Learn German with Stories Studententreffen Complete Short Story Collection for Beginners E-Book

Christian Stahl

• Herausgeber: WS
• Kategorie: Fremdsprachen
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Seitenzahl: 132

Beschreibung

There are not too many German books that can offer fiction, romance, mystical and suspense stories in one collection, but this one has it all! The reading material in this book is especially helpful for beginners and is perfect foranyone who wants to learn to read andwriteGerman. You'll have fun reading whilst learning a wide range of new vocabulary and phrases.

This book contains a collection of 25 culturally interesting and entertaining German short stories with additional readings of 5 classic tales of famous 19th-century authors including Thomas Mann, Franz Kafka, Stefan Zweig, and Arthur Schnitzler.

The first 20 German short stories for beginners are not only suitable for language learners, but also for those who care about good literature. This German learning book has been written by a native German and is recommended for A2+ level learners.

Abenteuer in der Sauna - Adventures in the sauna

Eine religiöse Familie - A religious family

Crowdfunding für eine neue Küche - Crowdfunding for a new kitchen

Die alte Trinkerin - The old drunkard

Wie man einen Millionär auf einer Kreuzfahrt findet - How to find a millionaire on a cruise trip 

Der Grillabend - The barbecue evening

Import & Export - Imports & exports

Ein Besuch aus Amerika - A visit from America 

Der Einsiedler - The hermit

Der Schatz im Wald - The treasure in the woods

München ist auch eine schöne Stadt - Munich is a beautiful city too

Der Schrebergarten - The allotment garden

Der Käse stinkt von allen Seiten - The cheese stinks from all sides

Der Flüchtling aus Fernost - The refugee from the Far East

Eine endgültige Abmahnung - A final warning

Studententreffen - Student meeting

Au Pair in England - Au Pair in England

Der Kunsthändler - The art dealer

Der Klub - The club

Ein Michelin Stern ist nicht genug - One Michelin star is not enough

Klassische Novelle: Ein Landarzt von Franz Kafka

Klassische Novelle: Ein Traum von Franz Kafka

Klassische Novelle: Die griechische Tänzerin von A. Schnitzler

Klassische Novelle: Die Wanderung von Stefan Zweig

Klassische Novelle: Schwere Stunde von Thomas Mann

Leseprobe

Learn German with Stories

Studententreffen

Complete Short Story Collection

for Beginners

Collection of 25 Modern and

Classic Short Stories

Christian Stahl

Christian Stahl

Details of all the author's available books and upcoming titles can be found at:

www.shortstoriesforbeginners.com

© Copyright 2020 by Christian Stahl - All rights reserved

Copyright © 2020 Copyright - by Christian Stahl - All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form including information storage and retrieval systems, without the permission in writing from the author and publisher”

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Contents

The Stories and their value as teaching tools

The benefits of extensive reading when learning Germanas a second language

What learners can expect

Particularities of using and reading the text

How the material can help you

What you need to know about German classic short stories and German literature

1. Abenteuer in der Sauna

2. Eine religiöse Familie

3. Crowdfunding für eine neue Küche

4. Die alte Trinkerin

5. Wie man einen Millionär auf einer Kreuzfahrt findet

6. Der Grillabend

8. Der Besuch aus Amerika

9. Der Einsiedler

10. Der Schatz im Wald

11. München ist auch eine schöne Stadt

12. Der Schrebergärtner

13. Der Käse stinkt von allen Seiten

14. Der Flüchtling aus Fernost

15. Eine endgültige Abmahnung

16. Studententreffen

17. Aupair in England

18. Der Kunsthändler

19. Der Club

20. Ein Michelin Stern ist nicht genug

Classic German Short Stories

Ein Landarzt Franz Kafka 1917

Ein TraumFranz Kafka 1920

Die griechische Tänzerin Arthur Schnitzler 1902

Die Wanderung Stefan Zweig 1902

Schwere Stunde Thomas Mann 1905

The Stories and their value as teaching tools

Reading culturally interesting and humorous short stories to enhance your German is an easy way to improve your language skills. This book contains a selection of 20 short stories for beginners plus 5 classic stories with a wide range of genres, all prepared specifically for German language learners. The aim of this book is to teach different topics, words and phrases associated with them in a short period of time. Each story of the collection is reasonably short and split into easily digestible chapters.

Content wise, all the stories are of cultural interest and abundant in terms of the language in a way that beginners and intermediate learners can still easily digest. However, the language, the words and phrases you’ll encounter are useful and practical for everyday German speaking. 

You will be exposed to a variety of tenses in each story; a nice blend of future, present, and past tense verbs. As such, you will grow more confident in your abilities to understand German without feeling overwhelmed or confused. 

Advance as you read

Each of the first 10 short stories take about 4 minutes to read and average about 400 to 600 words. Important words and phrases relevant to each topic were selected carefully and are followed by English Parallel text.

The stories 10 to 20 are a little longer and slightly more advanced in terms of vocabulary, take about 4 to 5 minutes to read, and contain vocabulary from the previous stories. The last 5 stories are classic German short stories from famous 19th century authors. They are more for the advanced learners, but give many cultural insights and are probably more for the more advanced language student. 

The first 20 stories are intended mainly for elementary to intermediate level learners, but it will also be useful for more advanced learners as a way of practicing their reading skills and comprehension of the German language. Each story includes summaries of the plot and a list of key vocabulary to compare the content and your own advancement as you continue to read.

The stories have been arranged according to their degree of difficulty and each story is accompanied by a key vocabulary section and story related questions.

The benefits of extensive reading when learning German

as a second language

Over time, you will build an intuitive understanding of how German functions. This differs from a more theoretical understanding put together via learning rules and conceptual examples:

One important aspect of a successful learning process is a feeling of accomplishment, and enjoyment because that will keep you coming back.

You learn simply by reading.

Read the story from start to finish to thoroughly enjoy it.

It’s more important to finish the story without stopping, then to understand each and every word. The simple truth is that you won’t get everything your first time around which is completely normal.

Short stories for beginners and intermediate level students

What learners can expect

The first ten short stories are for beginners and intermediate level learners. All the stories are divided into easily digestible chapters with many page breaks, making progress simple, and with each section you read, you’ll feel as if you’ve actually achieved something. Some stories, especially the ones you find towards the end of the collection are more focused on dialogue. These stories contain loads of natural dialogue, so you can learn conversational German as you read. This is doubly beneficial as you will improve your speaking ability as well. 

Particularities of using and reading the text

Some particularities include the letter ß. This letter, also known as sharp s has become quite obsolete in modern German literature and is getting more substituted by the common form of ss (double ss); for a better readability and a better general understanding we have only used the German double ss instead of the old ß form.

In German many words are written together with so called word links, which over time had become the norm rather than the exception, especially after the various grammar and spelling reforms over the last decades.

Although some German scholars still detest the new rules, word links are an important part of the German language. Therefore, we have used as many word links as possible to give the reader a better understanding of the context and to show examples of how the language structure can be used in an understandable yet progressive fashion.

What can be done if you don’t understand something?

1. The first step is to see if you recognize the word in any way. If you’re a native English or Spanish speaker, you will probably recognize certain elements of German vocabulary.

2. Read the sentence again and again. You can often glean the meaning of a word simply using the context of the sentence and the rest of the story. Take a guess at the meaning of the word; it’s not as difficult as you think! If you understand the general meaning of the story, it’s usually enough to recognize the smaller parts.

3. When all else fails, use the vocabulary list. This is a final move sort of tactic; the previous steps are better designed to help you to learn German without an aid. Your reading will improve drastically as you develop this skill.

How the material can help you

You come across a bolded word. What does it mean? It means, these are important words and their definitions in English are given at the chapter’s end. This takes out the need to use a dictionary completely, which is not only tedious, but will take your focus off of the story.

Second, at the end of each story you find plot summaries, which can help you ensure you do not overlook any important details.

Finally, every chapter contains a set of comprehension questions to test your own understanding of the chapter. Plus, they give you some added motivation to read in-depth and not try to skim over anything.

What you need to know about German

classic short stories and German literature

The German short story – Its origin and today's value

Already for decades, short stories have been an art form in literature. But that has not ever been like this.

As its history proves, the commencement of the American short story is very important, though there are strictly speaking three different reception phases to be distinguished.

After the early reception of the short story in 1900, the new reception in the twenties and problematic incidents during the Nazi-time, new interest in short stories came up after 1945 as a changing in speech, literature, and moral values had been required. In that context the adoption of the short story seemed to be contemporary from the point of view of authors, readers, and educators and made the short story the most popular form of narration until the balance between the different forms shifted about twenty years later.

In Germany the novelette and the short story are distinguished. Traditionally the novella is an opposite pole which has only artistic characteristics.

After 1945 the term "Kurzgeschichte" (short story) began to establish an artistically sophisticated form, which differs from other kinds of prose texts. Instead of dominating literature, the story became an inherent part of literary life.

Famous American writers like Hemingway, who has inspired many German writers until these days, enabled new interest in short stories in the fifties and sixties.

Meanwhile short stories have "grown up": Nowadays critics do not refer to short stories anymore to a "humble form" of germanophone media.

Volume I

German Short Stories

for Beginners & Intermediate Level Students

1. Abenteuer in der Sauna

Adventures in the sauna

Herr Schmidt ist ein Geschäftsmann. Er hat einen kleinen Imbiss in einem Bahnhof, dort verkauft er frittierte Schnitzel und Pommes.

Mr. Schmidt is a businessman. He owns a small restaurant at a railway station where he sells schnitzel and fries.

Er hat viele Stammgäste, die meisten Kunden  mögen seine Gerichte.

Nach Feierabend geht er häufig in eine Sauna und entspannt sich.

He has a lot of regular guests because most of the customers like his food.

In the after-work hours he frequently goes to a spa to calm down and relax

Vor einiger Zeit ging Herr Schmidt wieder in die Sauna. Eigentlich ist es eine typische Saunalandschaft, wie man sie häufig in vielen Deutschland in Städten findet. Sie sind eingerichtet mit mehreren Saunen und Schwimmbad

Some time ago Mr. Schmidt went again to the sauna. Actually it is typical spa facility as they can be found in many German cities. They are furnished with several saunas and a swimming pool.

An diesem Tag schien die Temperatur in der Kräuter-Sauna besonders hoch. Herr Schmidt saß schon in der Sauna auf der Bank, als die Tür aufging. Ein Mann kam herein. Herr Schmidt erkannte den Mann sofort. Er war ein Kunde. Allerdings mochte er den Kunden nicht. Der Kunde hatte ihn einmal denunziert, weil der Kunde meinte, sein Imbiss sei dreckig.

That day the temperature of the herbal sauna seemed to be especially high. Mr. Schmidt had already been inside the sauna and sweating on the sauna bench, when the door opened. A man came in. Mr. Schmidt recognised the man immediately. It was a customer. However, he didn't like this customer. Once the customer had denounced him because he thought the restaurant was dirty.

Auch der andere Mann erkannte Herrn Schmidt.

Der Mann lächelte: "Guten Abend Herr Schmidt, wie geht es Ihnen?"

"Alles in Ordnung, vielen Dank."

"Schwitzen reinigt den Körper", sagte der Mann.

The other man also recognized Mr. Schmidt.

The man smiled: "Good evening Mr. Schmidt, how are you?"

"Everything is well, thank you."

"Sweating cleans the body", said the man.

Herr Schmidt hatte genug für heute und verließ die Sauna. Er ging duschen. Diesmal duschte Herr Schmidt lange, denn er ärgerte sich über den Mann. Nach dem Duschen ging Herr Schmidt in die Umkleidekabine, einen großen Raum mit vielen Schränken.

Mr. Schmidt had enough for the day and left the sauna. He went for a shower. This time Mr. Schmidt took a long shower, because he had gotten annoyed by the man. After the shower Mr. Schmidt went into the changing room, a big room with lots of lockers

An einem Haken hingen dieHandtücher. Herr Schmidt trocknete sich ab, das Handtuch war nass, aber er fühlte sich jetzt besser. Langsam verließ Herr Schmidt die Saunalandschaft. Draußen vor dem Ausgang, traf er den Kunde, den er in der Sauna traf. Er stand vor der Tür.

The towels were hanging on a hook. Mr. Schmidt towelled himself, the towel was wet, but he felt better now. Mr. Schmidt slowly entered the sauna area. Then at the exit, there was the client he met in the sauna. He was standing right at the door.

Der Mann schaute Herrn Schmidt an und lächelte: Entschuldigen Sie, Herr Schmidt, aber sie haben mein Handtuch benutzt und mitgenommen!"

Herr Schmidt schüttele den Kopf. "Nein, das glaube ich nicht."

"Schauen Sie bitte in ihre Tasche", sagte der Mann.

Herr Schmidt öffnete seine Tasche und zog das Handtuch heraus.

The man looked at Mr. Schmidt and smiled: "Excuse me, Mr. Schmidt, but you have used and taken my towel!"

Mr. Schmidt shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

"Please have a look in your bag." said the man.

Mr. Schmidt opened his bag and pulled the towel out.

Der andere Mann lächelte immer noch. "Schauen Sie hier, dort in der Ecke des Handtuches sind Buchstaben mit schwarzer Schrift markiert.

"A.H.", fragte Herr Schmidt.

"Das bin ich", sagte der Mann.

Herr Schmidt gab dem Mann sein Handtuch zurück. Danach ging er nie wieder in die Sauna.

The other man still smiled. "Look here, in the corner of the towel I have written some letters with a black marker.

"A.H." asked Mr. Schmidt.

"That's me." said the man.

Mr. Schmidt gave the towel back to the man. Afterwards he never went back to the sauna again.

Zusammenfassung

Herr Schmidt besucht eine Sauna und trifft dort einen Kunden. Herr Schmidt mag den Kunden nicht, weil dieser ihn vormals denunziert hatte. Unbewusst trocknet sich Herr Schmidt mit dem Handtuch des Kunden ab und nimmt das Handtuch mit, wird aber am Ausgang vom Kunden abgefangen und nach dem Handtuch befragt.

Vokabeln

der Geschäftsmann  I  businessman

der Imbiss  I  small restaurant

die Pommes I chips / fries

die Stammgäste I regular guests

mögen  I to like something

der Feierabend  I after-work hours

häufig I frequent / frequently

eigentlich I actually

eingerichtet  I furnished

denunziert/ denunzieren I to denounce someone

besonders I especially

erkannte (erkennen) I recognized

ein Kunde  I  a customer

dreckig I dirty

alles in Ordnung" I everything is okay

duschen I to shower

die Handtücher  I towels

draußen  I outside

in der Ecke  I in the corner

benutzt und mitgenommen I used and took it

2. Eine religiöse Familie

A religious family

Ingo und seine Schwester Stefanie leben in einer kleinen katholischen Stadt in Süddeutschland. Ingo ist zwölf Jahre alt, Stefanie ein Jahr jünger. Beide sind intelligente Kinder, und auch sehr modern. Sie lieben es im Internet zu spielen,