This is pretty off-topic for DEV, but I think some of y'all might have something to say anyway.
As I posted last week, I'm busily preparing for a ...
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Coming in late on this discussion, but for anyone else who might read this thread, the German courses at Deutsche Welle (learngerman.dw.com/en/overview) are superb. The “Nicos Weg” series is very engaging.
I learnt English, German, Spanish, Italian, esperanto and Japanese and I think that you pretty much nailed it. I don't have any tips for now, just keep going with what you have.
if you have problem getting a Visa in Germany or want tips to find a job in Berlin, feel free to ping me, I know those topics quite well
jmfayard.dev/contact
Thank you very much! I've been following your work here for quite some time, I will absolutely keep your offer in mind as I move through this process.
I'd completely forgotten about Esperanto - I did the 10-week course as a teenager but had no pressing use for it and lost it all. Is there an active community in Berlin?
Oh yes and they are quite active!
esperanto.berlin/
I'm not personally active there, just life already full of things
Awesome news, Ben. Which city is it in? I spent a fair amount of time in Frankfurt and traveled around a bit when I worked for a German company and really enjoyed my time there.
Never studied German, but I've used most of those resources for other languages and generally recommend them all. Any chance the company will either provide or reimburse f2f lessons?
And... from the previous post it's Berlin. That should teach me to not click links!
Ja, ich werde nach Berlin gehen. Yes, they do provide a personal development budget as a perk which would include language instruction, but it (naturally) wouldn't apply to any expenses incurred before my employment begins. I do plan to take advantage after that point, provided I get there.
Everyone I've spoken to about this move who has spent any time in Germany has had a similarly positive report. I'm excited to experience it first-hand.
Das ist toll, Ben.
Ich wünsche dir viel Erfolg beim Lernen. Berlin ist eine interessante Stadt, und recht international.
Ich glaube, du kannst dich da gut einleben.
Viel Glück auch bei deinem neuen Job.
Viele Dank, Sophia!
Hey Ben,
As a fellow dev who also happens to speak English, German and Japanese we seem to have a lot in common.
And I shall not be caught missing the opportunity of mentioning that I tutor those subjects on wyzant.
You will find some curious little oddities when working in Germany regarding the pronunciation of certain coding terms (like SQL being pronounced as an abbreviation S.Q.L. rather than "Sequel") and some other jargon vocabulary you might find interesting. Over all, I applaud your efforts and wish you the best.
Should you not make it to Stuttgart but Munich instead, feel free to reach out.
Vielen Dank für die Tipps und den Hyperlink!
Hey Ben, congratulations on that step forward in your career and hopefully welcome to Germany.
Great effort you put into learning the language!
I'm a native speaker, so if there's anything you need help with, drop me a message. :-)
Viele Dank!
Nice that you started italki :) When you get to Germany, let me now if you drop by somewhere near Stuttgart so we can have a beer or two
Ja gern!
That's awesome! Do you find the wires end up crossing? I'm not even actively studying Spanish but I find when I'm searching for a word in German, the Spanish word I know really wants to pop out. I think I would struggle with multiple concurrently. Do you have specific strategies for keeping them separate?
I've also been thinking about the Assimil series you recommended last week, of all the more traditional books I've looked at this is at the top of my list. However, I feel I've got more than enough material for right now, at least - would you recommend it over what I've already got going on?
Das ist ganz fantastisch!
Gonna steal a couple of your tactics here.
I'm trying to learn German too!
I don't really have the time or the money to pay for my resources, but I also am on Duolingo free tier.
I listen to a course from Kieran Ball on Spotify and speaking of which, a ton of music in German too.
Favorite band (besides Rammstein) is AnnenMayKantereit.
I've been watching We Bear Bears on Netflix with German audio and it is pretty fun.
I hope you are able to make the move!
I can recommend you this tool, it translates between English, German and French better than the tools from Google and Microsoft:
deepl.com
Brilliant! Yes learning a foreign language is definitely fun ... now I sincerely hope this coronavirus thing isn't going to throw a wrench and mess up your plans.
Ich auch...
番号！ とてもゆっくり読むことができます。 漢字がわかりません。 このメッセージにグーグルを使用しました :)
日本語の勉強が突然恋しい
I learned some German while studying philosophy at university.
Means I can discuss Kant and Nietzsche but have some trouble ordering a beer.
Have you watched Das Boot yet?
Heh - my sister has spent a lot more time in Europe than I have, and when I said I planned to get by on "ich spreche nur ein bisschen Deutsch" her response was: "how's your Proust?"
Bier ist überbewertet. Biergärten...das ist nicht so mein Ding. Ich trinke selten.
I watched that years ago with the subtitles - thanks for the reminder. The constant Nena headloop is wearing thin, media-wise.
Good and useful tips!
I continue to learn German and I also live in Stuttgart :)
Und viel spaß!
Danke! Ich muss anscheinend nach Stuttgart :)
Update: it turns out two of our close friends also speak German to varying degrees. Just gotta ask, apparently.