German group

[Kat]

1.I could do with some listening stuff
-it needs to not be too hard. Something A2ish B1ish.
-please, not an audio or video course of the language, I know far too many already. Stuff like easier news, popular science, history, anything
-either audio, or video..

Have you considered daily soaps?
They might be a little above your current level (it's difficult for me to judge that with German material) but the plot will be easy enough to follow even if you don't understand everything.

Some options:

1. Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten: https://www.tvnow.de/rtl/gzsz/

2. Unter uns: https://www.tvnow.de/rtl/unter-uns/

3. Alles was zählt: https://www.tvnow.de/rtl/alles-was-zaehlt/

All of them have been running for 10+ years and you get 5 episodes per week. The first series is set in Berlin, the second in Cologne and the third in Essen. Wikipedia has further info and you should be able to find trailers and snippets on YouTube.

I don't recommend them for their plot because frankly, there isn't much of an overarching plot. It's a collection of typical soap clichés: love affairs, family matters, business rivalry, evil twins, long-lost relatives or unknown half-sisters and -brothers magically turning up, accidents followed by bouts of amnesia ... you name it. But also plenty of everyday vocabulary, reasonably slow-paced conversation and lots of repetition.

As far as I know they aren't available for free outside of Germany. On the plus side, the price is rather reasonable (around 3 euros per month, 1 month free trial) and geoblocking shouldn't be a issue. According to this list they are legally available worldwide. Another advantage is that they won't eat up too much of your time. Without commercials one episode takes about 20 minutes.

[Stefan]

1.I could do with some listening stuff
-it needs to not be too hard. Something A2ish B1ish.
-please, not an audio or video course of the language, I know far too many already. Stuff like easier news, popular science, history, anything
-either audio, or video.
-not too hard audiobooks could do. However, remember I am not allowed to buy any due to stupid geoblocking, I am not even allowed to get the free audiobook samples on amazon.
-something enjoyable. I trust you are good judges of that and I am looking forward to your recommendations.

Maybe Slow German at 1.25x the speed. Each episode is basically a short summary of a cultural phenomena (Biergarten), a location (München), someone famous (Beethoven) or other things you should know about Germany (political system). Top-Thema by DW is similar but with focus on current talking points (news/events). If you're looking for news, then Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten is the go-to.

Unfortunately I don't know of any great podcasts.

[hedgehog.chess]

After reading a NoManches's post claiming that signing up for MOOC was probably one of the best decisions he has ever made regarding learning Spanish I decided to check what it exactly is. For others like me:

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are free online courses available for anyone to enroll.

I searched for courses available in German and found this site: https://www.edukatico.org/de
I hope you will find something interesting to expand your horizons and learn German at the same time

[malach]

I thought I would say "hi" and join in this group. I've been reading through the thread for helpful tips and resources.

I'm currently aiming to raise my haphazard 'false beginner' knowledge up to a consistent A2 level. I'm working with the following:

• TY Complete German - currently half-way, at chapter 12
• Memrise courses for some vocabulary/listening practice - currently finished courses 1 & 2, working on 3
• Some youtube videos - now settling on the "Easy German" videos, starting in the A2-B1 series.

I have ordered some of Brian Smith's German Reader books, as they look like a good source of prose at the right level.

I'm hoping the videos and books will help with listening and reading. For writing and speaking I'm going to expand on the role-play exercises in the TY book, aiming to use all the different vocabulary.

Main issue at the moment is to remember gender+plural for nouns: I need to focus on this, probably by writing out each noun in several contexts so I see the effect of the gender/number on its article etc.

I also need to resist the temptation to plough too far into the course book without bringing the active skills in line. (The TY book claims to bring you to B2 level, which I think is ridiculous, but that does suggest I don't need to do all the book to get where I want! Less in active use is going to be better than more which is only usable in artificial settings - I see that with Memrise, where I can do the reviews correctly, but cannot quite remember many phrases outside of the website.)

[Kraut]

KINDERKANAL
some programs with subtitles and audiodescription on KIKA channel on Sunday

https://www.kika.de/sendungen/ipg/ipg10 ... e-19082018

https://www.kika.de/sonntagsmaerchen/sendung107736.html

Die Goldene Gans

SO 20.8 , 12:00 Uhr

Niemand im Dorf schätzt den Dummling. Denn die Dorfbewohner verwechseln ein gutes Herz mit Dummheit. So erkennt nur er, dass Prinzessin Luise traurig ist. Der Dummling ist außerdem der einzige, der einem geheimnisvollen Bettler etwas zu Essen gibt. Dafür wird er von diesem großzügig mit einer goldenen Gans belohnt. Die Gans will der Dummling der traurigen Prinzessin schenken. Doch er hat nicht mit der Habgier der Dörfler gerechnet.

[Sahmilat]

Does anyone know of any publishers that make German books with English notes? I just feel like my vocabulary isn't where I want it to be for reading and drilling flashcards is pretty much the worst thing ever imo.

[Speakeasy]

... publishers that make German books with English notes? I just feel like my vocabulary isn't where I want it to be for reading ...

Sahmilat, I find your question interesting, particularly as your profile indicates a B2 level in German. My initial reactions are three-fold: (1) at a CEFR B2 level, you should be working more-or-less solely with native materials, nevertheless, (2) as it happens, I do have a list of materials which might fit your needs; however, before responding, (3) with a view to engaging a greater participation in this discussion, I suggest that you post your question under the "Practical Questions and Advice" sub-forum. In addition, when re-posting, perhaps you could expand upon the notion of "German books with English notes."

[Sahmilat]

Most of my experience in reading higher level native literature is in Latin, where it's common to have glosses for unusual words. Reading with a dictionary is one solution, but I was wondering if anyone knew books that took a more user-friendly approach. If not, that's ok.

Edit: Actually, maybe a different question is better. Any recommendations for good native short stories/novels that are relatively easy to read? In the past I've had aspirations to read Hesse and Mann and fancy authors like that, but I haven't had much luck with it. I also am not really interested in sifting through YA novels to find something worth reading. Anyone have any favorite books in German they can recommend for an upper-intermediate learner?

[Speakeasy]

Sahmilat, I have to agree that the presence of a gloss is a much-appreciated attribute when reading. Here are a few suggestions:

Intermediate German Readers (with notes or glosses)
While I recognize that teaching approaches evolve, I am quite partial to vintage language-learning materials. Here is a short list from my personal collection. Although they were all designed for presentation in an Intermediate German course by an instructor, I found them to be quite useful in an independent-learning situation. The first item on the list contains a lot of explanatory notes, the others contain glosses.
Es geht weiter, by Eric Wilson; Harper & Row, 1977
Modernes Deutschland im Brennpunk, A Cultural Reader, by Allen E. Hye; W.W. Norton and Company, 1978
Der Weg zum Lesen, by Van Horn Vail, Kimberly Sparks; Harcourt Brace, 1985
Deutsche Literatur von heute, by Agnes Körner Domandi, Doris Stärr Guilloton; Holt, Reinhart & Winston, 1975
Dichter, Denker und Erzähler, A German Reader, by Peter Heller, Edith Ehrlich; Waveland Press, 1982, 1989
Deutsche Denker und Forscher, by Meno Spann, C.R. Goedsche; Appelton-Century-Crofts, 1954

Publishers of Parallel Text / Dual-Language German-English Readers (translations without notes)
Generally speaking, the short stories and extracts from longer works that are included in dual-language readers are most often designed for “advanced” leaners. I purchased just about everything that the publishers listed below produced. I was at the “intermediate” level when I began collecting my set and, at the time, I found that they were simply too advanced for me. This is the reason why I began searching for intermediate readers and ultimately settled on the ones listed above, amongst others.
Dover Publications
Penguin Books
dtv: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag (dtv has a series of graded dual-language readers)

German Spelling Reform
In my opinion, you should not be concerned in the slightest about the “pre-reform spellings” that appear in the above texts.

[Sahmilat]

Here are a few suggestions:

Thank you so much! This is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for!