A New Language

It is never too late to learn a new language. Many people say so. During the 2024 Annual Convention of Piano Technicians Guild, I chatted with Mr. Andreas Harke from Jahn Piano Teile, Germany, only to find out my view of piano world is too limited. Having been working in this industry for almost 10 years, I have barely thought about this powerful instrument was invented and first manufactured in Europe in the 1700s, many traditional factories in Germany. Maybe someday, there would be a chance to go to one factory or two to study with professional piano builders and engineers. Language is essential for skill acquisition, thus the decision to learn German. So the journey started in August 2024.

It was such a long search for the best German Youtube channel, online classes, and in person courses, most of them very expensive if one wants to learn following a system including reading, writing, listening, speaking, and grammar.  The worldwide Geothe Institute is believed to provide very decent education taught by native speakers. But the charge for only A1 level class in Boston, MA is almost $2000. After some research, I found Germanic-American Institute in Minnesota. The teachers are very experienced. For the three parts of A1 level, the cost is about $1000, $ 340 each part (A1.1, A1.2, A1.3). So I took the A1.1 class with wonderful teacher Mrs. Anne Schreiber. She makes sure we understand all vocabulary, culture, grammar, etc. covered by the textbook, as well as giving us language tips needed related to the text and our daily life. 

One 2 hour class per week seems not enough. I do want to learn more. And yes I'm too old, can't learn as fast as the younger generations. Each day, 20 minutes to 90 minutes are dedicated to German language study. So I fund Deutsch Mit Lari on Youtube. She has taught German for over 10 years and has spent three years teaching in Mexico. She explains daily life and culture with simple sentences and vocabulary patiently in her videos, as well as providing free learning PDF materials. A few months ago, she started teaching a group class via Zoom, one time a week. I joined this group. Everyone else is of higher German level and I do feel frustrated trying to understand her and everyone. She makes sure I have chances to speak. After knowing that her students are of different levels, she prepares her worksheets in both beginner and advanced levels of the same topic. I did want to quit for several times. It is just too difficult. But... maybe it worth it to keep going for a while, study the worksheets more before class, see if I could understand more during the Zoom calls. It is very easy to give up, isn't it. She is a very lovely teacher. And I do hope to keep it up no matter how much frustration is involved.

The Germanic American Institute is very good but still cost a lot, say, 30+ breakfast at Parena, 100 dozen eggs, or 150 pounds of broccoli per 12 classes. For self-paced learning, especially grammar, I registered on Lingoni recommended by Mrs. Anne Schreiber. This is a small business owned by two sisters, Jenny and Jacqueline living in Germany, a company small enough that you know they care. The sisters have also lived in the United States, so you know they understand the cultural difference. You can feel their efforts on explaining German to English speakers. The Lingoni Youtube Chanel is here. Also, Anne said they are very knowledgeable and organized. She is right. Each video lesson is a few minutes long explaining a small amount of knowledge at a time. But After I write down every sentence from the video for several times and do all the exercises, it is about 30 to 45 minutes. The repetition from the two sister instructors is very very helpful. So I stopped rushing through the lessons, started repeating and reviewing, even repeating in my head in the swimming pool at 5am in the morning. 

So this is the schedule for now, take live lessons with Lari to practice speaking, study grammar and build up basic vocabulary with Lingoni. How far I can go with German? I have no idea. At least it has started and at least it is not given up, yet......yet.