Class Favorites:I am really beginning to like listening to exercises.  Having the chance to actually hear Deutsch is one of the best exercises for me.  We often do this in class with our book. It helps me to learn proper pronunciation and it also just great practice.  More often than not, I will be talking or listening verses reading or writing and this is an excellent opportunity for me to practice. We also have ample time work in groups. This is so helpful because we are speaking and can problem solve together. Sometimes getting anothers perspective on something is great and you learn that what you once thought was so difficult, isn’t afterall.

Wow, this weekend was wonderful!  I spent lots of time out and about, including lots of time in Munich, a visit to the Murnau November Markt and visited with my boyfriend’s German speaking mother.  All of these were wonderful activities in which I was able to practice my German!  I feel that I am beginning to recognize more and more when I listen to German speakers, and though I sometimes may not know what something means, I still can get what a sentence is about.  I will be super excited once I am fully able to comprehend and reply when things are said to me!  Soon!In class I felt really good today!  We began learning Genativ.  It seems pretty easy and it also sounds like it is a tense which is not frequently used anymore.  Of course, there was more vocabulary and lots of reading but with practice I remain hopeful!

Well, after a whole week I think I finally really think I understand the point of Konjunktiv 2!  You use them when you are stating something that is not fact, but rather a possibility, dream or wish.  For example, ‘If I had a million dollars, I would _____________.’  Or it an answers a ‘What would you do? question.  It was a quite relaxed day and we had many opportunities to practice and use Konjunktiv 2We used listening activities and other group activities.  It was a very successful day!

Today we continued working on Konjunktiv 2 and practiced writing.  I find you really must listen hard but so long as you can understand what is being said, it is rather simple to transcribe Deutsch.  I frequently forget umlauts but with practice I think this may be one of the easiest things I have had to do since beginning these courses!   We are definitely using more tenses and more frequently which is good, as I find I am starting to better recognize them!  I did my homework today and feel like I have a good understanding of it.  Once again, it was using the Konjunktiv form.  I just wonder how often I will use this tense once I really am able to speak proper Deutsch.

Wow…today we began learning about Konjunktiv 2.  I think I may actually understand it but am still a little foggy as to when it is used.  I will have to see after completing homework and doing some exercises if I can figure it out otherwise, I hope to get a clearer picture tomorrow!We also learned that quite often, things may be much easier than they appear!  For example, when you have a long word often times you can remove parts, such as keit or um or lick, leaving you with a rather simple word.  From there, once you figure out the base word you can add the others to it and discover the true meaning.Today was wonderful but I still have so much to learn!

Today was the beginning of my fourth course at the language school in Munich!  I feel lucky to still have the same great Lehrer, Hans and many of the same classmates!Last course we learned new tenses and I am hopeful to get more practice in using them this course.  I am happy to say, I feel at this point I have a decent understanding of Deutsch. However, I still find it extremely difficult to speak the language. Each and everyday we learn so much new vocabulary that I sometimes find it very overwhelming!I have lots of studying and practice ahead of me but am excited to soon (hopefully) speak the language!

Day 16:Our final day of course 1A was today!We had our test, which covered everything we have learned up to this point. I studied a lot but when handed the test was horrified! Though it was multiple choice, it was very hard and covered much of which I was not familiar with…however, I thankfully managed to get a 2! I am very satisfied with a 2 considering how difficult it was but still feel I have a long way to go before speaking perfect Deutsch!To celebrate, some of my class members and I went out to celebrate! We had dinner and drinks at a tasty little Mexican place near Isator! It was so much fun hanging out with everyone! We had a great time and will hopefully have another get together soon!

Day 15:We have taken 2 written tests thus far, with another one tomorrow, our final day! I got ones on the first two and hope for the same outcome tomorrow but, who knows? I plan to review the old tests and go over the reviews at the end of each section in preparation, but the material is tricky for me and pretty different than English, so I can only hope to remember and use the proper noun, adjective and verb forms. The more I use German the easier it will become, so I must keep trying and keep learning more vocabulary!!!

Day 14:If studying in Munich, I recommend you taking day trips and quick weekend trips around Germany. There is so much to see and do, all of which is relatively easily to access given the excellent public transit here! Cute cities in which you can access on the Bayern pass are Nurnberg, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and Chiemsee. If you have a car or want to take rail or a plane, I definitely suggest visiting Hamburg, and Berlin is a must! I traveled to both the later on three day weekends and definitely had enough time to see so much of each city! Plus many cities now have free walking tours in which you only tip the guides! They are very informative and point out many of the cities highlights! All of these cities are wonderful in unique ways!

Day 13:So, as I have only just begun taking lesson 1A with the Deutsch Akademie, I definitely encourage anyone planning to take this course to study some ahead. Vocabulary is so important!!! I did have a few weeks to learn lots of vocabulary before I began my course but, I still wish I would have known more. I do not feel it is absolutely necessary, but definitely helpful! It is also helpful to have a word book of German and your native language. You can get them at any book store in Munich!German has been tough to learn but I like it and am slowly getting the hang of things. It is much different than English in many ways, but oddly similar in others.