For this newsletter, I’ve chosen a photo I took of an old typewriter keyboard in a shop window in Berlin. It’s interesting that it has a special key for the French é acute. I find this image very appealing. It makes me want to write something!
[If you’re using a smartphone and not seeing the images, it’s possible to adjust your settings to ‘Load remote images’ or similar.]
At Cactus languages, where I teach German, a new ten week block of lessons is starting this week. I’ll be teaching beginner level German on Tuesdays and Upper Intermediate German on Thursdays.
As we start a new course, we ask ourselves the question: Which course book should I use? I don’t find this an easy question to answer. I’m often very critical of course books. When people ask me which one would you recommend, I say ‘That depends on the individual’. It’s best to go to a bookshop, browse the course books on offer and pick the one that appeals to you most.”
Nowadays there are also online resources, free and paid. Which one is best? That’s impossible to say. So my advice is: Don’t just use one course book or learning resource. Use several! However with my beginner I use the BBC ‘Talk German’ ‘Talk French’ etc as it’s good value and it’s a self-study course with CDs.
It’s also possible to pick out material yourself by looking online. You can save the material in a folder and that becomes your own personalised course book. Try to find material that’s interesting to you and just above your level.
BRÜCKEN VON DUBLIN VIDEO
I am continuing to work on my multilingual slide show videos. Progress is slow but I hope to build up my portfolio over the coming months. I’ve done a video focusing on Dublin, where I studied German and French. It’s on the Bridges of Dublin and there are two versions – one in English and one in German. If you’re learning German, try watching the German version, otherwise have a look at the English one.
ENGLISH VERSION
I’ve tried to use simple, clear language so it’s useful for learners and useful for everyone. I have spent a long time checking the YouTube subtitles.
I’ll soon be presenting videos on Manchester and region, not just in English and German but other languages as well. I want to produce content about our local area for language learners and native speakers here and overseas.
As I always say, the best way to learn a language is to use the language – I mean use it to gain information and learn about subjects that are interesting to you, as well as speaking it, writing it and being corrected.
Can you help to boost my channel by playing the videos a couple of times, and forwarding the URL to anyone else who might be interested? I’d be very grateful – Ich wäre Ihnen dankbar!
That’s all for now – bis bald und viel Spaß!