Looking for tips for learning German? From recommendations for German language music or films, here are some of my best tips and tricks for learning German. From one German learner to another!
If you are still looking for more German language rap after last month’s German music recommendation of Casper, you are in luck! German rappers KIZ are a personal favorite of mine and they are not shy about making a statement — whether it be in their lyrics, in their music videos or their live performances. …
Admittedly, I’m slightly late to the party here. If you haven’t tuned in for Deutschland 83 yet, so are you. But there is a quick solution: watch it. Usually, I approach anything remotely related to the German language under the guise of it being educational. (And who is to argue that making Spezi at home …
You have been learning German, on your own or with an instructor or class. Now you want to put what you have learned to the test and try speaking German in Germany (or Austria, or Switzerland). Ready or not, you had better be ready! I wanted to share a few of the things that I …
German born and raised actress Diane Kruger once revealed that Quentin Tarantino was reluctant to cast her in Inglourious Basterds. She had spent so long trying to lose her German accent that the director didn’t believe she was German. While Kruger’s list of credits isn’t exactly full of German language roles, it brings up an …
I first became aware of German singer-songwriter Toni Kater through her collaborations with Einstürzende Neubauten percussionist and a favorite of mine, Rudi Moser. In addition to his appearances in Kater’s own music, the two worked together under the name Kill Royal and released an English language track (the darkly absorbing “Remember”) through the Lokalhymnen Berlin …
After reading Swiss author Christian Kracht‘s debut novel Faserland I was hooked. While not overly simplistic by any means, Kracht writes novels that are challenging for a German language learner but aren’t overly complex either. I’m a loyal reader, a loyal fan, generally speaking. If I like the book an author has written — or …
My week-long self-imposed German challenge is over. So how’d I do? I made it — but only just. The whole reason I challenged myself was because life has gotten really busy. But as we all know, if you don’t use it you lose it. After years of hard studying, I’m sure as hell not ready …
The German Challenge is half over! How about that? As I write this, I’m mid-way through my self-imposed challenge to do 30 hours of German practice in a week. There have been positives and negatives and I wanted to share those, as well as how I’ve been spending my time.
It’s time to get serious and work a little harder on learning German. I can personally admit that, for a variety of reasons (read: life and work) I haven’t been working as hard as I once was. But I’m going to jump start my German skills as 2014 winds to an end with a week …
Learning a foreign language is difficult. You simply cannot cut corners. There’s no secret trick. But there are things you can do to work smarter and not harder. I’ve put together a list of five simple things that I’ve found have helped me as I continue to tackle German.
While my general music preferences tend to be rather “moody,” shall we say, there’s something to be said about a high energy band with an infectious melody and lyrics you can’t get out of your head. And, from my experience, there is no better way to absorb the German language (or any foreign language, for …
I love Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre. Really. I do. I watched his television shows religiously thanks to the power of that wonderful thing we call the internet. I read all of his books that I can get my little not-in-Germany hands on. I even — and I cringe admitting this — wrote him a fan letter. …
