Sprachenatelier Berlin

  Before moving to Berlin or anywhere else in Germany, you're bound to have at least a couple of preconceived ideas about Germany and the Germans. We decided to write a blog post to debunk a few of these stereotypes. „The Germans are efficient „ In popular culture, we never seem to stop hearing about ‘German efficiency.’ Everything they do is efficient- from eating breakfast, to going shopping, to small talk with neighbours and work colleagues. While there is some truth in this statement and the success of the German economy is testament to the country's productivity - it is not a general golden rule that ALL Germans are efficient ALL the time. One of the most anticipated projects in Berlin's recent history is the new international airport which is currently almost 5 years late and there is no final end date as yet in sight! The airport was initially supposed to be launched in June 2012 but because of fire safety issues, it has since been postponed a total of...

Berlin, what a nice place to be during summer. The weather is (usually) very nice, there's always something to do and finally your friends are not in hibernation mode anymore and want to go out of their caves. The sunlight shines over the green grass in the parks, which start to be so crowded as if they were a football stadium. But what can you do to enjoy this season even more? Here are some tips for those of you who want get the best out of the summer time!  1. Ride your bike. With the warmer temperatures and the sun shining over your head, riding a bike is very enjoyable during summer. But don't rush! Try to take some time to enjoy the landscape while riding, take different routes and, if you have the time, make short stops to relax and enjoy the glorious summer vibes. 2. Drink your coffee outside. Yes, we all know that the cafés in Berlin are pretty good looking, but why seat inside? I mean, in winter you will have to anyway, so go out and enjoy the bree...

  Stefan Reiss, a short portrait Stefan Reiss currently lives and works in Berlin, where he studied fine arts and sculpture at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee. In his works he explores different artistic mediums such as drawings, paintings, sculptures, and projections on a variety of more or less complex materials like wood, glass or recycled elements. Interview with the artist During the opening of the exhibition „Spectra“ I had the chance to have a lovely chat with Stefan about the artistic process behind his interactive works. He's always been passionate about drawing and painting but more recently he started exploring new technologies in order to create his pieces. He started drawing straight lines on a tablet and came up with the idea of simple but forceful colours to break the monotony. He believes that new technologies to create art are not simply an imitation of real traditional mediums but they can enhance the artistic experience for both the ...

Taking a quick break from the language tips and advice to report on this week's news! You may or may not have heard that there was a fire in our beautiful old building late on Sunday night (10.04). At the top of the building above our three floors, there are shared flats. It was here where the fire started, and was later found to be caused by a cable. The fire took almost 2 hours to be put out, and the emergency services were still there on Monday morning, blocking off the area and managing the damage. Two people who live in the top floor were evacuated and, luckily, nobody was hurt in the accident. Sadly, the beautiful tiled roof was seriously damaged and will need some repairing, but the school only suffered from a little water damage coming down from the top floor. The school was closed on Monday 11 th April to ensure the safety of the building for teaching. As of Tuesday, classes were running in the school again and now of cou...

  Photo by Renato Silva , Sprachenatelier A few weeks ago, we posted about the common mi stakes that English speakers make when learning German. Well, this week, it's time to look at things the other way around. Having spent five months in Austria teaching school children and working with Austrian people, and now living in Berlin, I think I am fairly qualified and experienced to talk about the mistakes that German speakers make when learning English. Often the mistakes they make can be understood when you look at the German equivalent, because a lot of people are still in the DANGER ZONE (see last post) and are translating literally. So, scroll down and have a read. If you are a German speaker, maybe you can learn something, and if you're an English speaker, maybe you recognise some of these mistakes from your own experiences in Germany. Let's get going! But first... 1) “ L et me make a selfie!“ Remember the world...

How many times have you been asked the question “Why are you learning x language“? Personally, I lost count. I can usually come up with a pretty reasonable answer, for example “because I have German friends“ or “because I want to work in the translation field“. However, sometimes I can't think of anything else other than “just because I like it!“. And truth be told, that is why I started and why I continue to study most of the languages that I know. In my opinion, you can compare language learning to a relationship: at first everything is amazing, you're in love with the language and just want to keep discovering more. And then the problems start to come up. At the beginning it's just little things here and there, once or twice, no big deal. Bu t after a while you get bored, you lose interest. Sometimes you can work it out and fall in love again, but sometimes the interest just isn't there anymore and you need to let it go. When I first s...

Back when I first started to learn German, there were a few things which I just couldn't get my head around, and that my teachers and a dictionary just couldn't explain. Little words like “schon“ , “doch“ , “eher“ , “erst“ ... Sure I understood the meaning, but I just never felt comfortable knowing when and how to use them. Luckily, one day I stumbled upon “German is Easy“ : a blog post for everyone who wants to learn German. It explains loads of useful words and grammar concepts, and how to use them, and provides some listening and writing/grammar exercises. There's always something interesting to read and plenty to learn and practise. It is without a doubt one of the best language blogs I have come across, and I really enjoy checking in every week to see what is new. Emanuel is the writer, and has this way of explaining things which is totally different to textbooks and teachers, and that is exactly why his blog is so good. His posts are brilliantly and humo...

The first, and perhaps hardest, part of learning a language is to get out of what I like to call the danger zone. Out of the „how do I say it in my own language“ mindset and into the „how do I say it in German“ mindset. Thinking exclusively in the target language is probably the most important technique to master. Because, as ideal as it would be to simply think in the mother tongue and come out with perfect German, that's not exactly how it works. And it is this tendency to keep thinking in one's own language that causes repeated mistakes. But not to fear! Because so many people do it, we've managed to find some of the most common mistakes that seem to repeat themselves. So let's have a look at some of them together and see if we can knock them on the Kopf.  Mistake #1 PREPOSITIONS If I could go back in time to my 12 year old self, innocent and naive, sitting in my first German class with my whole future ahead of me, excited and r...

  Zum englisch e Version , klicken Sie hier ! Letzte Woche entschied ich mich gemütlich einen Kaffee trinken zu gehen. Mein Buch zu nehmen und einfach ein paar Stunden in einem der kleinen süßen Cafés von Berlin zu entspannen. Ich bestellte mir etwas zu trinken, machte es mir in einem großen Sessel direkt am Fenster gemütlich und war gerade dabei, in Begleitung der angenehmen Hintergrundmusik anzufangen zu lesen, als mir nach einen paar Zeilen etwas auffiel. Ich konnte mich einfach nicht auf das Buch konzentrieren. Stattdessen konnte ich nicht anders, als den Unterhaltungen um mich herum zu lauschen (etwas, das mir mit meinem holprigen Deutsch nicht sehr häufig passiert). Ein Pärchen lernte sich gerade bei ihrem ersten Date kennen, ein paar Mädchen hingen quatschend und tratschend vor einem Laptop, und die ziemlich angespannten Versuche einer Frau mit ihrem Verlobten und ihrem Vater am Tisch eine Unterhaltung zu führen. Hier saß ich nun, in einer netten, ruhigen Nachbarsc...