I love learning German!
I have just finished a two-week, 6-hour-per-day, 6-lesson-per-day intensive German class offered through the University (Uni Zurich and ETH). I have decided that learning any language this intensively is a little like throwing spaghetti at a wall to see what sticks. Since the "spaghetti" is being constantly thrown at all wall, some of it is bound to stick, and you don't run in to the problems of forgetting between classes. It was really quite incredible how much we all learned. When we started, we basically knew no German. By the end of the class, we were able to hold simple conversations. I had a long discussion about Istanbul with someone... Can you imagine?
I've sat with my roommates and listened to them speak German, and I've mostly been able to understand what they are saying (as long as they don't speak too quickly) and even to join into the conversation to practice.
Maybe it's my inner nerd, but I love learning! And learning a new language is like being introduced to a whole new world and a new way of thinking about words and communication. It's so stimulating and exciting, and watching progress being made is quite rewarding. Learning also gives the sense that limitations in communication and understanding are falling away. It has been like a treasure hunt to walk around here and finally start understanding words on the signs and headlines in the newspaper and snippets of conversation on the tram. I could wax eloquent about my love of learning a new language, but I'll spare y'all.
Another amusing part of this whole language thing is that my Spanish comes back, occasionally at incredibly inopportune times. I can't tell you how many times I've come up with a fantastically German-Spanish sentence. When I don't know the word that I want in German, often it comes to me in Spanish. Our brains are so interesting in the way that they work!
I think that German is a fairly difficult language to learn, since the grammar and structure is quite different and can be quite particular. But it's rather like a puzzle, and I'm learning to put it together. I've started capitalizing all of my nouns if I don't watch myself. The pronunciation is also a challenge, but I find it fun. German still sounds aggressive to me, but I think I might be starting to catch the melody underneath.
Aside from the joy of learning, though, I am also taking German learning as my own personal challenge. I've been told not to expect too much of myself and not to expect to learn much, so I'm throwing down the proverbial gauntlet and really trying to challenge myself to learn. My next German class starts on Tuesday, and I will also meet my tandem partner next Tuesday. (A tandem partner is someone that you meet with regularly for a language exchange. I'll help him with English, and he'll help me with German.) I am also trying to make an effort to talk with my roommates and coworkers in German. And I'm decorating the walls of my rooms with German vocabulary. So there!
Watch out German, here I come!
I have just finished a two-week, 6-hour-per-day, 6-lesson-per-day intensive German class offered through the University (Uni Zurich and ETH). I have decided that learning any language this intensively is a little like throwing spaghetti at a wall to see what sticks. Since the "spaghetti" is being constantly thrown at all wall, some of it is bound to stick, and you don't run in to the problems of forgetting between classes. It was really quite incredible how much we all learned. When we started, we basically knew no German. By the end of the class, we were able to hold simple conversations. I had a long discussion about Istanbul with someone... Can you imagine?
I've sat with my roommates and listened to them speak German, and I've mostly been able to understand what they are saying (as long as they don't speak too quickly) and even to join into the conversation to practice.
Maybe it's my inner nerd, but I love learning! And learning a new language is like being introduced to a whole new world and a new way of thinking about words and communication. It's so stimulating and exciting, and watching progress being made is quite rewarding. Learning also gives the sense that limitations in communication and understanding are falling away. It has been like a treasure hunt to walk around here and finally start understanding words on the signs and headlines in the newspaper and snippets of conversation on the tram. I could wax eloquent about my love of learning a new language, but I'll spare y'all.
Another amusing part of this whole language thing is that my Spanish comes back, occasionally at incredibly inopportune times. I can't tell you how many times I've come up with a fantastically German-Spanish sentence. When I don't know the word that I want in German, often it comes to me in Spanish. Our brains are so interesting in the way that they work!
I think that German is a fairly difficult language to learn, since the grammar and structure is quite different and can be quite particular. But it's rather like a puzzle, and I'm learning to put it together. I've started capitalizing all of my nouns if I don't watch myself. The pronunciation is also a challenge, but I find it fun. German still sounds aggressive to me, but I think I might be starting to catch the melody underneath.
Aside from the joy of learning, though, I am also taking German learning as my own personal challenge. I've been told not to expect too much of myself and not to expect to learn much, so I'm throwing down the proverbial gauntlet and really trying to challenge myself to learn. My next German class starts on Tuesday, and I will also meet my tandem partner next Tuesday. (A tandem partner is someone that you meet with regularly for a language exchange. I'll help him with English, and he'll help me with German.) I am also trying to make an effort to talk with my roommates and coworkers in German. And I'm decorating the walls of my rooms with German vocabulary. So there!
Watch out German, here I come!
