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•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast It’s time for another episode of Coffee Break German and in this week’s episode we’re learning to get around the town using German. 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 places in the town; to ask for help from a native speaker; the phrase for “where is…?” in German; how to ask someone to show you on a map where you are. This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscrib...
Mar 15, 2013•23 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode of Coffee Break German we’re looking at numbers from zero to ten, and dealing with buying things in stores and cafés. In this lesson you’ll be learning some numbers and how to deal with shopping in German. You’ll learn: the numbers from zero to ten; how to ask how much something costs; how to “spell” larger numbers and how to ask German speakers to write down the number or price; some useful phrases for dealing with shopping situations in German. This season of Coffee Brea...
Mar 07, 2013•26 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast It’s time for another episode of Coffee Break German. In this week’s show, you’ll learn how to introduce members of your family to your new-found German-speaking friends. In this lesson you’ll be learning how to introduce members of your family. You’ll learn: the words for different members of your family; how to introduce members of your family in German; how the gender of nouns works in German; the word for “the”, depending on the gender of nouns; how to say “my” for masculine and feminine nou...
Feb 20, 2013•21 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast Introduction In this week’s episode of Coffee Break German you’ll take your German skills further and continue to develop your confidence in using the language. In weekly episodes you’ll join native speaker Thomas who’ll be teaching learner Mark in gradual, structured lessons. Our “Cultural Correspondent” Julia and our “Grammar Guru” Kirsten will also join us in each episode to share their knowledge and love of all things German. In this lesson you’ll be moving on to talk about where you live. Y...
Feb 13, 2013•21 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Introduction Welcome to a new episode of Coffee Break German, our new course for beginners in German. In weekly episodes you’ll join native speaker Thomas who’ll be teaching learner Mark in gradual, structured lessons. Our “Cultural Correspondent” Julia and our “Grammar Guru” Kirsten will also join us in each episode to share their knowledge and love of all things German. In this lesson you’ll be moving on to talk about where you come from. You’ll learn: how to ask the question “where do you com...
Feb 06, 2013•24 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast 
