Listening resources for German S3-S6
The following is a list of various suggested resources to help you revise for your German exams. Listening to a little bit of German for a short while (even just 5-10 minutes) several times per week will get you used to the way the language sounds, the way sentences are constructed and the way it is spoken by ‘real’ German speakers.
Regular exposure to German by listening to a little German, often, will help you improve not only your performance in German Listening exams but also in Speaking, Reading and Writing. Think about how you learned your own language: as a baby, you heard it all around you and you gradually improved by repeating sounds, words and phrases. It’s the same with any other language: try it!
It has to be said that the internet is by far the best source of resources for listening to German. It appears that, at present, there are no German cable television channels available to most people in the UK, although there are channels for other languages. There are some German radio channels if you search carefully on Long wave or Medium wave frequencies – the best reception tends to be on Medium wave though. Try ‘surfing’ – here are the frequencies for three decent quality German radio channels: 53.8 MW, 57.2 MW and 76.0 MW – no doubt the exact frequency for you will depend on where you live.
The internet resources listed below have been graded according to their level of difficulty, ranging from * for the easiest (Foundation/General Standard Grade level), to *** for the hardest (Higher/Advanced Higher Level). Whichever ones you listen to, don’t get frustrated if you don’t understand everything you hear. The important thing is just to ‘absorb’ as much of the language as possible by hearing it. Viel Spaß!
*
(Links to numerous audio files in German – some are short, eg. words or phrases for you to practise; others are fun activities such as tongue twisters or stories to read and listen to. Foundation/General/Credit Standard Grade level, depending on the link you choose)
(Excellent revision activities for listening exams, plus games, revision tips and more!)
(German as young German people speak it. From politics to pulling, there is stacks of useful vocab here.)
(Some excellent interactive exercises here and some which are not so good, but this site has plenty of audio files, which are all worth listening to, even if the games don’t work sometimes. Don’t worry if the homepage says ‘Page not found’ – just click on any of Years 7-11 at the left hand side and pick a theme to listen to. Years 7-9 are roughly Foundation/General Standard Grade level and Years 10 and 11 are roughly General/Credit Standard Grade level.)
(Various exercises to practise your vocab and grammar, plus some exercises which include audio files.)
(Watch trailers for the latest cinema releases, in German!)
**
(Links to numerous audio files in German – some are short, eg. words or phrases for you to practise; others are fun activities such as tongue twisters or stories to read and listen to. Foundation/General/Credit Standard Grade level, depending on the link you choose)
(Called ‘Better @ Listening’, this excellent interactive site helps you to become just that. Unlike your exams, when you answer in English, you type the answers to this quiz in German, but the practice is very valuable and there are loads of tips to help you improve your technique.)
(Contains links to some useful audio and video files with short conversations in German, on familiar themes, such as sports and leisure, and shopping. Great for brushing up on core Standard Grade vocab.)
(Some excellent interactive exercises here and some which are not so good, but this site has plenty of audio files, which are all worth listening to, even if the games don’t work sometimes. Don’t worry if the homepage says ‘Page not found’ – just click on any of Years 7-11 at the left hand side and pick a theme to listen to. Years 7-9 are roughly Foundation/General Standard Grade level and Years 10 and 11 are roughly General/Credit Standard Grade level.)
(Watch trailers for the latest cinema releases, in German!)
***
(Click on the appropriate link on the right hand side)
(Click on the red box in the top right corner, which says ‘Webradio starten’)
(Click on the black and white box in the top right hand corner which says ‘Live hören’)
(Listen to stories and poems by many famous writers, being read in German or French. There is a wide selection of stories and poems which are free to download – those which aren’t free tell you the price. Click on the top left hand box, ‘Gratis Hörbücher von 80 Autoren’ – free audio books by 80 authors – or the 2nd heading from the left at the top of the page, ‘Autoren A-Z’, for the full range.)
(A page with links to numerous TV and radio stations from around the world, in numerous languages. Click on German (or other language you are studying) under the headings ‘Web Television’ or ‘Radio Broadcasts’ and choose your channel! NB: some channels require a little patient navigating before you can watch or listen.)
(Watch the news in German.)
(Watch trailers for the latest cinema releases, in German!)
Hopefully this list of resources has been of some help to you. No doubt you will have varying positive (hopefully positive!) or negative experiences with them. There will no doubt also be resources which are not yet listed, so any feedback with comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.