Being able to know and speak German as a second language opens up an exciting new world. If you want to experience Germany 100%, learn how to speak German! I'd be happy to give you a few pointers.
Hey German students out there, how are you progressing in your learning the German language? Have you been reading, writing, speaking and hearing German lately? You notice I mentioned “hearing” German. There are two ways to improve you ability to understand German when you hear it: reading German and hearing/listening to German.
Reading German for beginners is important because it helps you pick up new words so that when you are hearing German you will recognize those words. Otherwise the words will blow right by you. Practicing hearing German is important just to get your ear attune to the German language and if you combine it with reading German, you'll notice your hearing skills improve dramatically. But we'll talk more on hearing German for another day.
Reading German is the subject for today. What have y'all been reading lately? History, novels, adventure, military, etc? If you've come across some interesting reading, please share it with us! I'd like to share some of my reading with y'all. I'm really excited about the latest book I've been reading, Baska und ihre Männer, one of a series of 4 World War II novels by Ingo Petersson. This is a novel about a German war dog in World War II. Wow, this is a great book and another example of great German penmanship. I recommend this book for any German language student at levels Grundstufe III and Mittelstufe I, II, III (this is the Geothe Institut scale).
I recommend Baska for upper level beginners and intermediates because the grammar is not too difficult. And it has an interesting and colorful array of vocabulary. I was looking up alot of words myself, because these aren't the words commonly found in newspapers, which I read alot. If you don't like war novels, try a novel in another subject. A great source of German cultural and historical books is der Deutsche Stimme Verlag. You can pick up great books and other items from its online store including the 4-book series by Ingo Petersson - just type in Ingo Petersson where it says Suche (search).
Here's an example of what you'll find in Baska - if you can read German like this, you are ready for some German reading at this level. If you have to look up words in the dictionary, go ahead. That is how you make progress. „Während die Männer bis auf zwei Posten bald in teifem Schlaf liegen, ruhrt sie (Baska) selber kaum. Immer wieder hebt sie den Kopf, lauscht in die Nacht, steht zuweilen auf, zieht eine lautlose Runde um das Lager an den Posten vorbei und legt sich dann wieder neben Vorwärts nieder“. (Vorwärts is her master)... Keiner der Posten spricht sie an, und keiner rührt sich, so lange sie in seiner Nähe verweilt. Aber sie wissen sich bei ihr in guter Obhut, denn sie wacht ja mit ihnen“.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this taste of some great German reading from Baska und ihre Männer. If it was a little difficult, keep plugging – euer Deutschverständnis wird sich bestimmt verbessern! If you have any questions about Baska or whatever you are reading, please post it here. Bis bald!
