#german lessons

[shinyrhinestones]

The fuck do you know?

[ink-stained-student]

☆ 1.08.2024 ~ Thursday ☆

I spent ages using duolingo and not really learning anything, so today I switched to using Busuu, and honestly I've already learned more important things here than I did in so many sessions on duolingo (no-one tell the owl, I'm scared of him!) 👀

Anyway, today marks the first of August, so I'm getting back on track with studying and getting a start on my academic reading, getting back to my schedule and routines and also starting to write (or so far just plan) my novel! 🥰

I've been less active through July but I'm hoping to get back to almost daily posts again 🙏

[beachboysnatural]

This is why I have trouble talking in German because to say anything above a kindergarten level sentence you have to conjugate literally everything you say. I spend less time figuring out verbs than I do figuring out my articles and adjectives and possessive pronouns and

[der-schmetterling15]

i have a new student who was born in germany and grew up with her aunt and grandma speaking in german with her. now she's like 60 years old and decided to give it a chance. since she has some knowledge and knows some expressions and words, she also pushes me to speak more in german during our classes and I think it's gonna be really helpful for me. learning this language is lonely and I have no one to talk to at the moment, plus my imposter syndrome stops me from trying to move to Berlin bc I think I won't find a job there.

[caddy-crystal-queen]

Can I just complain about Duolingo a little bit? I'm not trying to be mean and I still love it but I think the whole ranking thing they do is bullshit. Learning a language shouldn't be a game or a competition. It should be based on goals you set yourself.

I think it's bullshit how only the top 7 get to move up the leagues and stuff (yes I dropped a league this morning and yes I'm bitter about it) when in reality I personally feel like those leagues shouldn't exist at all. I like the streak system but that's about it.

Seriously I've been trying to learn German for the past three years now. I have a 1076 day streak as of writing this and I'm still not fluent. I can read German mostly fine, and I can pick up on a few words in passing (I know the sounds of the language at least, so I know when someone is speaking it) but I can't hold a whole conversation. It kinda sucks and makes me feel like I'm putting in too much effort and not getting really anything out if it. Or at least not getting what I want out of it fast enough.

And maybe that's my fault. Maybe I need to do more lessons? But I have a life. I have a job. I have a book I'm working on. I have a YouTube channel I'm trying to get off the ground. I don't have time to do fifty million lessons in one day. It's ridiculous.

I don't even know what I want out of this rant. I just think learning a language shouldn't be a competition. Or maybe I shouldn't care as much about the leagues more than I do my streak, cause that's kinda where I'm at right now.

[angelikasgerman]

Six tips to get started at the gym or with a German class 🙂

The other day I came across ‘six tips to get started at the gym’ and thought that these tips are actually just as relevant for German learners than for gym goers. Whether this is your first experience in the gym or in a German class, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and a little intimidated. How do you know where to begin? 1. Find the right gym. One of the most important things is that you choose…

[olesentuition]

[donaviolet]

Words cannot explain how in love I am with Will Wood's new song titles

[josephbrassey]

Last night I was fencing a student and we found ourselves facing eachother in one of those Kurosawa pauses that sometimes happens when two people who know each others moves very well are watching and waiting. I realized his right side was open and his left was guarded. He knew this as well and we were both chambered for cuts-to-longpoint-thrusts, which was the ideal move at that range.

I realized two things in that moment: one, I remembered that I have a known-in-the-club tendency to twitch right before I launch an attack. It’s a nervous habit that I only really manifest under stress. It’s hard to break. Two, I realized that he could reasonably expect me to attack his right. I also frequently take obvious openings because I can often make it not matter that a defense is prepared by being more efficient than my opponent. 16 years of fencing will do that.

So there I am, knowing what move is expected and how it’s being prepared for. So I made a gamble. I twitched voluntarily to provoke the attack to cover their right while skewering me. At the same time I moved very slightly off-line to the side and shot my sword not at his right but at the much MUCH smaller pocket of his left armpit, going over the top of his sword as his point shot over my shoulder and past my head. It landed perfectly.

I’m telling this story because I think there’s a lesson in Liechtenauer’s teachings here that can be applied in general. I did not goad my friend into making a mistake, because he didn’t make one. Based on his own knowledge and experience and high level of skill he did exactly what he should’ve done. I used his intelligence and experience against him.

The lesson that I’ve been rolling around in my head this morning is this: what seems like the sensible choice can in fact be the other person using our own understanding of what is real, and even our extensive knowledge of our area of expertise, against us. You can be played by your own brilliance, sometimes, especially if your opponent is a little clever, knows you well, and leverages it against you.

This works on a lot of levels: moral, intellectual, philosophical. I sort of already knew it, but I’m grateful to a skilled peer and a good exchange for reminding me of it.

You’re never immune to being played by your own ability.

Take from that what you will.

[daniel-bruhls]

Daniel Brühl in Lessons of a Dream for anon

[project-sekai-facts]

so toya got a new jacket (from the same brand too), and while i was watching a mv i noticed he had a bunch of words on the back. do they mean anything?

“Versteckt Monat” or “Hidden month” in English. It’s like whatever the german equivalent of engrish is.

[serenpedac]

I got a job 🎉🎉

[ia-gnom]

[beachboysnatural]

On my period so I’m crying about my German homework. Why can an adjective end in -es

[boopshoops]

diese nüsse

[tazzertopia]

trying to learn german (or any language tbh) is so difficult when i can’t have any conversation practise with someone who speaks german 😞 does anyone know of any websites or apps where i can practise with german speakers?