Speaker A
It can be hard, can't it? You're trying to learn German and you've got no one to practice with.
Learn practical German speaking skills through repetition and variation with simple sentences and verb conjugations.
Key Takeaways
- Repetition with variation helps internalize German sentence structures and vocabulary.
- Starting with simple sentences and gradually increasing complexity builds confidence.
- Using a 'circle' of grammatical forms (tenses, modals, subjunctive, clauses) enhances comprehensive language skills.
- Practicing aloud with minimal pauses improves speaking fluency even when no conversation partner is available.
- The method is adaptable to any verb and daily vocabulary for personalized learning.
Summary
- The video offers a practical method to practice speaking German alone using repetition with variation.
- Start with a simple base sentence and gradually add complexity by changing adjectives, verb tenses, and sentence structures.
- Focuses on using the sentence 'Das Wetter ist schön' to explore adjectives, predictions, modal verbs, past tenses, conditionals, subordinate clauses, and subjunctive forms.
- Demonstrates a similar approach with the verb 'trinken' (to drink) including modal verbs, perfect tense, passive voice, and reported speech.
- Encourages learners to practice with verbs they use daily and progressively challenge themselves through different grammatical forms.
- Includes both English and German explanations to aid understanding.
- Provides a link to a template for practicing these exercises.
- Targets learners at various levels, from beginners to advanced, allowing gradual progression.
- Emphasizes speaking fluency by minimizing pauses during practice.
- Promotes active engagement by encouraging viewers to pause and try sentences themselves.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Now, I live in Tasmania, eine kleine Insel südlich von dem australischen Festland, also ziemlich abgelegen.
Speaker A
It's fairly remote, and maybe it's the same for you.
Speaker A
So, how can you learn and practice German if there is no one around to speak with?
Speaker A
Well, today I've got a really practical tip for you.
Speaker A
Grüß Gott, hallo, ich bin Billy Badger und heute habe ich für euch einen super praktischen Tipp.
Speaker A
I want to show you how to practice German even if you've got no one to talk to.
Speaker A
Now, if you've been following my substack posts, you'll know I've already given you some suggestions, but today I want to focus on one in particular.
Speaker A
Repetition with variation.
Speaker A
This means we're going to take one really simple sentence and then practice making lots of different versions of this sentence.
Speaker A
Wir fangen ganz einfach an und mit jedem Satz wird es immer nur ein bisschen komplizierter.
Speaker A
Aber das Grundkonzept bleibt gleich.
Speaker A
Wir wollen üben, bis wir nicht mehr darüber nachdenken müssen.
Speaker A
We're going to start small, imagine you're looking out the window and thinking, maybe thinking about the weather.
Speaker A
Your starting sentence then might be, Das Wetter ist schön.
Speaker A
The weather is nice.
Speaker A
This will be your base sentence.
Speaker A
Now, our first step is to play with the adjectives, keep the same structure, just cycle through a number of different describing words, working down through all the different possibilities from good to bad.
Speaker A
So we might have something like this: Das Wetter ist schön, das Wetter ist sehr gut, das Wetter ist gut, das Wetter ist nicht so gut, das Wetter ist nicht gut, das Wetter ist schlecht, das Wetter ist ziemlich schlecht, das Wetter ist furchtbar.
Speaker A
And see how quickly you can move through each of those in that order, and mach nur kleine oder noch besser keine Pausen.
Speaker A
Okay, so this is your first level of practice: Das Wetter ist schön.
Speaker A
Our next step is to take it on a little journey around the circle, each step adds a new twist, you don't need to do them all at once, just go as far as feels comfortable for you.
Speaker A
So let's first turn it into a prediction, not Das Wetter ist schön, but Das Wetter wird schön sein.
Speaker A
The weather will be nice, and since we've now got two verbs, this has set us up very nicely for using a modal verb.
Speaker A
Try out a couple of different ones, for example, Das Wetter soll schön sein.
Speaker A
People say that it's going to be nice, es muss schön sein.
Speaker A
It must be nice, es kann schön sein.
Speaker A
It can be nice.
Speaker A
And while we're working with modals, let's quickly whiz through the past tense versions of these as well.
Speaker A
Das Wetter sollte schön sein, it was meant to be nice, das Wetter musste schön sein.
Speaker A
The weather had to be nice, es konnte schön sein.
Speaker A
The weather could be nice.
Speaker A
Now let's try the past tense.
Speaker A
We'll start with the simple past, this makes sense because we're just using the verb sein, so not Das Wetter ist schön, but Das Wetter war schön.
Speaker A
The weather was nice.
Speaker A
And from here it's a really easy step into the subjunctive or the conditional, Das Wetter wäre schön.
Speaker A
The weather would be nice.
Speaker A
But we could also use the perfect form of the past tense, Das Wetter ist schön gewesen.
Speaker A
The weather was nice.
Speaker A
And again, the conditional form of this just needs one small adjustment, Das Wetter wäre schön gewesen.
Speaker A
The weather would have been nice.
Speaker A
Nun, bis jetzt haben wir nur Hauptsätze verwendet, also probieren wir dann ein paar Nebensätze.
Speaker A
Let's try some subordinate clauses, and here are three pretty useful ones: Ich tue es nur, wenn das Wetter schön ist.
Speaker A
I'll only do it when the weather is nice.
Speaker A
Ich weiß nicht, ob das Wetter schön ist.
Speaker A
I don't know if the weather is nice.
Speaker A
Ich hoffe, dass das Wetter schön ist.
Speaker A
I hope that the weather is nice.
Speaker A
And this brings us finally to the subjunctive forms, first we've got some wishful thinking.
Speaker A
Unser Wunschdenken.
Speaker A
Ich wünschte, dass das Wetter schön wäre.
Speaker A
I wish the weather were nice.
Speaker A
Then there's our last sentence if you're ready for it, it's reporting what you have heard from others.
Speaker A
Er hat gesagt, das Wetter sei schön.
Speaker A
He said the weather was nice.
Speaker A
So that's our full circle from Das Wetter ist schön, all the way through predictions, modal verbs, past tense, conditionals, subordinate clauses and the subjunctive.
Speaker A
And if you're only starting out, then you might only do the first two or three, and then as you learn and improve in your skills, challenge yourself to get halfway, and all your advanced learners can challenge yourself to complete the whole circle.
Speaker A
I'd recommend you pause here and try your own sentence before watching on.
Speaker A
If you want to use my template, there's a link for you in the description, while we move on with another verb, something I think a little bit more active.
Speaker A
Imagine you're drinking a coffee, so your starting sentence is, Ich trinke einen Kaffee.
Speaker A
I'm drinking a coffee.
Speaker A
Now our next step is again to turn this into a prediction, ich werde einen Kaffee trinken.
Speaker A
I will drink a coffee, we can use the same structure for our next form, the most common subjunctive or conditional form, ich würde einen Kaffee trinken.
Speaker A
I would drink a coffee.
Speaker A
From here it's easy to introduce a modal verb.
Speaker A
For example, ich muss einen Kaffee trinken, I have to drink a coffee.
Speaker A
Ich will einen Kaffee trinken.
Speaker A
I want to drink a coffee.
Speaker A
Next up are the past tense forms, since we're already using modal verbs.
Speaker A
Let's put these into the past tense for a little bit of additional practice.
Speaker A
Ich musste einen Kaffee trinken, I had to drink a coffee.
Speaker A
Ich wollte einen Kaffee trinken.
Speaker A
I wanted to drink a coffee.
Speaker A
But let's move away now from modal verbs and introduce the perfect tense.
Speaker A
Ich habe einen Kaffee getrunken.
Speaker A
I drank a coffee.
Speaker A
And from here it's an easy step to the past tense subjunctive, the would have form.
Speaker A
Ich hätte einen Kaffee getrunken.
Speaker A
I would have drunk a coffee.
Speaker A
And we can also use the simple past tense forms.
Speaker A
Ich trank einen Kaffee.
Speaker A
I drank a coffee.
Speaker A
And if you can do that step, then the next step is pretty easy as well.
Speaker A
This is the true subjunctive form, ich tränke einen Kaffee.
Speaker A
I would drink a coffee.
Speaker A
This is less common but good to know nevertheless.
Speaker A
With the next levels we move on to different sentence structures like infinitive phrases.
Speaker A
Es ist schön, einen Kaffee zu trinken.
Speaker A
It's nice to drink a coffee.
Speaker A
Or maybe, ich habe keine Zeit, einen Kaffee zu trinken.
Speaker A
I don't have time to drink a coffee.
Speaker A
And I'm sure you'll be able to come up with some others to add in.
Speaker A
Aber jetzt probieren wir wieder ein paar Nebensätze.
Speaker A
Our subordinate clauses, here are a couple.
Speaker A
Ich bin froh, dass ich einen Kaffee trinke.
Speaker A
I'm glad that I'm drinking a coffee.
Speaker A
Ich habe es gern, wenn ich einen Kaffee trinke.
Speaker A
I like it when I drink a coffee.
Speaker A
This brings us to the passive where you disappear and the coffee itself becomes the subject.
Speaker A
Here we'll work through all three tenses.
Speaker A
Ein Kaffee wird getrunken.
Speaker A
A coffee is being drunk.
Speaker A
Ein Kaffee wurde getrunken.
Speaker A
A coffee was being drunk.
Speaker A
Ein Kaffee ist getrunken worden.
Speaker A
Which means more or less the same.
Speaker A
A coffee was being drunk.
Speaker A
And okay, there's only one step left and this is where you report on what you have heard or what you've been told.
Speaker A
And this is our reported speech.
Speaker A
We could say for example, es heißt, man habe einen Kaffee getrunken.
Speaker A
You've heard or somebody has said that a coffee was being drunk.
Speaker A
And that's the full round with the verb trinken.
Speaker A
You can try the same exercise with any verb you like.
Speaker A
Schlafen to sleep, lernen to learn, arbeiten to work.
Speaker A
The idea is always the same, start with a simple base sentence and work your way through the circle as far as you can.
Speaker A
So that's the idea.
Speaker A
We started with Das Wetter ist schön, and then we tried it with Ich trinke einen Kaffee, and you saw how the sentences can grow and change as you move around the circle.
Speaker A
So now it's your turn, pick one verb you use every day, start with a simple sentence and see how far around the circle you can go.
Speaker A
And if you'd like some help, I've made some free practice templates that you can download from the description below, use them to guide your own sentences and to keep track of your progress.
Speaker A
Danke fürs Zuschauen, thanks for watching, bis zum nächsten Mal.
Speaker A
Und tschüss.
Topics:German speaking practicelearn GermanGerman grammarlanguage learning tipsGerman verbssubjunctive Germanmodal verbs GermanGerman sentence structurespeaking fluencylanguage practice alone
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