https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm A collection of extra activities I have done in order to learn/catch up with German that were not part of classwork/required study, or things that I struggled to grasp and understand from class. So, this can also include extra work to help me learn these new things. en-us 2018-11-29 15:20:55 UTC 2024-10-25 13:25:17 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Folder.png raplatt1 https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/309343457 I used youtube to try a different approach to learning german numbers. I realised that just writing them down and trying to memorise them with writing and reading wasnt enough. I kept getting them mixed up as I do also with my own native numbers, so I thought maybe seeing them change visually infront of me with a song can help. Although this video is not up to 30 minutes long, i spent around 35 mins going through this video, testing myself and then checking, and then finally going through the video again to make sure I felt confident. I realised the melody with the numbers helped me remember them much better, and with the numbers having little faces on them, i can pull back to that in my memory and visual each one with the spelling underneath. I am a very visual learner with languages and I need to connect new information to an image or something that catches my eye. I realised this method definitely worked as there are so many numbers to remember too.]]> 2018-11-29 15:24:27 UTC https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/309343457 raplatt1 https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/309346502 After realising that I learn best visually with audio, i realised maybe Youtube is the best way for me to do additional exercises or to help me feel a bit more secure in German, so I don't feel so behind in class. While I was tidying my room and doing other chores, I found this video and put it on loudly on my TV while i did other things. I found that it was quite long and quite difficult, but i kept it on even just to familiarise myself with the sound of German. I struggle to know how to pronounce some things, so hearing someone else speak absolutely anything in German despite how difficult i found this, really helped me get a feel for how the language sounds. Upon reflection i realise this may have been a bit too much of a 'trying to run before i can walk' approach, so after about 40 minutes I decided I should look elsewhere for something a little less overwhelming. But hearing the sound of german for a long extent of time whilst doing other things really helped ease me into the sound of the language. I hope this kind of approach can help me more in the future with my listening, as I struggle to understand when others speak german around me or to me.]]> 2018-11-29 15:28:50 UTC https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/309346502 raplatt1 https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/312073316 Because I used to study Korean as my degree, i have a lot of experience using the korean language. I find i often struggle with German as it is so different to the language i was so used to learning. I have had to learn a totally new approach to learning german as ive realised it really cannot be learn in the same way, personally. I find it difficult to memorise german words and spelling, so i came up with the idea of when i try to revise or learn some new words outside of class at random, that i put the english, then korean, and then find the german. this way, it is connecting to two languages in my head so i have something to grab onto in my head and assosiate it with something when i try to remember it. I instantly thought this really has worked and has made learning German much more enjoyable already despite how behind i am. Now I have been able to better learn vocabulary and attach it to another language i feel very comfortable in and familiar with. Im really happy I have found this method and it really has changed the learning process for german for me already. 

I looked around online for any random, useful phrases or words that i feel can be useful to know on this course, or potentially prepare me for any other chapters with new vocabulary that we might learn. this was mostly to build my confidence too, as i have struggled with vocabulary since i began late and wanted to broaden my knowledge a bit more just incase we may come across any of these basic words. I later tried to find if the singular nouns were die, der, or das and double checked to the best of my ability with dict.cc. ]]> 2018-12-06 23:22:57 UTC https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/312073316 raplatt1 https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/312080944 I found this video really interesting. Although its just some light-hearted fun, I really enjoyed watching this as it connects my love for the korean language with german in the exact same place where I used to visit everyday when i lived in korea. I loved to listen to the guy talking german whilst reading both the english and korean subtitles, to see what he was saying in english, and then connecting the german with korean too, to remember it. I managed to pick up a few words despite how quickly he was talking, and i learnt some new phrases just by watching this video. Overall although its a fun, silly video, i really did learn some new small things and enjoy it at the same time too. He used some very useful phrases such as asking for directions etc which can be really useful for real-life situations, and I noticed he used some expressions in German like 'excuse me' and 'have a nice day' which are always good to remember. After this, i then browsed around youtube looking for similar videos to this one, and searched online some of the expressions he used, in english, so i could then find them in german. I kept a note of these and revised them and tested myself to make sure i remember them. ]]> 2018-12-07 00:24:33 UTC https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/312080944 raplatt1 https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/312084789 I wanted to try to easy reading, so looked around the internet for some accessible childrens books, so the german would hopefully be easy. I wanted to find some new words either verbs or different ways to use those verbs in past and future tense. I found this collection of childrens books called 'Dr. Brumm'. On this website it shows several pictures from inside each book, so i used these to have a look for any words or grammar i may have came across in class to help me better understand. I read through them and for every word or little thing I didnt understand, i tried to search online for an explanation/translation.  I found this really helped, and i could do it slowly in my own time so i could absorb the information properly. Overall, this method was really useful and I learnt quite a lot.]]> 2018-12-07 00:52:30 UTC https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/312084789 raplatt1 https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/312085095 As i'm very passionate about topics and issues related to the LGBTQ+ community, I noticed that as so many words in German are gendered, how do German people address themselves if they don't identify with a binary gender? In order words, how can they say 'i'm a student' without choosing either the male or female version of that noun, when they don't identify with either? I wanted to find out more about this area, how trans people can navigate the world using the german language, what words and ways they can use to express themselves, hopefully learn these to better educate myself, and generally how german is used around this topic. As these sources are from the internet, I can't be sure everything in these sources are correct, but i thought atleast trying to learn some of the words used in german can atleast be the start to this. I read through both articles and several more online, and familiarised myself with the terms they use in german and learnt these. Overall, although i cant be entirely sure if this information is correct or not (but i'd hope it is anyway) it has been really useful that I explored this part of the german language a bit more as a start.


https://wunder2welt.wordpress.com/2017/08/25/transgender-terminology-in-german/]]> 2018-12-07 00:54:07 UTC https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/312085095 raplatt1 https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/312159547 As I was looking through the internet for basic german words such as animals and food etc, I wondered how german would be with different kinds of cats, to be more specific. I found this when I was writing the email for my essential homework 2, and was going to maybe mention my cat in it, but wasn't sure how to say her breed. I thought this was quite interesting as i didnt really expect there to be much different, but some are. From this, I further explored this website and looked at other vocabulary too for about 30-40 minutes. The layout of this was also helpful and helped me clearly learn and revise this information later on. http://www.happychild.org.uk/freeway/german/vocab/catsoverview.htm]]> 2018-12-07 09:56:40 UTC https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/312159547 raplatt1 https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/312162654 When I was looking for extra sources to help me get used to listening to German, I came across this beginner listening video. I found it really helped to test myself with it and again just familiarise myself with the pronunciation.  I repeated back everything they said, even if i didn't really know what it was at first.
On the suggested videos, i then found a really great youtube channel that focus on teaching german and clarifying things, but using real life things and go to different places outside to explain and show. Overall, I learnt the most common mistakes so could be mindful of what to avoid too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDaYbhrmLNk&list=PLk1fjOl39-50WX8xiXwIBUcbdtMjlaZSj&index=31]]> 2018-12-07 10:07:49 UTC https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/312162654 raplatt1 https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/312162969 After I found this really really helpful youtube channel that has subtitles and different topics in different ways to learning this fun. I then found other videos from this channel, such as a lady exploring Taipei in Taiwan which is one of my favourite countries in the world, and a video about all the cases in German.
I struggled to grasp all the cases in German as i started classes late, so this really helped to see how they were used as they use them with real life objects too, and I can visualise the use of the cases better.
Listening and reading both the german and english subtitles is a method i've realised is really useful for me, as I can also match the words they're saying with how to spell them. I later watched a few more from this channel as I really enjoyed their content, and have been learning so many new words and terms, and also helping me grasp ones we've been through in class. I think i will continue to use this channel as it has been the most useful thing i have found whilst learning german so far.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbWOui-V-U4&index=12&list=PLk1fjOl39-50WX8xiXwIBUcbdtMjlaZSj]]> 2018-12-07 10:09:08 UTC https://padlet.com/raplatt1/wux9nv2liuqm/wish/312162969