März Musik 2020

modified from https://drive.google.com/open?id=1mdc2dxcQ2-jRsgEwRrQl999IF2qGgH625Na_cObqYp0

It's almost March, and once again, I am incredibly grateful for the internet and German teachers who share their fantastic resources!

Last year, I debuted März Musik with my German 2 classes, and it was a big hit.  Some of my students from last year have already been asking if we'll be doing it again this year.  It's a lot of fun, but also a lot of work to set up.  Here's where the German Teacher Blogosphere steps in:

A German teacher in Wisconsin shared her list of 16 songs to compete in this year's March Music Madness, as well as activities, brackets, and more.  Other teachers have contributed their materials, and now there's a whole Google Folder full of great stuff!  

So, I think I'm ready to go.  Like last year, I'll be doing März Musik with my German 2 classes, and I'll open it up to my colleague's German 2 class and her 3/4 classes as well.

Podcasts for German Learning

I've become a big fan lately of Podcasts, and there are several that are good for German learning.

One that's been around for a while is Slow German Podcast from Annik Rubens.

Annik has been podcasting for more than 10 years and has some great episodes for German students.  The podcasts are usually 8-10 minutes long, and she speaks slowly and clearly.  

You can download them to your mobile phone or subscribe through a Podcast App, or you can listen online.  There is also a transcript of the episode available for free as a pdf download.

If you listen online, there's a really nice feature where she has translated some of the more difficult words, which you can see if you move your cursor over the word:

My German 2 students are now working on a unit about travel, and we listened to part of the podcast about Jugendherbergen (youth hostels) this week.  These podcasts are challenging but understandable for intermediate level students. 

I've blogged previously about using videos from Easy German in my classes.  They have recently started a podcast, which I think is fantastic!

These podcasts are much longer than Slow German - usually at least an hour - and are geared at more advanced students.  They speak at a regular speed but keep their German learner audience in mind and explain (in German) particularly tricky words or cultural references.  

Again, you can download them to your mobile phone or subscribe through a Podcast App, or you can listen online.  The podcast is free, but if you subscribe for $2 a week, you have access to a transcript as well as a really neat vocabulary feature on certain Podcast Apps.

I use Overcast, and when I am listening, the vocabulary and English translations for the current section of the podcast show up automatically on my phone:

Since I only teach first and second year German currently, I wouldn't use these podcasts with my students, but parts of them could definitely be used in an upper level class, and they'd be great for students who want to challenge themselves.  

I enjoy listening to hear native speakers and keep my German fresh, and the hosts Manuel, Cari, and Janusz are voll sympathisch!

Finally, the Tagesschau evening news is also available as a free video or audio only podcast for your phone or mobile app.  

I often listen while driving to or from school, and frequently hear a story I want to share with my students on the video version so that they have visual supports and subtitles to support their understanding.

Viel Spaß beim Zuhören!