Alan & Brenda Leonard

3/13/03 23:21:

> I can't quite understand the news yet, but I can get a sense of what
> they're talking about.

When you discover the trick to really understanding it, please let me know!
I've been here a year and a half, and "a sense of what they're talking
about" is still all I really get.

Lately, I'll catch "UN" "Iraq" "Turkey" "veto" and such, but for all I would
know, they could have said that Iraq just vetoed Turkey joining the UN! I
have the pieces to the correct puzzle on the table, but no matter how much I
stir, I'm not getting the puzzle assembled right!

brenda,
despairing of ever learning German!

Tia Leschke

>
> When you discover the trick to really understanding it, please let me
know!
> I've been here a year and a half, and "a sense of what they're talking
> about" is still all I really get.

If I do, I'll let you know. Years ago I took German. I've done nothing at
all with it since.
>
> Lately, I'll catch "UN" "Iraq" "Turkey" "veto" and such, but for all I
would
> know, they could have said that Iraq just vetoed Turkey joining the UN! I
> have the pieces to the correct puzzle on the table, but no matter how much
I
> stir, I'm not getting the puzzle assembled right!

Do you spend much time away from the military housing where people all
probably speak English? I know that during the week I spent in Germany
long, long ago, I got a lot of practice understanding and got much better at
it. But any time I tried to speak, they would want to practise their
English on me. <g>
Tia

Alan & Brenda Leonard

3/14/03 03:49:

> Do you spend much time away from the military housing where people all
> probably speak English?

As much as possible. I don't have much in common with military folk...

>I know that during the week I spent in Germany
> long, long ago, I got a lot of practice understanding and got much better at
> it. But any time I tried to speak, they would want to practise their
> English on me. <g>

I find that most people speak much better English than I speak German, so as
long as I keep my mouth shut, they'll speak to me in German and I can try to
puzzle it out. But once I say something, they decide this would be a whole
lot less painful in English, and switch over. <g>

I only took one year of German, which I'm much grateful for, but wish I'd
had the patience back then for more. I suppose if I lived off post (not
allowed) I'd learn more German just from living amongst Germans. But that's
how it is, so I'm improving, just very, very slowly.

brenda

[email protected]

In a message dated 3/14/2003 4:06:07 AM Eastern Standard Time,
abtleo@... writes:


> I only took one year of German, which I'm much grateful for, but wish I'd
> had the patience back then for more. I suppose if I lived off post (not
> allowed) I'd learn more German just from living amongst Germans. But
> that's
> how it is, so I'm improving, just very, very slowly.
>

Have you looked into the Goethe Institut? It's an intensive german school.
Total immersion. WAAAY cool....for a school! <G> I attended two different
ones for three months. I was a resident, but they have "day students" too.

Ben went when we were stationed there. Six-eight weeks---and the serviced
PAID for it! He understands almost all conversational german aimed at him,
but he still struggles with speaking (VERY normal sequence---just like our
children as they learn english. Understanding comes first, then speaking).

~Kelly


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Tia Leschke

> > Do you spend much time away from the military housing where people all
> > probably speak English?
>
> As much as possible. I don't have much in common with military folk...

<g>
>
> I find that most people speak much better English than I speak German, so
as
> long as I keep my mouth shut, they'll speak to me in German and I can try
to
> puzzle it out. But once I say something, they decide this would be a
whole
> lot less painful in English, and switch over. <g>

That's one good thing about listening to the radio. They don't switch over.
When I first started listening to the German stations, I would switch
stations when they started to talk. Then I remembered something that I
think John Holt wrote about babies learning language by listening, then
trying to make the sounds and gradually getting better at it. He thought
foreign languages should be learned the same way. The only problem for
adults is that stage of gradually getting better at making the sounds.
Young children don't mind not being perfect, but we've "educated" to be
uncomfortable with less than perfection.

So I'm just going to listen for a good long while.

I wonder if you could find someone who could use some company and offer to
trade some kind of service (music lessons?) for coffee, conversation, and a
promise not to switch to English other than to translate the things you just
can't understand.
Tia

[email protected]

In a message dated 3/14/2003 1:11:43 PM Eastern Standard Time,
leschke@... writes:


> I wonder if you could find someone who could use some company and offer to
> trade some kind of service (music lessons?) for coffee, conversation, and a
> promise not to switch to English other than to translate the things you
> just
> can't understand.
> Tia
>

803 776 4849

Send doughnuts! <G>

~Kelly


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Alan & Brenda Leonard

3/14/03 15:17:

> Have you looked into the Goethe Institut? It's an intensive german school.
> Total immersion. WAAAY cool....for a school! <G> I attended two different
> ones for three months. I was a resident, but they have "day students" too.

I've heard of it and heard good things about it. But, see, I have this
problem with a school. It's called a kid. You know, the one I'm
unschooling! <g> And I have a problem with childcare for him, because I
have this husband, too. He's in the Army.

So yes, if I were here alone, or with a husband who could be trusted to be
around periodically, I'd do it. But right now, my German is poor, and
that's kinda how it is.

brenda

[email protected]

In a message dated 3/14/2003 6:39:30 PM Eastern Standard Time,
abtleo@... writes:


> I've heard of it and heard good things about it. But, see, I have this
> problem with a school. It's called a kid. You know, the one I'm
> unschooling! <g> And I have a problem with childcare for him, because I
> have this husband, too. He's in the Army.
>
> So yes, if I were here alone, or with a husband who could be trusted to be
> around periodically, I'd do it. But right now, my German is poor, and
> that's kinda how it is.
>

Ask whether you could take him WITH you to learn too. Half price tuition?

~Kelly


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