Hello, dear Torsten:
I got a question the exercise listen to Raymon isn’t a fill the gap one I have to write everything right. However, let me tell you this kind of exercises are really good, the thing is I didn’t understand the directions well.
Eh, my name is Raymond. I’m from West Hartford, Connecticut in the United States. It’s located more or less between Boston and New York. Eh, I was born in Hartford and I grew up in West Hartford. And from West Hartfort I went to Cincinnati to study. And I studied English in Cincinnati, Ohio and after my studies I moved to Wyoming and worked as a cook. cook for cowboy and then I got to photograph moved back to Cincinati doram photography and then I decided to go to Washiton D see if I can work there. Meanwhile, I’d make === West Africa educated, we had kept contact. wehn I moved down to Virginia. It was nearby Washiton she will be back to Germany. I didn’t like Virigia as much as I thought I would, and she had menition that I should come to visite to Germany and so I did. This back in 1996, so when I came in Germany. I had no plans to stay long time but no plans not stay for long tim. My orginal plan was with be her and to learn German and to see Germany. So that was 1996, Now It is 2006 almost 2004, in main time we got up but I stay in === because life is good here life is good here. when first I came ==
Hi Torsten,
Thank you very much for your lessons. I certainly make some progress on your site!
I wish I had more time for doing exercises, attending your Forum and enjoying a lot of other things that your site offers. Indeed, I try to dedicate every spare minute to your lessons.
I listened to Raymond’s recording thrice and wrote the script into my notebook. Then I compared it with Rosap’s and saw that the result was almost the same. Sorry, but to tape it and send you on the Forum is a little bit time consuming occupation. Next time I’ll try to complete a task fully.
I’ve downloaded my photo as you asked me and now we have an opportunity to be a little bit nearer.
Best regards 
nice i could understand 75% of words but that was a very long audio and can not write that all…and it would take a lot of time…i think I’ll write it soon!
Dear Torsten,
I am looking forward to start learning more and I hope my English will improve.I try my best, I promise.
Take care,
Andrea
Hi teacher Toreston,
Thank you for your efforts and good exercices.Among other skills listening skills is also very important and these type of exercises will do better.
I listened to Ramond and with short exceptions I got about him.
Thank you,
Best Regards,
Naz
This is my transcript. There might be some minor misspellings, sorry for that. I can’t quite understand what Raymond does when he’s back to his mother’s place, could anyone help me out with this one?
And I was a cook for cowboys. And then I got into photography, moved back to a West Hartford to do more with photography, and then I decided to go down to Washington D.C. to see if I could find work there.
Meanwhile I had met a German girl in West Hartford Connecticut and we kept in contact. Uhm. When I moved down to Virginia which was near Washington, she had moved back to Germany. I didn’t like Virginia as much as I thought I would and she had mentioned that I should come and visit her in Germany. And so I did. This was back in 1996.
So when I came to Germany I had no plans to stay for a long time but no plans not to stay for a long time. So my original plans was to be with her and to learn German and to see Germany. So that was in 1996 and now we’re in 2003 almost in 2004. In the meantime we broke up but I stayed in Leipzig because life was good here; no, life is good here.
When I first came to Leipzig, my impression was much different because this was only six years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and many things did not exist; for example take-away coffee or it was very difficult to find a decent sandwich, not all the buildings had been renovated and so it was very gray.
I was not used to the winters here, which were in comparison to Connecticut not as extreme but mostly gray. And the winters in Connecticut are tipically very very cold with snow. And here is not as cold and if there is snow it lasts about twenty-four hours before it disappears. So i rarely find time to go skiing here, but really can’t go skiing here, because there are no mountains. The best you can find is a hill somewhere to find a sled. So you have to be real fast here in Leipzig to go sledding.
Well, I came to Germany, I worked as a photographer, I worked measuring apartments… anything I could do to basically survive: I mowed lawns, I helped edit texts and then finally I started teaching English. My first teaching experience in English was quite difficult, because I didn’t quite understand all the concepts of English. I mean, I may have studied them in college, but learning how it works and trying to teach it are two different things. So I had to re-learn how English worked for me to teach it.
Also when I arrived, I had to learn German… and so learning German and teaching English. Well, learning German helped me teach English, it is then I understood how people learn languages. So… Although I’ve been here for six years or seven years, er, my German is not as good as it could be. Although I can read newspapers and texts and understand them fully, I still haven’t quite managed to speak like a German.
Germans tend to have a way of using their words which no… no foreigners could quite master.You have to be German to master German, I think. But it’s a fun language, it’s more precise than English, it’s got many more expressions, and dialects are fun to listen to.
I have a lot of contact to the local people here in Leipzig, mainly because I do teach them. And a lot of my students invite me out to coffee. Or we have events at night which they invite me out to, or which I go out myself. There are also lots of foreigners here and I can meet up with them. There are plenty of foreign round tables for people wanting to learn different languages or for people wanting to learn German or English. And so, through that, I can meet lots of people and it helped me met lots of people.
Uhm, most of my friends are either Germans or Americans. I have two very good American friends and the rest are all German. So I spend most of my time going back and forth between English and German, uhm, and I’m in fact studying German again, privately, so that I can prove it.
Because after seven years, uhm, there are many things which you can learn to help you speak better, pronunciation and mostly and more importantly idioms. I go back about twice a year to America to visit my father, who lives in Connecticut, or to my mother, who lives in South Carolina. I tipically go back in summer around June for a family gathering, which is about thirty people and we rent about four cottages on a lake. And we all get together and basically we go from one cottage to another eating our way for two weeks. And that’s a lot of fun. And when I visit my mother, and she lives in South Carolina, in a place called Myrtle Beach there is not much to do there. You could go *** [color=red][it sounds like “mini-sho-golfing” but it doesn’t make sense] or you could go swimming at the beach. But mostly we hang out and we talk.
Back in Connecticut, I still have my friends and I still meet up with my friends. They meet in a coffee shop in the center of West Hartford at two o’ clock. They’ve been doing this since 1993. And so when I go back, I still know everyone and it is fun. I get my free cup of coffee, because they never see me and the people who work there still know me. And they bring me up-to-date as to what’s been going on… it’s lot of fun.
My language has changed since I’ve been here. Many people who are American will talk to me very slowly and will tell me that my English is very strange, oh, but nice, eheheh. And I say “That’s nice”; and they say “Where’re you from?”; and I say “Well, I’m from Connecticut”; and they go “Really?”; and I go “Yes, really”; and they go “where’s your accent?”; and I go “You can’t walk around with an accent all your life, if you live somewhere else, you have to lose it”. And when you teach English, you can’t teach accents you have to teach a general English which people can understand.
And so I’ve tried to change my English a little bit so that people can understand me better. Because, when I talk real fast… and… well, one will see it when I go back to Connecticut. After a month in Connecticut, I would talk like a normal Connecticut person, which would be hard R’s, O’s don’t exist. It’s not /Ko’nektiket/, but /Ke’nektiket/. It is not /'progress/ but /'pragress/. So there’s a very very distinct New England accent, which one can hear if one listens to my voice. But it’s mostly, mostly tugged away.
So among other things, my accent has changed as well as my vocabulary. When you talk to an American who has been living or to anybody who has been living in Leipzig for a long time, certain words will certainly fall into your vocabulary. For example everyone will say Straßenbahn or Shrassenbahn instead of streetcar or tram; and we will talk about going to the Bahnhof, which is the train station, or to the Ausländerbehördeamt which is the Immigrations office. And so we will do… we will use these words among other things like Schrank for cabinet or Teller or Tisch for plate and table. And we will mix and we call this new language Genglish.
And everybody, everyone, doesn’t matter, uhm, from what country will mix. And it’s very difficult when I go back to the States not to mix because I know and I have to keep telling myself that no one there understands German, so I can’t go mixing like I can do in Germany, in Leipzig.
I find it amazing how Germans can express themselves to such detail. They know exactly what’s going on, I’m completely amazed by that. When you asks someone about how a car works and they would tell you how a car slides and the reasons why the car will slide on the ice or by hydroplane; they would give you details which an American person would not do.
They would use lots of “ands” and “ers” and things like that. But a German would tell you to the exact detail what it is, they would say ‘Keine Ahnung!’ they don’t know, but, so, it’s been quite a learning experience from the technical standpoint eheheh… So…
Dear Torsten,
Thanks a lot for posting such great challenging and time consuming 
task.
I did my task as you can see in the followings, but first I’d like to respectfully suggest some points:
As for the recording file, it lacks “forward” and “backward” keys. for listening to a sentence for the second time in order to complete my script writing I had to listen to the whole file again which considering the length of the file it was really annoying. Secondly I recommend you post the script here on the forum so everyone can correct herself.
And I was a cook for cowboys. And then I got it to photography. Moved back to West Hartford to do more with photography.
And then I decided to go down to Washington DC and see if I could find work there. Meanwhile I had met a German girl in West Hartford Connecticut who we kept in contact. When I moved down to Virginia which was near Washington she had moved back to Germany.
I didn’t like Virginia as much as I thought I would and she had mentioned that I should come and visit her in Germany and so I did. And this was back in 1996 so when I came to Germany I had no plans to stay for a long time but no plans not to stay for a long time so my original plan was to be with her and to learn German and to see Germany and so that was in 1996 and now we are in 2003 almost 2004. In the meantime we broke up but I stayed in lepzik because life was good here.
Life is good here. Well when I first came to lepzik my impression was much different. Because this was only 6 years after the fall of the Berlin wall and many things did not exist for example tea ? coffee or or it was very difficult to find a decent sandwich. Not all the buildings had been renovated and so it was very gray. I was not used to the winters here which were in comparison to Connecticut not as extreme but mostly grey and the winters in Connecticut are typically very very cold with with snow and here it is not as cold and if there is snow it last about 24 hours before it disappears so I rarely find time to go skiing here. I really can’t go skiing here because there are no mountains the best thing you can find as a hill somewhere ? the sled so you have to be very fast here in lepzik if you want to go sledding.
Well I came to Germany I worked as a photographer. I worked measuring apartments any thing I could do to basically survive I mowed lawns, I helped edit texts, and then finally I started teaching English.
My first teaching experience in English was very difficult because I didn’t quite understand all the concept of English I mean I may have studied in college but very hard works and find teach it two different things so I had to ?learn how English worked for me to teach it. Also when I arrived I had to learn German and so learning German and teaching English well learning German helped me teach English because then I understood how people learn languages so although I have been here for 6 years or 7 years, my German is not as good as it could be although I can read newspapers and text and understand them fully I still haven’t quite managed to speak like a German. Germans tend to have a way of using their words which no no foreigner could quite master. You have to be German to master German I think. Well it’s a fun language it’s more precise than English it’s got many more expressions and dialogues are fun to listen to. I have a lot of contact to the local people here in Lepzik many because I do teach them and a lot of my students invite me up to coffee or we have (advance?) at night which they invite me out too go myself.
There are lots of foreigners here I can meet them there are plenty of foreign? peoples. People from different languages or for people to learn German or English and so through that I can meet lots of people and had met me lots of people emm most my friends are either Germans or Americans. I have two very good American friends and the rest are all German so I spend most my time going back and forth through English and German and I’m in fact studying German again privately so that I can prove it because after seven years there are many things which you can learn to help you and speak better pronunciations and mostly and more importantly idioms. I go back about twice a year to America to visit my father who lives in Connecticut or to my mother who lives in South Carolina.
I typically go back in the summer or and June for a family gathering which is about 30 people and we rent about 4 cottages on a lake and we all get together and basically go from one cottage to another eating for 2 weeks and it’s a lot of fun. And when I visit my mother and she lives in South Carolina in a palace called metal beach and there is not much to do there. You could go many??? or you could go swimming at the beach but mostly we hang up with talk Back in Connecticut I still have my friends and I still meet up my friends. They meet at a coffee shop at the center of (name of a place) at 2 o’clock for coffee. They have been doing this since 1993 and so when I go back I still know everyone and it’s fun I get my free cup of coffee because they never see me and the people work there they still know me and they going up to date as to what’s been going on. It’s a lot of fun my language has changed since I have been here. Many people who are American will talk to me very slowly and they tell me that my English is very strange but it’s nice and I say that’s nice and they say where are you from and I say well I’m from Connecticut and they go really and I go yes really and they say watch your accent and I say you can’t?
Your accent if you live some where else you have to lose it and when you teach English you can’t teach accents you have to teach a general English which people can understand and so so I’ve tried to to change my English a little bit so that people can understand me better because when I talk very fast and well when you see when I go back to Connecticut after a month in Connecticut I will talk like a normal Connecticut person which would be hard "r"s,
"o"s don’t exist it’s not Connecticut but Connecticut it’s not progress but progress so it’s a very distinct newly accent. One can hear it when one can listen to my voice “y” is mostly tucked away so among other things my accent has changed as well as my vocabulary When you talk to an American who has been living or anybody who has been living here in Lepzik for a long time certain words would certainly fall into our vocabulary for example every one say (a German word) instead of street car or tram or when we talk about going to the (a German word) which is a train station or to the( a German word) or or to the(German word) which is the immigration’s office and you’ll use these words among other things like (German word) for cabinet or (German words) for plate and table and we’ll mix and we’ll call it new language ¨Genglish¨ and everyone, doesn’t matter from what country, will mix.
And it’s very difficult when I go back to the States not to mix because I know and I’ve to keep telling myself that no one there understands German so I can’t go mixing like I can do in Germany, in Lepzik.
I find it amazing how Germans can express them selves to such detail and they know exactly what’s going on. I just I’m completely amazed by that you ask some one how a car works and they will tell you and they will tell you how a car slides and they’ll give you reasons how a car slides on the ice and hydroplane and they would give you details which an American person would not do.
They would use lots of and’s and oh’s and things like but Germans will tell you to the exact detail what it is or they’ll say kind of… they don’t know so it’s been quite a learning experience from a technical … so…
I would be happy to get your feedback 
Hello …
… and I was a cook for cowboys, then I got into photography, move back to ____ to ____ with photography, and then I decide to go to Washington dc …
good exercise but I am not so good yet.
bye …
Hi Torsten ,
i’m manal i’m very sorry that i couldn’t speak to you before because i’m really very busy in my faculty.I would like to thank you very much for your help and you are a very good and helpful teacher
i want to show you my problem i can understand all your comments and all your emails but i can not respond you i feel that i can understand english very good but i can not good speak or write it please help me to improve my speaking and writing ,
i took alot of time to understand Remond’s recording but i was very happy that i could understand him because before i joined your english course i couldn’t understand recoding like this thank you Torsten
Raymond Romanos have such circumstances as I have now.
I also must to clean heater and remove ashes and then fetch coal from the basement, cut the wood and clean heater from ashes.
It is becouse I live in Bishkek.
Hy Torsten
This is what I wrote down:
My name is Raymond and I’m from West Connecticut in the United States.
It’s located more or less between Boston and New York.
Ah, I was born in Harford and I grew up in West Harford.
Ahm, and from West Harford I went to Cincinatty to study,I studied English in Cincinatty, Ohio, and after my studies I moved to Wioming and worked as a cook,
and I was a cook for Cowboys, and then I got it to photography,
and I moved back to Harvard to do more on photography,
and then I went down to Washington DC and looked wheather I could find work there.
Meanwhile I have met a German girl in Connecticut and we kept in contact.
Ahm, when I moved down to Virginia, she had moved back to Germany.
I didn’t like Virginia as much as I thought I would,
and she had mentionned that I should come and visit her in Germany, and so I did!
And this was back in 1996,
so when I came to Germany I had no plans to stay for a long time but also no plans not to stay for a long time.
My original plan was to learn German and to meet her and to see Germany.
And that was in 1996, and now we are in 2003, almost 2004,
ah, in the meantime we broke up, but I stayed in Leipzig because life was good here, life is good here.
When I first came here my impression was different, because
this is only 6 years after the fall of the Berlin wall,
and many things did not exist, for example take away coffees or
it was very difficult to find a decent sandwich.
I was not used to the winters here, which were in comparison to Connecticut not as extrem but very gray.
The winters in Connecticut are typically very very cold and with snow.
And here it is not as cold, and when there is snow, it lasts about 24 hours before it disappears.
So I can’t go skying, because there are no mountains, the best thing you can find here is a hill and find a sleight. So you have to be fast here to find a sleight.
So, I came to Germany and I worked as a photographer and I measured out appartements, anything I could do to basically survive,
I mowed lawns, I edideted texts till I finally started to teach English.
My first experience in Teaching English was quite difficult because I didn’t understand all kinds of English, I mean I had studied it in college, but knowing how it works and trying to teach it, are two different things.
So I had to relearn how it worked for me to teach it.
Also when I arrived I had to learn German. Learning German helped me to teach English. I just then understood how people learn languages.
So, although I have been here 6 or seven years my German is not as good as it could be,
altohough I manage to read Newspapers and texts and understand them fully, I still havent learnt to speak like a German.
Germans have a tendence to use the words in a way no foreigner could ever master German.
But it’s a funny language. It has got more expressions and it’s dialogues are funny to listen to.
I have a lot of contact to the local people here in Leipzig,
many because I teach them, and a lot of them invite me out to coffee,
or we have events at night they invite me out too,
or I go out myself. There are also lots of foreigners too here, so I can meet up them,
there are plenty of foreigners round tables,
for people wanting to learn foreign languages or for people wanting to learn English.
so, through that, I can meet lots of people and have met lots of people.
Ahm, most of my friends are either Germans or Americans.
I have two very good American friends and the rest are all German.
So, I spend most of my time going forward and backward between English and German,
and I am in fact studying German again in privat so that I can proof it,
because after 7 years, there are many things you can learn to help you speak better,
pronunciation and mostly, more important, idioms.
I go back about twice a year to America to visit my
father, who lives in Connecticut, or my mother, who lives in South Carolina,
I typically go back in summer in June, for a family gathering,
which is about 30 people, and we rent about 4 cottages on a lake,
and we all get togehter and basically go from one cottage to another to eat for two weeks.
And, that’s a lot of fun, and
and, when I visit my mother, and she lives in South Carolina in a place called Myrtal beach,
there is not much you could do there. You could go minitiature golfing or you could go swimming at the beach.
but mostly we hang out and we talk.
Back in Connecticut, I still have my friends, and I still meet with my friends.
They meet at a Coffee Shop in the centre of town-set at two-o-clock for coffee.
They’d been doing that since 1993.
And when I go back I still know all people. I get a free cup of coffee, because they never see me,
and the people who work there still know me, and
they bring me up to date what has been going on, it’s lot of fun.
My language has changed,
since I’ve been here. Many people who are American
will talk to me very slowly and tell me that my English is very strange and nice.
And I say “that’s nice”. And they say “Where are you from”?
and I say “Why, I’m from Connecticut!”
And they go “Really?”, and I say “Yes, really!”
And they go “Where is your accent?”, and I go “Well you can’t walk around with an accent all your life elswhere, you have to loose it”.
When you teach English, you have to teach it with a general accent,
which people can understand, and so I have tryed to
change my English a little bit, so that people can understand me better.
So, I don’t talk too fast. And, when I go back to Connecticut, after a month I speak like a Connecticut person, which will be: hard “r’s”, “o’s” dont exist, and it’s not Connecticot but Conecticet, and it’s not progress, but pr(a)gress.
So theres is a very distinct New England accent and one can hear
it if you listen to my voice, but
it’s mostly, ahm, tucked away.
So, among other things, my accent has changed,
as well as my vocabulary.
When you talk to an American, or to anyone who has been living a very long time in Leipzig, certain words will certainly fall into your vocabulary.
For example, everyone would say “Strassenbahn” or Schtrassenbahn",
instead of street car or tram.
And we will talk about going to the “Bahnhof”, which is the train station,
or to the “Ausländer Behörden Amt”, which is the immigration office,
and so, we will do, use theese words, among other things,
like “Schrank or Tisch” for cabinet or table and “Teller” for plate,
and we will mix, and we call this new language “Genglish”.
And everyone, …body, it doesn’t matter from what country, does mix.
And it’s very difficult when I go back to the States not to mix, and I have to keep telling myself,
that no one there understands German. So I
can’t go mixing like I can do in Germany, in Leipzig.
I find it amazing how Germans can express themselves to such a detail,
they know exactly what’s going on.
I’m completely amazed by that, when you ask someone about
how a car works, and they will tell you, and they tell you why
a car slides and the reason why it slides on the ice.
And hyper and all, and they will give you details, which an American person would not do.
They would use a lot of “ahm’s” and “ah’s”, but they will tell you in detail what it is.
Or they would say, “can’t know all”, they are out.
So, it’s been quite a learning experience from the technical standard,
so…
Urs
Hi Mahbouhbe
Not beeing able to move forward and backword in the message, that’s sort of a problem, you are right.
I solved it by hitting the stop botton quite often, because when I tried first to listen to a whole sentence I forgot too much of it.
But I think that’s exactly the situation when you listen to a foreign speaker.
Normaly, the speech goes on and on and you hardly can catch up. Of course, on the forum one would like to avoid mistakes, one would prefer to write a flawless text. But, as you said, that needs an awfull lot of time…
I think it’s a challenging but a good task to do. What I only fear is that I would be completely lost if Raymond had spoken in his original Connecticut accent…
Best regards
Urs
Hy Bardamu
It’s a very small scale golfing.
A hole is only about 5 to 10 meters away from the point were you start to hit it, and it’s not played on grass but on concret.
Urs
Dear Torsten
Hi
Good morning
How are you?
Alhamdulilah I am fine. Exprecting same from you.
Your e-mail classes are very useful and also tests.
After checking my score and progress i feel happy
Thanks for your kind assistance
Best Regards
Syed Sabjan
This is what i understood. It was fun doing the exercise:)
And i was a cook for cowboys, and than i got into photography, moved back to West Hartford to do more with photography. And than i decided to go on to Washington DC and see if i can find work there.
Meanwhile i have met a German girl in West Hartford, Connecticut. And we kept in contact. When i moved down to Virginia, which is near Washington, she had moved back to Germany. And i didn’t like Virginia as much as i thought i would. And she had mentioned that i should come and visit here in Germany. And so, i did. And this was back in 1996.
So when i came to Germany a i had no plans to stay for a long time but no plans to not to stay for a long time. So my original plan was to stay with her and to learn German and to see Germany. So and that was in '96 and now we are in 2003, almost 2004.
In the meantime, we broke up, but i staid in Leibzig. Because life was good here, life is good here. But when i first came to Leipzig my impression was much different, because this was only six years after the fall of the Berlin wall.
And many things did not exist, for example, take away coffee or it was very difficult to find a decent sandwich. Not all the buildings had been renovated, so it was very grey.
I was not used to the winters here, which were in comparison to Connecticut not as extreme but mostly grey. And the winters in Connecticut are typically very very cold with snow. And here it’s not as cold, and if there is snow, it lasts about 24 hours before it disappears. So i rarely find time to go skiing here, but i really can’t go skiing here because there are no mountains, the best thing you can find is a hill somewhere. (Find a sled?). So you have to be real fast here in Leibzig to go sledding.
So, i came to Germany, i worked as a photographer. I worked measuring apartments. Anything i could do to basically survive. I mowed loans, i helped edit text, and than finally i started teaching english.
My first teaching experience in english was very difficult because i didn’t quite understand all the concept of english, i mean i may have studied in colleague, but,
learning how it works and trying teaching are two different things.
So i had to relearn how english works for me to teach it. Also when i arrived i had to learn German. So learning German and teaching english, well learning german helped me teach english. Because than i understood how people learn languages.
So, although i’ve been here for six years, or seven years, my German is not as good as it could be. Although i can read newspapers and texts and understand them fully i still haven’t quite managed to speak like a German. Germans tend to have a way of using their words which no foreigner could quite master. You have to be German to master German, i think. But it’s a fun language, it’s more precise than english, it’s got many more expressions, and the dialects are fun to listen to.
I have a lot of contact to the local people her in Leipzig, mainly because i do teach them. And a lot of my students invite me out to coffee. Or we have events at night which they invite me out to. Or i try go out myself. There are also a lot of foreigners here, i can meet up with them. There are a lot of foreign round tables for people wanting to learn different languages. Or for people wanting to learn german or english. Through that i can meet lots of people and have met lots of people.
Most of my friends are either germans or americans. I have two very good american friends and the rest are all german. So i spend most of my time going back and forth between english and german. And as a matter of fact studying german again, privately, so that i can proof it. Because after seven years there are many things which you can learn to help you speak better. Pronunciation, and mostly, and more importantly, idioms.
I go back twice a year, to America, to visit my father, who lives in Connecticut, or to my mother who lives in South Carolina. I typically go back in the summer around june for a family gathering, which is about 30 people, and we rent about 4 cottages on a lake. And we all get together and basically go from one cottage to another, eating our way. Fro two weeks. And it’s a lot of fun.
And when i visit my mother, and she lives in South Carolina in a place called (Murttel Beach?). There is really not much to do there. You could go miniature golfing, or you could go swimming at the beach. But mostly we hang out and we talk.
Back in Connecticut i still have my friends and they still (???) my friends. They meet at a coffee shop in the center of West Hartford at two a clock for coffee. They’ve been doing this since 1993. And so, when i go back, i still know everyone. And it is fun. I get my free cup of coffee, because they never see me and the people who work there still know me, and they bring me up to date as to what’s been going on. It’s a lot of fun.
My language has changed since i’ve been here. Many people who are american, would talk to me very slowly. And would tell me that my english is very strange.
But nice.
And i say, That’s nice.
And they say: Where are you from?
And i say: Well, i’m from Connecticut.
And they go: Really?
And i go: Yes, really!
And they go: Were is your accent?
And i go: Well, you can’t walk around with an accent all your life if you life somewhere else. You have to loose it. And when you teach english you can’t teach accents. You have to teach a general english, which people can understand. And so i’ve tried to change my english a little bit so that people can understand me better. Because when i talk real fast, and well, one will see when i go back to Connecticut, after a month in Connecticut, i’ll talk like a normal connecticut person. Which will be “hardarse”, o’s don’t exist. It’s not Connecticut but Connecticut. And it’s not progress but progress. So there is a very very distinct (???) accent.
One can hear when listens to my foice, but is mostly, is mostly tacked away. So among other things, my accent has changed as well as my vocabulary.
When you talk to an american who has been living, or anybody who has been living in Leipzig for a long time, certain words will certainly fall into your vocabulary. For example, everybody will say “Strassenbahn” or “Strassenbahn” instead of street car or tram. And we’ll talk about going to this “Bahnhof”, which is the train station. Or to the “Auslaenderbehoerdeamt”, which is the immigrations office. So, we will use these words among other things, like “Schrank” for cabinet. Or “Teller” and “Tisch” for plate and table. And we’ll mix, and we call this new language “Genglish”. And everybody, everyone, doesn’t matter from what country, we’ll mix.
And it is very difficult when i go back to the states not to mix, because i know, and i have to keep telling myself that nobody there understands german. So i can’t go mixing like i do in Germany. In Leipzig. I find it amazing how germans can express them selfs to such detail. They know exactly what’s going on. I’m just, i’m completely amazed by that. You ask someone about how a car works and they will tell you, and they will tell you how a car slides and the reason why a car slides on the ice, or on a hydroplane, or give you details, which an american person would not do. They would use lot’s of uhh’s and ohh’s and things like that. But Germans tell you to the exact detail what it is. Or they would say: “Keine Ahnung”, they don’t know:)
So, it’s been quite a learning experience from the technical standpoint:)
Hello Torsten!
That was excellent exercises! Even though it seems you could understand everything while you listen, you encounter a great deal of questions during the writing. It took me almost 3 hours to write down this 10-minutes Ray’s story. I’ve had trouble with German words and a few other misunderstandings such as “mini-shogolfitting”. I’ve already seen the right answers in your message to Svitlana Morokhovych above and, according to it, I’ve added words, which was missing before, in my writing. Nevertheless, I’m still curious what it means – “mini-shogolfitting”?
I haven’t done Edward’s story yet, but seemingly, it will be much harder for me to understand British pronunciation.
Generally, I really content that I’ve been trying accomplishing this task. Some phrases I had to listen several times, so I feel, I’ve got the text by rote
…And I was a cook for cowboys. And then I got into photography, moved back to West Hartford to do more with photography. And then I decided to go down to Washington DC and see if I could find work there.
Meanwhile I had met a German girl in West Hartford Connecticut and we kept in contact. Eh, when I moved down to Virginia that was near Washington, she left back to Germany. And I didn’t like Virginia as much as I thought I would and she had mentioned that I should come and visit her in Germany. And so I did. And this was back in 1996. So, when I came in Germany, I had no plans to stay for a long time but no plans not to stay for a long time. So, my original plan was to be with her and to learn a German, and to see Germany. Em, so and that was in 1996 and now we are in 2003 almost 2004. Eh, in the meantime we broke-up but I stayed in Leipzig, because life was good here. Life is good here.
When I first came to Leipzig my impression was much different, because this is only six years after “The Fall Of the Berlin Wall”. And many things did not exist. For example, ah, take-away coffee or there it was very difficult to find a decent sandwich. Not all the buildings had been renovated and so it was very grey.
I was not used to the winters here, which were, in comparison to Connecticut, not as extreme but mostly grey. And the winters in Connecticut are typically very-very cold with, ah, with snow. And here, it’s not as cold, and if there is snow it lasts about 24 hours before disappears. So, I rarely find time to go skiing here but really you can’t go skiing here because there are no mountains. The best thing you can find is a hill somewhere and find a sled. So, you have to be really fast here in Leipzig to go sledding.
Well, I came in Germany; I worked as a photographer. I worked major in apartments - anything I could do to basically survive. I mowed lawns; I helped edit texts. And then I finally started teaching English.
My first experience in teaching English was very difficult because I didn’t quite understand all the concept of English. I mean, I may have studied in college, but learning how it works and trying to teach it are two different things. So, I had to re-learn how English worked for me to teach it. Also, when I arrived I had to learn German.
And so learning German and teaching English… or learning German helped me teach English, because then I understood how people learn languages. So, although I have been here for six years or seven years, my German is not as good as it could be. Although I can read newspapers and texts and understand them fully, I still haven’t quite managed to speak like a German. Germans tend to have a way of using the words, which no …no foreigner could quite master. You have to be German to master German, I think. But it’s a fine language: it’s more precise than English, it’s got many more expressions and dialects are fun to listen to.
I have a lot of contacts to the local people here in Leipzig. Mainly, because I do teach them and a lot of my students invite me out to coffee; or we have events at night which they invite me out to; or which I go out myself. There are also lots of foreigners here; I can meet up with them too. There are plenty of foreign round tables for people willing to learn different languages or for people willing to learn German or English. So, through that I can meet lots of people and it helped me meeting lots of people.
Most of my friends are either Germans or Americans. I have 2 very good American friends, and the rest are all German. So, I spend most of my time going back and forth between English and German. Eh, and I’m, in fact, studying German again privately so that I can improve it. Because after seven years, ah, there are many things which you can learn to help you, eh, speak better: pronunciation and mostly and more importantly idioms.
I go back about twice a year to America to visit my father who lives in Connecticut or to my mother who lives in South Carolina. I typically go back in the summer around June for the family gathering which is about thirty people and we rent about four cottages on a lake. And we all get together and basically go from one cottage to another eating our way for two weeks. That’s a lot of fun.
And when I visit my mother, and she lives in South Carolina in the place called Myrtle Beach, there is really not much to do there. You could go mini-shogolfitting or you could go swimming at the beach. Mostly, we hang out, we talk.
Back in Connecticut I still have my friends and I still meet-up with my friends. They meet at the coffee-shop in the centre of West Hartford at two o’clock for coffee. They’ve been doing this since 1993. And, so, when I go back I still know everyone. And it is fun, I get my free cup of coffee because they never see me and the people who work there still know me. And they bring me up to date as to what’s going on. That’s a lot of fun.
My language’s ganged since I’ve been here. Many people who are American will talk to me very slowly and will tell me that my English is very strange, but nice. And I say,”That’s nice.” And they say, “Where are you from?” And I say, “I’m from Connecticut.” And they go, “Really?!” And I go, “Yes, really.” And they go, “Where’s your accent?” And I go, “Well, you can’t go around with an accent all your life, If you live somewhere else, you have to lose it.”
And when you teach English, you can’t teach accents, you have to teach a general English which people can understand. So, I’ve tried to change my English a little bit so that people can understand me better. Because when I talk to them fast and, well, one will see it when I go back to Connecticut, after a month in Connecticut I will talk like a normal Connecticut person. Which will be hard “r’s”, “o’s” don’t exist. It is not “ko’nektiket” but “ke’nektiket”. It is not “prOgres” but “prAgres”. So, there is a very very distinct “New England” accent, which one can hear if once listens to my voice. But it’s mostly, ah, it’s mostly tugged away.
So, among other things, my accent has changed as well as my vocabulary. When you talk to an American who has been living or anybody who has been living in Leipzig for a long time, certain words will suddenly fall into your vocabulary. For example, everyone will say “Strassenbahn” or “Shrassenbahn” instead of “streetcar” or “tram”; and we will talk about going to the “Bahnhof” which is the “train station” or to the “Ausländerbehördeamt” which is the “Immigrations office”. So, we will do…we will use these among other things like “Schrank” for “cabinet”, or “Teller” or Tisch” for “plate” and “table”. And we will mix and we call this new language – Genglish.
And everyone, doesn’t matter, from what country will mix. And that very difficult when I go back to the States not to mix, because I know, and I have to keep telling myself that no-one there understands German. So, I can’t go mixing like I can do in Germany, in Leipzig.
I find amazing how Germans can express themselves to such a detail, that you will know exactly what is going on. I’m completely amazed by that …When you ask someone about how a car works and they will tell you, and they will tell you how the car slides and the reasons why the car will slide on the ice or hydroplane. They will give you the details which American person wouldn’t do; they would use lots of ands and ehs and things like that. But German would tell you to the exact detail what it is. Or they would say “'Keine Ahnung!” they don’t know” but, so… It’s been quite a learning experience from a technical standpoint. So…
Hello Torsten.
Finally I finished 10 min Ray’s story,wawawawa I did enjoy listening of him,but I couldn’t understand few words. It took me nearly 2 hours finish the story. It was a good exercice thank you.
And I was a cook for Cowboys. And then I got it to photography,moved back to West Hartford,to do more with photography. And then I decided to go to Washington D.C. and see if I could find work there.
Meanwhile I have met a German girl in West Hartford,in Connecticut,and we kept in contact. When I moved down to Virginia,which is near to Washington,she went back to Germany.And I didn’t like Virginia as much as I thought I would.
And she had mentioned that I should visit her in Germany. And so I did.
And this was back in 1996. So when I came in Germany,I had no plans to stay for a long time but no plans not to stay for a long time. So my original plan was to be with her and to learn German,and to see Germany. So that was in 96 and now we are in 2003,almost in 2004. In the meantime we broke up,but I stayed in Leipzig ,because life was good here,no life is good here.
When I first came to Leipzig,my impression was much different because this is only 6 years after fall … and many things did not exist. For example:take away coffee,there was very difficult to find a decent sanduiches. Not all buildings had been renovated,so it was grey.
I was not used to the winters here,which were in comparison to Connecticut not as extreme but mostly grey. The winters in Connecticut are typically very very cold,with snow. And here it’s not as cold a,and if there is snow ,it last about 24 hours before disappears. So I rarely find time to go skiing in here,but you really can’t go skiing in here because there are not mountains. The best thing you can find is …somewhere,find a sled.So you have to be more fast here …to go sledding.
Well,when I came in Germany I worked as a photographer,I worked measuring apartments. Anything I could do to basically survive.I … loans,I hoped any texts and finally I started teaching English. My first teaching experience in English,was very difficult because I didn’t quite understand all the conceptive English. I mean,I may have said to encourage by very hard works,in claim teaching two different things. So I had to re learn how English worked for me to teach it. Also when I arrived ,I had to learn German,so learning German and teaching English ,well learning German helped me teach English.
And then I understood how people learn languages. So I don’t know,I’ve been here for 6 years or 7 years,my German is not as good as could be. Other way I could read newspapers and text,and understand them fully.
I still haven’t quite managed to speak like a German.Germans … have a way of using their words,which no … could quite master. You have to be German to master German,I think. But it’s a fun language,it’s more …
in English. It’s got many more expressions and dialect,and …
I have a lot of contact to the local people here in Leipzig. Manny because I do teach them,and a lot of my students invite me out to coffee or we have event night … out too. Or try to go out by my myself. There are also lots lots of foreigners here. I can meet up with them. There are plenty of foreign round tables,from people who learning different languages or from people who learning German or English.It’s … I can meet a lot of people and helped me to meet a lot of people.
Most of my friends are either Germans or Americans. I have two very good Americans friends and the rest of them are Germans. So I spend most of my time going back … English and German. And I … studying German again,privately,to better I can prove it.
Because after 7 years,there are many things which you can learn to help you,speak better,pronunciation and mostly and more importantly idioms. I go back twice a year to America to visit my father,in Connecticut. Or to visit my mother who lives in South Carolina. I typically go back in summer or in June,for a family gardening,which is about 30 people.And we went about 4 … and we are good together.And basically go from1 … eating away,for 2 weeks. … And when I visit my mother, and she lives in South Carolina ,in a place called … Beach.There is really not much to do.There you could go … or you could go swimming on the beach,but mostly we talk.
Back in Connecticut,I still have my friends and I still meet my friends. They meet at the Coffee Shop in the centre of the West Hartford ,at 2 o’clock for coffee. They’ve been doing this since 1993. And so when I go back ,I still know everyone and it’s fun. I get my free cup of coffee because they never have seen me,and people who work there ,they still know me. And they bring up to date what’s going on,it’s lot of fun.
My language has change since I’ve been here. Manny people who are American… me very slowly,but tell me my English is very strange,but nice. And I say:That’s nice. And they say:Where are you from? And I say:I’m from Connecticut. And they go:Really! And I go:Yes really. And they go:Where is your ascent? And I go:Well,you can’t walk around with your ascent on your left if you live somewhere else,you have to lose it. And when you teach English you can’t teach ascent,you have to teach general English which people can understand. So I’ve tried to change my English little bit,so that people can understand better. Because when I talk to them fast and … see when I go back to Connecticut after a month in Connecticut,I will not talk like a normal Connecticut person. Which will be … doesn’t exist,it’s not Connecticut but Connecticut.It’s not progress but progress.This is very very to… in ascent which … can hear to listening my voice. But is mostly ,is mostly talk to way.
So among the other things my ascent has changed,as well as my vocabulary. When you talk to an American who has been living ,or anybody who has been living in Leipzig for a long time,certain words were … followed to your vocabulary. For example:Everyone say … or … instead of street car or trump. And we talk about going to … which is the train station,or to the … which is the Immigration Office. And so we do use these words and the other things like … cabinet or … for plate and table and we will mix. And we call this new language Genglish.
And everybody and everyone ,doesn’t matter from what country you mix. And it’s very difficult when I go back to the States not to mix,because I know ,and I have to keep telling myself that no one in there understands German. So I can’t go mixing like I can do in Germany,in Leipzig. I find amazing how Germans can express themself in details,that you will know exactly what is going on. I’m completely amazed by that. When they ask someone about how a car works,and they will tell you how the car slides and the reason why car was slide on the ice or … They will gave you details which an American person will will not do. They will use lots of … or … and things like that,but German will tell you to the exact details what is it. Or they would say … they don’t know but,so.it’s been quite a learning experience from a technical standpoint.
I’am tired this story it was very long.
Bye everyone.
Admira.
Hi Torsten
I listened Raymond test and this is the missing text :
I was a cook for cowboys and I gahter the photography, moved back to West Hartfort to do more with photography and then I decided to go to Washington DC and see if I can find work there.Meanwhile I have met a journal girl in West Hartfort Connecticut and we kept in contact. When Imoved down to Virginia where is near Washington she has moved back to Germany and I didn’t like Virginia as much as I tought I would and she had mentioned that I should come to visither in Germany and so I did. And this was back in 1996. So, I came in Germany, I had no plains to stay for a long time but no plains not to stay for a long time . So, my original plain was to be with her and to learn german and to see Germany.
So, I was in 1996 and now we are in 2003 almost 2004. In the meantime we broke up but I stay in Leipzig because life is good here. When I first come to Leipzig my impression was much different because it was only 6 years after the follow of Berlin wall and many things doesn’t exists. For example take away coffee or is very difficult to find a decent sandwich not all the buildings had been renovated and so, was very great.
I was no used with the winter here which were in comparison to Connecticut not at the extreme but mostly gray and the winter in Connecticut are typically very very cold with snow and here is not as cold and if there is snow it’s lasts about 24 hour before disapears so I really find time to go ski here but I really go sking here becouse are not mountains the best thing you can find it’s a hill somewhere to find a sled. So, you have to be really fast here in Leipzig to go sliding. Well, I come to Germany , I worked as a photographer, I worked measuring apartments , anythihg I can do to basicly survive , I made … loans, I helped added taxes and then finally I started teaching English.
My first teaching experience in English was very difficult because I didn’t quite understand all the concept of English . I may studied in college but what it works and find teaching are two different things. So, I have to relarn how English worked for me to teach it. Olso, when I arrived I have to learn German, and so, learning German and teaching English helped me teaching English and then I understand how people learned languages so I have been here for 6 or 7 years my german is not so good as could be but I could read newspapers and tests and understand in fuly . I still haven’t quite manage to speak like a German.Germans has a way of using their workd which no foreign can master you have to be german to master german I think. But is a fine janguage, is most preciously them English is got many more expresions and dialogs founds to listen to.
I have a lot of contact to the local people here in Leipzig many because I do teach them and a lot of my students invite me out to coffee or we have … invite me out to or I go out tomyself .There are olso a lot of foreigns here I can meet up with them there are plenty of foreign round tables people, people from different languages or people who want to learn German or English. So, through that I can meet lot of people and I had met lot of people .Most of my friends are either Germans or Americans. I have two very good American friends and the rest are all German. I spend most of my time going back between English and German and I am in fact started studying german again privately. So, I can prove it because after 7 years there are many things which you can learn to help you to speak better pronunciation and mostly more important idioms.
I go back about twice a year in America to visit my father who leaves in Connecticut or my mother who lives in South Carolina .I tipically go back in the summer arround June for a family gathering which is about 30 people and we rent about 4 cottages on the lake and we are all together and basicly we go from one cottage to another eating for 2 weekd and it’s a lot of fun. And when I visit my mother and she lives in South Carolina in a place caleed Marton beach is really not much to do there, you should go playing golf or you could swiming to the beach.But mostly we talked. Back in Connecticut I still have my frinds and I still meet with my friends.They meet at the coffee shop in the center at two o’clock for a coffee. We have been doing this since 1993 and so when I go back I still know everyone and is fun. I get my free cup of coffee because they never see me ant the people who work there still know me and they bring up the date as we going on it’s a lot of fun.
My language is changed since I have been here. Many people who are american are talking to me very slowly and told me that my English is very strange but nice and I say that’s nice and they say : “where are you from ? " and I say : “I am from Connecticut”, and they go : really ? and I go : “Yes, really !” and they go : " where is your accent ? " and I go : " well, you can’t go arround with your accent on your life if you leave somewhere else.You have to lose it and when you teach English you can’t teach accents you have to teach a general English wich people can understand and so, I tried to change my English a little beat.So, that people could undertand me better, because when I talk really fast and well… I see when I go back to Connecticut.After a month in Connecticut I talked like a normal Connecticut person which will be hardest or don’t exist, is not Connecticut but Connecticut and is not progres, but progres, so, is a very very distinct new accent which you can hear in my voice but is mostly talked to way so among other things my accent has cahnge as well a my vocabulary. When you talked to an American who was living or to anybody who’s living in Leipzig for a long time certain words were sudenly voluntary vocabulary . For example : anyone say " german word " instead of street car or tram and we talk about going to " german word” which is a train station or to the " g.word" which is the emigration office we will use these words among other things like : " g.word" for cabinet or " " for plate and table and we will mixt and we called new language geenglish and everyone doesn’t matter for what country will mixt.And is very difficult when I go back to the States not to mixt because I know and I have to keep telling to myself that that no one understand German, so , I can’t go mixting like I can do in Germany, in Leipzig.
I find amaising how Germans can express themselves to such detail.They know exactly what is going on.I guess I am completely amased about that you ask someone about how a car works and they will tell you and how a car likes and the reason why a car is slide on the ice or a hidroplane, they will give you details which an American person would not do. They used a lot of and or as and things like that but germans tell you the exact detail where it is or they say I don’t know ,so , it has been quite a learning experience from the technical stand point , so…
Hi torsten,
This conversation is very big, and i cant type so much.I tried 3to4 times but i couldn`t finish it. Can i record it without typing,because i have written it on my note book.
thankyou
suchita