Yearly Archives: 2017

Mi lugar favorito en Viena

Me gusta mucho Viena, las diversas áreas para recorrer y visitar. Como Donauinsel, Kahlenberg, Schönbrunn, Museumsquartier y Türkenschanzpark y otros lugares muy lindos e interesantes que he conocido y me faltan por conocer.

Estoy muy impresionado del área en el Donauinsel. Un grande y lindo lugar donde puedes visitar para deporte. Como nadar, patinar, fútbol, montar bicicleta, conocer los diversos bares con diferetes culturas y comidas a las orillas del río con una muy linda vista.

Austria es un país tan lindo que no puedes tener un solo lugar preferido y por eso tengo muchísimos lugares preferidos dentro y fuera de Viena.

Unos de los preferidos lugares en Viena es el Donauinsel por las variedades de cosas que puedes ver, visitar o hacer. Y a las afuera de Viena, el lindo campo en verano y las montañas con tan buena y hermosa vista.

Gracias una ves mas a DeutschAkademeie por permitirme estudiar en sus instalaciones para conocer este idioma y poder comunicarme con las personas de este país…

 

Me gusta DeutschAkademie

Me gusta muchísimo DeutschAkademie por la diversidad de personas de muchos países y diferentes edades. Por su ubicación en el mismo centro de Viena, donde puedes aprender las diferentes rutas de metros y tranvías, ya que esto te ayuda aprender el sistema de viaje de esta ciudad y practicar el idioma. Hay museos y lugares interesantes muy serca a los que puedes visitar al termiar las clases del día. Los lindos mercados de Navidad a los alrededores de la escuela. Las salas de clases muy modernas, luminosas y cómoda. Las personas en la recepción son muy amables, responsables y responden a tus necesidades y preguntas cuando lo necesitas. Los libros son muy instructivos y con muy buen método de enseñanza para aprender este idioma. Cada mes se organiza una grande reunión de toda la escuela, donde puedes conocer otras personas que no son de tu clase.

Me motiva aprender alemán la buena preparación de los profesores, la comodidad de las instalaciones de la escuela, el buen método de enseñanza de los libros y poder conocer cada día halgo más de esta cultura.

Book recommendation – Austrian dictionary

We’ve experienced it many times: the German we learn inside the Deutschakademie can be so different from what we hear ourside, in Vienna. Austrians have a very melodic way of speaking, sometimes trimming, shortening or using different words altogether.

Personally, I think it very desirable for me to learn these tiny differences, and the subtle nuances that make the Austrian dialect what it is. However, I know this process will mainly take time and will probably be accomplished over the course of years of living here, while getting accustomed to the local language.

A good way to start though, when you want to understand a words you have heard socially, but google translate can’t pick up on, is to acquire an Austrian dictionary, like the one recommended by our teacher. Wörterbuch des Wienerischen, by Robert Sedlaczek, is perhaps the first step into understanding the locals better, making friends and fitting in.

Vocabulary game

This week, in class, we took part in a new vocabulary game, as a way of repeating the new words we had learned. On a sheet of paper, we were to describe two words in German on post-its, and give clues as to what they might be.

Then everyone passed the two notes over to their right neighbor, which was tasked with guessing the words. Afterwards, the two would consult among themselves, to make sure the riddle was solved.

It really was a fun and interactive way to go over newly learned words. I like it a lot that our teacher always comes up with new activities, it makes the German class all that more fun and friendly.

Group discussion – Austrian and German dialects

On Monday we had a group discussion, as a way to determine our grade for Speaking. It was a very interesting evening, and our teacher had prepared two texts beforehand, which we chose our theme from.

The discussion was about the disappearance of the Austrian dialect, in favor of a more generic German, or if it is just a transformation of the language, a normal and organic evolution. Everyone was very engaged in the discussion, and brought some really interesting questions and arguments to the table, as such the discussion which was supposed to take half an hour, extended for over an hour.

We talked about dialects, and foreigner integration, but also about language as a living part of a culture, and the importance of passing on the Austrian German to future generations. Then we extended the topic to dialects in our respective countries, how important they are and whether or not it would be easier if everyone spoke the same language. Taking it a bit further, we projected into the future, and discussed the possibility of there being only one universal language, at some point in time.

A very rich and engaging discussion, I really enjoyed being a part of it and would be very interested in joining such events in the future.

Stammtisch – monthly get-together

Yesterday was the monthly get-together event, Stammtisch, which took place at the Gangl bar, near the university campus, as it usually does. My class got there around 10 pm, since we had the evening class to finish, but you could see the people were enjoying themselves. They had made some teambuilding games, which seemed fun, it’s too bad we missed those.

Stammtisch is a good opportunity to socialize and a nice way to meet new people, especially if you are new in Vienna and don’t have many friends here. If you haven’t been to one until now, I recommend you try it for yourself. It is also a very nice exercise to speak in German in social situations. I went along with a few colleagues from the B2.2 class and our teacher, and shared some funny stories.

What experiences have you had so far with Stammtisch? Let us know in the comments below!

First test – Mistakes is how you learn

If you’re like me, around this time you will have gotten the results from the first test of the level back. Usually in the Deutschakademie there are two tests, one after the first week, and one after the third week, to assess what you have learned so far.

I’m not going to lie to you, I was a bit disappointed by the first test I ever got back, because I had made many mistakes despite learning all weekend before. However, since then I have begun to see the process differently: I’m perceiving it more like a means to quantify what you have understood, and what you need to work more on in the future.

Tests are a good way to understand how far you’ve gotten, and to determine, for instance, if you need to prepare yourself more for an official German language test. Of course, everyone wants to do good in tests, but try and look at it from this point of view, and focus on learning rather than grades. You will see how much more fun it is! Good luck!

What does Art mean?

Yesterday in class we started with a new topic: Art. The teacher asked us to bring a photo of something we consider a piece of art and to explain why that is artistic to us. Some of my colleagues brought pictures of known pieces of art, such as paintings or statues, while others have brought self made art, pictures that had a special significance to them, or that captured a moment which made them feel a certain memorable way.

Afterwards, we were given a challenge: to write on a postit, in our own words, what art means to each of us. Then we got up and placed the post-it somewhere in the class, so that everybody could walk around and read the other’s interpretations.

I thoroughly enjoyed everyone’s perspective on the subject and it was a fun exercise to do. To conclude, I’ll leave you with some of my classmate’s interpretations:

Google image translation

I want to share something here, some of you may already know it, some of you may not, it is a feature from the Google Translate App, which I find quite clever and useful. I myself have only discovered it this past week, and even though I think it’s been long present, still was excited by the discovery.

So you open Google Translate App on your phone, and right underneath the ‘Tap to enter text’ field, there are three icons: photo icon, microphone and pen. Tap the photo icon and it opens up camera mode, with which you can then direct at your book / newspaper / text in German and see the words automatically getting translated on your phone.

It is quite a nifty trick and it’s useful for me in class, when we’re reading texts and I’m interested in a quick and easy way to find out translations for the words I don’t know. Mind you, it’s not always perfect, and it’s better for single words than for contexts / sentences / phrases, but it can be a helpful tool.

Enjoy!

Guessing Game – Konjunktiv II

Thursday in class we did a fun little game, which I have to tell you about. Our teacher wrapped up something small and invited us to feel it in our hands, and pass it from one person to the other. We all had post-its, on which we could write what we think it is, using Konjunktiv II, for expressing wishes and unreal things. It was a very fun way of putting the grammar into practice!

Passing it along from hand to hand, it finally got to me and it took me a minute to try and make out the shape of the object. We were also given a tip: it has something to do with the theme we were about to begin (Fit für die Prüfung).

This is what I wrote on my postit:

Other guesses were a variety of sweets, and the winner, meaning the person who guessed it right said: Glückschwein. As I learned, it is a New Year symbol here in Austria, gifted from one person to another, in order to wish them Good luck in the upcoming year.

Freundschaft schließen

One of the things I knew I was leaving behind when moving to a new city was my friends group. People I’ve been hanging out for years, meeting almost every day and celebrating milestones with, would no longer be by my side. It was a bit unfamiliar, because I wasn’t sure what I’d find here, how the people would be and so on and I think this is something every person moving to a new country can relate to.

I think I was lucky in that sense though, and quite soon after I moved to Vienna. I wouldn’t call myself an extrovert or someone that makes friends very easily. However, I know that hobbies or extra-curricular activities are a great ground for bringing people together, especially in a place like Deutschakademie, which emphasizes friendly attitudes and provides socializing opportunities every month as well.

As such, I went to the first Stammtish event, where I got to know my colleagues better. Some of us aren’t in the same class anymore, but we do meet once in a while to catch up and have fun. It’s exciting because we all come from different countries and have different backgrounds and we get to learn a lot from each other. For instance, this is the last meeting at a Mexican Restaurant, introduced by one colleague, where we are enjoying some Nachos and a nice beer together. If you are curious about the Local, it is called Tin Tan, and can be found near the City Hall (Rathaus).

On the same topic, yesterday I found out that I was making a mistake in German. You don’t say ‚Freunde machen‘, but ‚sich befreunden‚ or ‚Freundschaft schließen‚ or even ‚Freunde finden‚. Hope that helps!

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