Hobbies, DIY, gardens and even jokes

Hobbies - always a favourite topic set for students learning German. Yesterday I wrote about Koch Atelier and that led me on to explore some of the other things available from the same source. So go to http://www.hobbyatelier.de/ if you want some tips on setting  up a workshop, doing some decorating and all manner of things. If you are looking for creative ideas for making decorative objects or working with textiles then perhaps you'll find something useful in http://www.dekoatelier.de/ For furniture and everything to do with interiors there's http://www.wohnatelier.de/ Gardens are dealt with in http://www.gartenatelier.de/ and you'll want to know all about cleaning so try http://www.putzatelier.de/ If you don't find that funny then go for http://www.witzatelier.de/

You might also try the online magazine series
http://www.hobbyedition.de/
http://www.wohnedition.de/
http://www.gartenedition.de/
http://www.kochedition.de/

Plenty of useful insights into German homes and gardens and hobbies. Wonderful sources for learning German words and phrases to describe everyday objects. Please share your views on this by leaving a comment.

Plan your dream kitchen

I can find my way around the kitchen fairly well and my roast potatoes today were brilliant (says he modestly). But I was trying to use German to describe some of the things in the kitchen. We have a gas hob - eine Gaskochmulde - with an extractor  in the cupboard above - eine Dunstabzug in Oberschrank. I think I shall continue to practise naming objects in the kitchen over the next few days just to make sure I have them well impressed on the memory. And I'll try to incorporate the words into simple sentences, perhaps being more descriptive - size, shape, colour, postion, relationship to other objects.

You can plan your dream kitchen online and learn German at the same time. Koch Atelier Küchenplanung is a good place to start as it gives you details about lots of different kitchen equipment - Küchengeräte - cupboards - Schränke and plenty of tips and product information. Give it a try and cook up some dream ideas. How would you tell someone in German what your dream kitchen is like and why you chose that particular design?

As you can see from the graphic showing their website navigation,  Koch Atelier offers much more. Why not take a look at Der gedeckte Tisch and decide what you want on your table?

Pencil in some time for new vocabulary

Memorising vocabulary is not easy if you are working with a random list of words. Meaning helps memory and so does activity. If what you learn is associated with images and, better still, with activity, then you are more likely to be able to recall words and phrases. Doing a practical task using German instructions and repeating them out loud as you go through each step could be a great way to learn. For instance, cooking using a German recipe, especially something that you will do quite frequently, will soon have you muttering the instructions as you do familiar tasks. Burn into your memory not in the oven.

Yesterday I included a video about watercolour painting. With that you might need to note down the phrases used but then you could read them out loud as you try to paint.

Sequences for processes can help you acquire and memorise vocabulary more readily. Following yesterday's art theme I visited the Faber-Castell website and found they have an animation about pencil production and what they are doing to protect the environment. This is intended for children but presents a single sentence with each step through the manufacturing process. Try following it through several times and see if you can then write down the process in your own words or with phrases you've remembered. So follow the invitation "Besucht mit uns die Bunstiftfabrik!"

If you do want to learn some vocabulary while practising some drawing techniques then you could try looking at some of their product descriptions. A good example would be Malen und Zeichnen mit Grip Stiften which illustrates some possibilities and has the description alongside. While you do it you can describe the process in the present tense and afterwards you can practice using a past tense - simple past when writing, perfect for speech. Notice the use of werden passive in the example here.