Week 2 is here and I feel a bit more confident than the last post!
In the previous post, I wanted to find a way to understand German grammar and how it was implemented in a basic sentence. After some research, I can happily say I found a site that answered most of my questions!
German with Laura is primarily a site to buy their German course (similar to Rosetta Stone and Busuu). However, the website has some fantastic articles on various grammar topics. It takes a grammar topic (ex. nouns) and explains how it is used in an English sentence. It then compares the English sentence to a German sentence and explains the similarities and differences between the two sentences. It does a great job at breaking down each case, provides a good amount of examples and exceptions to each rule. Some of the articles also give good study tips and advice on how to tackle the subject. This site helped clear a lot of confusion I had when I started Duolingo last week. Now when I use Duolingo, I can use some of the strategies and pattern recognition from German with Laura to clear the units without losing a lot of hearts.
I found another annoyance with Duolingo. I wanted to look back at some of the vocabulary and sentences I practiced in Duolingo and compare it to the general rules on gender groups (whether the word is masculine, feminine or neuter) from German with Laura. It turns out there are guidebooks as to what kind of material you’ll be learning in the unit, but there is no set list. If you want to find a word, you have to go through some of the review units or redo a previous lesson, which in my opinion wastes time. Perhaps one of the reasons to not include it is to, again, emphasize the game element of the app. I will continue to use Duolingo as it is a good practice tool, but I will search for another alternative that allows me to access vocabulary lists to look at and practice with.
Wow, it seems like you had quite the learning experience with Duolingo. It’s incredible how much you’ve observed from using the program, and it’s great that you know what you need now.
In one of my literacy classes, we talked about the importance of understanding syntax is different in many languages. When learning a new language, it’s great to bring your existing literacy abilities to the table, and your English, French, and Latin knowledge are assets to learning the German language. Despite German syntax being different from theirs, having a basic understanding helps.
I hope your next resource provides a more in-depth, less punitive learning experience.
Hi Josh,
Perhaps you’ll continue learning German. Yesterday, I found an online learning portal for my husband at Volkshochschule (Folk High School), a German institution: https://www.vhs-lernportal.de/wws/9.php#/wws/home.php
It’s free. It reminded me of you, so I wanted to share it.