Learning a language (specifically German) has been one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever done. I’ve taken 8 months of intensive German classes, numerous other supplementary classes, but after 18 months of living in Germany my German is still not at the level I would like it to be. As a result I decided it was time to change my strategy and make learning German fun, something which it has not been for me for a long time, if ever.
Vocab in this blurb about Jessica Alba's baby may be useful to you when speaking about a friend's baby.
Part of my new learning a language strategy includes reading celebrity magazines in German. I can see the expression on your face as you read this. You may be thinking that celebrity magazines are nothing but trash magazines, not worth the ink they’re printed on, but I can tell you from my experience that after just reading them for several weeks, I’ve already noticed significant improvements in my vocabulary. I also know I am a visual learner so reading celebrity magazines supports my visual learning style (see The Best Way to Learn a Language Besides Speaking It to discover your learning style) and I find it fun (see 5 Fun Language Learning Techniques for other fun ways to learn a language) Here’s why I think that reading about whether Britney Spears third upcoming marriage is her last of if JLo is just using her new 20-something boy toy for revenge against Marc Anthony can help you learn a language:
Vocabulary is Simple and Focuses on Day to Day Life – Celebrity magazines are not written for rocket scientists. The vocabulary is simple and the topics are light, but this is exactly what you need when you’re learning a language. The topics are also repetitive – someone has a new boyfriend, someone is too thin, someone is too fat, someone can’t find love….. Repetition is exactly what you need for learning a language. In addition, while you may or may not be discussing celebrities in your own life, you are likely discussing age, family, relationships, or entertainment, providing further repetition and applying your new vocabulary in a way that makes sense to you.
Lots of Photos- Photos are a great way to aid in learning a language and can help provide clues as to what the article or blurb is about. I find that once I have the context, it’s easier to understand the rest of the article.
The "before" and "after" pic show that the article is about Kelly Osbourne's weightloss.
Entertainment – I realize that reading celebrity magazines would not be considered entertainment for everyone, but I find them much more entertaining than reading something I have zero interest in, just for the sake of practicing my German. When I’m interested in something I’m much more likely to look up words I don’t understand and take the time to understand the context.
Information is in Small Chunks – I love that the information is presented in small chunks so that reading a celebrity magazine is not overwhelming. It also makes it easy to motivate myself to just do a little bit, even on days when I’m swamped with other things since reading a page is often only a matter of a few minutes.
Familiarity – Even though I read German celebrity magazines, many of the celebrities featured are American or other well known international celebrities making it easier to understand the context. I find knowing the context makes it much easier to understand what’s being said than if an article is about a person or subject that I know nothing about.
Fun – Lastly, although I hate to admit it, I find reading celebrity magazines entertaining and since I find it fun, I’m motivated to make time to read them on a regular basis and practicing a new language on a regular basis is key in learning a language. There’s also an iPhone app for one of the magazines I read, so I read it on the train making reading this language learning technique portable – and a lot cheaper than a language school! What off-beat things have helped you learn a language?
Note: All photos are from inTouch (the German edition).
Check out more posts on language below in the January German Bloggers Roundtable (please note this is only for members of the German Bloggers Roundtable to submit their links to, but everyone else is encouraged to check out the other blogs):
Laurel this is a brilliant idea! I have been struggling on with articles in the Spiegel and so on but actually you totally make the case for reading celebrity magazines, it makes absolute sense that your vocabulary improves when everything’s in small chunks and there’s so much repetition. You’ve sold me on this tactic… I’m just not sure if I can bring myself to actually go into a shop and BUY one
@Frau Dietz – I started out with the Spiegel too, but got so frustrated that I stopped reading it. Now I read the Bild, but don’t like the looks I get from reading it on the train, so now read it on my iPhone to avoid the embarrassment. If you have an iPhone inTouch has an app, so then you don’t have to actually buy one
I actually like the paper copy though as I write down the words that I don’t know, then flick back to review them occasionally. It’s also fun to see how far you’ve come, even in the beginning there were a ton of words I didn’t know in the tabloids.
This is such a cool idea. What is inTouch? Is that an app of different magazines or is it a magazine itself? I don’t really look so much at magazines.
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@Andrew – It’s a celebrity magazine and the app is also called inTouch. My husband had never heard of it either, but I like it for the reasons mentioned above.
I always try to have fun when studying a new language, and magazines, children’s books and recipes are a great place to start. I haven’t had much success with celeb mags yet, because it requires a familiarity with local heroes from X-factor and Come Dancing that I haven’t got.
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@Mette – I think having fun is the key. I like recipes as well. Getting to know local heroes is tough and with reality TV, it makes it especially hard to keep up.
Must do this in Hamburg…
Brilliant idea! Celebrity magazines are the guilty pleasure that I enjoy while getting my hair cut. My English hairdresser gets the British HELLO magazine and I enjoy reading it even though I don’t know who many of the British celebrities are. My teenage daughter enjoys reading them while she has her hair cut as well. Now that you have suggested it, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before but I’m going to try to find a French version for her to practice her French vocabulary in a fun way.
I am sooo trying this today. It makes so much sense…….though I HATE even knowing celebrity goings on, really…who cares what Beyonce named her baby? But I´m going to have to suck it up and try it. Thank you!
I´ve been struggling with Der Spiegel, because it is perfect german (grammatically speaking), rather than our local Fränkischer Tag (which is of course in Fränkish and google translate has NO idea what that is). Celebrity trash it is!
I’m sooo glad to hear I’m not the only one
Actually I’ve found a side benefit to reading the tabloids is being a little more in touch with the culture than I would otherwise. The pop culture, at least. I’ve learned some of the more colloquial and modern expressions that aren’t in the German books, and can follow the pop culture conversations a little better if I actually know who the people are.
The sad thing is that I can gauge my level of German comprehension as “somewhere above In Touch and below Cosmopolitan.”
What a brilliant idea! Can you recommend some trashy magazines suitable for those around A2 level?
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I used to do the same thing when I was living in Paris a long time ago and trying to learn French. I think my magazine of choice was Cosmopolitan or something
But you’re right, the true celebrity magazines are even better because they might have more pics and use a little simpler language – Cosmo wasn’t that deep or difficult, but the articles were long sometimes and I lost interest because of that easier.
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I think this is a brilliant strategy! The fact that the text blurbs are short and the photos provide context seems huge. And if celebrity magazines aren’t someone’s thing, then I’m sure this same approach could be used with other magazines, like Popular Mechanics or food mags. Popular Mechanics probably doesn’t use a ton of words that are relevant in daily conversation, but who knows?
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@Kat – Let me know how it works for you.
@Lisa – I think teenagers would love this idea, plus they often discuss fashion, another popular topic with many teenagers. I would have been much more interested in French if I would have read tabloids than boring books about the dog Spot.
@ Mandy – I struggle with Der Spiegel as well and feel your pain with the regional dialects. Another benefit is it will increase your knowledge of German pop culture and you will learn more about Heidi Klum that you ever knew you wanted too
@Anne – Agreed, it’s nice to at least have heard of some of the local celebrities and TV shows, even if I don’t watch them.
@Riayn – I like inTouch as it has lots of pictures. I struggled a bit the first time I read it, but since there’s so much repetition, it gets easier quite quickly
@Sabrina – I will have to “progress” to Cosmopolitan as I find the articles are long, but I do enjoy the Glamour magazine app, which has lots of quizzes – short and sweet and mildly entertaining.
@Christy – Agreed, I think any magazine that’s picture heavy, text light on a topic that you’re interested in would work.
Do you read In Touch German?! Since I worked for those tabloids for years and years, I am so happy to read this. I still learn how to write British English this way, and reading these magazines in Spanish helped so much. I am not a natural at languages, and I’ve finally accepted that learning Spanish will be a life-long project. But reading celeb mags helps simplify/learn slang/etc. And it helps it all sink it!! Plus, you sort of know the story already, so it’s easier to pick up context clues… have fun!!
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Ha ha ha! A good idea to help me learn German too. I just started classes this week.
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This is so true! I can now read celeb mags without feeling guilty.
I also get magazines like TVDirekt–the info is in small chunks, too, and it helps to get me interested in what’s on TV.