One of the things learners of any language frequently bemoan is the lack of opportunities outside of their lessons to put into practice what they’ve learnt. Your German classes will help you develop your speaking and writing skills. However, you can help yourself to further develop your listening and reading skills by availing yourself of some of the many online resources at your disposal.

We’ve recommended some German language podcasts in a previous blog, but you could also try listening to German radio or watching TV programmes via the internet. Listening to different people talking can really boost your comprehension. German broadcasting station Radio Deutsche Welle has a wide selection of audio and video clips which are ideal for beginners and intermediate learners, including slowly spoken news bulletins (langsam gesprochene Nachrichten). Don’t be put off just because you can’t understand every word at first, just try to pick out the important ones so that you get the gist of the story.

There is also a wealth of material online that can help you brush up your reading skills. Why not look for German language websites that deal with topics related to your work or hobbies? This will help to focus and maintain your interest, and will also supply you with useful vocabulary should you be called upon to talk a bit about yourself when you meet German associates and acquaintances.

Language students today have access to so many valuable learning opportunities thanks to the internet, so make the most of them. These activities are used to greatest advantage when coupled with the solid foundation in the language that our German lessons with native tutors provide, so take a look at the learning delivery methods we offer, including one-to-one and group training.

Learning to tell the time in German

One of the first things you will learn in your German language classes are numbers. It will help you say what floor you need in a lift, or on railway concourse, or in an office block. It will also enable you to tell the time.

Timekeeping, for all German people, is very important. Arriving late for a meeting, is considered unprofessional; and arriving late for a dinner appointment is seen as just plain rude.

Learning to tell the time isn’t just about looking at your watch, your phone or the clock in the town centre. That’s easy. Knowing what the time is, if it is said to you over the phone or face to face, isn’t quite so simple. For example: You take a phone call from your German business colleague, he asks you to meet him in the bar, next to their offices at halb acht. Make sure you understand the time; otherwise you will arrive an hour late.

Halb, in German is half, like our half past and acht, is the number eight. So in English we might translate this to mean half past eight, because, we say, it’s thirty minutes past the last hour.
However, in German, they say, it’s thirty minutes to next hour. So, halb acht means, that it is thirty minutes to eight. What time is thirty minutes to eight? Yes, half past seven!

Once you get used to it, it will become second nature, but meanwhile, when you are in Germany on business; or speaking over the telephone, remember, to stop and think.

How should you address business associates in Germany?

As a newcomer to German one of the first topics you’re likely to cover is the personal pronouns: ich, du, er, sie, es, meaning I, you, he, she, it and so on. If you’ve already started learning the language, then you’ll know that there are two different forms of the pronoun “you”: the singular, informal du to address one person you know well, and the plural or formal Sie when speaking to two or more people or someone you’ve just met.

What if you’re going on a business trip to Germany and making your first attempt at communicating in the native language? You may be meeting associates you’ve had previous dealings with on the telephone in English. You feel like you already know them quite well, so does that mean it’s OK to use the familiar du when you meet them?

In German, there is a clear distinction between formal and informal acquaintances, particularly in business. These social niceties are sometimes difficult to grasp for English speakers who aren’t accustomed to an equivalent form in their own language. It is not generally considered polite to address someone using du unless they’ve invited you to do so. In fact, many Germans don’t address each other by their first names until they’ve spent a very long time getting to know one another.

The correct way to address someone you’re meeting on a business footing is as Herr (Mr) or Frau (Ms) followed by their surname, and when you want to say “you”, use Sie.This will help you to avoid any offence or embarrassment in your business dealings.
Our German classes with native tutors will help you gain confidence in your business interactions whether you’re a beginner or a returning learner.

If you’ve taken a German language course in order to improve your business German then a trip to the country to meet clients or colleagues is a great chance to improve your language skills.

Learn vocabulary

Once all the business is done for the day, there’s the temptation to stay in your hotel and relax. This isn’t really the best way to make the most of your time. Head out of the hotel and explore the local area.

Taking in the culture of a city can really help to improve your language skills. This might be something as simple as keeping your thoughts on vocabulary as you walk past the Kirche, Rathaus and Schloss.  

Speak German with the locals

If you are on your own in Germany, perhaps talk to the other business people you are meeting. You’ll probably find that some of them are more than willing to show you around. This is a good chance to work on the conversational skills learnt in your German language course. It’s also a good opportunity have some fun.

Speak German in a restaurant

Even if you head out for dinner on your own, it’s a great way to test out even the most basic of German language skills. Most German language courses will cover ordering in restaurants. Perhaps go somewhere traditional and sample true German cuisine.

Listen to people speak German

You don’t need to seek out places to speak German in order to get more of a feel for the language. Simply being around people can help improve your listening skills and perhaps learn some more colloquial and informal aspects of the language. Visit the hotel bar, a restaurant or spend some more time with your German-speaking colleagues.

Have you ever taken a plane to Zurich or Basel, expecting upon arrival that people would sound like your friends or colleagues from Germany - but then feeling rather puzzled when hearing them talk? The reason is that Swiss Germans have a very strong Allemanic dialect when it comes to their everyday conversation, which is called “Schweizerdeutsch”. This, however, should not discourage you from practising your German skills because every Swiss German can switch to the “Standardsprache” (Standard German) when necessary.

Unlike most regional languages in modern Europe, Swiss German is the spoken everyday language at all social levels in industrial cities, as well as in the countryside in Switzerland. Using dialect conveys neither social nor educational inferiority and is spoken with pride. There are only a few specific settings where speaking Standard German is expected, or is done out of politeness, for example in education, during parliamentary sessions, in the main news broadcast or in the presence of German-speaking foreigners. This situation has been called a "medial diglossia ", since the spoken language is mainly the dialect, whereas the written language is Standard German. They write Standard German pretty much exactly like the Germans do apart from a few small exceptions such as writing the double s (ss) instead of eszett (ß).

In terms of vocabulary Swiss Germans tend to use French loanwords like “Glace” (ice cream) instead of the German expression “Eis” or they use “Trottoir” for “Bürgersteig” (pavement). On a grammatical level Swiss German, for example, does not have a genitive case or a past perfect tense.

Swiss German has also preserved certain vowel sounds from Middle High German. Words like “Haus” (house) are pronounced as /huːs and “Wein” (wine) would be pronounced as /wiː. The contrast in pronunciation between Swiss German and German is as distinct as hearing Brummies talking to Glaswegians.

If you want to improve your German skills and also learn a bit more, as you progress, about the different dialects of spoken German and its usage in German-speaking countries, then get in touch with us and we will provide you with one of our native German speaking experts. 

You are learning German and wondered where you can practice listening and comprehension? Podcasts are a great way of listening to German on the bus, on the tube or whilst walking. There are a number of podcasts and it can take quite some time to work through them all before you find what suits you best.

I thought it'd be a good idea to let you know which podcasts we recommend to our students at various levels:

A great podcast for beginners is 'Mission Europe'. Provided by Deutsche Welle, a public broadcaster from Germany, it is best suited to those with no prior knowledge of German. The podcast is free and has exercises, audio, videos and tests.

Also from Deutsche Welle is 'Marktplatz - Business German' - a podcast covering German economics and business topics. This podcast is for intermediate learners. Twenty six chapters, each chapter with an audio file and manuscript, will teach you everything that is needed to conduct business in Germany.

Then there is 'Slow German', a free podcast produced by Annik Rubens - a broadcast journalist from Munich. With a clear, concise voice and non-accentuated German, Annik produces great podcasts for advance learners, covering topics from everyday life in Germany.

If you need help with conversing or writing in German, then it'd be best to start having German lessons. Get in touch!

You may have heard of the Common European Reference Framework for Languages? It is quite a mouthful but useful at measuring language levels. Have you ever wondered which level your German language is at or what the various levels actually mean?

The basic levels are A1 and A2. If you have achieved level A1 then you should be able to understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases. You can introduce yourself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where you live and work, people you know and things you have. You should be able to interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help. At level A2 you will be able understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). You can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. You can describe in simple terms aspects of your background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need. Not bad for starters!

The intermediate levels are B1 and B2 at which you can understand the main ideas of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in your field of specialisation. You can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. You can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

Proficiency levels are C1 and C2. These levels take several years of studying and at level C1, you can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning. You can express yourself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions; can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. With ease, you can produce clear, well-structured, detailed texts on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices. At level C2 you can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read; can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. You can express yourself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.

No matter at which level you currently speak German, get in touch because our German lessons help you get to the next level.

If you are looking to learn German, then you might consider a self learning course, contact a language school or engage a private tutor.

Autodidactic learning is probably the most cost effective way of picking up a new language and you don't have to schlepp half way across London to attend classes. Some get quite far in using that method. However, this method proves difficult in seeing how much progress you have made, it requires a lot of self discipline and does not give you the opportunity to put your new language skills to much use straight away.

Then there are language schools where you can learn in a class room environment with six to ten, or sometimes up to twenty aspiring German speakers. That number usually drops and as you are persevering, you will benefit from the smaller class that usually transpires after a few weeks into the course. The downside is, that the class moves forward in line with the progress of the slowest learner. Individual strength and weaknesses of students often have to be ignored as the syllabus of the course will be kept generic to accommodate everyone's learning objectives and aptitude.

You might also consider engaging a private German tutor. The obvious advantage is that the syllabus of your course is tailored towards your needs and aptitude; progress will be fast and the timid learner does not have to feel embarrassed in front of a larger group when making mistakes. Maybe your tutor is even willing to come to your office or home to conduct lessons, which would safe you the journey to and from class.

If you are looking to learn German, have any questions about what would work best for you, then please get in touch.

Over the years, Germany has had a large British expatriate community, mainly through military personnel stationed there since 1945.

Then, there was an influx of British builders & workers in the seventies and eighties who came to work in Germany – immortalised in the television series Auf Wiedersehen Pet! However, they did not settle permanently, but went back to the British Isles as the economy improved.

Since the early nineties, there has been once more a steady influx of British professionals & today approximately 96,000 Brits are working & living in Germany. Most of them are young professionals: age group is between the years 25 to 40.

British expatriates in Germany enjoy the relatively high standard of living & safety of the country. In comparison to the UK & other EU countries, Germany has in certain cities low levels of crime &  higher standards of living.

What about the German language you may wonder? Most Germans speak English & are more than happy to practise their English instead of speaking German. Hence, it is possible to get-by in every day life just by speaking English.

But, in order to work & fully integrate in Germany, it is vital to speak the native language. Maybe you are thinking of relocating to Germany & are thinking of attending German classes, or hiring a German tutor? Then, get in touch!

Almost 40,000 Germans are living in London. More than Winston Churchill would ever have envisaged...

In contrast to other nationalities, Germans living in London keep a low profile; they do not dominate the high street with schnitzel restaurants or sausage shops. Instead, finances permitting, many of the young professionals opt to live in Wimbledon, Chelsea, Kensington, Highgate and Richmond.

What is the reason for the influx from Germany? If you want to make it big in the financial markets, you will most likely end up in London, the financial capital of Europe. In fact, an estimated 600,000 people work in the City's banking sector. Frankfurt’s financial centre has only 500,000 inhabitants. For people working in finance, myriad career prospects are better in London than anywhere else in Europe.

Western Europeans make up half of all foreign workers in the UK, and as a result, many want to feel surrounded by their compatriots in London. Although nationalities tend to stick together when abroad, Germans in London do not form a tight-knit community.

However, you can see Germans socialise across London. There is, for example, the pub Zeitgeist in Lambeth, which not only serves the largest variety of Germany’s most famous drink, but also excellent German food and you can watch Bundesliga football.

To satisfy a basic appetite of the expatriate community, there is even a mobile German baker in London who stops over at the German Embassy, the German British Chamber of Commerce and other German ‘hubs’ in London.

With February approaching, you might even see more Germans out celebrating Karneval in London, as it is a big day in the Festive Calendar for all Germans. German Carnival you may ask? More about that in our next blog.