The fun of being a German Teacher

New Blog page

2011-06-12T13:04:00.004+01:00

My 'New Year's Resolution' last September didn't quite work out as originally planned. Instead of writing here I have added a blog page to my own website, where I have been writing regularly since October 2010.

I won't shut down this page but I won't be writing here any more.
If you would like to read all my current posts, do join me on Angelika's German Tuition & Translation

I look forward to seeing you there!

A German-English story for the European Day of Languages

2010-09-26T11:16:00.005+01:00

As today is the European Day of Languages I thought it might be a lovely idea to write a story in German with as many English words as possible (or words which are close to them).

Can you spot them?

Familie Schmidt ist sehr sportlich und hat viele Hobbys.
Die Mutter geht jede Woche ins Fitnesscenter und sie geht joggen. Nächste Woche rennt sie einen Marathon. Manchmal spielt sie auch Tennis. Als Managerin eines Shopping-Centers muss sie oft auf Konferenzen und übernachtet dann in einem Hotel.

Der Sohn spielt gerne Gitarre und ist in einer Band. Sie haben schon auf einem Festival gespielt und es gibt auch eine CD von der Band. Früher hat er Violine gespielt, aber jetzt mag er lieber moderne Musik und Jazz. Er arbeitet gerne am Computer und wenn er keine Emails schreibt, chattet er im Internet mit seinen Freunden. Er möchte eine Karriere als Pilot und arbeitet hart an seiner Qualifikation. Wenn er Hunger hat, isst er gerne Fastfood mit Ketchup.

Die Tochter ist ein Theaterfan. Sie geht auch gerne in die Oper und ins Konzert. Sie spielt Violine in einem Orchester und studiert Psychology an der Universität.Sie interessiert sich für Politik und Musik, und sie isst liebend gerne Pizza.

Der Vater ist Professor an einer Universität. Er interessiert sich für Planeten und das Universum. Er ist Vegetarier und manchmal kann er ein Tyrann sein. Dann erlaubt er seiner Familie kein Fastfood, keine Pizza, keinen Kaffee und keinen Alkohol! Sie dürfen dann nur Salat mit Tomaten und Joghurt mit Bananen essen!
Letzte Woche war er auf einer Demonstration und wurde von der Polizei verhaftet.

Während er auf der Polizeistation in Isolation war, hatte die Familie eine perfekte Party mit Pizza, Sex, Zigaretten und Alkohol. Ein Happy End?!?!?

The difference a little song makes

2010-09-18T15:49:00.009+01:00

Last week was the start of another school year at the German Saturday School in Frome. Some of the older children left us in July but we got some new children. It's a lovely group but a bit reluctant to sing. I love teaching German with songs, but don't really want to sing on my own!

So, what to do?

I showed them a video of a song. They watched it, loved it, wanted to hear it again and sang ....

Today they came running into the classroom asking to sing the song. One mum came in and asked whether I really taught them this song. Another mum told me the song alone would be reason enough for her son to attend.

I just played it to my (adult) son who thinks it's a very stupid song, but I agree with the children: it's brilliant!!!

So what is it?
Check it out for yourself:

Thanks Detlef, for this wonderful song! For more of Detlef Cordes' songs check out http://www.spiellieder.de/

New Year's Resolutions

2010-09-10T15:47:00.009+01:00

No, not the ones you have on the 1st January, although losing weight and keeping fit wouldn't be a bad idea ;-)

I'm talking about the new school year that has just started.

With horror I noticed that I wrote my last blog in December 09.

Did I not have fun since then? Oh yes, I did!

Unfortunately, by the time I came home from lessons and did this and that and the other I forgot, and a few days, weeks or even months later it didn't seem right to post the funny incidents - stupid, I know!

So, I didn't write about the lovely mini theatre performance my

German Saturday School children performed (More pictures on http://www.facebook.com/angelikasgerman )

I didn't write about the student who needed the German word for toaster (it's Toaster btw). He didn't look it up but made up his own translation. He called it 'das Brötchenfeuer' (the bread roll fire).

I didn't write about the business client who showed me some emails he wrote in German and when I commented on the use of capital letters at the beginning of some nouns, verbs and adjectives, he replied:"Ah, I remembered you saying something about capital letters but couldn't remember where they go, so I just put them anywhere!"

And I didn't write about the evening class student who proudly told the rest of the class that he liked shooting "Ich schieße gern." Unfortunately he got the 'ie' mixed up with 'ei', which gave it a complete new meaning ... (I won't write it here but it has something to do with toilets).

Any other funny incidents I have already forgotten - shame!

So, my New Year's resolution, or this year's homework, is: MUST WRITE MORE BLOGS

Watch this space ...

One of the reasons why I love teaching adults

2009-12-01T17:33:00.005Z

This blog post is not my work but that of a student. My adult conversation class students are taking turns in providing the rest of the class with a presentation and each time I am impressed with the quality of the presentation.
I asked last week's student, whether he would mind if I posted his presentation and he agreed, under the condition that I corrected his (few) mistakes.
So here it is:

Ein Alptraum in Frankreich

Letzte Woche hatte ich eine Geschäftsreise nach Aix en Provence in Frankreich, und ich hatte meinen schlimmsten Alptraum. Ich verlor meinen Pass - und ich spreche kein Französisch!
Ich ging zur städtischen Polizeiwache und sagte zur Empfangsdame,"Excusez moi, parlez vous Anglais?" Sie antwortete:"Yes." Puh!
Dann sagte ich (auf Englisch), "Ich habe meinen Pass verloren."
Sie sagte,"Dies ist die städtische Polizeiwache, aber Sie müssen den verlorenen Pass der staatlichen Polizei melden. Die staatliche Polizeiwache ist ungefähr ein Kilometer entfernt."
Also ging ich zur staatlichen Polizeiwache, ich ging hinein und fragte den Empfangchef, "Parlez vous Anglais?" und er sagte, "Non"

Mensch! Ich wünschte, dass ich Französisch gelernt hätte und nicht Deutsch!

Etwa fünfzehn Minuten später hatte der Empfangchef meine Einzelheiten aufgezeichnet und sagte auf Französich, "Setzen Sie sich und warten Sie."

Die Polizeiwache war sehr beschäftigt und der einzige verfügbare Sitzplatz war neben einer Prostituierten. Sie lächelte mich an und machte Platz für mich, aber ich setzte mich nicht und blieb stehen.

Eine Stunde später gab man mir Papiere mit einem offiziellen Stempel und der Polizist hat mir gesagt, dass ich zum britischen Konsulat fahren muss, sonst darf ich Frankreich nicht verlassen. Das Konsulat ist ungefähr 30 Kilometer von Aix en Provence entfernt und es kostete mich 70 Euro mit dem Taxi. Mir wurde dann am Konsulat ein vorrübergehender Pass ausgestellt. Der kostete 105 Euro und dann noch mal 70 Euro für das Taxi zurück nach Aix en Provence.

An diesem Tag habe ich keine Arbeit getan und es war ein teurer Tag für den Steuerzahler... und ich muss jetzt einen neuen Reisepass kaufen!

Reading presentations like this makes all evening work worthwhile, don't you agree?

Frau Davey und die 8 Zwerge

2009-08-02T13:11:00.006+01:00

This is a story I recorded for the children of the German Saturday School Frome, so this is particularly for Rhys, Josef, Lennie, Henri, Carla, Ceci, Yona and Lydia.

Anybody else who would like to listen to a German story is of course invited to watch, too.

See if you can find the similarities to Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs....

New EU regulations?

2009-07-16T09:54:00.004+01:00

While I was weeding my allotment yesterday, I remembered something a student told me a while ago. He is not just an avid German learner, he also has an allotment. So one day he decided to combine his two hobbies. He got some nice stones and started labelling all vegetables in English and German.
Within a short time he was asked by fellow allotmenteers, what type of vegetable that weird (German) name was. Each time he replied that it was a new variety. After a while he got bored with the same reply, so when he was asked again, he said "Haven't you heard about the new EU regulations? All vegetables on allotments have to be labelled in English and another language!"

I quite like the idea ;-)

It's getting even better!

2009-06-15T19:38:00.000+01:00

I didn't think the comments from the 10year old girl a while ago could be beaten - I mean, what's weirder than imagining I may not come from this world (ok, don't answer that!), but an 8 year old boy today did:
Same question "where do you come from?" but added with the comment, "coz your accent sounds like you come from far away, like my friend who comes from..... Corsham."

Corsham is about 14 miles away from Devizes, hardly a foreign place.
I really do think this can't be beaten, but with children you never know, so watch this space!

Prepositions with Sesame Street

2009-06-13T11:49:00.003+01:00

Here is a bit of fun with Sesame Street, or to be precise, Sesamstraße.
Grobi teaches you a few prepositions.

Could I be an Alien?

2009-06-05T13:46:00.000+01:00

I have been told that I don't have a typical German accent and most adults only spot a slight accent after a while or when I tell them that I am German.

With children it's different. I am always astonished how quickly they spot that I may not be English. There have been countless incidents in primary schools, when after my arrival in a new class, somebody asks "Where do you come from, Miss?" On my reply "From Devizes" they say "No, where do you REALLY come from?" So I tell them to guess - and they do: Wales, Scottland, Africa, China, Japan..... they clearly have no idea, but usually somebody gets to the word Germany - until the other day!

A ten year old girl wanted to know where I came from and again I asked her to guess. We happened to stand in front of a world map, so she looked at it for quite a while and finally asked me "Is it from this world?"

I could not think of a reply!

German Two-Way Prepositions

2009-05-27T20:26:00.002+01:00

'Researching' Youtube I came across my all-time favourite teaching video:

Those two American teachers have done a lot of work trying to explain, when certain prepositions take the dative and when the accustaive - and they've done a brilliant job!

Japanese???

2009-05-21T14:26:00.000+01:00

I have just done supply at a Primary School where last year I did a German singing workshop. When the children arrived I asked them if they remembered my name. Nobody did, but one girl put up her hand: "Youre the lady who taught us all those Japanese songs!"

Oh dear!

Have I lived too long in England?

2009-05-19T12:09:00.000+01:00

Four Saturdays a term I teach a group of primary school age children at http://www.dssfrome.co.uk/ and the other day we counted in 5s from 0 to 100. That should have been no problem and everything went well up to 50. We counted null, fünf, zehn.....fünfzig, fünfundfünfzig - and this is where the trouble started. I carried on, sechsundfünfig (56), siebenundfünfzig (57), achtundfünfzig (58) ... until one of the children spotted the mistake!

Oh dear, I made the classic mistake many English people make, forgetting to say the units first, then the tens. Of course it should have been sechzig (60), fünfundsechzig (65), siebzig (70), fünfundsiebzig (75), achtzig (80), fünfundachzig (85), neunzig (90), fünfundneunzig (95), hundert (100).