Total immersion is the best way to learn any language. My French improved somewhat when I went there for two weeks as a teenager, because the family I was staying with spoke almost no English at all. Unfortunately, there was another girl from school (it was a school-arranged trip) staying there as well, so we spoke English to each other. When I went to Germany for the first time two years later, the familyI stayed with were desperate to practise their English on me, so my German didn't get used as much!
When I went with my family on a coach trip to Brittany, although we were with other English-speakers, I used enough French while out and about that by the time we came back I was thinking partly in French. On trips to FC in the last few years, I've found I understand more and more each time - sometimes even train/station announcements! I still have problems with songs, though. It's almost a shame that so many of the Germans speak such good English (and it's actually shameful in the way it reflects on the comparative standards of language education over here!), as it means unless I make a huge effort, I don't get to use much German at all.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-10-17 10:00 am (UTC)When I went with my family on a coach trip to Brittany, although we were with other English-speakers, I used enough French while out and about that by the time we came back I was thinking partly in French. On trips to FC in the last few years, I've found I understand more and more each time - sometimes even train/station announcements! I still have problems with songs, though. It's almost a shame that so many of the Germans speak such good English (and it's actually shameful in the way it reflects on the comparative standards of language education over here!), as it means unless I make a huge effort, I don't get to use much German at all.