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I'm surprised to see no mention of Kindles / ebook readers. I tried reading novels to improve my German, but the physical effort of switching to a dictionary (e
by vanderreeah 10y ago
I'm surprised to see no mention of Kindles / ebook readers. I tried reading novels to improve my German, but the physical effort of switching to a dictionary (either physical or web-based) was enough to make reading a chore. With my Kindle, I've downloaded an English-German dictionary and some novels, and now when I don't know a word I just tap it (well, kinda hold my finger down in a ZX81 fashion) and a translation appears. Makes the reading process that much more fluent and therefore enjoyable. If the ease of looking up words makes them a tad less "sticky" in my memory, the quantity of text I'm consuming makes the language-learning experience, on balance, more efficient (for me).
- gns24 10y agoSimilarly, OSX can be configured so that a triple click does a dictionary look-up, which I find extremely useful for reading material online in German.
- vanderreeah 10y agoI'd love something like that in Windows 8.1.
- seekingcharlie 10y agoJust to clarify - do you now buy ebooks in German? Do you have any recommendations for good books in German for beginners? I've tried buying kids books (Harry Potter etc), but even those are far too difficult.. the "clickable" dictionary sounds like it would resolve my issues though.
- vanderreeah 10y agoYes - but I wasn't quite a beginner. The usual recommendation for adult books for beginners is Schlink's The Reader, though I found it dim-witted. I'd stick with Harry Potter and get a dictionary for an ebook reader.