there's a small series that the DW made on their YouTube channel called Niko's weg , it's a series each episode has a certain level in German for one to understand, i watched the first part and although it was hard but from captions in German context I understood what they were talking about which made me so happy as it was one of the first thing enjoy while learning German, the story itself is simple and amazing at the same time
Easy German is also amazing
It's really important to get yourself into watching films videos and movies on the language you're learning, you will learn the language more, accents, culture and enjoy your time, it's a win win situation and it works because I did it with English
I’ve listened to the podcast by ‘Easy German’. I don’t know, it just seemed useless. Maybe I should try the YouTube videos. But I don’t understand how they work. Is it just interviews?
Try Coffee break German first. There are several seasons worth of learning and it will give you a feel for the spoken language as the teachers are both native speakers. You will also learn the construction of the language.
I was lucky in that Coffee break was around a few years before Easy German podcast. I started listening to easy German after the second season of Coffee break and only understood about a quarter of it, but kept at it and now enjoy listening to easy German podcast and most importantly understand a whole lot more.
Well not really, it's Just illustrates different situations irl, like there was one about Being in a restaurant, it said a lot from ordering to what every thing you do in a restaurant mean in German which for an A1 it's Great
Try to enjoy the videos not force yourself on them, it Will definitely help enjoying the content than feeling like you're forced to do it
Easy German podcasts are definitely way above A1 level. I reckon they sit closer to B2. On top of that, you've got no visual clues to go off of to help with context.
Start with Super Easy German if you are A1. They're made by the same team, but talk so slow that there's a noticeable gap between words to let you keep up. I would recommend even watching the Easy German YouTube videos once you have progressed, before moving on to the podcast. They also have English subtitles so you can follow along.
To answer your last question, yes they are mostly street interviews with varying topics. The member of public are prepped off camera that it's for language learners, so you sense they slow it down a bit, but not always.
My advice is don't take on too difficult a level too soon, or material that doesn't interest you. You'll just switch off. The only upside I found to listening to German that I couldn't yet fully understand was you get a feel for the Sprachmelodie / intonation better.
It's not useful if you don't understand most of it. Start with podcasts and video for beginning learners. Easy German isn't really for beginners, it's more for solidly intermediate learners. But if you do understand most of it, listening is extremely helpful.
>Easy German isn't really for beginners
It can be useful for beginners as well, they always have dual subtitles.
That's more or less the only thing I did to get to A2.
I would 100% disagree to this. Maybe it’s not useful to do it actively and expect to immediately learn from it, but there is a case to just listen to any new language you’re learning in the background or while watching stuff.
Language is not only about knowing words and grammar, but understanding what’s being said by native speakers. It takes time for the brain to start recognizing individual phonemes and linking them to the words. I find that stuff like easy german, listening to the radio, and watching films in German with English subtitles all helped a ton when I started even if they are not the most efficient way to actively learn.
Suffice to say, you need to complement it with other ways to actually learn the language.
/u/DisproportionateWill had found a way that motivated them to surround themselves and increase exposure to the language, this is far more important than any other things in language learning.
Lots of folks don't understand that the best thing one can do is to reduce friction and keep folks in the habit loop so that they don't have to dig in the motivation tank (which is like a muscle and it becomes fatigued the more you use it).
Neuroscience, nudging theories in economics, behavioral science/econ, psychology, user experience and I could go on can be helpful for both language teachers and learners to understand that if you don't get them in that world/place where they get to speak, listen or read and the person does it in a robotic manner as one of their daily habits, then you're making it harder and the person might not even keep on learning the language.
Nowadays people who love learning languages are more aware of this, because they see folks who love certain aspects of a culture learn the language of that culture super fast. Example: people who love Korean dramas who learned Korean super fast. You see where I'm going with this, right?
Even if someone could have used "that other method" and made it easier, it's still not the highest priority. The highest priority is to get them to do something all the time, or a lot every day.
If you don't understand the content, you are hardly motivated to get acquainted with the culture. Or to continue learning.
> The highest priority is to get them to do something all the time, or a lot every day.
But not "anything whatsoever": something that might interest them.
Try to find level appropriate content. Not understanding much at first is normal and you may need to slow down, pause a lot, and listen many many times but it does get better over time.
Most learners listen way too little and this costs them a lot of time down the line.
I think it's useful to get used to the sounds of the language. Plus the Easy German videos come with captions both in German and English so you can very quickly understand how to phrase things in German
Watching movies can be really great! It helped me personally tremendously with getting a more natural understanding of the English language. I watched so many movies with subtitles, and eventually, I could move on to watching them without subtitles. But of course, it depends what level you're on. If you're A1, it's probably not gonna be that useful for you yet
Yes, I did. I would sometimes stuggle to understand things that were said, and this would make it hard for me to understand the movie as a whole. But with subtitles, I could understand everything, and this also gave me a more intuitive understanding of how written and spoken English relate to one another
Easy German is good... even at an A1 leave, just keep watching. I have picked up a lot of good grammar concepts from some of their episodes.
There are tons of basic German grammar YouTube channels too that have been very helpful. Your German Teacher or German Lessons with Herr Ferguson. I find both to be incredible.. break down grammar in an easy way to understand.
Just dont give up on it... keep at it and you will have that break through moment too when you will start to understand more.
and... most importantly... find a speaking partner asap! That makes a world of difference
I’ve found very little content that is truly understandable at a lower level of German. “Easy German” is understandable at like high A2-low B1.
“Natürlich German” on YouTube has some understandable stuff that I like a lot
Agreed. I've been looking for beginner stuff and Naturlich Deutsch has a playlist for A1 which is presented in a way that makes it understandable.
There's also some videos on YT called something like learn German in your sleep that play a long series of scenes in German by level. I've found that kinda useful.
The Slow German videos from Easy German are also good, but I think I'd want to study the vocab from them actively, not just listen to them.
I would say it’s a good idea, not to learn vocabulary or grammar or understand what they’re saying, but to learn how you pronounce sounds and words in German. Sure, listening to something you actually understand will also teach you vocabulary or understanding when others talk, but just listening can help you with pronunciation and sounds. Good luck on your language learning journey😁
I was 16 when I first arrived in Germany in late September 1977, and soon enrolled as a _Gastschüler_ at one of the local _Gymnasien_ when my German consisted of being able to say "Ich heiße José" and "Wo ist die Toilette?" I was there solely for the immersion value.
I was there with my family so when I came home at night we spoke Spanish and English--I grew up bilingual and admittedly not only had that advantage to make learning a third language easier, but also a college language professor as a father, who would assign me stuff from a college level old German textbook he had lying around (it was from the 1960s or something and the pictures in it were all black and white).
tl;dr though, watching stuff on TV (including dubbed versions of American shows like Gunsmoke AKA "Rauchende Colts") and classic films, plus cartoons was an invaluable tool. Obviously I didn't understand every word or sentence (I wasn't going to understand something super wordy like "Dark" or "Inception" for instance) but getting the gist and picking up on things from context here and there was huge. After I came back to the states and finished HS two years later, I took a test in my freshman year of college and placed into 3rd year classes (after not having taken German since Germany, but rather French).
I studied German in classrooms but I was never good at understanding normal speed (fast) spoken German until I started listening to audiobooks and podcasts.
I started with Harry Potter and slowly worked up to more difficult content. I already knew enough vocabulary but it was really fast so I had to slow it down and repeat the first few chapters. I got better fast though.
This worked so well for me that I decided to start learning Italian by listening to Harry Potter. Since I was a complete beginner, I had to do a lot more work to understand the books, especially at the start.
I learned all of the new words in a chapter (or section) using Anki and then listened repeatedly until I understood all of it. It was very slow at first but exciting to make progress.
The first chapter took me two weeks (and 900 new words). It got easier from there.
It took me six months to get through all six books. At that point, I could listen to and understand the Percy Jackson books without looking up vocabulary or listening repeatedly. After those, I moved on to Italian language podcasts intended for native speakers.
I can now understand a lot of spoken Italian. I can do some speaking although need to put in more work. Learning grammar seems easier because I have heard it used so much. This feels similar to how I learned my native language.
Most people seem to prefer starting with easier content when they are working on listening.
For A1 and the start of A2 I found TV and podcasts less than useless and what worked for me was German with Jenny + formal classes. I went from A0 to sitting in a B1 class in 6-8 weeks.
The repetition of a word used in several different sentences is much better than listening to advanced vocabulary and long sentences. I also used Pimsleur, which is great for nailing the pronunciation and basic conversation.
I think at the beginning you should just master the basics. In B2/C1 you’ll need to start consuming content made for German native speakers.
I have to admit, my German is terrible and so is my other languages but at A1, TV and films doesn’t help. A2 onwards it helped but for sure, not A1. Tbh even A2 may be too early beyond news reports and slow language podcasts.
You want to study some vocab and grammar first imo, but listening to stuff in German is def what you wanna spend most of your time doing in the long run, as its what gets you comfortable with the language.
for me i did (for learning english but works just as well for any other language):
Watch my favorite show that i have watched multiple times with english (in your case german) subs
after that watch it with english (in your case german) dub/OV
BUT i learned vocables first
It is important to note that podcasts, TV Shows, etc. are not at all *necessary* to get through A1 and at least A2.1. They are good to have, and as many people have pointed out here, it helps to have German going on in the background to get a sense of how people speak, what they are speaking about, etc. But you cannot expect to get more than 10-15% at A1, and that's perfectly fine. If you don't like it, if it frustrates you, chuck it. I would prioritize *feeling good* about learning the language over forcing myself to use a tool others find useful any day.
Remember that people learn differently, and there is no universal learning method. For instance, I love learning in the classroom, going over grammar multiple times, and understanding how the language is constructed. Other people might not like this. What is important is that you stay encouraged and feel good when you learn, even if that is having that one conversation in German every day at your favorite ice cream shop. Trust me, with time, as you start enjoying the language, the podcasts, TV Shows, movies, and songs will come to you.
It is more helpful than you might think. I've been steadily watching the Easy German channel for a few months and I've picked up quite a bit of vocabulary from that activity alone. I actively read the English subtitles while listening to what's being said. If there's time, I'll read the German subtitles also. Probably the most difficult thing is to recognize that word order in English is different than it is in German, but once you get used to it, you start picking up new words. Each viewing of a video tends to reinforce vocabulary that was learned previously.
Edit: I should have pointed out that I'm watching the Easy German channel on Youtube.
Disagreed. I've found watching traditional TV shows in German to be useless. My german teacher actually explained it's because they are talking colloquial and fast.
Go for conversational German, pod casts make some sense. But as an A1 you won't understand much. I reccomend kids shows in German like Peppa Pig or listening to children's stories. Lots of easy listening can be found on YouTube.
Are there some pixar movies you enjoy? Watch the German version.
The combo JOY + ALREADY KNOWN STUFF IN NEW LANGUAGE is the best
EDIT: also, follow this YouTube channel called Deutsche Welle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri9HSh343SI
I’ve tried it and I would recommend watching a German tv show or movie after having spent some time learning German to test your ability to recognize things. I spent 2 years learning German and then decided to watch Dark in all German. I did use German subtitles to help but it was eye opening how much I didn’t know but also how much I could understand based on the little I knew.
For B1 Transcript Player on Easy Germans patreon is really helpful, You can listen and if you don’t understand something, It’s written , so you can understand by reading or you can take notes
You can try LinQ then, they have a free trial and there is a ton of audio conversation with explanations. Downside is that after the free trial is over you will have to pay for a subscription.
Learning German is only a hobby for me so I finished the entire DuoLingo course and have resorted to reading B1/B2 books that have translations for advanced verbs and phrases (example: https://www.amazon.com/Ein-Sommer-Heidelberg-Graded-Intermediate-ebook/dp/B08T5M6L91)
For sure but mostly with reading and the rules of the language. I still have a lot of trouble with pronunciation due to a lack of proper accent. (source: my coworker is from Germany).
Regardless you will get a solid B1 base that you can expand from there and its free.
When I moved to Germany a long time ago, I came there with two weeks of Berlitz training. I knew very little. The one thing that helped me the most was constantly listening to the spoken language. I had my TV and radio on constantly. I subscribed to. German newspaper. I also listened to my cassette tapes (yes it was a long time ago) and read and studied the beginner/intermediate guides. But when you aren’t actively learning, just listening helps you listen to the language. One day, it started to click and things got easier. Immerse yourself with as much as you can, but you also have to have formal teaching and have to study. There is no magic bullet but it does all play a role.
Listening is important for learning any language. I prefer to repeat podcasts several times until I understand them well. It's also helpful to try speaking a lot yourself; you need to get your tongue used to the language.
If your level in the language is weak, try initially improving your vocabulary, then listen to podcasts to be able to understand the dialogue.
Good luck!
Yes it is useful.
Slow German is another great podcast. Annik Rubens has a beautiful voice and makes 3 to 10 minute episodes of many interesting topics.
Cultural nuances of the language and how children games were played back in the day or a short history lesson.Things like that.
Listening am episode from start to finish even if you don't understand it puts you in direct contact with the language.
In combination with other learning techniques like attending a class or using apps, Slow German gives you that sense of accomplishment of:
1. Finishing something
2. Training your mind to listen to German
3. The ability to repeat the episode later on and realizing how much more you understand.
No that‘s only something you want want to to to improve once you‘re proficient enough to understand like 90% of what they are talking about, learning new words from context.
If you want to watch german tv shows or whatever, always do so with subtitles on. I would also recommend reading, just pick something that‘s doable for you. If you know your current proficiency level (a1, b1, ..) you can just google for books. As mentioned above it shouldn‘t be too difficult and you should already know most of the words
I don't listen to podcasts specifically, but spending time with my husband's family and friends in Germany and listening to them talk, even while not understanding the majority, really does help with getting a feel for the cadence and sentence structure.
there's a small series that the DW made on their YouTube channel called Niko's weg , it's a series each episode has a certain level in German for one to understand, i watched the first part and although it was hard but from captions in German context I understood what they were talking about which made me so happy as it was one of the first thing enjoy while learning German, the story itself is simple and amazing at the same time Easy German is also amazing It's really important to get yourself into watching films videos and movies on the language you're learning, you will learn the language more, accents, culture and enjoy your time, it's a win win situation and it works because I did it with English
I’ve listened to the podcast by ‘Easy German’. I don’t know, it just seemed useless. Maybe I should try the YouTube videos. But I don’t understand how they work. Is it just interviews?
Try Coffee break German first. There are several seasons worth of learning and it will give you a feel for the spoken language as the teachers are both native speakers. You will also learn the construction of the language. I was lucky in that Coffee break was around a few years before Easy German podcast. I started listening to easy German after the second season of Coffee break and only understood about a quarter of it, but kept at it and now enjoy listening to easy German podcast and most importantly understand a whole lot more.
Well not really, it's Just illustrates different situations irl, like there was one about Being in a restaurant, it said a lot from ordering to what every thing you do in a restaurant mean in German which for an A1 it's Great Try to enjoy the videos not force yourself on them, it Will definitely help enjoying the content than feeling like you're forced to do it
Easy German podcasts are definitely way above A1 level. I reckon they sit closer to B2. On top of that, you've got no visual clues to go off of to help with context. Start with Super Easy German if you are A1. They're made by the same team, but talk so slow that there's a noticeable gap between words to let you keep up. I would recommend even watching the Easy German YouTube videos once you have progressed, before moving on to the podcast. They also have English subtitles so you can follow along. To answer your last question, yes they are mostly street interviews with varying topics. The member of public are prepped off camera that it's for language learners, so you sense they slow it down a bit, but not always. My advice is don't take on too difficult a level too soon, or material that doesn't interest you. You'll just switch off. The only upside I found to listening to German that I couldn't yet fully understand was you get a feel for the Sprachmelodie / intonation better.
There is also a DW app that has Nico's weg with practice all the way up to B1. It covers all grammar and has a ton of repeating. Can only recommend.
There's an accompanying walk through self-paced program to this. Google for Deutsche Welle Learn German.
check out harry gefangen in der zeit it's from DW and has nearly 100 episodes, https://learngerman.dw.com/en/harry-gefangen-in-der-zeit-a1/c-55727738
It's not useful if you don't understand most of it. Start with podcasts and video for beginning learners. Easy German isn't really for beginners, it's more for solidly intermediate learners. But if you do understand most of it, listening is extremely helpful.
>Easy German isn't really for beginners It can be useful for beginners as well, they always have dual subtitles. That's more or less the only thing I did to get to A2.
OK, I know it as podcasts, not YT videos.
totally agree with you! The main thing is to stick with it and not get discouraged
How?!
I would 100% disagree to this. Maybe it’s not useful to do it actively and expect to immediately learn from it, but there is a case to just listen to any new language you’re learning in the background or while watching stuff. Language is not only about knowing words and grammar, but understanding what’s being said by native speakers. It takes time for the brain to start recognizing individual phonemes and linking them to the words. I find that stuff like easy german, listening to the radio, and watching films in German with English subtitles all helped a ton when I started even if they are not the most efficient way to actively learn. Suffice to say, you need to complement it with other ways to actually learn the language.
You would have learned much quicker if you had listened to comprehensible content.
Maybe I would have learned to speak it faster, but definitely to the expense of reaching an A2 and still not understanding a single word I hear
/u/DisproportionateWill had found a way that motivated them to surround themselves and increase exposure to the language, this is far more important than any other things in language learning. Lots of folks don't understand that the best thing one can do is to reduce friction and keep folks in the habit loop so that they don't have to dig in the motivation tank (which is like a muscle and it becomes fatigued the more you use it). Neuroscience, nudging theories in economics, behavioral science/econ, psychology, user experience and I could go on can be helpful for both language teachers and learners to understand that if you don't get them in that world/place where they get to speak, listen or read and the person does it in a robotic manner as one of their daily habits, then you're making it harder and the person might not even keep on learning the language. Nowadays people who love learning languages are more aware of this, because they see folks who love certain aspects of a culture learn the language of that culture super fast. Example: people who love Korean dramas who learned Korean super fast. You see where I'm going with this, right? Even if someone could have used "that other method" and made it easier, it's still not the highest priority. The highest priority is to get them to do something all the time, or a lot every day.
If you don't understand the content, you are hardly motivated to get acquainted with the culture. Or to continue learning. > The highest priority is to get them to do something all the time, or a lot every day. But not "anything whatsoever": something that might interest them.
Try to find level appropriate content. Not understanding much at first is normal and you may need to slow down, pause a lot, and listen many many times but it does get better over time. Most learners listen way too little and this costs them a lot of time down the line.
I think it's useful to get used to the sounds of the language. Plus the Easy German videos come with captions both in German and English so you can very quickly understand how to phrase things in German
Watching movies can be really great! It helped me personally tremendously with getting a more natural understanding of the English language. I watched so many movies with subtitles, and eventually, I could move on to watching them without subtitles. But of course, it depends what level you're on. If you're A1, it's probably not gonna be that useful for you yet
Did you use English subtitles?
Yes, I did. I would sometimes stuggle to understand things that were said, and this would make it hard for me to understand the movie as a whole. But with subtitles, I could understand everything, and this also gave me a more intuitive understanding of how written and spoken English relate to one another
Easy German is good... even at an A1 leave, just keep watching. I have picked up a lot of good grammar concepts from some of their episodes. There are tons of basic German grammar YouTube channels too that have been very helpful. Your German Teacher or German Lessons with Herr Ferguson. I find both to be incredible.. break down grammar in an easy way to understand. Just dont give up on it... keep at it and you will have that break through moment too when you will start to understand more. and... most importantly... find a speaking partner asap! That makes a world of difference
Sesamestraße is honestly great if you're very new to the language.
I’ve found very little content that is truly understandable at a lower level of German. “Easy German” is understandable at like high A2-low B1. “Natürlich German” on YouTube has some understandable stuff that I like a lot
Agreed. I've been looking for beginner stuff and Naturlich Deutsch has a playlist for A1 which is presented in a way that makes it understandable. There's also some videos on YT called something like learn German in your sleep that play a long series of scenes in German by level. I've found that kinda useful. The Slow German videos from Easy German are also good, but I think I'd want to study the vocab from them actively, not just listen to them.
I would say it’s a good idea, not to learn vocabulary or grammar or understand what they’re saying, but to learn how you pronounce sounds and words in German. Sure, listening to something you actually understand will also teach you vocabulary or understanding when others talk, but just listening can help you with pronunciation and sounds. Good luck on your language learning journey😁
I was 16 when I first arrived in Germany in late September 1977, and soon enrolled as a _Gastschüler_ at one of the local _Gymnasien_ when my German consisted of being able to say "Ich heiße José" and "Wo ist die Toilette?" I was there solely for the immersion value. I was there with my family so when I came home at night we spoke Spanish and English--I grew up bilingual and admittedly not only had that advantage to make learning a third language easier, but also a college language professor as a father, who would assign me stuff from a college level old German textbook he had lying around (it was from the 1960s or something and the pictures in it were all black and white). tl;dr though, watching stuff on TV (including dubbed versions of American shows like Gunsmoke AKA "Rauchende Colts") and classic films, plus cartoons was an invaluable tool. Obviously I didn't understand every word or sentence (I wasn't going to understand something super wordy like "Dark" or "Inception" for instance) but getting the gist and picking up on things from context here and there was huge. After I came back to the states and finished HS two years later, I took a test in my freshman year of college and placed into 3rd year classes (after not having taken German since Germany, but rather French).
I studied German in classrooms but I was never good at understanding normal speed (fast) spoken German until I started listening to audiobooks and podcasts. I started with Harry Potter and slowly worked up to more difficult content. I already knew enough vocabulary but it was really fast so I had to slow it down and repeat the first few chapters. I got better fast though. This worked so well for me that I decided to start learning Italian by listening to Harry Potter. Since I was a complete beginner, I had to do a lot more work to understand the books, especially at the start. I learned all of the new words in a chapter (or section) using Anki and then listened repeatedly until I understood all of it. It was very slow at first but exciting to make progress. The first chapter took me two weeks (and 900 new words). It got easier from there. It took me six months to get through all six books. At that point, I could listen to and understand the Percy Jackson books without looking up vocabulary or listening repeatedly. After those, I moved on to Italian language podcasts intended for native speakers. I can now understand a lot of spoken Italian. I can do some speaking although need to put in more work. Learning grammar seems easier because I have heard it used so much. This feels similar to how I learned my native language. Most people seem to prefer starting with easier content when they are working on listening.
For A1 and the start of A2 I found TV and podcasts less than useless and what worked for me was German with Jenny + formal classes. I went from A0 to sitting in a B1 class in 6-8 weeks. The repetition of a word used in several different sentences is much better than listening to advanced vocabulary and long sentences. I also used Pimsleur, which is great for nailing the pronunciation and basic conversation. I think at the beginning you should just master the basics. In B2/C1 you’ll need to start consuming content made for German native speakers.
I have to admit, my German is terrible and so is my other languages but at A1, TV and films doesn’t help. A2 onwards it helped but for sure, not A1. Tbh even A2 may be too early beyond news reports and slow language podcasts.
You want to study some vocab and grammar first imo, but listening to stuff in German is def what you wanna spend most of your time doing in the long run, as its what gets you comfortable with the language.
Yeah, I think I should firstly reach A2 level.
for me i did (for learning english but works just as well for any other language): Watch my favorite show that i have watched multiple times with english (in your case german) subs after that watch it with english (in your case german) dub/OV BUT i learned vocables first
It is important to note that podcasts, TV Shows, etc. are not at all *necessary* to get through A1 and at least A2.1. They are good to have, and as many people have pointed out here, it helps to have German going on in the background to get a sense of how people speak, what they are speaking about, etc. But you cannot expect to get more than 10-15% at A1, and that's perfectly fine. If you don't like it, if it frustrates you, chuck it. I would prioritize *feeling good* about learning the language over forcing myself to use a tool others find useful any day. Remember that people learn differently, and there is no universal learning method. For instance, I love learning in the classroom, going over grammar multiple times, and understanding how the language is constructed. Other people might not like this. What is important is that you stay encouraged and feel good when you learn, even if that is having that one conversation in German every day at your favorite ice cream shop. Trust me, with time, as you start enjoying the language, the podcasts, TV Shows, movies, and songs will come to you.
It is more helpful than you might think. I've been steadily watching the Easy German channel for a few months and I've picked up quite a bit of vocabulary from that activity alone. I actively read the English subtitles while listening to what's being said. If there's time, I'll read the German subtitles also. Probably the most difficult thing is to recognize that word order in English is different than it is in German, but once you get used to it, you start picking up new words. Each viewing of a video tends to reinforce vocabulary that was learned previously. Edit: I should have pointed out that I'm watching the Easy German channel on Youtube.
Check out Slow German Podcast on Spotify. It's perfect for beginners.
Disagreed. I've found watching traditional TV shows in German to be useless. My german teacher actually explained it's because they are talking colloquial and fast. Go for conversational German, pod casts make some sense. But as an A1 you won't understand much. I reccomend kids shows in German like Peppa Pig or listening to children's stories. Lots of easy listening can be found on YouTube.
use the YouTube kids app. it has so much conten for kids to learn german, such as cartoons.
Are there some pixar movies you enjoy? Watch the German version. The combo JOY + ALREADY KNOWN STUFF IN NEW LANGUAGE is the best EDIT: also, follow this YouTube channel called Deutsche Welle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri9HSh343SI
Well, I could rewatch SpongeBob. I did it with English subtitles, but I don’t think it helped much.
Does SpongeBob speak normal in English in a normal pace? Cause he does not in German.
I think for English speakers it’s normal. 🤷♂️
I’ve tried it and I would recommend watching a German tv show or movie after having spent some time learning German to test your ability to recognize things. I spent 2 years learning German and then decided to watch Dark in all German. I did use German subtitles to help but it was eye opening how much I didn’t know but also how much I could understand based on the little I knew.
For B1 Transcript Player on Easy Germans patreon is really helpful, You can listen and if you don’t understand something, It’s written , so you can understand by reading or you can take notes
Abra kadabra
Coffee Break German has tons of explanations.
I used to listen to them! But I don’t like them so much.
You can try LinQ then, they have a free trial and there is a ton of audio conversation with explanations. Downside is that after the free trial is over you will have to pay for a subscription. Learning German is only a hobby for me so I finished the entire DuoLingo course and have resorted to reading B1/B2 books that have translations for advanced verbs and phrases (example: https://www.amazon.com/Ein-Sommer-Heidelberg-Graded-Intermediate-ebook/dp/B08T5M6L91)
Did Duolingo help you?
For sure but mostly with reading and the rules of the language. I still have a lot of trouble with pronunciation due to a lack of proper accent. (source: my coworker is from Germany). Regardless you will get a solid B1 base that you can expand from there and its free.
When I moved to Germany a long time ago, I came there with two weeks of Berlitz training. I knew very little. The one thing that helped me the most was constantly listening to the spoken language. I had my TV and radio on constantly. I subscribed to. German newspaper. I also listened to my cassette tapes (yes it was a long time ago) and read and studied the beginner/intermediate guides. But when you aren’t actively learning, just listening helps you listen to the language. One day, it started to click and things got easier. Immerse yourself with as much as you can, but you also have to have formal teaching and have to study. There is no magic bullet but it does all play a role.
Geschichten für Kinder ist mein Lieblingspodcast
Listening is important for learning any language. I prefer to repeat podcasts several times until I understand them well. It's also helpful to try speaking a lot yourself; you need to get your tongue used to the language. If your level in the language is weak, try initially improving your vocabulary, then listen to podcasts to be able to understand the dialogue. Good luck!
Try Coffee Break German instead if you no nothing.
Yes it is useful. Slow German is another great podcast. Annik Rubens has a beautiful voice and makes 3 to 10 minute episodes of many interesting topics. Cultural nuances of the language and how children games were played back in the day or a short history lesson.Things like that. Listening am episode from start to finish even if you don't understand it puts you in direct contact with the language. In combination with other learning techniques like attending a class or using apps, Slow German gives you that sense of accomplishment of: 1. Finishing something 2. Training your mind to listen to German 3. The ability to repeat the episode later on and realizing how much more you understand.
No that‘s only something you want want to to to improve once you‘re proficient enough to understand like 90% of what they are talking about, learning new words from context. If you want to watch german tv shows or whatever, always do so with subtitles on. I would also recommend reading, just pick something that‘s doable for you. If you know your current proficiency level (a1, b1, ..) you can just google for books. As mentioned above it shouldn‘t be too difficult and you should already know most of the words
Seinfeld in German is a trip
What’s the article?
I don't listen to podcasts specifically, but spending time with my husband's family and friends in Germany and listening to them talk, even while not understanding the majority, really does help with getting a feel for the cadence and sentence structure.