Tired of German Class

Just finished week 3 of GER151, though I had to miss 2 days of class this week. Only 2 more weeks left of class, and I can't wait for it to be over. Not because I don't enjoy learning German, but because I don't enjoy commuting 45 min. each way to sit in class for 3 hours, and then spend 2 hours completing homework at home.

In the fall term, I'll only have class twice a week. Das is besser!

Last weekend I worked on my midterm. It took me all weekend, and time during the week as well. Though it took me so long because I was completely unfamiliar with Photoshop and had to use other new software to complete the project. Of course, I could have chosen a simpler project and avoided unfamiliar software, but I enjoy a challenge! Below, you can view my completed project. Yes, that is me speaking!

Managing Study Time

Tomorrow I begin German 151 and I have realized that my study habits are sub par. My goal is to reach European Framework level C1 by this time next year, and to accomplish this I need more time in German outside of class.

I'm not the most organized person in the world. Procrastination is my constant companion. Also, I am easily distracted by the many wonderful resources available online for learning German. So, I made a list describing some specific vocabulary I want to learn, and created a study plan to help me achieve that goal.

Competencies:

Tourist German- You know, the basics necessary to do everyday things like go shopping, eating out, taking public transport, asking for directions, etc.

Math- I need to be able to understand a math class in German. I doubt that my college German classes will include vocabulary like Summond, Summe, Subtrahend, and so on.

Computer Science, Chemistry, Physics- I also need to be able to understand subject-are vocab here, as I am not sure what classes exactly I'll be taking during my study abroad. Though I do plan to take science courses.

Keeping the above in mind, I've created the following study schedule for myself. This is only for the duration of my German 151 class, as Fall term will bring a new set of challenges.

8:00am: Arrive at school. Go over previous day's readings/homework, look ahead at today's lessons.

9:00am - 11:50am: German Class

12:00pm - 3:00pm: Study German using the following guidlines:

1 1/2 hour- German class homework/notes review
30 minutes- Pronunciation (via YouTube) or Vocabulary (flashcards, games, quizes)
30 minutes- Write to German penpal
10 minutes- DuoLingo
10 minutes- Deutsche Welle lessons

3:00pm - 9:00pm: Go home, eat supper, do housework, free time.

9:00pm: Go to bed, listen to Michel Thomas German lessons for 1 hour before sleep.


My daughter is going to be gone for all but 4 days of this class term, which is the reason I can spend so much time studying. Obviously, on the days she is home I'll forgo most of the study time and just complete class work.

Finishing German 150

I registered for German 150 and German 151 at my local community college. Each class is 5 weeks long, and the two classes together equal one year of college level German. Ich lerne Deutsch so Schnell!

Tomorrow is the last day of class for GER 150, and GER 151 begins next week.

Reflections: The self-study I had done before class was helpful for the first week and a half, then I was just as lost as the rest of the class. I feel like I've absorbed maybe 1/3 of the class material, which is not near as much as I'd have liked. I still struggle to write even a short paragraph in German, and other than learned responses to questions, I don't feel like I could hold any kind of conversation in German. If I lasted more than 2 sentences, I'd be surprised.

My main difficulty is my inability to manage time effectively. My class is 3 hours long, Monday through Thursday. Travel time is 2 hours daily. So usually, 5 hours each day is used for German class. I really need to be spending 3 hours daily studying. If I did that, I think I'd get more out of the class and would improve beyond class material by using self-study resources.

There are so many free resources for learning German that it is hard for me to choose, and I spend too much time deciding which resource to use. My goal this weekend is to decide how I want to spend my study time during this course. I'll decide which resources to use, and how much time to spend with each.

Bis Bald!

Day 2: Learning German

Don't worry- I'm not actually going to update this blog every day. I think that would become rather boring. But for now, it keeps me on track.

Today I ordered my books for the German classes I am taking this summer. I got a German-English dictionary and the textbook, Kontakte (6th edition). I also spent more time on das alphabet, and realized that my pronunciation may still be off. There are many YouTube videos on the German alphabet, but unfortunately these videos give different pronunciations of several letters. So one of my quests this week is to find out, from a native, how to say the "A,B,C's" in German. Maybe Skype? I don't know yet.

I'm reading "The Polyglot Project" on Kindle for PC right now. It's not specific for German, but I hope it will prove helpful in my studies overall. Along the same lines, I'm also watching Laoshu's FLR Technique videos. I'm kind of switching between the two.

Today's "Yay!" moment: I actually spoke German on the phone! Granted, it was only two words "Wie gehts?", but it is an accomplishment. Especially since it was a spontaneous utterance, and I managed to remember the right words on a whim. So yeah- very cool.