When I go to bed I lie awake thinking in German. Instead of counting sheep I count the words I know. The Duolingo system tells me I know more than a thousand.
Listening Exercises
People used to complain that online courses, or book courses, taught them to read but they could not speak a new language. Duolingo has added in the last couple of years listening exercises where they check whether you have heard a specific word, a choice of three of a set of about six words, or which of two similar spoken words.
Speaking Exercises
There are also speaking exercises where you repeat a sentence which is both spoken and written and the system gives you a tick and congratulations or asks you to repeat it twice more until you get it right, or it says, let's move on from now. Every now and then you get asked to repeat exercises from the previous half hour or set of a certain number of exercises which were not right first time.
Practising Useful Vocabulary
When others are asleep I can't practise speaking aloud, but I can think through the names of items in the room, the house, an imaginary hotel, and requests at an airport, hotel or restaurant.
I can tell the hotel or restaurant everything was perfect.
German - English
perfekt - perfect
English - German
perfect - perfekt
During the day I note useful, similar words from my activity, which today was reading jewellery-making instructions.
German - English
Armband - bracelet
elastische - elastic
hier - here
Informationen - information
klarer Nagellack - clear nail polish
Knoten - knot
Kordel - cord
Minuten - minutes
optional - optional
Schere - scissors (shears)
English - German
bracelet - Armband
clear nail polish - klarer Negellack
cord - Kordel
elastic - elastische
here - hier
information - Informationen
optional - optional
knot - Knoten
minutes - Minuten
scissors - Schere
Where can you learn and practise speaking German?
Flag of Germany
You can use German in Germany, Austria and German-speaking parts of Switzerland. Also Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and parts of Belgium and Italy.
-ends-
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