Learn how to talk about hopes and dreams
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Chuck: This is Intermediate Series Lesson 4. |
| Judith: [Willkommen zurück]. |
| Chuck: Welcome to the Intermediate Series at GermanPod101.com. |
| Judith: This lesson is one part of the Intermediate Series Season 2. You can find the rest of the lessons at… |
| Chuck: GermanPod101.com |
| Judith: If you want to make progress quickly, you should listen to more than one podcast a week. |
| Chuck: So go to www.GermanPod101.com and check out our other podcasts as well. |
| Judith: Right now, you might enjoy our Accent Improvement series. |
| Chuck: Or you can listen to last week’s Intermediate Series which teaches German grammar and vocabulary through songs. |
| Judith: There’s also the vocabulary building Upper Beginner Series we produced last winter. That one introduces a variety of situations that you might encounter in Germany. |
| Chuck: Well, whatever you do, don’t let your German rust. The Learning Center is the perfect tool to help you memorize vocabulary and grammar until it becomes second nature to you. |
| Judith: Speaking of grammar, it’s time we learned something new. Today we will study the conditional mood. |
| Chuck: Hold on. First let’s listen to the latest conversation between Mike and his German friend. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A: Können wir jetzt an meinem Lebenslauf arbeiten? |
| D: Ja, ich habe gerade Zeit. Als erstes ist es wichtig zu wissen, auf was für eine Art von Arbeit du dich bewirbst. Dann kannst du deine Erfahrungen in diesem Bereich unterstreichen. |
| A: Ich weiß noch nicht, als was ich arbeiten werde... |
| D: Nur so in etwa. Was ist dein Traumberuf? |
| A: Mein Traumberuf? Ich wäre gerne Surflehrer auf Hawaii... |
| D: Das könnte in Deutschland schwierig werden. Was macht dir denn Spaß? |
| A: Ich würde gerne etwas mit jungen Leuten machen, ihnen helfen.... |
| D: Sie unterrichten? |
| A: Ja, Lehrer zu sein wäre nicht schlecht. Jedenfalls besser als irgendwo Geschirr zu spülen. |
| D: Um an einer deutschen Schule zu unterrichten, braucht man ein spezielles Diplom und viel Erfahrung. Aber du könntest an einer Sprachschule Englisch unterrichten. Als Muttersprachler nehmen die dich bestimmt. |
| A: Ahh, gute Idee! Ich habe auch schon Erfahrungen in dem Bereich. |
| Judith: Now read slowly. |
| A: Können wir jetzt an meinem Lebenslauf arbeiten? |
| D: Ja, ich habe gerade Zeit. Als erstes ist es wichtig zu wissen, auf was für eine Art von Arbeit du dich bewirbst. Dann kannst du deine Erfahrungen in diesem Bereich unterstreichen. |
| A: Ich weiß noch nicht, als was ich arbeiten werde... |
| D: Nur so in etwa. Was ist dein Traumberuf? |
| A: Mein Traumberuf? Ich wäre gerne Surflehrer auf Hawaii... |
| D: Das könnte in Deutschland schwierig werden. Was macht dir denn Spaß? |
| A: Ich würde gerne etwas mit jungen Leuten machen, ihnen helfen.... |
| D: Sie unterrichten? |
| A: Ja, Lehrer zu sein wäre nicht schlecht. Jedenfalls besser als irgendwo Geschirr zu spülen. |
| D: Um an einer deutschen Schule zu unterrichten, braucht man ein spezielles Diplom und viel Erfahrung. Aber du könntest an einer Sprachschule Englisch unterrichten. Als Muttersprachler nehmen die dich bestimmt. |
| A: Ahh, gute Idee! Ich habe auch schon Erfahrungen in dem Bereich. |
| Judith: Now with the translation. Jetzt mit Übersetzung. |
| A: Können wir jetzt an meinem Lebenslauf arbeiten? |
| A: Can we now work on my CV / resumé? |
| D: Ja, ich habe gerade Zeit. Als erstes ist es wichtig zu wissen, auf was für eine Art von Arbeit du dich bewirbst. Dann kannst du deine Erfahrungen in diesem Bereich unterstreichen. |
| D: Yes, I have time right now. First, it's important to know what kind of work you are applying for. Then you can underline your experience in that area. |
| A: Ich weiß noch nicht, als was ich arbeiten werde... |
| A: I don't yet know what my job will be… |
| D: Nur so in etwa. Was ist dein Traumberuf? |
| D: Just in general. What is your dream job? |
| A: Mein Traumberuf? Ich wäre gerne Surflehrer auf Hawaii... |
| A: My dream job? I would like to be a surfing teacher in Hawaii… |
| D: Das könnte in Deutschland schwierig werden. Was macht dir denn Spaß? |
| D: That could be difficult in Germany. What do you like to do? |
| A: Ich würde gerne etwas mit jungen Leuten machen, ihnen helfen.... |
| A: I would like to work with young people, help them… |
| D: Sie unterrichten? |
| D: Teach them? |
| A: Ja, Lehrer zu sein wäre nicht schlecht. Jedenfalls besser als irgendwo Geschirr zu spülen. |
| A: Yes, it wouldn't be bad to be a teacher. In any case it would be better than washing dishes somewhere. |
| D: Um an einer deutschen Schule zu unterrichten, braucht man ein spezielles Diplom und viel Erfahrung. Aber du könntest an einer Sprachschule Englisch unterrichten. Als Muttersprachler nehmen die dich bestimmt. |
| D: In order to teach at a German school, you need a special diploma and a lot of experience. But you could teach English at a language school. As a native speaker, they will certainly take you. |
| A: Ahh, gute Idee! Ich habe auch schon Erfahrungen in dem Bereich. |
| A: Ahh, good idea! I also already have experience in that area. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Judith: What do you think? |
| Chuck: I think it’s quite common for people to go overseas, or especially Americans and Brits to go overseas, and then teach English. |
| Judith: Yeah, it’s one of the jobs that just about anybody can do if you come from there. Of course it would be good if you have some teaching experience or some aptitude for it, but I see plenty of people doing it even without any kind of experience or aptitude. |
| Chuck: Yeah. I actually had a friend from South Carolina that decided he wanted to move to Germany, and he took English as a second language course first and it was a big help to him. At the end he decided to live is Warsaw, in Poland. |
| Judith: Now he’s teaching English in Warsaw? |
| Chuck: Yes. |
| Judith: That’s an awesome idea. |
| Chuck: Yeah. Actually I have another friend teaching English in Poland too. |
| Judith: You [have] a lot of English teachers. |
| Chuck: Alright. Well, I remember you earlier talking about something about the conditional mood. I think we should move on to that? |
| Judith: [Ehm, nein, als erstes lernen wir die neuen Vokabeln.] |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Judith: First word, [Als erstes]. |
| Chuck: “First”, “firstly”. |
| Judith: [Als erstes] |
| Chuck: “First”. |
| Judith: Next, [Wissen]. |
| Chuck: To know. |
| Judith: [Wissen] |
| Chuck: “To know”. And note this means “to know” like a fact, not to know a person. |
| Judith: Yes, the other one would be [Kennen]. Unfortunately, [Wissen] is not regular. The forms are [Ich weiß, Du weißt, Er weiß, Wir wissen, Ihr wisst, Sie wissen]. So in singular it’s all based on [Weiß] and in plural it’s all based on [Wissen] as a stem. |
| Chuck: Aren’t you just a [Besserwisser]. |
| Judith: That’s a know all. And you’re not calling me that. |
| Chuck: Or literally a better-knower. |
| Judith: Next word, [Art]. |
| Chuck: “Type” or “kind”. |
| Judith: [Art] |
| Chuck: “Type or kind”. |
| Judith: This word is feminine, [Die Art], and the plural is [Arten]. Next [Erfahrung] |
| Chuck: Experience. |
| Judith: [Erfahrung, Erfahrung] This is feminine, [Die Erfahrung], and plural, [Erfahrungen]. |
| Chuck: Experiences. |
| Judith: Next, [Bereich]. |
| Chuck: “Area”, “field” or “domain”. |
| Judith: [Bereich, Bereich, der Bereich] and plural, [Bereiche]. |
| Chuck: Areas. |
| Judith: Next, [Unterstreichen]. |
| Chuck: “To underline” or this in conversation might also mean “to highlight”. |
| Judith: [Unterstreichen, unterstreichen] And the [Unter] is non separable. Next, [In etwa]. |
| Chuck: Approximately. |
| Judith: [In etwa] Next, [Traumberuf]. |
| Chuck: “Dream job” or “dream career”. |
| Judith: [Traumberuf, Traumberuf], [Traum] can be used for just about any dream. You can say [Traumfrau]. |
| Chuck: [Traumurlaub] |
| Judith: Or [Traumauto]. |
| Chuck: Or also [Traumjob], right? |
| Judith: Yes. Next, [Werden]. |
| Chuck: “To become”, “turn into”. |
| Judith: Next. [Unterrichten] |
| Chuck: To teach. |
| Judith: [Unterrichten, unterrichten] Again, the [Unter] is non-separable. Next, [Diplom]. |
| Chuck: “Diploma” or “degree”. |
| Judith: [Diplom] |
| Chuck: “Diploma” or “degree”. |
| Judith: This word is neutral, [Das Diplom]. Next, [Sprachschule]. |
| Chuck: Language school. |
| Judith: [Sprachschule] |
| Chuck: Language school. |
| Judith: Feminine, [Die Sprachschule], plural, [Sprachschulen]. Next, [Muttersprachler]. |
| Chuck: Native speaker. |
| Judith: [Muttersprachler] |
| Chuck: Native speaker. |
| Judith: This is masculine and the plural is the same. |
| Chuck: Even if it’s a woman native speaker? |
| Judith: Then it would be [Muttersprachlerin], obviously. |
| Chuck: Ah ok. |
| Judith: It’s the same deal with all words that end in ER. |
| Chuck: That’s good to know. |
| Judith: Next, [Bestimmt]. |
| Chuck: Certainly. |
| Judith: [Bestimmt, bestimmt] |
| Chuck: Certainly. |
| CULTURAL INSIGHTS |
| Judith: [So und das waren bestimmt zu viele Vokabeln, jetzt machen wir erst einmal Landeskunde]. |
| Chuck: [Echt?] |
| Judith: Let’s do some culture knowledge first. |
| Chuck: Really? |
| Judith: Maybe we should talk about teachers in Germany. |
| Chuck: Alright. So what’s different? |
| Judith: I think the main difference is that the profession of a teacher is a lot more serious in Germany, as in you have to study a whole lot longer, and you get paid a lot more and your reputation is a lot better. To become a teacher in Germany, you have to study pedagogy for about five years at university and then you have to spend several years working as an apprentice at very, very bad pay, and you have to do another exam after that. And it’s actually quite a bad position if you’re young and have maybe a boyfriend or girlfriend because you can’t choose where you’re going to teach. The German government can send you to a completely different part of the country. But after all, it’s probably worth it if you want a really stable job. Once you’re a teacher, you’re a civil servant, then you have a job for a lifetime and they can’t fire you and you get regular pay increases. |
| Chuck: Yeah. It’s also interesting to note that you’re not allowed to homeschool in Germany. |
| Judith: Yes, I think it’s quite sensible. I mean it keeps with the idea of teachers being professionals like doctors or policemen. The state wouldn’t allow you to do your medical needs at home either. |
| Chuck: You can’t put on your own band aid? |
| Judith: No, but I mean the more serious stuff, you know. Give yourself a recipe for morphine or whatever. |
| Chuck: Yeah. I still think homeschooling should be allowed but… oh well. |
| Judith: Well, if you want it then you can go to Austria. It’s allowed in Austria. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Judith: Now let’s do grammar. |
| Chuck: So now we can do the conditional mood? You’re in the mood for that? |
| Judith: In German it’s called [Konjunktiv] also, which may remind you of the subjunctive, so it’s really confusing subject but just remember that it corresponds to the English conditional mood in this case. It can be formed using [Würde]. The forms of [Würde] are easy enough - [Ich würde, Du würdest, Er würde, Wir würden, Ihr würdet, Sie würden], completely regular. And it’s actually the conditional form of the verb [Werden]. |
| Chuck: Could you give me an example of that? |
| Judith: Of how it’s used? |
| Chuck: Yeah. |
| Judith: Yes, definitely. We use it with an infinitive verb, just like the future tense. So, for example, in the future tense we say [Ich werde ins Schwimmbad gehen]. |
| Chuck: I will go to the swimming pool. |
| Judith: And if it’s conditional, if you’re not sure yet, you might go, then you say [Ich würde ins Schwimmbad gehen]. |
| Chuck: I would go to the swimming pool. |
| Judith: [Similarly] in the future tense, you could say [Er wird dir nicht antworten]. |
| Chuck: He will not reply to you. |
| Judith: And in conditional tense, [Er würde dir nicht antworten]. |
| Chuck: He would not reply to you. |
| Judith: And, note also that in German the conditional mood may be used on both sides of a conditional statement, if you think that the condition is unlikely to be met. So, for example, in the sentence [Ich würde mitkommen, wenn du das Treffen verschieben würdest]. |
| Chuck: I would come along if you would move the meeting. |
| Judith: Yes, we say “would move” but if you’re a student of English you have learned to say “if you moved the meeting”. This is unlikely… If you think that it is likely to happen, then you would use the future tense here - [Ich werde mitkommen wenn du das Treffen verschiebst]. I’d already said earlier, [Würde] is the conditional mood for [Werden] but some verbs do not use this, they have their own conditional form. And this is one way that the language is getting more and more simplified because they’re more and more verbs that just use [Würde]. For now you only need to know one verb that does not use [Würde] and that is the verb [Sein]. |
| Chuck: To be. |
| Judith: This verb uses the form [Wäre] instead. [Wäre] – this translates to “would be”. So when you next listen to the lesson’s dialogue again, you can pay attention to these forms of [Würde] and [Wäre] that appear in it. But [Das wars für heute]. |
Outro |
| Chuck: So that’s it for today. And don’t forget you can leave us a comment on this lesson. And while you’re at GermanPod101.com use our most powerful tool. |
| Judith: Line by line audio. |
| Chuck: The perfect tool for rapidly improving listening comprehension. |
| Judith: By listening to lines of the conversation again and again. |
| Chuck: Listen until every word and syllable becomes clear. Basically, we break down the dialogue into comprehensible bite-sized sentences. |
| Judith: You can try the line by line audio in the premium learning center at GermanPod101.com |
| Chuck: Hope to see you there! |
| Judith: Kommt uns besuchen! |
| Chuck: See you next week! |
| Judith: Bis nächste Woche! |
Comments
Hide