get foreign language magazines than books... and an international subscription is $$$! Unless maybe she's got a library that has some German magazines? But I'd think that would be unusual? There indeed is a ton for German. I recommend YA novels because the reading level would be a bit lower, but also because they are engaging stories - for some reason most German written for adults is Serious. Although a relative of mine lived there for a few years and became fluent, I know no German. It looks fascinating, though. My library gets Der Spiegel, apparently, but that's it. (Come on, where are the fashion tips from Angela Merkel?!) I found some German translations of Roald Dahl books....that could be fun! Oh, and I loved the movie Vitus. Watch that in German (original). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Honestly it's also harder to get foreign language magazines than books... and an international subscription is $$$! Unless maybe she's got a library that has some German magazines? But I'd think that would be unusual? Many German magazines have free online editions. For example spiegel.de http://www.focus.de/ http://www.stern.de/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Many German magazines have free online editions. For example spiegel.de http://www.focus.de/ http://www.stern.de/ I'm such a Luddite! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in TX Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 I have found the absolute most effective way to keep up a language is reading, reading, reading. Movies and videos are also good, but for really getting your brain thinking in the language, and for optimal vocabulary retention, reading is unmatched. And long books are better than magazines and certainly than websites or other snippets. I always read quite a bit in both the foreign languages I speak, and I do think it has gone a long way to keeping them up after decades of not really having anyone to speak to regularly. There's lots of great German YA - Cornelia Funke, Kai Meyer, Michael Ende are great places to start. Amazon.de actually is fairly reasonable to ship to the US - oh, and there was a thread here recently that had someplace you could order German books with free shipping! I also have a region-free DVD player for movies/videos so I don't have to worry about PAL vs. NTSC format. I do not think Rosetta Stone would even be slightly helpful in your situation. This has been my experience. I studied German in school but was never fluent. I've retained the grammar but lost vocabulary. I have no one to speak with, but I've been reading in German for the last year or so. Start reading something that's not too difficult, that you would enjoy if it were in English, or that you are already familiar with in English. I started with Agatha Christie, because I read and reread her books as a teen and know them very well. Anything that has a simple sentence structure will allow you to focus on vocabulary--try to figure out words from context rather than the dictionary as much as possible. Seeing words in context again and again is much more effective than memorizing lists. It's surprising how fun and addictive it can be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neige Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 As always you ladies are full of great advice! I've got some German children's books I've started reading to DS. My accent could definitely be improved, but I find - as you said, Amy - that when I see words in context I "remember" what they mean. I need to take it up a notch with some YA/adult level reading material, probably, before I'll see too much of an improvement. These have all been awesome suggestions. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoppeltGemoppelt Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 You might also want to try reading a book while listening to the audio version. This helped me with pronunciation when I started speaking English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 There are some free children german story books/readers for the iPad by Carlsen Verlag. The paid ones are about $1~2. Useful for me and my boys since my pronunciation is bad so they can listen to the stories and follow the text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Don't watch Vitus without subtitles unless you know Swiss German. It's unintelligible! Rosetta Stone is absolutely not the right thing for you! Read and watch movies is what I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Don't watch Vitus without subtitles unless you know Swiss German. It's unintelligible! You know, it's funny, while I was typing that, I thought to myself, "Vitus takes place in Germany?? I don't remember that AT ALL!" ha ha. That explains a lot. I might need to watch that movie again. I love one particular scene, that takes place in a restaurant. Seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 My mother speaks fluent German, and I went to a German afterschool program in my elementary grades. While we never spoke German at home (only English and French), I was still able to converse and read pretty well. Now that I haven't used it in 15+ years, apart from a couple short trips to Germany, it is beyond rusty. Dreadful to non-existent, really. (My mother also will speak/read to DS in German when she visits, but it's only very occasionally. I doubt he's really retaining anything from that, so I'd love to be able to read to him in between her visits to at least try to have some sort of continuity.) For dd, she was most intrigued with German by wanting to speak German with Germans she knows, wanting to be able to visit them and communicate with them... What about doing Skype with your mom where she can read a book to your son? sing a German song with him? You could record those conversations and play them for him between Skype sessions....Songs with finger plays or pictures would help as well....If she's read the book and you taped it, if you have the same book, you could replay her reading the book to him over the week as well.... I think your mom is your best resource here - the most real one as well.... Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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