In the final part of this Berlin Wall mini series: incredible footage from a seemingly boring press conference Watch it here, with English subtitles. The scene is this: a long, boring East German press conference. A room full of foreign journalists. A Politburo man, Günter Schabowski, who doesn’t understand the notes he’s been given. He says that free travel is to be permitted without visas … Continue reading When the Wall Came Down: Part 7
How is the reunification remembered in Germany? Here’s 5 terms to tell us more… Der Mauerfall “The fall of the Berlin Wall” sounds clumsy compared to Der Mauerfall, literally, the wall-fall. In Germany, there is only one thing you could be talking about – year zero of modern Germany. Die Wende One of my earliest posts was about this word, which is used to talk … Continue reading When the Wall Came Down: Part 5
The dark truth is this: your vacation is probably not the best way to get language practice. Usually. If you travel alone to rural areas of South America, you will probably get the opportunity to speak a lot. If you go with friends to Spain, you’ll be speaking English with your group and most locals you meet will speak English with you as well. What … Continue reading Speaking a Language on Vacation – Just Let Me Practice!
Do you regularly despair at the news? The Germans have exactly the word to describe how you feel. Continue reading One Word to Explain it All
Do you find yourself using the same adjectives over and over again? Even when I’m speaking English, I find myself describing experiences as “good”, “nice”, “really good” or “okay” and feeling like a stuck record. Is it a problem for language learners? I can feel like a bit of an idiot if I describe everything in Spanish as “bueno” or “interesante”, but how much does … Continue reading What’s Wrong With “Nice”?
