Name: Saskia Mitreuter

Age: 27

Profession: German instructor

Location: Wittenbergplatz

Story: Saskia is my teacher at the Deutsch Akademie. She began teaching German in 2009, but revisited it in January when she began teaching level A1.1. A master’s student of psychology at the University of University of Groningen in the Netherlands, even when she is done her studies, she will still be in the classroom. She wants to become a professor. Her mother tongue is German but she knows English, French and Dutch. She likes sharing helpful knowledge in a fun way.

Star quality: She knows how to draw a really good woodpecker!

ITB Berlin is the place where traveling starts. This huge travel fair is happening all weekend at the Messe Nord ICC. Until Sunday, you can check out room after room of countries who have their traditional and contemporary traditions on show, as well as new travel trends, maps and experts. Need to practice your German? Most of the pamphlets and books are all in German. From Iceland to Japan and Egypt, here are some photos from the opening day.

Heute durfte sich das DeutschAkademie Team BERLIN über einen wundervollen Blumenstrauß und ein herzliches Dankeschön freuen. Vielen lieben Dank für die netten Worte, worüber wir uns sehr gefreut haben.

WIR SIND IMMER SEHR GERNE FÜR EUCH DA!

Long German words always fascinate people. In June, the longest German word at 63 letters, Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz (which means beef labeling supervision task transfer act) was reportedly kicked out of the Deutsch lexicon. However, there are still other long German words, here are some fun examples.

Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung = Speed limit

Freundschaftsbezeigungen = Friendship demonstrations

Stadtverordnetenversammlungen = City Council meetings

Generalstaatsverordnetenversammlungen = General state council meetings

Kinderbewahrungsanstalten = Child-care institutions

Unabhaengigkeitserklaerungen = Armistice negotiations

Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft = Association for Subordinate Officials of the Head Office Management of the Danube Steamboat Electrical Services

Kraftfahrzeug-Haftpflichtversicherung = Motor vehicle liability insurance

Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften = Insurance companies providing legal protection

Aufsichtsratsmitgliederversammlung = Meeting of members of the supervisory board

It was Mark Twain who tried learning German at age 15, but gave it up quickly. He revisited Deutsch again 28 years later with a mature mind. Still, he wound up writing an essay in 1880 called The Awful German Language.

There may be obstacles in learning German, but there are also helpful reminders as we go along. On that note, here are some quotes about the German language from the masters, from famous writers to actors and philosophers alike. Click through the links for further reading.

“How charmed I am when I overhear a German word which I understand.”
–Mark Twain

“I remember learning German – so beautiful, so strange – at school in Australia on the other side of the earth. My family was nonplussed about me learning such an odd, ugly language and, though of course too sophisticated to say it, the language of the enemy. But I liked the sticklebrick nature of it, building long supple words by putting short ones together. Things could be brought into being that had no name in English – Weltanschauung, Schadenfreude, sippenhaft, Sonderweg, Scheissfreundlichkeit, Vergangenheitsbewältigung.”
–Anna Funder

“If you’ve never studied German before or think you know nothing about it, you might be in for a little surprise. You already know many German words .And you have the advantage of being an English speaker, which means that your knowledge of that language will be a helpful tool for learning German efficiently and comfortably.”
–Edward Swick

“In German, a young lady has no sex, but a turnip has (die Ruebe).”
–Mark Twain

“America took me into her bosom when there was no longer a country worthy of the name, but in my heart I am German – German in my soul.
–Marlene Dietrich

“The German language speaks Being, while all the others merely speak of Being.”
–Martin Heidegger

“More particularly, having a largely German-oriented education has made me very responsive to 19th-century German literature.”
–John le Carre

Hi everyone!

I just want to say that it was my pleasure to write a blog during the last month. I tried to transmit a foreigner’s everyday life in Berlin while learning German in Deutsch Akademie. And – I’ve enjoyed sharing it!

Several of you have approached me telling that you liked my posts and pictures, but I saw just few written comments concerned. Anyhow, I hope you liked reading my blog.

As regard to me, I’ve already enrolled into the course A2.2. at DA and will be looking forward to reading posts of a new blogger/s.

Finally, I’d like to thank to Viktoria for this opportunity.

All the best to all of you!

Ivana

P. S. My working table photo attached as German language became a very important part of my presence :).

We played a very interesting game in German classes. This is a game is played in three rounds.

First, all participants have written on three pieces of paper a movie, a place and a name of a famous person. Then all these papers were mixed and placed in a basket. The participants were divided into two teams of 4-5 participants. Then both teams have the opportunity for a period of one minute to guess about as many things as possible. The papers that were guessed right were put out of the basket. Then the second team is back and so on.

In the first round, the person must explain the concepts in words. In the second round one can only explain by facial expressions or body language, what is written on paper, without something to say. In the third round, players can only say a certain word, but that should not be on the paper.

The winner is the team which collects most of the papers (guessed papers). The winning team was the one in which I played. It was interesting because we talked in German only!

 

 

Wir haben ein sehr interessantes Spiel im Deutschunterricht gespielt. Dies ist ein Spiel, das in drei Runden gespielt wird.

 

Zuerst haben alle Teilnehmer auf drei Stück Papier einen Film, einen Ort und einen Namen von einer berühmten Person geschrieben. Dann wurden alle diese Papiere gemischt und in einen Korb gelegt. Die Teilnehmer wurden in zwei Teams von 4-5 Teilnehmern aufgeteilt. Dann haben beide Teams die Chance, für einen Zeitraum von einer Minute so viele Begriffe zu erraten wie möglich. Dafür zieht eine Person aus dem Team ein Papier aus dem Korb und beschreibt, was darauf steht.

 

Dann ist die zweite Mannschaft dran und so weiter. In der ersten Runde muss die Person die Begriffe mit Worten erklären. In der zweiten Runde wird nur mit Mimik erklärt, was auf dem Papier steht, ohne  etwas zu sagen. In der dritten Runde können die Spieler nur ein Stichwort sagen, das aber nicht auf dem Papier stehen darf.

 

Gewonnen hat das Team, in dem ich gespielt habe. Es war interessant, weil wir alle nur Deutsch gesprochen haben!

 

 

 

 

Die Gruppe von Studenten aus dem Kurs A2.1. am Freitagabend zum Abendessen zusammen gegangen. Ich bin in dieser Gruppe :).

Das hier ist das Restaurant „Noah’s“, wir uns getroffen: http://www.noahs-berlin.de/  um 18 Uhr. Es war ein Tisch auf Pias Namen reserviert. Pia ist unsere Lehrerin.

Von den zehn Studenten, drei sind nicht gekommen. Wir sieben haben eine Menge Essen und Trinken, und vor allem über die Dutsche Sprache sprachen wir.

Das war ein sehr interessanter Abend:)!