Use it for real!

It can be difficult to speak German in a real-life situation - not least because Germans love to practise their English! It will help a lot if you can anticipate your real-life needs and prepare ahead.

Preparation

1. Download:
   • this page to use as a checklist;
   • a script appropriate to your purposes;
   • the movie (if liked - to refresh your memory);
   • Grammar notes.
2. Other resources:
   • a bilingual dictionary
   • another grammar book or course book (to give you a different angle on the same topic)
3. Use a dictionary to select appropriate words not found in the Word list and Phrasebook.
4. Create several versions of each dialogue to help you cope with different eventualities.
5. Use the grammar resources to consider your work:
   • word order;
   • structure of phrases;
   • verb tense;
   • gender and case.
6. Work with a friend if you can, then act out your new dialogues together.
7. Try to obtain feedback from a tutor or a German-speaker. Libraries often have details of conversation clubs, where you might find someone to advise you in return for help with English.
8. Tune in regularly to German radio and TV, you'll be surprised how much you pick up.
9. In exchange for feedback on the course, Ultra-language-lab will respond to a query and/or put you in email contact with other learners. Just email us using the Evaluation Form.

Conversational tactics

Don't wait till you feel totally confident - start speaking German as soon as you can! Your efforts will bring results and will be appreciated. If your accent and intonation is a problem, enunciate clearly.

When words fail you, the right tactics keep the conversation going. Some tips to help understanding and to sustain rapport:

• focus on lips as well as eyes;
• copy mannerisms - body language speaks volumes!
• where your well-rehearsed phrase sounds so convincing that you are overwhelmed by the response, just ask for repetition. Be creative: 'Nochmal, bitte', 'Das hab' ich gerade nicht verstanden', 'Bitte, langsam!'
• keep the conversation afloat with expressions such as 'Uh huh', 'Na ja', 'Sie haben recht', 'Kann sein', 'Wirklich?'
• stay with it - even if you use English words here and there (as Germans often do).

If you do lapse into English altogether, retrieve the situation as soon as you can. Meanwhile slow down the pace at which you speak, keep sentences short and avoid idiom - this way you don't forget your objective and it's easier for the German speaker.

Above all, keep trying!

Created for ULTRALAB trial June 1999 Copyright ULTRALAB at Anglia Polytechnic University