DEUTSCH (lern) VIDEO PODCAST #2 Interview mit Konstanze (B1, B2, C1)

Summary

In this engaging video podcast episode, the host conducts an interview with Konstanze, where she shares insights about her life and background. Born in Russia with German roots, she moved to Germany at the age of nine and talks about her experiences learning the language and adjusting to German culture. She also provides useful tips for learning German, emphasizing the importance of practice and finding enjoyment in the process. The conversation is light-hearted, touching on personal memories and humorous moments, offering a relatable and informative discussion for the audience.

Takeaways

• 🎙️ The podcast episode was a follow-up due to popular demand, featuring a Q&A with the guest to introduce them more personally.
• 🌍 The guest was born in Russia, specifically Krasnodar, but moved to Siberia before immigrating to Germany at the age of nine.
• 🇩🇪 The guest grew up in Saarland, Germany, and later studied in Trier. She has lived in various German cities, including Passau, Berlin, and Düsseldorf.
• 👩‍👧‍👧 She has a younger sister, who still lives with their parents in Saarland, and the two have an eight-year age difference.
• ❄️ The guest humorously compares the cold weather in Germany with the cold of Siberia, where she lived as a child.
• 🚽 One of her most memorable experiences in Germany was learning to use a modern flushing toilet, as she grew up without running water in Siberia.
• 📺 To learn German, the guest watched children’s TV shows and joined a German volleyball team to immerse herself in the language and culture.
• 📚 She shared that she was an avid reader as a child, which also helped her develop German language skills.
• 💡 For German language learners, she recommends watching shows, listening to music, and engaging in everyday conversations with native speakers.
• 🔑 A final tip for learning a new language is to find personal motivation and enjoyment in the process, such as focusing on topics of interest like sports or cars.

Q & A

Where was the podcast host originally from?

The podcast host was born in Russia.

When and why did the host move to Germany?

The host moved to Germany around the year 2000, at the age of nine.

Which part of Russia is the host originally from?

The host was born in Krasnodar, near the Black Sea, and later moved to Siberia near Omsk.

How old is the host currently?

The host is currently 30 years old, turning 31 in October.

What was the host's experience with the German language before moving to Germany?

The host had zero knowledge of the German language before moving to Germany.

How did the host learn German after moving to Germany?

The host learned German by watching children's series and programs on television, seeking contact with native speakers, and participating in sports like volleyball.

What was the host's most memorable experience when first arriving in Germany?

One of the host's most memorable experiences was getting used to the concept of a flushing toilet and the abundance of choices in supermarkets.

What are some tips the host suggests for learning German?

The host suggests watching series with subtitles, listening to music in German, engaging with native speakers, and finding an area of interest to integrate the language learning.

How did the host's experience with dialects influence their language learning process?

The host found learning the Saarland dialect challenging due to its differences from High German, which influenced their approach to language learning by seeking out more standard German in different regions.

What are some of the cities the host has lived in within Germany?

The host has lived in Saarland, Trier, Passau, Berlin, and Düsseldorf.

Did the host ever live outside of Germany, and if so, where?

Yes, the host lived in China, specifically in Beijing.

Outlines

00:00

🎤 Introduction and Personal Background

The host welcomes viewers back for another episode of the video podcast, following up on a well-received first part. They discuss the audience's curiosity about the guest's background, specifically where she was born and raised. The guest shares that she was born in Russia, has German roots, and moved to Germany at the age of nine. She briefly mentions her age (30, turning 31 soon) and the challenges related to asking about age in Germany. The guest elaborates on her birthplace, Krasnodar, near the Black Sea, and a later move to Siberia near Omsk, which contrasts with Germany’s climate. They also touch on her relocation to Germany in 2000 and settling in Saarland.

05:04

🌍 Life Journey and Travel

The guest recounts her life journey after arriving in Germany, where she lived in Saarland and Trier (Rhineland-Palatinate). She worked in several German cities, including Bavaria and Berlin, and even spent time abroad in China. After China, she returned to Germany, living in Frankfurt and later Düsseldorf, where she now resides. She notes that her family, including her younger sister, still lives in Saarland. The guest reflects on the most unusual experiences from her move to Germany, particularly the challenges of learning dialects like the Saarland dialect, which is distinct from standard German.

10:04

🛠 Challenges of Adapting to a New Culture

The guest shares memories of cultural adjustments after arriving in Germany. She humorously recalls the challenge of learning to use a flushing toilet, as her home in rural Siberia did not have running water. She also emphasizes the stark contrast in the abundance of goods available in German supermarkets compared to what she was used to in Russia. The conversation shifts to how she learned German, explaining that while some family members spoke German, she had no prior language skills. She relied on watching children's TV shows and joining a local volleyball team to immerse herself in the language.

15:11

📚 Tips for Learning German

The guest shares tips for learning German, advising learners to immerse themselves in the language through interactions with native speakers and consuming German media, such as TV shows and music. She reflects on the importance of finding motivation and engaging with content in German that aligns with one's personal interests, whether it be sports, cars, or books. The guest also highlights the importance of understanding one's learning style—whether visual, auditory, or kinesthetic—and tailoring one's approach accordingly. The host encourages viewers to implement these strategies in their language learning journey.

Keywords

💡German Roots

This refers to having ancestry or familial ties to Germany, as mentioned by the speaker who identifies as having German heritage despite being born in Russia. This concept is central to understanding the speaker's cultural background and the migration story from Russia to Germany.

💡Russian-German

Russian-Germans are ethnic Germans who lived in Russia for centuries but maintained their German culture and language. The speaker identifies as a Russian-German, highlighting a distinct cultural and linguistic heritage that played a role in their family's decision to migrate to Germany.

💡Migration to Germany

This refers to the speaker's family's move from Russia to Germany when they were nine years old. This migration is a central theme in the video, highlighting the cultural adjustments, language learning, and integration challenges faced by the speaker in a new country.

💡Language Learning

Language learning is a major theme as the speaker discusses how they learned German after migrating with no prior knowledge. They emphasize practical methods such as watching TV, engaging in sports, and socializing with native speakers, illustrating the challenges and strategies of language acquisition.

💡Cultural Integration

Cultural integration involves adapting to a new culture and society, as the speaker did after moving to Germany. They discuss the significance of learning the language, understanding local dialects, and engaging in everyday activities like sports, which were key to their integration into German society.

💡German Dialects

The speaker mentions learning about various German dialects, such as Saarlandish and Bavarian, which differ significantly from standard German. This highlights the linguistic diversity within Germany and the additional challenge it posed for the speaker in adapting to different regional languages.

💡Adjusting to New Environments

The concept of adjusting to new environments is evident as the speaker talks about their moves within Germany and even abroad to China. Each move involved adapting to new cultural and social norms, which parallels the broader experience of many immigrants adjusting to life in a new country.

💡Education in Germany

The speaker recounts their educational journey, which included attending school in Saarland and later studying at a university in Trier. This highlights the role of education in the speaker's integration process and personal development within a new cultural context.

💡Overcoming Challenges

Overcoming challenges is a recurrent theme, whether it's learning a new language, adapting to cultural differences, or navigating various life changes. The speaker's experiences of managing these challenges illustrate resilience and the common hurdles faced by immigrants.

💡Personal Growth

Personal growth is highlighted throughout the speaker's narrative, reflecting their journey from a non-German-speaking child in a foreign land to a confident individual fluent in German. This growth is underscored by their willingness to embrace new experiences, learn from them, and adapt over time.

Highlights

The speaker was born in Russia with German roots and moved to Germany at the age of nine.

The speaker discusses the experience of adapting to life in Germany, particularly learning the German language with no prior knowledge.

She highlights the challenges of understanding regional dialects like Saarlandisch, which added complexity to learning German.

A memorable experience was the first time she encountered a flushing toilet in Germany, as she had lived on a farm without running water.

The speaker emphasizes the abundance of choices in German supermarkets, which was a big change from her earlier experiences in Russia.

She learned German primarily through children’s TV shows, integrating into a German volleyball team, and daily interactions with native speakers.

Her favorite childhood TV series included shows like Alf, Kickers, and The Simpsons, which also helped her learn the language.

The speaker advises language learners to seek out native speakers and immerse themselves in the language by joining social or sports activities.

She encourages learners to overcome fear of making mistakes and to focus on communication, as most people will appreciate the effort.

Finding a personal area of interest, such as sports or reading, can help maintain motivation when learning a new language.

She reflects on different learning styles, suggesting that learners identify whether they learn best through visuals, listening, or other methods.

The speaker highlights the importance of mastering all aspects of language skills, including writing, to pass language proficiency tests.

The speaker discusses how her family spoke an old form of German, but the children were not taught the language at home.

She lived in several cities in Germany, including Saarland, Trier, Bavaria, Berlin, Frankfurt, and Düsseldorf, and also spent time in China.

The podcast ends with encouragement for viewers to practice their German and gradually improve their understanding through consistent effort.

Transcripts

Hello and welcome back to my channel

for our next episode of the video podcast!

The first part was really so well received that we said:

We definitely have to continue with it and we have promised something small.

Exactly, we already hinted at the last time, I think. Among many of your

videos it has repeatedly penetrated that the people out there have questions that

are about you or your environment - in general, simply concern you. I

put them together (as best we can) and that today we're going to do a kind of interview and just introduce you

to people a little bit. The questions you have are trying to answer.

Then there are the questions right after the intro ...

Okay, let's start with the questions - I'm really excited! Exactly, the first question

is: yes, it is the most classic of all questions. Many of the listeners and viewers asked

if you were born in Germany. I think you mentioned it in a video

that you may not have been born here. But for many who may not have

noticed, have not seen it, so the question: Where exactly are you from?

I was born in Russia, but I have German roots.

I am almost ten years old (I was nine years old) I was born in 1990

and around 2000 we came to Germany (in 2000).

Well, you have already answered one of the next questions with, because the resourceful viewer / listener kept asking

how old you are. If you were born in 1990,

let me do the math, then you are (I know your date of birth) 30 years old.

Exactly, I'll be 31 in October.

That’s still a little. You turned 30 in October, which is

even closer than the other is in the future.

Exactly, with caution, women in Germany are not allowed to be asked about their age.

(Remember this). It's not that bad for me yet, I deal with it openly and I'm

still young and have no problems with it. But the older the woman gets, the more uncomfortable it is

for her as a rule. So if possible you shouldn't do that or avoid it.

A good mnemonic for everyone, including anyone who doesn't listen here or lives in Germany

. But you said from Russia, you were born in Russia. Now Russia is

not exactly that small. Can you only roughly tell us where in Russia geographically?

Yes, I was born in Krasnodar, which is Russian and is near

the Black Sea and then I moved with my mother to Siberia near Omsk,

which is the border of Siberia. And we lived there for a few years.

Then you don't mind the current cold in Germany

? ;-).

Good question, but I suspect it's a different kind of cold.

Okay, yes well Krasnodar may still be familiar to one or the other from football, they played in

the Champions League from time to time, but another topic, we do n't have to express

your affinity for football here. (Don't address them), exactly. Then the next question immediately afterwards:

When and how did you come to Germany, at what age and where exactly did you grow

up? As I just said, I came to Germany at the age of nine and

then lived here for ten years. And we came straight to Saarland. (The beautiful

Saarland) Yes, one of the smaller federal states, and that's where we met our family for the first time,

and I went to school in Saarland and later studied in Trier, close by.

But what then is no longer Saarland.

No, that's Rhineland-Palatinate.

Okay, so I grew up more or less in Saarland,

at least experienced childhood and then lived in Saarland up to university.

Well, then, based on this, the question, now we are no longer in Saarland,

we live in North Rhine-Westphalia, but in between: What were other stations there?

Where did you get around in the world Maybe in Germany, where did you live? Perhaps

you have also been to Russia again or somewhere else in the beautiful parts of the world?

So I've already worked in several cities in Germany, geographically speaking.

Tell us.

Yes, I was in Saarland and Trier (Rhineland-Palatinate) for a relatively long time.

I've also been to Bavaria, I lived in Passau for a while. Also a very,

very beautiful city with a very interesting dialect, Bavaria in general. After that I

lived in Berlin for a while, a couple of years. After Berlin, I was even abroad, in China for a

while. You were there too. But you have in the north of China.

I was in Beijing, exactly. You were in Guangzhou, right?

Yes, it was warmer there.

Probably yes. We don't have to discuss what is more beautiful , that is very subjective,

what is more beautiful. But after China I first came to Frankfurt. I worked there

for telc, which is one of the companies where you take your language test at the end of the day

. And after Frankfurt I finally ended up in Düsseldorf.

That is also very nice. Absolutely, yes. in the heart of

North Rhine-Westphalia. Now every other city in North Rhine-Westphalia will take notice. Well, that was

the next question. But most of your family still lives in Saarland, right?

I have another sister

who is younger than me and she lives with my parents in Saarland, exactly.

That was always a topic of the questions whether you still have siblings. You have your sister

Exactly, I have a little sister, yes. So she's bigger than me, in

terms of size. But she is younger than me. Therefore still the "little sister".

But we have an age difference of eight years. A big difference.

Yes, well, which is often asked in the comments: What was the most

unusual or the strongest experience / the greatest memory when you think back to that time

. You were 9 when you came to Germany. What stuck with you about Germany

. What was the most blatant memory or even today maybe having

to think back with a smile on what that (yes, one would say) "typically German" was?

Typically German ... in retrospect I like to remember the dialects,

because the Saarland or the typical Saarland does not speak High German,

but Saarland. Similar to Bavarian in Bavaria. and for someone who is

new to learning the language - and I really had no language skills - it is very,

very difficult. Beyond that, what else do I remember? (...)

You once told me a story in private that I just

want to reveal here. Or you can betray them. There's something about a toilet.

Okay, so I can tell you too. I grew up in the country

, or what does grown up mean ?! Until I was nine years old,

I lived on a farm and we had no running water.

(We are in Siberia in the mid-nineties)

Right. And as a child I was actually not familiar with a toilet, that

is, with a toilet that flushes and

drains water . So it was a very new situation for me. Yes, in

retrospect I have to laugh a lot about it ... but that's just how it was.

Yes. Very funny. Back then in the last episode we had the topic of

not seeing what is perhaps taken for granted anymore and

there are regions on earth where the "commonplace" (= normal) is not a

toilet or at least not this approach to have running water.

Right.

And there you can keep reminding yourself

that some things ... as one takes it for granted or at least behaves

in such a way that it may not be so natural after all.

No, absolutely not. And what I still remember very, very pleasantly and strongly is

just this abundance. So when you go to a supermarket here, for example, and shop,

you see an incredible amount of choice and I didn't know that from back then either. Sure, it

was a different time. It may be the same in Russia today in my old city.

And sometimes not anymore. So you did n't know

any toilet - today you can hardly find toilet paper anymore.

Yes, it got better. I don't think people buy that much toilet paper anymore.

:-D But yes, I think those were the most memorable moments for me from back then.

Great and you just said you came to Germany with really 0 knowledge of

the German language. Also very often asked: How did

you learn German? Now perhaps far away from school, from school German from ... yes,

that is, in everyday life. More like how did you teach yourself German? Because your

family could probably also ... could they speak German? Did you

learn anything from the family ? There was probably no Netflix at the time. Tell us about it.

There was no Netflix :-). Some of my family spoke German because I had German

or German roots. What you or how you call this group of people

is Russian German, so they spoke a very old German. But not with us

children. That means, I really had zero language skills and how did I

learn German ... Unfortunately not through Netflix, but also through television. I

watched children's series and programs because the German in them is a little simpler

and easier. But I also quickly sought contact with native speakers, which means

I tried to integrate myself into groups in which German was spoken, and I found

that through sports. I started playing volleyball at the age of ten,

in a German team. And of course you also had to exchange ideas in German

and that meant I got into the language very, very quickly. But of course you can also

exchange ideas with friends at school . Yes, I think those were the main routes for me back then.

And what was the favorite children's series on German television?

You hit me on "cold feet" right now. (Is that how you say it?)

But I wouldn't even know that ... Children's series, which ones were there back then? Back then we

had the series before Pokémon and Dragonball, that was the Kickers.

It's a cartoon series. I think I really enjoyed watching Alf at the time. Exactly,

I don't know if it still exists today, but that was such an alien monster.

Exactly that is in a classic American family. Was an American series that came

on German (television).

And then there was anime. Mila, the lady who plays volleyball. Kickers was

I think that was anime too, only with soccer players.

In my youth / childhood (what else was

there?) The Simpsons! I also really enjoyed watching.

But it's still a really great tip from me too. If someone ...

wait a minute, let's get into that. Regarding the last question, which of course is always of burning

interest to our listeners / viewers. What are your tips for learning German?

I almost anticipated it.

Except of course to see this YouTube channel and the video podcast.

Yes, of course. Yes, that's still the case (in addition to watching series with subtitles

and listening to music. In German, of course. Depending on your preference, you

really need to exchange ideas with native speakers and German-speaking people in everyday life.

Often you fall into old structures, so to speak, and entertain prefer to talk to people who

speak their own language. Of course, it's easy and it's pleasant, but

it doesn't really help you. I think you have to take the step

at some point and dare to allow a lot (more) of the German language in everyday life .

Yes, and I can perhaps bring an example from my time, be it now in China or

also very often with the English language. That a lot of native speakers, or well-speaking

people outside Germany who speak English very well, are also very open there with

possible mistakes, which means that I was very often a little afraid or ashamed of making a

mistake and therefore preferred to have less g I said it and trusted me less. What was your

impression of the Germans (in quotation marks), of the people around you? Do you

really have to have this fear or what do you say to the learners and you can report that there?

I don't think it's easy to generalize. That means, you ca

n't say "oh of course you just have to talk and people understand", because there are

certainly people who don't understand that you make mistakes. But in my experience,

many people really appreciate it if you try at least once.

And if someone doesn't understand that you don't speak good German, for example,

then ... yes ... then maybe you shouldn't talk to this

person any longer . But still don't lose heart and really keep going,

because most people really appreciate it.

Perhaps one last tip that also helped me a lot personally and helped me

further ... yes, me further ... was: The motivation to find fun. So

really to look for something, any area, for example that you find very exciting

and integrate the language in that area. For example, if I really enjoy working with

cars now , then I watch reports about cars in German. And so on. So

really somehow find an area that fascinates me and that I think is great.

What was it with you

For me it was sports - or I really

enjoyed reading. I love books. And I read a lot back then.

And I think that was a good tool back then, too.

But there are different types of learners. There are people who learn very quickly visually, there are

people who really like to listen and learn from them and so on. There are different types of learners and

the first tip is to find the motivation and focus of interest, like the

example with the cars. And the second is perhaps in the first step to find out what

kind of learner you are yourself. So that you at least have an introduction to the language.

Of course, you have to learn all the skills to pass the tests on your own. So

it is not enough if you can only speak but cannot write. Then I

still fail the test. But maybe this is a good way to get started and gain

some initial sense of achievement from learning a language.

Great. Then I hope that the listeners and viewers can

draw something from it and implement these tips in the best possible way.

That would of course be desirable.

From my side or from the audience, that would be all the important questions. I think

we could learn a lot about you and maybe I forgot something then

people should like to write it in the comments and maybe we will do a second part.

Yes why not? Otherwise, thank you very much for switching on, we hope that you

persevered for a very long time and if you didn't understand something, once again:

It's no problem, try to stay tuned to understand individual words

and gradually you will notice that your Understanding German while listening is getting better and better.

That's true.

Okay, thank you very much, Konstanze.

Many thanks to you and to you and see you next time!