Tag Archives: german
Learning German in Upper Austria
So, I’ve been an au pair in Austria for about two months now, and my functional day-to-day German knowledge has exploded. I came in with a strong knowledge base (two semesters at college and a Goethe Institut summer course), but very little real-world practice. Answering questions on a test or in a mock interview set-up […]
Review: DuoLingo
This past week I had more of a part-time work schedule, so I thought I would get serious about reviewing German before my class starts in July. My friend Caitlin suggested that I try DuoLingo, a free language learning website that she is using to brush up on Spanish. I was kind of skeptical, because […]
Checking in: Where do I go from Here?
Now that classes are finished, the pool is opening, and soon I’ll be picking up kids from camps instead of school, it’s time for a new plan of attack. German isn’t going to learn itself, y’all. I just registered for my summer German class (placing into level B1, right on track) at the Goethe-Zentrum […]
Reflections on Two Semesters of German
In the past few weeks, through the flurry of final papers, tests, and emotions about leaving Agnes Scott, I’ve been trying to reflect on this academic year–what did I learn, what did I accomplish? Ultimately, what it comes down to is that at the beginning of last August, I didn’t know any German, and now […]
Initial thoughts on Gemütlichkeit
Gemütlichkeit is a German word that just keeps coming up in descriptions of Austria. At first, I thought it was a pretty simple concept. My go-to online dictionary offers meanings like comfort, coziness, congeniality, sociability, snugness, and “an atmosphere of comfort, peace, and acceptance.” This makes sense, and I often see the word in travel guides […]
Language Learning: German and Latin
This semester at Agnes Scott, I have been lucky enough to take two foreign language classes–German and Latin–and I have been so excited about the ways that they inform and enhance each other. Notate Bene: Excited, not surprised. Learning across different academic disciplines and specializations has characterized my college education. I am a proud proponent […]
Filler Words and Buying Time
Like. Yeah. You know? Right? Well… So, it’s like. Sure. Uh-huh. OK. I mean. God love him. Right? You know. Like, yeah. Until I started studying German, I didn’t realize how many filler words and phrases litter my American English. Well, “God love him” is probably my Southeastern American English, but the rest are things that […]
Warum?/Why?
This is the last my the series of introductory question posts, and it is the most complicated. Why German? Why au pairing? Why Austria? Actually, most people don’t ask me these questions when they find out that I am moving abroad for a year. At least, most Americans don’t. The questions, in my experience so […]
Adventuring in Austria 
Follow-up on Filler Words
Filler Words in German: The Discussion Many thanks to danilotambone in the comments for sharing this link! It seems like “so” and “also” are pretty safe filler words? Sehr interessant!