5.2 Warum lernst du Deutsch?

Guten Tag!

Zum Aufwärmen machen wir unseren Tagesminiplausch und eine Wiederholung.

Wiederholung

In the previous lesson, you learned how to ask someone where they study, how to say your major and where you are at on your educational path, and how to say what your friends study. Let’s review what you have learned.

Jetzt bist du dran!

Wo studierst du? Was studierst du? Bist du im Bachelorstudium? In welchem Semester bist du? Answer the questions in your written journal, write what you are studying as a major and where you are on your educational journey. Then record your answers in your audio journal.

Lektionsüberblick

People learn German for a number of different reasons. The idea in this lesson is to help you understand the question when it is directed at you (Warum lernst du Deutsch?) and potentially ask someone why they are studying German. The next step is for you to be able to give some potential responses. Remember that at this level your ambition should not be to replicate how you would say something in English. Instead, you should aim to keep it simple so that you are able to remember it and say it without much or any hesitation.

In the end, you will be able to 1) understand and ask a question using warum and 2) say why you are learning German.

Was weißt du schon?

Noch nicht start klar?

Du kannst immer auf die gleiche 1010-Lektion zurückgreifen!

Not confident about starting this lesson?

You can always review the same Lektion from 1010.

1) Warum lernst du Deutsch?

If you study German, you have probably been asked the reason why before. German is an interesting language and people are often curious as to why you chose German to study. We’ve worked with why questions before (Lektion 3.4), so you might remember the question word. Listen for it here.

Let’s practice.

Jetzt bist du dran!

Imagine your German teacher has paired you with a classmate in German class. You want to ask the student why they are learning German. Write this question in your written journal. Then record yourself asking this question aloud in your audio journal.

2) Ich lerne Deutsch, weil…

Some of you may be taking German due to a foreign language requirement in your degree program. So, you might be tempted to answer the question

Warum lernst du Deutsch?” with “Ich lerne Deutsch wegen der Fremdsprachenpflicht.

But this response only partially answers that question. You could have chosen among a number of other languages for your language requirement, but you chose German. This section is to help you say why you have chosen German. Here is a selection of the most common reasons UW students learn German.

 

Ich lerne Deutsch, weil ich deutsche Vorfahren habe.
Ich lerne Deutsch, weil ich deutsche Heavy-Metal-Musik gern höre.
Ich lerne Deutsch, weil ich deutsche Geschichte studiere.
Ich lerne Deutsch, weil ich eine Sommerstudienreise* nach Deutschland mache.

*Sommerstudienreise = summer study abroad

Let’s practice.

Kleiner Hinweis

Like in English, you can also answer the question with the reason alone without saying the entire sentence. That looks like this:

Weil ich deutsche Vorfahren habe.

Weil ich deutsche Heavy-Metal-Musik gern höre.

Weil ich deutsche Geschichte studiere.

Weil ich eine Sommerstudienreise nach Deutschland mache.

 

 

 

Jetzt bist du dran!

Warum lernst du Deutsch? Read the examples above again and decide which one fits your situation the best. Write that in your journal.

Then record yourself reading this reason aloud in your audio journal. If you can do it immediately without reading, that’s great! Otherwise, practice saying it a couple times before recording. Or rerecord, if you are not satisfied.

 

Zum Schluß

In this lesson, you learned to 1) understand and ask a question using warum, 2) say why you are learning German. If you are feeling unsure about any part of the expanded introduction, go back to that section and review.
Now let’s put it all together. Build a dialog between you and a classmate using the question you learned here and possible reasons. Be sure to incorporate die magische Frage into your dialog (und du?) to keep the conversation going. Feel free to ask follow-up questions, as well. For example, if your partner’s ancestors are from Germany, what is a logical question that could follow? Then record the dialog in your audio journal, alone or preferably with a partner. If you can do it immediately without reading, that’s great! Otherwise, practice saying it a couple times before recording. Or rerecord, if you are not satisfied.

*As you conclude this lesson, don’t forget to check Canvas!*

 

 

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