My main goal while I’m abroad is to improve my German. In many ways, my German has improved a ton the past couple months. I’m more confident speaking, learned a lot of vocabulary and improved my grammar. Some days I’m amazed by how much I can speak and understand but others, it is a struggle.
My first month here, my German improved a ton. I participated in a language program, Start Kurs, which was a huge help. I learned a ton of practical vocabulary that’s helped me in everyday situations like ordering in a restaurant or navigating the university. It was also a great refresher for grammar and helped me get better at speaking conversationally. I’ve always struggled speaking in a second language because I hated making mistakes. I focused so much on making sure the grammar was perfect, I couldn’t keep up with the conversation. If I didn’t know a particular word or how to say a sentence correctly, I’d usually just not say anything. The first couple weeks in Start Kurs, I made an effort to speak more, even if I knew the sentence would sound funny or be ungrammatical. I figured out alternative ways to communicate when I didn’t know the correct word (by gesturing/finding a new word etc.). My goal was to be understood, even if the form wasn’t perfect. When I taught ESL this summer, I always told my students not to worry about making mistakes-that’s how you learn. I’ve started applying this mentality to my own conversation practice which has helped me overcome some of my speaking anxiety. Now that the semesters started, I’m taking three German classes. All of them have a focus in conversation and each has a different focus in writing, grammar, and accent training. Each class meets once a week, for ninety minutes. My grammar and vocabulary are improving a lot with these classes. I’m getting a lot of input from native speakers too, which is helping me understand the language is a more practical way. Until now, my only German instruction was of course, in the classroom and the vocabulary in textbooks is not helpful for actual social interactions. My accent has not improved that much, even with instruction. There are certain German sounds which are know to be difficult for English speakers such as the /ch/ or /r/ sounds. This class has made me aware of which sounds I need to work on but I still have a very hard time pronouncing them, especially in natural speech. I make a huge effort to speak German in public, even though this usually leads to an awkward conversation where I only half-understand what’s going on. I have so many embarrassing stories now, all thanks to the language barrier. One of my favorites is an interaction I had at the pharmacy a few weeks ago. I went in, confident I’d be able to speak in German to the pharmacist. I was looking for cough medicine so I told her “Ich habe ein Hoffe”. The pharmacist gave me a really weird look and I realized I was using the wrong word. I mimed coughing and she said “Oh! Husten” It wasn’t until after I got home I figured out “hoffe” means “hope”. I must have sounded so ridiculous walking into the pharmacy and telling them “I have a hope”. At least now, I’ll never forget the correct word for cough!
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AuthorHi, I'm Michaela! This blog will follow my adventures in Germany for the next 11 months (September-July). Archives
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