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...

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...

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 studen...

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 listen...

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 langua...

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 th...

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...

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 Langua...

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, includ...

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 mem...

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...

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...

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...