In this latest lesson of Coffee Break German, Mark is asking for some information at the reception desk of his hotel in Innsbruck. In addition to providing an opportunity for practising various areas of vocabulary, this dialogue introduces a new grammatical concept. In this lesson you will: practise words and phrases used when asking for information; review language used for talking about public transport and directions; learn about the relative pronoun in German – a translation of the word ...
Aug 09, 2014•17 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Mark’s continuing his trip to Austria in this lesson, and as usual he’s accompanied by Thomas who is helping him practise his language skills. This week Mark’s buying postcards and Thomas is buying sports shoes with his friend, Daniel. In this lesson you will: practise words and phrases for shopping scenarioes; learn about the expression könnte ich…? meaning “could I…?”; see further examples of German modal verbs and the word order rules associated with them; discover a new way to sa...
Jul 25, 2014•22 min•Season 1Ep. 36
In the latest lesson of Coffee Break German, Mark and Thomas take a trip to the nearby town of Schwaz and visit the Tourist Information Office to find out what there is to do and see. In this lesson you will: review language for giving directions and describing locations; investigate further examples of German word order and the “second place” rule for verbs; talk about opening times and other types of information for tourists; practise different conversational structures. This season of Coffee ...
Jul 13, 2014•18 min•Season 1Ep. 35
In this week’s lesson, Thomas joins Mark for breakfast at the hotel and they have a conversation with another hotel guest.Coming up in this lesson… review transactional language for ordering drinks; be reminded about Austrian greetings; learn further ways to use the verb sollen ; practise different conversational structures. This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from lesson notes, bonus a...
Jun 04, 2014•20 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Mark is continuing his trip to Austria where he’s practising his German with cohost Thomas. In this episode they eavesdrop on a conversation between an American tourist and the hotel receptionist. Coming up in this lesson: learn new ways to ask for information; review vocabulary for checking into a hotel; learn more about prepositions and the cases they use; test your understanding by listening to a conversation. This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed...
May 13, 2014•17 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Mark has travelled to Austria to put his German into practice with his cohost, native speaker Thomas. This week they are travelling into the town centre from Innsbruck airport and Mark has a conversation with the person working at the information desk in the airport to find out how best to get into the centre of town. Coming up in this lesson… review ways to ask for directions in German; learn new ways to ask for information; find out about the comparative form of adjectives in German; test your...
Mar 08, 2014•24 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Mark has travelled to Austria to put his German into practice with his cohost and native speaker Thomas. In this lesson Mark has just arrived at Innsbruck airport and he and Thomas discuss the kind of language he’ll need to take part in conversations during his trip. In this lesson you will: learn to talk about what you’re looking forward to doing; learn to talk about how long you’ve been learning German for; test your understanding by listening to a conversation. This season of Coffee Break Ger...
Feb 16, 2014•19 min•Season 1Ep. 31
In lesson 30 of Coffee Break German you’ll join Mark and Thomas as they review the language covered in the past ten lessons. In this lesson you will: find out who the mystery personalities from lesson 29 were; test your translation skills from German into English; test your translation skills from English into German; review the grammar covered in lessons 21-30 with our Grammar Guru; learn about some famous German speakers. This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay...
Dec 23, 2013•28 min•Season 1Ep. 30
In this special lesson of Coffee Break German, we’re challenging you to identify five personalities by using the German skills you’ve acquired in the courses so far. Listen to the show, enter our competition, and you could win an iPad mini! [PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED] This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from lesson notes, bonus audio recordings and video versions ...
Dec 09, 2013•28 min•Season 1Ep. 29
In this new lesson in our series you’ll learn to talk about likes and dislikes in German. Coming up in this lesson… how to say what you like and what you don’t like in German; how to talk about what you like doing; how to use the verb gefallen ; how to use the word gern to talk about what you like doing; about some famous German language film. This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from le...
Nov 20, 2013•24 min•Season 1Ep. 28
In this lesson you’ll learn to talk about birthdays and jobs with your new German-speaking friends. Coming up: how to say dates in German; how to talk about your date of birth; to talk about your job and say where you work; to use certain prepositions which can use the accusative or dative cases depending on the situation; about the Austrian capital, Vienna. This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to ...
Oct 29, 2013•30 min•Season 1Ep. 27
In this lesson you’ll learn to talk more about your family and to talk about why you’re visiting Germany, or indeed Austria or Switzerland! Coming up in this lesson… how to introduce members of your family; how to use possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, etc) in the nominative, accusative and dative cases; to talk about why you’re visiting a German-speaking country; how to talk about the ages in German; about the German capital, Berlin. This season of Coffee Break German features a total o...
Oct 09, 2013•23 min•Season 1Ep. 26
In this lesson we’re dealing with emergencies and learning to talk about problems you may encounter while travelling in a German-speaking area. In this lesson you will learn: how to say you’ve lost something; how to say someone has stolen something belonging to you; to ask for help in German; how to describe things using colours and sizes; about prepositions which take certain cases; about the Bavarian capital, Munich. This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subs...
Sep 25, 2013•31 min•Season 1Ep. 25
This lesson focuses on using the phone in German. In this lesson you will learn: how to answer the phone in German; how to ask to speak to someone; to understand other phone phrases in German; how to use pronouns in the dative case; about the German concept of Kurorte which translates roughly as “spa towns”. This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from lesson notes, bonus audio recordings a...
Sep 15, 2013•26 min•Season 1Ep. 24
This week’s lesson continues on from last week and we’ll be continuing to learn to cope with a visit to the pharmacy or doctor’s while travelling in a German-speaking country. In this lesson you will learn: further practice of the aches and pains we learned about in the last lesson; how to describe your symptoms in German; how to ask for medication for a particular condition; how to use demonstrative articles – the words for “this” and “these”; more about the plural definite article in different...
Sep 06, 2013•26 min•Season 1Ep. 23
When travelling on vacation or business sometimes things don’t go according to plan and you need to visit a doctor or pharmacy. In this lesson you’ll learn to talk about various parts of the body and to describe your symptoms. In this lesson you will learn: the words for various parts of your body; how to say you have a headache, a stomachache, toothache, etc.; how to explain your symptoms using the construction “my … hurts”; what Schrebergärten , Gartenzwerge and Dauercamper are in our cultural...
Aug 29, 2013•21 min•Season 1Ep. 22
There’s nothing worse that bad weather when you’re on holiday and in this week’s Coffee Break German you’ll learn to avoid it so that you can enjoy travelling in a German-speaking part of the world even more. In this lesson you will learn: to talk about the weather in the present, asking “what is the weather like” and giving appropriate responses; to talk about the weather in the future, asking “what is the weather going to be like tomorrow”, again with a range of suitable responses; how to tell...
Aug 19, 2013•22 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Half way through the course! In this twentieth lesson of Coffee Break German you’ll join Mark as he is tested by Thomas on everything he has learned so far in the course. In this lesson: test yourself on what you’ve learned with the translation challenges set by Thomas; translate from German into English and from English into German; join Kirsten for a useful review of the main grammar points covered so far in the course; find out about music from Germany and Austria in our Cultural Corresponden...
Aug 11, 2013•33 min•Season 1Ep. 20
In this latest episode of Coffee Break German you’ll continue learning to deal with public transport in German. In this lesson you’ll learn: to talk about train/bus arrival and departure times; to ask when buses and trains arrive and depart; to ask for single/return tickets and specify more information about the tickets you want to buy; about the German concept of Pünktlichkeit , both in the context of public transport and the German psyche; about Mitfahrgelegenheit and how it could help you to ...
Jul 24, 2013•25 min•Season 1Ep. 19
In this week’s episode of Coffee Break German you’ll be learning to talk about public transport. In this lesson you’ll learn: to ask what time the train or bus leaves and arrives; to specify which train or bus you’re enquiring about; to use a special construction which can be reused in many question situations; about German Ampelmännchen , traffic light men, in our Cultural Correspondent section; and to conjugate the verb sein (“to be”) in the present tense. This season of Coffee Break German fe...
Jul 05, 2013•24 min•Season 1Ep. 18
It’s time for a new episode of Coffee Break German. In this lesson you’ll be learning how to talk about what there is to do in the town in the context of a visit to the tourist information office. In this lesson you’ll learn: how to ask what there is to do and see in a town; to understand possible answers to this question; to talk about the exact location of places in the town using words like neben (next to) and gegenüber (opposite), and zwischen (between); about the dative case and its use aft...
Jun 18, 2013•24 min•Season 1Ep. 17
In this latest episode of Coffee Break German you’ll be learning to deal with shopping situations in German. In this lesson you’ll learn: how to ask for things in shops; how to use the verbs kaufen (to buy), anprobieren (to try on), zahlen (to pay) and nehmen (to take); what modal verbs are, and how to conjugate können (to be able) and wollen (to want) in the present tense, and mögen (to like) in the conditional; cultural tips for dealing with shopping in German-speaking areas. This season of Co...
Jun 08, 2013•27 min•Season 1Ep. 16
In this latest episode of Coffee Break German you’ll be taking your German skills a stage further. In this lesson you’ll learn: to count from 11 to 1,000 – and beyond; the days of the week in German; further useful words and phrases to deal with hotels and accommodation. This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from lesson notes, bonus audio recordings and video versions of the lessons featu...
May 26, 2013•26 min•Season 1Ep. 15
In this week’s episode of Coffee Break German we’re introducing a new theme: checking into a hotel in a German-speaking area. In this lesson you’ll learn: useful words and phrases for checking into a hotel; the full conjugation of the verb haben in the present tense; some cultural informaiton about breakfast traditions in German-speaking areas. This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from l...
May 17, 2013•24 min•Season 1Ep. 14
In this week’s episode of Coffee Break German you’ll learn more language for ordering food and drinks in cafés. In this lesson you’ll learn: how to use adjectives correctly when ordering food; the different forms of adjectives following the indefinite article; how to deal with paying a bill in a restaurant; how to tip in German-speaking areas. This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from le...
May 11, 2013•25 min•Season 1Ep. 13
In this week’s episode of Coffee Break German you’ll be learning more words and phrases to deal with ordering food and drinks. In this lesson you’ll learn: the words for savoury and sweet snacks; how to order food in restaurants in German; how to use the indefinite article in German in the accusative. This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from lesson notes, bonus audio recordings and vide...
May 01, 2013•23 min•Season 1Ep. 12
We’re back with a new episode of Coffee Break German, the first in a new season of ten lessons which focus on practical German you’ll need on a trip to a German-speaking country. Lesson 11 focuses on the topic of ordering drinks in cafés. You will learn: the words for various hot and cold drinks; how to use the indefinite article (the word for “a”) in German; useful expressions for ordering drinks in a café; the plural forms of the verb kommen in the present tense; about the culture of Kaffeetri...
Apr 24, 2013•29 min•Season 1Ep. 11
In this latest episode of Coffee Break German you’ll realise how much you’ve learned since you started following the course by listening to a conversation using lots of the language you’ve covered so far. This lesson is a review of the language covered so far in our course. This lesson includes: an extended conversation between two speakers featuring a range of topics; bonus vocabulary to extend your range of expression; phrases for greetings at special times of the year. This season of Coffee B...
Apr 03, 2013•28 min•Season 1Ep. 10
In this latest episode of Coffee Break German we’ll be looking at how to cope with language difficulties and to explain that you don’t understand – that you’re just learning German! In this lesson you’ll do some practice of last week’s topic of giving directions, and you’ll learn to talk about the languages you speak. You’ll learn: to say that you speak a little German; how to cope in situations where you don’t understand what is being said to you; the words for a number of languages; how to con...
Mar 27, 2013•25 min•Season 1Ep. 9
In this week’s episode of Coffee Break German we’ll be building on what we learned last week to help us talk about the town. We’ll learn some more complex directions and learn some aspects of German cases in our Grammar Guru section. In this lesson you’ll be learning to talk about places in the town and to ask for directions. You’ll learn: the German words for some more places in the town; to understand the words for “straight on”, “right” and “left”; more complex directions; the basics of cases...
Mar 20, 2013•27 min•Season 1Ep. 8
