Lektionsüberblick

Most people experience a number of typical illnesses (like Windpocken = chicken pox) or injuries (ein gebrochener Arm = a broken arm) in childhood. Talking about these experiences with new friends can help us bond with each other, which will be useful when you are in a German-speaking country for a study abroad, internship, or other kind of experience.

This lesson will focus on talking about such illnesses (in the present and the past).  In the end, you will 1) talk about typical illnesses and treatments, 2) talk about past illnesses, and 3) talk about injuries and their treatments, and 4) make a doctor’s appointment.

1)Krankheiten und Behandlungen

Let’s look at some typical illnesses and symptoms. Click through these cards, read along with the audio, and practice saying the sentences aloud.

Now let’s practice talking about being sick.

Fortunately, there are treatments for many of our illnesses and symptoms. Using your knowledge of cognates and other vocabulary you have acquired in the last semesters, see if you can complete the activity.

Genf im Blickpunkt

In Genf gibt es eine Blumenuhr im Englischen Garten. Die Uhr funktioniert wie eine normale Uhr, aber sie ist aus Blumen und Pflanzen gemacht. Das Muster der Blumen ändert sich mit den Jahreszeiten, deshalb sieht die Uhr immer anders aus. Sie ist eine schöne Mischung aus Natur und Technik. 

In Geneva, there’s a flower clock in the English Garden. The clock works like a normal clock, but it’s made of flowers and plants. The pattern of the flowers changes with the seasons, so the clock always looks different. It’s a beautiful blend of nature and technology.

2) Frühere Krankheiten

How often were you sick last year? Which childhood illnesses did you have? Let’s look at how to talk about being sick in the past.

Now let’s practice talking about being sick in the past.

Let’s check your comprehension of past and present illnesses with the following text with audio!

3) Verletzungen und Behandlungen

The German way to talk about injuries is not an easy translation from English. Never fear! You’ve seen the structure before when talking about your morning routine. Do you remember? Ich wasche mir die Haare. Ich habe mir die Haare gewaschen. (If you’re feeling uncertain, you can review that lesson before continuing.)

You will now see the same when talking about injuries, which are, when you think about it, logically in the past tense. You will also find some standard treatments for the injuries in the following cards. Be sure to read, listen, and read aloud.

Now let’s practice!

It’s time to look at the language in context. Listen to the interviewees describe past injuries and complete the exercise.

4) Einen Arzttermin vereinbaren – making a doctor’s appointment

If you are feeling under the weather or have an injury, it might be time to make an appointment with the doctor. To do this, you already know many of the elements: offering a greeting, identifying yourself, giving the reason for your call, understanding times and days, etc. Let’s build on what you know to ensure that if you needed to, you could schedule an appointment with a doctor in a German-speaking country.

First read and listen to the short dialog. What words do you understand? Check your understanding of important phrases with the exercise that follows.

Arzthelferin: Guten Tag, Praxis Dr. Müller.
Patient: Guten Tag. Ich heiße Anna Schmidt.
Arzthelferin: Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen?
Patient: Ich möchte einen Termin machen. Ich bin krank.
Arzthelferin: Was haben Sie?
Patient: Ich habe Fieber und Husten.
Arzthelferin: Ich habe morgen um 9 Uhr einen Termin frei. Passt Ihnen das?
Patient: Ja, das passt.
Arzthelferin: Gut. Ihr Termin ist morgen um 9 Uhr.
Patient: Vielen Dank.
Arzthelferin: Auf Wiederhören.
Patient: Auf Wiederhören.

Now let’s look at Houssem’s story.

Media Attributions

• Body parts activities adapted from Grenzenlos Deutsch licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA International License.
• Sickness and doctor dialogue cards adapted from Grenzenlos Deutsch licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA International License.
• Werner, Dominic, and Magdalena texts adapted from Grenzenlos Deutsch licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA International License.
• “Houssem ist krank” text, dialogue, and activities adapted from Willkommen: Deutsch für alle licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA International License.
• Apothekesymbol photo collage: Logo Pharmacy by Ondrej Janovec (Public Domain license), Graz Wienerstraße by TheRunnerUp (CC BY-SA International License), and Alte Apotheke Waltershausen by Metilsteiner (CC BY-SA International License).