The Super Language Learner Podcast

Here I offer some more advice, ideas and opinions on the subject of language learning, based on my experience gained over many years.The theme is "You don't have to be 'fluent''" I explain why I am dissatisfied with the word 'fluent' when used to describe language competency and why people starting off in a language often become frustrated because they set themselves the goal of being 'fluent' in the language they are trying to learn.To join my Aidan Languages Tutor mailing list go to http://www.aidan.co.uk/ALT

In this episode of the Super Language Learner Podcast, I explain what I mean by 'learn from content' and why it is the best way to learn a language.The best way to learn a language is to consume content - read, listen, watch, focus on material about subjects you find interesting, then practice a little, try a little memorisation, every day, and keep doing it.It's best to leave detailed study of grammar till later. Trying to memorise words from lists is a waste of time, as words have flexible meanings.The problem is finding suitable material at the right level. I produce lots of materials to help language learning in my two main tutoring languages - German and English - plus a few more. Please sign up to my mailing list to find out more and receive a sample of these free language learning materials that I've used with my own students, taken from my media library. Go to www.aidan.co.uk/ALTBefore I send you mailouts with my free language learning materials, I'll e-mail you a personal welcome message and ask you a few questions. This helps to filter out spam sign ups and allows me to get to know you. Many thanks.I hope I can help you to become a Super Language Learner.Aidan Languages Tutor

In this podcast I take a look at the modern smartphone, which many people today take for granted. It is an incredible tool for language learning but many students don't use it to the full - or they don't use it at all. I talk about all the amazing things it can do, and how it is a primary tool for language learning. I explain a little about how I make use of it in preparing materials for my students. From this episode onwards, I have changed the format of this podcast. I am no longer using it to share my multilingual content for language learning. Instead I have gone back to my original idea, to share my ideas about language learning in English, with a little bit of other languages. Of course, if you're learning English, you can also learn from this material as well.But if you're learning English or German, you can get free materials from my media library by signing up to my mailing list. Go to www.aidan.co.uk/ALT

In this episode of the Super German Language Learner Podcast, I look at over 60 holiday regions - Urlaubsregionen in Germany. They are not displayed on the map, but people in Germany often talk about them and visit them for holidays / tourism. I have referred to the excellent map on this website - Look at the map as I read through the regions and give information about them. Many thanks for listening! http://www.urlaubsregionen.de In diesem Video stelle ich mehr als 60 Urlaubsregionen in Deutschland vor. Du findest sie nicht auf der Landkarte, zumindest die meisten. Die Menschen in Deutschland gehen oft in ihrer Freizeit dorthin, or um Urlaub zu machen. Bitte schau die Website an. Auf der Homepage findest du eine ausgezeichnete Landkarte der Urlaubsregionen und auch viele Informationen. Vielen Dank fürs Zuhören!

In this podcast I share my Reisebericht or travelogue - about my day visit to Munich - München,. It's written in clear German and is suitable for people learning German at A2 or B1 level. I mention places I've visited, including BMW Welt, the BMW Museum, Munich Airport Visitors Centre for the Airport Live Tour and the city centre, the new town hall the Marienkirche - the cathedral. The main language point is the perfect tense. I read out a list of the verbs used in the text to help you to familiarise yourself with them. I refer to my six-point language learning checklist which summarises the things we focus on when working with content, whether in writing or spoken. The shownotes are on my Buy Me A Coffee pages. Just go to www.buymeacoffee.com/aorlanguages and look for Besuch in München. You can buy me a coffee if you like, but you don't have to! Du kannst mir eine Tasse Kaffee kaufen, wenn du willst, aber du musst nicht!

This episode focuses on the English language, it's making a kind of guest appearance. It's related to the previous episode on the word in German for love, which is 'Liebe'.I take you on a meandering random journey through the various meanings, varieties and connotations of the word 'love'.I'm fascinated by words, whether in English or other languages. They are all interrelated. Love is one of the most commonly used words in all languages but there are many hidden and neglected aspects to its use, pronunciation and meaning. I talk about a notable change in the meaning of the word during the 20th century, reflecting changing social attitudes. We hear about specific uses both in the English spoken in England and in North America.Most of my students at the moment are learning German with me, but about one third of them are non-native speakers of English, and most of them need to improve their English too. To read and copy the shownotes, go to www.buymeacoffee.com/aorlanguages and you can buy me a coffee if you like!

For this episode of the Super German Language Learner Podcast, I recorded an spoken word version of an article from the series, original title 'The Magic of German Words'. I've changed it to the Magic of Words in German. In each article - written in English, embedded with German - I focus on a topic and look at the words in the German language used to describe it, in this case 'die Liebe' and all its variations. 'Ich liebe dich' is known even by people who don't know German, along with 'je t'aime' in French. I discuss the related terms such as the difference between 'Ich liebe dich' and 'Ich habe dich lieb', very important in a relationship! I have a long list of 'Magic of Words' titles which I have already written and intend to transfer into podcast format. This is the first one. The shownotes for this episode are available to my students and supporters. This is the sixth episode of the Super German Language Learner podcast.

This is another episode in my City-Bericht or City-Report series, this one is in clear German written by me. We listen to the article, I explain vocab and language points and we answer a few comprehension questions. It's a lesson based on a lesson I taught with students. There's a transcript in the shownotes, available to my students and supporters. Please note I changed the name from Super Language Learner Podcast to Super German Language Learner Podcast to show that the main language focus is German. Please support the Super German Language Learner Podcast by AOR Languages on Buy Me A Coffee and Patreon.

In this, the fourth edition of my Super German Language Learner Podcast, I present an audio lesson adapted from lessons I taught with my online students on the subject of 'What are your hobbies?' - in German 'Was sind deine Hobbys?'. Starting from a German language course book and a video by Berlin-based Easy German asking the same question, I abstracted a number of answers to the question, including a few I added myself and a few reflecting the interests of my students.I refer to my 6-point 'REPEAT' checklist, which defines the 6 most important stages to complete when learning from content. We also find out what are the most popular hobbies in Germany and the UK.

This podcast is a follow-on from a lesson I taught with students on a fairly basic topic in German: Have you got a house or a flat? - Hast du ein Haus oder eine Wohnung? I use excerpts of recordings I made with four women from Germany, giving true details of where they live. They didn't use their real names.At the end I indulge in a little humour to vary the material and make it a little more memorable. In the Super German Language Learner Podcast we focus on interesting content and use my six-stage checklist to extract important learning points including vocab (words and phrases), pronunciation and language points and patterns (grammar). There are shownotes to accompany this podcast, which I send to my students and I plan to make the material available to supporters on Buy Me A Coffee and Patreon.

This second edition of the Super German Language Learner Podcast is based around an interview I did with German native speaker Annika (not her real name) who was doing an MA in Manchester. I originally posted it on my AOR Languages `YouTube channel.The subject was Klinische Psychologie. She says she lives in a Doppelhausehälfte - half a double house, that's to say, a semi-detached house. The best way to learn a language is simply to consume lots and lots of content to find out interesting information. Simply by using the language to find out and exchange information will put you on the road to learning and being able to use that language. Trying to learn grammar tables and vocab lists as your first approach to learning a language is a waste of time. At a later stage, you can refer to grammar tables and check your vocab knowledge using lists, but most of your time should be spent consuming and using the language, either reading, listening or watching good and useful material.It's interesting to hear what Annika thinks about the English-style house. She speaks with a very clear and crisp north German accent. I try to explain vocab and language points as simply as possible. I have used this material with students and know the points they need to focus on and keep that in mind when delivering the podcast.

The topic of this podcast lesson is Meine Schulzeit - My schooldays and I am using some material I created myself following on from some interviews in one of my course books, where people remember their schooldays.To develop the theme further, I decided to give descriptions of my own primary school - meine Grundschule - in England, and also used my mother's descriptions of her time at her school for 5-11 year olds around 100 years ago in Ireland. I often create my own original content to complement the accounts in the course book. It was nice to use my mother's memories which made a big impression me as a child. The more we use language to describe real people and events, the better it is as material to learn from. I refer to my six-point language learning checklist, which sets out six important stages or functions in the process of learning from content.This is the first of my full-length Super Language Learner podcasts to be uploaded to RSS .com and the wider podcast network.

Hi, my name's Aidan and this is my introduction to the Super German Language Learner Podcast. I aim to help you to become a more effective language learner and I will do this by showing you how I work with pieces of content in English, German and other languages. You will learn how to learn a language as well as learning a language! I'm a language learner and teacher with many years experience. I teach small groups and individuals online. I hope you will join me! Vielen Dank, Many thanks! +++ Please note I changed the podcast title from Super Language Learner to Super German Language Learner to emphasise that the main language focus is German.