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Coffee Break German
A special thank you from Coffee Break on International Podcast Day
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Every 30th September, the podcasting world comes together to celebrate podcasting on International Podcast Day. We're celebrating today by saying thank you to the Coffee Break community in this special podcast episode. International Podcast Day aims to raise awareness about podcasts and gives podcast creators and listeners a chance to celebrate the medium and the podcast industry.
But podcasting has been around for a lot longer than that! Back in 2004, broadcaster Adam Curry asked developer Dave Winer to develop an audioblogging system and without going into the technical side of things, or indeed who specifically “invented” podcasting, it was Curry and Winer who got the ball rolling. The word “podcast” however, was first mentioned in a newspaper article in the Guardian by technology reporter Ben Hammersley. It was declared Word of the Year by the New Oxford American Dictionary in 2005.
Of course, at this stage Coffee Break hadn't yet launched, but Coffee Break host Mark did start podcasting for an education project he was running at the time called Partners in Excellence or “PiE”, and The PiEcast was used to bring a community of learners together and help them develop their language skills. Mark quickly realised that podcasting was the perfect medium for publishing language lessons, and for sharing his passion for languages with a wider audience.
Coffee Break Spanish was launched in October 2006. As the very first Spanish podcast for beginners on iTunes, it quickly gathered an audience and learners around the world started learning with us. Since then we’ve gone on to produce Coffee Break French, German, Italian, Chinese, Swedish and English and we have plans to develop more Coffee Break languages in the future. We’ve also created shorter podcast series called One Minute Languages covering over 30 languages from Arabic to Zulu.
We’ve published well over 1,000 episodes across the different languages and our podcasts have been downloaded over 290 million times, and we currently deliver over 2 million free language lessons every month to a community of Coffee Break learners.
So that’s why today, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you, our podcast listeners, our Coffee Break community. Without you there wouldn’t be any Coffee Break! Thank you for choosing to listen to our shows, to learn with us and to share your 15 or 20 minute coffee break with me and my cohosts on each episode of the show.
Now just before we finish, a couple of important points: if you’d like to hear about the latest episodes and series from Coffee Break, make sure you join Mark on Sunday 4th October at 4pm UK time / 11am Eastern / 8am Pacific for a live broadcast on YouTube and our Facebook pages. You can go straight to our YT channel - Coffee Break Languages - and click the “Set Reminder” button.
And, if you’d like to help us celebrate International Podcast Day, why not simply tell a language-loving friend about what you’ve learned with our podcasts and help us grow the Coffee Break community even further?
Merci beaucoup - vielen, vielen Dank, muchísimas gracias, grazie molte, xiè xie nimen, tack så jättemycket and thank you! There’s lots more coming from Coffee Break and we hope you continue to enjoy learning with us. Happy International Podcast Day!
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1. Coffee Break German – Introductory Episode
05:50In this introductory episode, Mark and Thomas talk about what you can expect in the first ten lessons of the course which starts this Wednesday, the 23rd of January 2013. The lessons will introduce the basics of the language and by the end of the first group of ten lessons you’ll be able to communicate in basic German with confidence. Topics covered include introductions and greetings, talking about where you’re from, your family, dealing with numbers and paying for things, finding your way around the town and coping with language difficulties.This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from lesson notes, bonus audio recordings and video versions of the lessons featuring 'synchronised video flashcards' to help you understand how the words and phrases are written, you can access the premium version of Coffee Break German on the Coffee Break Academy.Don't forget to follow Coffee Break German on Facebook where we post language activities, cultural points and review materials to help you practise your French. Remember - a few minutes a day can help you build your confidence in the language. Access the Coffee Break German Facebook page here.Join us on YouTube where we post regular videos for language learners: subscribe to Coffee Break Languages now!If you'd like to find out what goes on behind the scenes here at Coffee Break Languages, follow @coffeebreaklanguages on Instagram.
1. CBG 1:01 | Saying how you are feeling
21:03Welcome to this first episode of Coffee Break German, our new German course for beginners. In weekly episodes you’ll join native speaker Thomas who’ll be teaching learner Mark in gradual, structured lessons. Our “Cultural Correspondent” Julia and our “Grammar Guru” Kirsten will also join us in each episode to share their knowledge and love of all things German. In this first lesson, Thomas introduces us to the German language, and you’ll learn some useful words and phrases:how to say “hello” and “goodbye”;how to say “how are you?” and how to answer this question;the words for “yes” and “no”, and other useful German words which will come in handy every day.You’ll also meet the other members of the Coffee Break German team: learner Mark is more used to teaching French and Spanish in Coffee Break French and Coffee Break Spanish; Kirsten, our Grammar Guru and self-confessed grammar geek, will be bringing us regular explanations of the trickier aspects of the German language; and Julia, our Cultural Correspondent, will provide the inside knowledge on all things German, Swiss and Austrian.This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from lesson notes, bonus audio recordings and video versions of the lessons featuring 'synchronised video flashcards' to help you understand how the words and phrases are written, you can access the premium version of Coffee Break German on the Coffee Break Academy.Don't forget to follow Coffee Break German on Facebook where we post language activities, cultural points and review materials to help you practise your French. Remember - a few minutes a day can help you build your confidence in the language. Access the Coffee Break German Facebook page here.Join us on YouTube where we post regular videos for language learners: subscribe to Coffee Break Languages now!If you'd like to find out what goes on behind the scenes here at Coffee Break Languages, follow @coffeebreaklanguages on Instagram.
2. CBG 1:02 | Saying your name
21:33IntroductionThis is our second episode of Coffee Break German, our new German course for beginners. In weekly episodes you’ll join native speaker Thomas who’ll be teaching learner Mark in gradual, structured lessons. Our “Cultural Correspondent” Julia and our “Grammar Guru” Kirsten will also join us in each episode to share their knowledge and love of all things German. In this lesson you’ll be learning greetings for different times of the day and how to introduce yourself:how to say “good morning”, “good afternoon”, “good evening” and “good night”;why the word for “good” changes in these expressions;how to ask people “what is your name?” and how to answer that question yourself;where the German language is spoken.This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from lesson notes, bonus audio recordings and video versions of the lessons featuring 'synchronised video flashcards' to help you understand how the words and phrases are written, you can access the premium version of Coffee Break German on the Coffee Break Academy.Don't forget to follow Coffee Break German on Facebook where we post language activities, cultural points and review materials to help you practise your French. Remember - a few minutes a day can help you build your confidence in the language. Access the Coffee Break German Facebook page here.Join us on YouTube where we post regular videos for language learners: subscribe to Coffee Break Languages now!If you'd like to find out what goes on behind the scenes here at Coffee Break Languages, follow @coffeebreaklanguages on Instagram.
3. CBG 1:03 | Saying where you are from
23:52IntroductionWelcome to a new episode of Coffee Break German, our new course for beginners in German. In weekly episodes you’ll join native speaker Thomas who’ll be teaching learner Mark in gradual, structured lessons. Our “Cultural Correspondent” Julia and our “Grammar Guru” Kirsten will also join us in each episode to share their knowledge and love of all things German. In this lesson you’ll be moving on to talk about where you come from. You’ll learn:how to ask the question “where do you come from?”;how to answer this question and the names for a number of countries;the difference between the “du” and “Sie” forms in German and what happens to verbs when you change the form;how to greet people in different parts of the German-speaking world.This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from lesson notes, bonus audio recordings and video versions of the lessons featuring 'synchronised video flashcards' to help you understand how the words and phrases are written, you can access the premium version of Coffee Break German on the Coffee Break Academy.Don't forget to follow Coffee Break German on Facebook where we post language activities, cultural points and review materials to help you practise your French. Remember - a few minutes a day can help you build your confidence in the language. Access the Coffee Break German Facebook page here.Join us on YouTube where we post regular videos for language learners: subscribe to Coffee Break Languages now!If you'd like to find out what goes on behind the scenes here at Coffee Break Languages, follow @coffeebreaklanguages on Instagram.
4. CBG 1:04 | Saying where you live
20:49IntroductionIn this week’s episode of Coffee Break German you’ll take your German skills further and continue to develop your confidence in using the language. In weekly episodes you’ll join native speaker Thomas who’ll be teaching learner Mark in gradual, structured lessons. Our “Cultural Correspondent” Julia and our “Grammar Guru” Kirsten will also join us in each episode to share their knowledge and love of all things German. In this lesson you’ll be moving on to talk about where you live. You’ll learn:how to say where you live;how to change verb endings when talking about ich (I), du (you, informal) and Sie (you, formal);how to make a sentence negative using the word nicht;how Karneval is celebrated in German-speaking countries.This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from lesson notes, bonus audio recordings and video versions of the lessons featuring 'synchronised video flashcards' to help you understand how the words and phrases are written, you can access the premium version of Coffee Break German on the Coffee Break Academy.Don't forget to follow Coffee Break German on Facebook where we post language activities, cultural points and review materials to help you practise your French. Remember - a few minutes a day can help you build your confidence in the language. Access the Coffee Break German Facebook page here.Join us on YouTube where we post regular videos for language learners: subscribe to Coffee Break Languages now!If you'd like to find out what goes on behind the scenes here at Coffee Break Languages, follow @coffeebreaklanguages on Instagram.
5. CBG 1:05 | Introducing family members
20:57It’s time for another episode of Coffee Break German. In this week’s show, you’ll learn how to introduce members of your family to your new-found German-speaking friends. In this lesson you’ll be learning how to introduce members of your family. You’ll learn:the words for different members of your family;how to introduce members of your family in German;how the gender of nouns works in German;the word for “the”, depending on the gender of nouns;how to say “my” for masculine and feminine nouns;how to say “he/she is called…”This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from lesson notes, bonus audio recordings and video versions of the lessons featuring 'synchronised video flashcards' to help you understand how the words and phrases are written, you can access the premium version of Coffee Break German on the Coffee Break Academy.Don't forget to follow Coffee Break German on Facebook where we post language activities, cultural points and review materials to help you practise your French. Remember - a few minutes a day can help you build your confidence in the language. Access the Coffee Break German Facebook page here.Join us on YouTube where we post regular videos for language learners: subscribe to Coffee Break Languages now!If you'd like to find out what goes on behind the scenes here at Coffee Break Languages, follow @coffeebreaklanguages on Instagram.
6. CBG 1:06 | Introduction to numbers
25:37In this week’s episode of Coffee Break German we’re looking at numbers from zero to ten, and dealing with buying things in stores and cafés. In this lesson you’ll be learning some numbers and how to deal with shopping in German. You’ll learn:the numbers from zero to ten;how to ask how much something costs;how to “spell” larger numbers and how to ask German speakers to write down the number or price;some useful phrases for dealing with shopping situations in German.This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from lesson notes, bonus audio recordings and video versions of the lessons featuring 'synchronised video flashcards' to help you understand how the words and phrases are written, you can access the premium version of Coffee Break German on the Coffee Break Academy.Don't forget to follow Coffee Break German on Facebook where we post language activities, cultural points and review materials to help you practise your French. Remember - a few minutes a day can help you build your confidence in the language. Access the Coffee Break German Facebook page here.Join us on YouTube where we post regular videos for language learners: subscribe to Coffee Break Languages now!If you'd like to find out what goes on behind the scenes here at Coffee Break Languages, follow @coffeebreaklanguages on Instagram.
7. CBG 1:07 | Asking for directions
23:06It’s time for another episode of Coffee Break German and in this week’s episode we’re learning to get around the town using German. In this lesson you’ll be learning to talk about places in the town and to ask for directions. You’ll learn:the German words for some places in the town;to ask for help from a native speaker;the phrase for “where is…?” in German;how to ask someone to show you on a map where you are.This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from lesson notes, bonus audio recordings and video versions of the lessons featuring 'synchronised video flashcards' to help you understand how the words and phrases are written, you can access the premium version of Coffee Break German on the Coffee Break Academy.Don't forget to follow Coffee Break German on Facebook where we post language activities, cultural points and review materials to help you practise your French. Remember - a few minutes a day can help you build your confidence in the language. Access the Coffee Break German Facebook page here.Join us on YouTube where we post regular videos for language learners: subscribe to Coffee Break Languages now!If you'd like to find out what goes on behind the scenes here at Coffee Break Languages, follow @coffeebreaklanguages on Instagram.
8. CBG 1:08 | More directions
26:36In this week’s episode of Coffee Break German we’ll be building on what we learned last week to help us talk about the town. We’ll learn some more complex directions and learn some aspects of German cases in our Grammar Guru section. In this lesson you’ll be learning to talk about places in the town and to ask for directions. You’ll learn:the German words for some more places in the town;to understand the words for “straight on”, “right” and “left”;more complex directions;the basics of cases in German;the definite articles of masculine, feminine and neuter nouns in the accusative case.This season of Coffee Break German features a total of 40 episodes. Stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you'd like to benefit from lesson notes, bonus audio recordings and video versions of the lessons featuring 'synchronised video flashcards' to help you understand how the words and phrases are written, you can access the premium version of Coffee Break German on the Coffee Break Academy.Don't forget to follow Coffee Break German on Facebook where we post language activities, cultural points and review materials to help you practise your French. Remember - a few minutes a day can help you build your confidence in the language. Access the Coffee Break German Facebook page here.Join us on YouTube where we post regular videos for language learners: subscribe to Coffee Break Languages now!If you'd like to find out what goes on behind the scenes here at Coffee Break Languages, follow @coffeebreaklanguages on Instagram.