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Viewing How to Improve Your German Language Vocabulary Very Quickly!How to Improve Your German Language Vocabulary Very Quickly!
By Kathy Steinemann
(c) Copyright Kathy Steinemann The biggest impediment to learning German or any other foreign language is a limited vocabulary. If you understand what you hear and see, correct spelling and grammar will follow. The easy method in this article will rapidly increase your vocabulary. There is no doubt that watching foreign language films will help you to learn a new language. However, you are usually restricted to watching something with English subtitles. These subtitles may miss some of the spoken audio completely, or may be dramatically different to make the film more relevant to its English audience. Additionally, there may be long segments of a movie where nobody is speaking. You might spend two hours watching something, and only hear 45 minutes (or less) of actual speech. Some of the speech will be so rapid, soft, or indistinct that you may replay sections dozens of times to decipher the dialogue. This is where audio books excel. Try to find a good unabridged audio book based on text written during the last year or so. This is not to imply that older books are inferior. However, they do not embrace current grammar and spelling. German has undergone major spelling reforms over recent years that will be a pitfall for you if you learn things that you must later unlearn. Did you notice the word 'unabridged'? This is important. The idea is to obtain an audio book that contains every word in a printed book so that you can follow the narrator. If you are purchasing from a German-language site, watch for words and phrases like those on the following list. (If you cannot type ö or ü on your keyboard, use 'oe' or 'ue' instead.) • audio book - Hörbuch (Hoerbuch) • audio books - Hörbücher (Hoerbuecher) • audio books - Sprechende Bücher (Sprechende Buecher) • audio book unabridged - Hörbuch ungekürzt (Hoerbuch ungekuerzt) • audio CD - Audio CD • audio book - Audio Book • unabridged - ungekürzt (ungekuerzt) • unabridged reading - ungekürzte Lesung (ungekuerzte Lesung) • unabridged readings - ungekürzte Lesungen (ungekuerzte Lesungen) • unabridged audio books - ungekürzte Hörbücher (ungekuerzte Hoerbuecher) Do not hesitate to purchase children's books! The vocabulary will be simpler. If you do not see 'ungekürzte Lesung' in the description for an audio book that interests you, look at the cover photo if available. Often the words will be there. You may also be able to search for the ISBN number elsewhere - like the Internet site of the publisher - and get information that is more detailed. You will need to purchase the corresponding book as well. Hardcover books (gebundene Ausgabe) are more expensive, so look for terms such as 'broschiert' (soft cover) and 'Taschenbuch' (pocket book). Ensure that the audio matches the written material exactly. If you select German authors, you should not find any discrepancies. However, if you try to purchase a book that was written in another language and then translated into German, the versions may be considerably different. Selecting both printed and audio book from the same publisher is the answer in a case like this. To be sure, try to get a peek inside the book and a sample of the audio reading. Look for terms like • Hörprobe or Hörproben (audio sample/s, sound clip/s) • Leseprobe or Leseproben (reading sample/s, reading rehearsal/s) If you are relatively new to German, it is also helpful to purchase an English copy of the book. Once you have your book and audio CD: • Listen to the first chapter several times without reading along. • Listen several times while reading the text. • Search for unfamiliar words in a dictionary. Underline them with a red pen and note the translation above each word/phrase or in the margin. Do not use the English book for help unless you are really stuck. Sometimes your translation will be better than the professional translator's! • Read the first chapter several times, with and without the audio, until you feel relatively comfortable with the vocabulary. It is not necessary to memorize every single word. • Use 3x5 index cards for particularly difficult words or phrases, and review them whenever you can. • After completing the first chapter, proceed to subsequent chapters. Before you know it, you will find a page here and there where you know more than 99% of the words! (c) Copyright Kathy Steinemann: This article is free to publish only if copyright notices, byline, and the author's note below (with active links) are included. About the Author: Kathy writes foreign language articles for A-Language-Guide.com, multi-purpose articles for 1st Rate Articles, and travel articles for 111 Travel Directory. Article Source: A Language Guide - http://www.a-language-guide.com More free articles: 1st Rate Articles - 1stRateArticles.com |
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