Apologies for the thread necromancy. (I would have performed harder necromancy and brought back the Duolingo thread, but it has tasted Oblivion the waters of Lethe.)
I did my Duolingo German lesson this morning and moved up to level 80 (supposedly somewhere in CEFR level B1), only to discover that’s as far as Duolingo goes with German, at least right now. I am not well-pleased.
Anyone have suggestions on other apps that might be worth a go? Some googling suggests Babbel might be one to try.
Busuu is pretty good - explains grammar and gives everyday expressions, plus you get feedback from native speakers. Also, YouTube channels where native speakers are teaching the language
Thanks. Yes, I do use YouTube, both channels with teaching and plain old videos where I can listen to speakers. I’ve thought about looking for a streaming service that streams German shows.
I’ll check out Busuu. Thanks for the suggestion.
@Lamb Chopped, I think Cherokee would be fascinating. I suspect I’d find just learning the syllabary a challenge.
I think the idea of a syllabary is really cool. And I love the look of the ... letters? I've actually got a beginner's book, but have been focusing on Vietnamese because it's far more likely to be of some actual use.
If I recall it is not strictly speaking a syllabary, but an Eritrean colleague introduced me to Tigrinya where a letter takes modified forms based on the vowel that follows it in pronunciation. The vast number of letters, 32 base with 7 forms or orders of each, impressed, and humbled, me.
Sorry, forgot to comment on Busuu. It's engaging and the phrases are useful. I was trying to claw back some Arabic from 20 years ago and it was helpful and engaging. And you can pick your level to start at so you can jump right in where you are Nick.
I did find some transliterations odd, probably won't have that issue with German, but maybe that's me more than anything else.
As an aside, the best experience I had (and I get that this is not the ideal for everyone) was a University of Iceland free course in Icelandic (I paid for a tutor) where you were given dialogue, then paragraphs of text, and with an online dictionary off you went (a little more to it but that is what I mostly recall). Again, not for everyone, but I found researching and studying helped me greatly in my word and phrase acquisition. Taking a book like Lamb Chopped suggested may have the same effect. When I was learning German I plumped for "The Sorrows of Young Werther" (I'd read it in English which I thought may help...) which was a bit beyond me. I did get a Bible which was better, but I moved away and soon gave up.
The language I do best in is koine Greek, and I learned that first through ordinary book and classroom study, but then by reading the New Testament. So I figure that will do me well once I reach the appropriate stage on Duolingo in Vietnamese.
Re the syllabary--doesn't Japanese have something like that, I think katakana?
Sorry, forgot to comment on Busuu. It's engaging and the phrases are useful. I was trying to claw back some Arabic from 20 years ago and it was helpful and engaging. And you can pick your level to start at so you can jump right in where you are Nick.
I did find some transliterations odd, probably won't have that issue with German, but maybe that's me more than anything else.
Thanks for seconding the recommendation!
When I was learning German I plumped for "The Sorrows of Young Werther" (I'd read it in English which I thought may help...) which was a bit beyond me. I did get a Bible which was better, but I moved away and soon gave up.
I do have a German Bible, so I plan to pull it out. I was thinking maybe I’d also get Grimms’ Fairy Tales (Grimms Märchen) in German..
My German teacher read a few of those in class (adults). Some words were beyond us, but knowing the stories was a good help and we picked up on a few things. Enjoyable reads, too. Happy reading!
Nick Tamen - that’s exactly how Jo March succeeds in learning German, as described by Louisa May Alcott !
Having reached the annoying “daily refresh” stage of DuoLingo Welsh where you don’t learn anything new, I’ve abandoned it and bought a Welsh copy of The Hobbit. I’m just starting chapter 3.
For a lot of the first chapter I looked up words on Google Translate and wrote down the potentially useful ones, but that got too tedious. I’m now mostly using my existing list, the vocabulary I learnt on DuoLingo and various other words I remember. I’m trying to work out more or less what each paragraph says (knowing the story very well helps here) and then compare it with the English.
Nick Tamen - that’s exactly how Jo March succeeds in learning German, as described by Louisa May Alcott !
Interesting you mention Jo March because I am using an Italian translation of Little Women (both the ebook and the audiobook) for learning Italian, as my familiarity with the English text makes it easier and engaging. The narrator uses different voices for the four sisters, which I like, as it's easy to know who's talking when there's dialogue. I often listen to the audiobook when I'm on public transport. I don't take it all in, but if I focus carefully, I can generally tell which part of the story it is.
@Nick Tamen, I’m not quite sure how useful this will be as I don’t know if there’s an approximate German equivalent of your sort of Presbyterians, but we have sometimes been watching Catholic Mass in French, mostly from Notre Dame, as the familiar structure and a reasonable grasp of vocabulary, plus the slightly slower pace is really helpful to understanding what we’re listening to.
Aside from the occasional distraction like wondering why the French translation of the Latin ‘Verbum Dei’ is ‘Parole de Dieu’ (Word of God) when the French are usually fanatical about articles and so one might have expected it to be ‘La Parole de Dieu’.
Good luck with The Hobbit, @Aravis! And interesting to know that I’d be following in the tradition of Louisa May Alcott.
I’ll do the daily refresh things for a while, if for no other reason than I set myself a new “streak” goal a few weeks ago, and the competitor in me doesn’t want to bail on the challenge. Besides, my current subscription runs through December, and I hold out a little hope that one day I’ll go to do the daily refresh and find they’ve added German levels. (French and Spanish do both go higher.)
@Climacus, the story of Rotkäppchen (“Little Red Riding Hood”) made regular appearances in Duolingo’s German course. I always much preferred the Grimm’s version of fairy tales to the French versions or (shudder) Disney versions.
@Nick Tamen, I’m not quite sure how useful this will be as I don’t know if there’s an approximate German equivalent of your sort of Presbyterians, but we have sometimes been watching Catholic Mass in French, mostly from Notre Dame, as the familiar structure and a reasonable grasp of vocabulary, plus the slightly slower pace is really helpful to understanding what we’re listening to.
Aside from the occasional distraction like wondering why the French translation of the Latin ‘Verbum Dei’ is ‘Parole de Dieu’ (Word of God) when the French are usually fanatical about articles and so one might have expected it to be ‘La Parole de Dieu’.
Thank you for this idea! I’m not sure how I missed it when I posted earlier, unless I took longer than I thought posting and didn’t see it. This is a great idea.
I’d have no problem at all watching a German Mass (I’m very familiar with the English text) and I’m betting I could also find services from German Reformed congregations or Lutheran congregations (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland/Protestant Church in Germany). Not quite the same as a Catholic Mass, where there’s not likely going to be a case of simply translating what I know in English, but still.
Our church body still hosts occasional German language services, some of which are on Youtube. I found a few with this string: "German language Lutheran church service." There may even be a live one not far from you.
I love the idea of using a Bible as a study source (did children not learn to read from a bible, or is that apocryphal?) but I do have a word of warning: check that it is a modern translation! I spoke Dutch as a child and was invited to read a passage during a multi-tongued part of the Pentecost service - but had a hard time getting my tongue around the language of the Statenbijbel, roughly the same vintage as the King James....
I spoke Dutch as a child and was invited to read a passage during a multi-tongued part of the Pentecost service - but had a hard time getting my tongue around the language of the Statenbijbel, roughly the same vintage as the King James....
I'm reminded of that Vicar of Dibley episode where the Ss looked like Fs in an old KJV and Alice was reading...
Just out of curiousity...how was the Dutch different? I have an understanding of how English has changed but no idea re other languages.
Comments
I’ll check out Busuu. Thanks for the suggestion.
@Lamb Chopped, I think Cherokee would be fascinating. I suspect I’d find just learning the syllabary a challenge.
I did find some transliterations odd, probably won't have that issue with German, but maybe that's me more than anything else.
As an aside, the best experience I had (and I get that this is not the ideal for everyone) was a University of Iceland free course in Icelandic (I paid for a tutor) where you were given dialogue, then paragraphs of text, and with an online dictionary off you went (a little more to it but that is what I mostly recall). Again, not for everyone, but I found researching and studying helped me greatly in my word and phrase acquisition. Taking a book like Lamb Chopped suggested may have the same effect. When I was learning German I plumped for "The Sorrows of Young Werther" (I'd read it in English which I thought may help...) which was a bit beyond me. I did get a Bible which was better, but I moved away and soon gave up.
Re the syllabary--doesn't Japanese have something like that, I think katakana?
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On German, I'm guessing learners have come across Mark Twain's thoughts on it?
I do have a German Bible, so I plan to pull it out. I was thinking maybe I’d also get Grimms’ Fairy Tales (Grimms Märchen) in German..
Having reached the annoying “daily refresh” stage of DuoLingo Welsh where you don’t learn anything new, I’ve abandoned it and bought a Welsh copy of The Hobbit. I’m just starting chapter 3.
For a lot of the first chapter I looked up words on Google Translate and wrote down the potentially useful ones, but that got too tedious. I’m now mostly using my existing list, the vocabulary I learnt on DuoLingo and various other words I remember. I’m trying to work out more or less what each paragraph says (knowing the story very well helps here) and then compare it with the English.
Interesting you mention Jo March because I am using an Italian translation of Little Women (both the ebook and the audiobook) for learning Italian, as my familiarity with the English text makes it easier and engaging. The narrator uses different voices for the four sisters, which I like, as it's easy to know who's talking when there's dialogue. I often listen to the audiobook when I'm on public transport. I don't take it all in, but if I focus carefully, I can generally tell which part of the story it is.
Aside from the occasional distraction like wondering why the French translation of the Latin ‘Verbum Dei’ is ‘Parole de Dieu’ (Word of God) when the French are usually fanatical about articles and so one might have expected it to be ‘La Parole de Dieu’.
I’ll do the daily refresh things for a while, if for no other reason than I set myself a new “streak” goal a few weeks ago, and the competitor in me doesn’t want to bail on the challenge. Besides, my current subscription runs through December, and I hold out a little hope that one day I’ll go to do the daily refresh and find they’ve added German levels. (French and Spanish do both go higher.)
@Climacus, the story of Rotkäppchen (“Little Red Riding Hood”) made regular appearances in Duolingo’s German course. I always much preferred the Grimm’s version of fairy tales to the French versions or (shudder) Disney versions.
I’d have no problem at all watching a German Mass (I’m very familiar with the English text) and I’m betting I could also find services from German Reformed congregations or Lutheran congregations (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland/Protestant Church in Germany). Not quite the same as a Catholic Mass, where there’s not likely going to be a case of simply translating what I know in English, but still.
Hmmmm. I’ll have to do some searching.
Just out of curiousity...how was the Dutch different? I have an understanding of how English has changed but no idea re other languages.