Learning German is a Stone’s throw away

It’s hard not to fall in love with Berlin, which although lacking a proper flat white substitute, is full of everything that is good and wonderful in the world (beautiful people, art, parties, fashion). But since I am planning a longer stay there in May and still don’t actually speak the language, I took the recommendation from a pal and picked up the German Rosetta Stone computer program.

It’s easy enough. The program shows four pictures and one by one says aloud what you see. So “der vogel fliegt” means the bird flies and therefore I click on the picture where a bird is flying. The pictures change places every time you get a correct answer so it doesn’t become too easy. The boy jumps, the fish is white, the new car is red, the lady is wearing a blue top.  You know, not only conversation starters but just handy everyday statements.

It seemed all a bit silly at first but soon the great German computer voice teamed with pictures that can only be described as “catalogue chic” actually started to really make sense. I was learning objects, colours, people at different stages of their picturesque German lives. I also was learning sentence structure and numbers and before long I realised — when describing the program to other interested parties — I had learned much more German than I thought. The lessons get more complicated and you can choose verbal, audio, visual and even to type the words.

Considering that I can be somewhat slack and easily distracted I have been captivated by this brilliant little invention. It’s easy and interactive and if you have thin walls and good computer speakers it can be an indirect way of also teaching your neighbours a language.

I was worried of the relevance of what I was learning to what I actually do in Berlin (which is DJ and shop). But fear not, I have the Lonely Planet phrasebook also so I can also learn the not so commonly taught things such as, “You’re a babe”, “Do you come here often?” and “How much for the jacket AND the shoes?”. And since beer is beir and red wine is rot wein, it ain’t as hard as you’d think!

Rosetta Stone: There are more than 30 languages available, from Hebrew to Portugese. Rosetta Stone is expensive, starting at about $350 but can you really put a price on communication?