(Thanks, Google Translate! Bev)
It was ‘all hands on deck’ in February for the German class. Horst was unable to attend the first three classes, however was keen for the group to come together to welcome and work with the new class members. Week 2 began with sharing of introductions and migration stories. Horst emailed video suggestions which Bev screened for the class who also suggested ideas and resources. A segment suggested by Sigi (Lin) on Vegetables in Week 3 was followed by a video of recipe for Kartoffelsalat (Potato Salad) in German. New members Irina, Meg and Patricia have a smattering of German and were able to follow along.. Sigi also demonstrated skill in using the whiteboard in a segment on the German Alphabet. Retired meteorologist Graham was just the right person to present a segment on weather to start Lesson 4, after a very warm welcome to Horst on his return. Horst then eased back in to his role in a segment on pronunciation and conversation. This was followed by a presentation and Q&A session in German by Lou Sigmund on his recent overseas trip Thank you, Lou. The session ended happily with ‘Coffee, Cake and Conversation’ in the kitchen to celebrate Horst’s return! Bev Lee (Feel like another challenge?) Im Februar hieß es für den Deutschkurs „alle Mann an Deck“. Horst konnte nicht an den ersten drei Kursen teilnehmen, wollte jedoch, dass die Gruppe zusammenkam, um die neuen Kursteilnehmer willkommen zu heißen und mit ihnen zusammenzuarbeiten. Woche 2 begann mit dem Austausch von Vorstellungen und Migrationsgeschichten. Horst schickte Videovorschläge per E-Mail, die Bev für die Klasse überprüfte, die auch Ideen und Ressourcen vorschlug. Auf einen von Sigi (Lin) vorgeschlagenen Abschnitt zum Thema Gemüse in Woche 3 folgte ein Video mit einem Rezept für Kartoffelsalat (Kartoffelsalat) auf Deutsch. Die neuen Mitglieder Irina, Meg und Patricia sprechen ein wenig Deutsch und konnten mithalten. Sigi zeigte auch Geschick im Umgang mit dem Whiteboard in einem Abschnitt über das deutsche Alphabet. Der pensionierte Meteorologe Graham war genau die richtige Person, um zu Beginn der vierten Lektion einen Abschnitt über das Wetter zu halten, nachdem er Horst bei seiner Rückkehr sehr herzlich willkommen geheißen hatte. Anschließend widmete sich Horst in einem Abschnitt über Aussprache und Konversation wieder seiner Rolle. Es folgte eine Präsentation und eine Frage-und-Antwort-Runde auf Deutsch von Lou Sigmund über seine jüngste Auslandsreise. Danke, Lou. Die Sitzung endete glücklich mit „Kaffee, Kuchen und Gespräch“ in der Küche, um Horsts Rückkehr zu feiern!
(Thanks, Google Translate! Bev)
0 Comments
Hallo Freunde, Ich möchte nicht, dass ihr noch weitere Sitzungen verpasst. Ich bitte euch mit den Neulingen bekannt zu werden und fragt sie, was ihr Niveau in der deutschen Sprache ist. Dann bitte teilt euch in Gruppen. Anfänger mit Fortgeschrittene und sprecht so viel deutsch wie möglich oder tested Zahlen und Zeit und erzählt über eure Januar Ferienerlenisse. Hello friends, I don't want you to miss any more sessions. I would like to ask you to get to know the newcomers and ask them what their level of German is. Then please divide into groups. Beginners with advanced and speak as much German as possible or test numbers and time.and talk to each other about all your January holiday adventures. Horst A conversation related video from Lesson 2 in 2022 A pronunciation video from Lesson 1 in 2023 Hallo Freunde, bitte beachtet, dass wir unsere Sitzungen am Dienstag, den 13. Februar, beginnen werden, da ich leider am 6. Februar meinen jährlichen Termin bei meinem Kardiologen habe. Gruß
Horst (Hello friends, please note, we will start our sessions on Tuesday 13.February because unfortunately on the 6.February I have my annual appointment with my cardiologist. Horst) To my class members, "Danke für die Freundschaft die ihr mir geschenkt habt". Thank you for the friendship you gave me.
To the U3A Committee, thank you for the wonderful organisation which makes U3A work so smoothly and my work with the German group possible! Gruß Horsto Photographer - Rene Martens "Thanks, Rene!"
The size of the German class has grown a little smaller lately, but their eagerness to learn remains strong. They continue to make positive progress and are now engaging more comfortably in regular German conversation in every session. I am delighted to share my knowledge of the German language with them.
Horst The German group has reached the stage where normal conversation can be held during session time, which is a wonderful achievement after three years. This showed last week when our German speaking guest speaker Lou Sigmund spoke to them about the Benalla Men's Shed in German and then spoke with them in German afterwards. I am very proud of this group!
Horst Gunther The German group has now reached the stage where simple conversation can be held during our session, the result of two years of effort to acquire a good knowledge of vocabulary and reasonable grammar.
It all happened without any pressure but willingness by everyone to learn. I am proud of the group. Horst Gunther German class members have increased their vocabulary substantially. It is being put to good use in both reading and writing. Writing gives me insight into where they need to fill gaps in their knowledge of grammar.
Throughout the year it has been obvious how keen the members are to learn, so it is a pleasure to find the right lesson and share my knowledge with them. Tuesday 12th September will be a day off for the class because my daughters are taking me on a trip to Western Australia. However, I will leave class members plenty to read! Horst The German group can often be found after class in the kitchen celebrating birthdays with coffee and cake, and Horst’s 90th birthday in early July was no exception. This photo of group members who had stayed behind with Horst to tidy up was taken just before they were leaving – Horst for a two-week cruise, a birthday gift from his children, the class members for a two-week break. Congratulations and best wishes on turning 90, Horst. You are amazing! Bev Lee The German group goes along like a wildfire. The vocabulary is increasing, and some difficult grammar is slowly sinking in. We have increased reading and hearing and I hope writing will soon follow. Talking on the phone was practised.
The group will have a winter recess on the 11th and 18th of July. Horst The German group is making good progress. The combination of beginners and advanced students is working well.
It is pleasing to share my knowledge with such a keen to learn group. Horst The German group happily assembles every Tuesday at midday and eagerly absorbs the new lessons and vocabulary presented. Humorous commentary delights everybody and helps to contain good pronunciation.
If there is any interest in what is presented, try to see our U3A Weebly site, where all lessons are kept thanks to the great help of Bev Lee. Unfortunately, you miss the homework which all members digest. I am happy and delighted that I can still share my German knowledge with this keen group. Horst Gunther Sharing my German knowledge with the German group is the highlight of my week. We have this year a combined group of beginners and advanced members and we begin the session with the beginners lektions, which is also a review for the advanced members, who act as helpers to the beginners. It works well and good advance is notable. The beginners again receive more information and knowledge of pronunciation by listening to the advanced sessions. The members are keen to further their language skills and the sessions are filled with a good splash of humor, which certainly helps learning.
Horst The new season has started very well. The group is very keen to learn and I’m very pleased to share my knowledge with them. We are continuing our tradition of having ‘Kaffee un Kuchen’ after class for special occasions, this month celebrating Barbara’s birthday with a delicious cake made by Sophie.
Horst Held each Tuesday from 12.15 to 1.45pm, the first class commenced on 7th February in the U3A Room!
After trialling a fresh page for Lessons 2023, we've decided to just add them to the Lessons page to make it easier for Horst to access previous lessons using the right hand column. Bev Lee Website Manager Now at the end of the year, I believe the German group has been a wonderful experience for all concerned, including me. Every member has gathered an advanced knowledge of the basic German language in vocabulary and pronunciation.
It is now time to overcome the natural inhibition to speak freely using the accumulated wealth of vocabulary and not be afraid to ask questions if unsure of a word. My hope is that we make big advances next year in that respect. For those members or new interested persons who wish to start afresh, we will give you a new beginners course next year. I thank every member for given me the opportunity to freshen up my own German knowledge and Beverley Lee for helping me to make the weekly sessions easy to present. I wish everybody connected to U3A a Merry Christmas time and a Happy New Year. Frohe Weinacht und ein glückliches Neujahr . Horst Gunther Our German group is making good progress, the wealth of German vocabulary obtained throughout the year is now enforced by translating English into German which was initiated by a member of the group. I always appreciate suggestions of the group members. It shows great interest and willingness by the members to learn and further their pronunciation and vocabulary.
The group continues to be a happy group at times creating a most humorous atmosphere. Horst Gunther The enthusiastic and happy German group keeps improving their reading ability and begins to converse with short sentences. We have covered a broad area of life with vocabulary which is a solid foundation to have a conversation.
I was thrilled to hear from one member that she can talk freely to her in laws over the phone in Germany, a good sign that we are making progress. I am surprised about how much depth of the German language is retained in that old brain of mine after 70 years in Australia and thrilled that I am able to pass it on to the eager learning members. Horst Gunther The happy German group continues to be challenged with lots of new vocabulary and pronunciation. Most members excel with their reading now, however activating conversation remains a problem. I will persevere by introducing more Grammar to enable everyone to form short sentences and answer questions freely, so that gradually the tongue loosens up and members can converse with each other. I am grateful to be able to be of assistance to class members and always learn a lot myself.
Horst Gunther The happy German group is now focussing on the Home Environment and reading and learning all about daily life, their house and its various rooms, the furniture and the activities one performs in the house.
This involves an enormous amount of vocabulary. We will try from now on to retain that vocabulary and verbally use it in question-and-answer sessions. As one member mentioned, if you don`t use it you lose it! I am very happy to challenge the group in many ways and yet see that their eagerness to learn doesn't wane. Another successful month! Horst Gunther The German Group is now back from their imaginary trip to Germany and Austria and it is back to daily basics in the coming month. We began to use the W questions to start conversation between the members but we have to overcome a lot of inhibitions. Practice will further that. The keenness to learn the language is wonderful and makes it a pleasure to front up every week to present new work. I learn a lot too. Horst
The beginners’ group and the advanced group have nicely integrated, with suggested home studies and the help of mentors making it possible for the whole group to go on our imaginary Trip to Germany. A whole new world of vocabulary has been discovered and we will try to retain that wealth of words by using them in the future. It has also given everybody a taste of what can be seen and done should such a trip occur.
On one occasion this month I could not present the work I prepared and had to ask the members to use the prepared work without me. Pauline and Graham with the assistance of Beverley managed very well and showed what a nicely knit adaptable group can do. I thank them for that. We will have one more meeting this month after I write this report. For any interested person our work is on display on the ‘Lessons’ page of the website which is so well maintained by Beverly Lee. I love learning with this group! Horst Gunther The now combined German group is making very good progress in pronunciation and general knowledge of vocabulary.
Since it is now possible to travel overseas again, we began to dream about a trip to Germany with all the vocabulary to survive should such a trip happen. I am taking the members down memory lane and it appears we all enjoy it. The old brain is being rejuvenated. For those former students who might be interested what we are doing, check the Benalla U3A Weebly website for Advanced German/Lessons. Horst Gunther The two groups have now combined and in the next months there will be only one meeting weekly on Tuesday. I notice good progress in all participants and the amount of work so far can be inspected on the U3A Weebly website - simply click on the 'Lessons' button in the right hand column.
Horst Gunther |
German - Home PageHorst Gunther is offering weekly German sessions in 2024. Some knowledge of the German language is required, but all levels, from beginners to fluent speakers, will be accommodated. Mentors will work with beginners during the sessions.
Convenor Contact DetailsHorst Gunther
0447 595 059 Meeting TimesWeekly Sessions
Tuesdays 12:15 - 1:45 pm, with sessions extending to 3.15 pm on the 5th Tuesday. U3A Meeting Room 1 Archives
February 2024
|