To ask “what do you do for a living?” in German you can say was machst du beruflich?, or in a more formal situation, was machen Sie beruflich? In this episode of Coffee Break German To Go, Julia asks this questions to interviewees in the streets of Berlin. You can use the answers of our interviewees to help you learn to answer this question yourself.
In the first part of the video, watch the interviews without subtitles and try to understand. In the second part of the video, we’ve provided subtitles in German at the top of the screen. You can choose to turn on subtitles in English using the Subtitles/CC button.
In our first series, Julia is in the city of Berlin, and in each episode she’ll ask passers-by one question. Of course, that one question will result in many answers, and it’s through these answers that you can practise your German and build your vocabulary.
If you’d prefer not to wait for all 10 lessons of Season 1 to be published, you can access downloadable versions of the videos along with audio versions and lesson notes / transcripts in the Coffee Break Academy.
Coffee Break German To Go is based on the popular podcast series and online course Coffee Break German. For access to the free podcasts, click here.
Join Coffee Break Founder and CEO Mark for this week’s Coffee Break Catch-up, our weekly show in which we update you on our latest podcast episodes, blog articles and videos. There are discussions on language learning, and a round-up of some of the cultural events happening around the world.
In this edition:
updates on the latest episodes of Coffee Break French, Italian and Spanish, the launch of our One Minute Turkish course on YouTube, and the latest Coffee Break To Go and Walk, Talk and Learn videos;
our plans for the summer break and the content you can look forward to over the next few weeks;
this week’s Talking Point focuses on how to keep your language practice going after your class ends, or while you’re on vacation;
¡Feliz martes a todos! Have you heard of Maná? They are a Mexican pop rock group formed in 1986, whose name comes from the Polynesian term for supernatural energy! They have won 4 Grammy Awards and are extremely popular throughout Latin America and further afield. This week’s Tune for Tuesday is their song En el muelle de San Blas. We really like this song and it’s a good test for your Spanish comprehension. Don’t worry if you struggle to follow the lyrics, we recommend finding them online and reading through them while listening to the song.
The lyrics contain many examples of the preterite tense, but also some others. Can you identify any of the other tenses used? Feel free to share some of the examples you’ve found in the comments!
Check out our full Spotify and YouTube playlists below to listen to more songs from around the world and of many different styles.
In the latest episode of the Coffee Break French Magazine, we’re heading to the “crossroads of Europe”, the city of Strasbourg in the heart of Alsace. Find out about the traditions, the food, the history and the culture of this beautiful part of the world. There’s also a discussion about how to express necessity using devoir and falloir, in response to listener Steve’s question.
In each episode of this 10-lesson season for intermediate learners, you can build your vocabulary, increase your understanding of grammar and learn to use the French language in a more natural way. This series is aimed at learners who have completed at least Season 1 and Season 2 of Coffee Break French.
You may be familiar with ne … plus meaning “no longer”, and ne … que meaning “only”, but what about ne … plus que? Do you know what this means? It’s a really useful phrase and in this episode of Walk, Talk and Learn, you’l learn to use it in a variety of situations.
¡Ha llegado el fin de la primera temporada de En Marcha! It’s time for one more episode before we wrap up the series and, in this final instalment, it’s time for some questions. While recording En Marcha, we made sure to ask four key questions to almost everybody we interviewed, and this episode brings all of their answers together! Hear about people’s favourite Spanish destinations, dishes and the tips they have for tourists visiting Spain. ¡Vamos a escuchar las respuestas!
Join Coffee Break Founder and CEO Mark for this week’s Coffee Break Catch-up, our weekly show in which we update you on our latest podcast episodes, blog articles and videos. There are discussions on language learning, and a round-up of some of the cultural events happening around the world.
In this edition:
updates on the latest episodes of Coffee Break French, Italian and Spanish, the launch of our One Minute Polish course on YouTube, and the latest Coffee Break To Go video episodes;
our new project, Tune for Tuesday;
this week’s Talking Point focuses on using music in language learning;
Do you enjoy listening to music? It’s something you can do which doesn’t have to take any time out of your day – you can listen while you’re walking to work or washing the dishes. Wouldn’t it be great, then, if you could use your enjoyment of listening to music to help you with your language skills?
If you’ve already tried listening to songs in the language you’re learning, as good as the song may be, you may have found this a slightly demoralising experience if you’re struggling to understand what the song is about. However, we have to remember that it can be more difficult to understand a language when it is being sung because the sounds of the words and the flow of a phrase are often adapted from what we are used to hearing in spoken language in order to suit the music. So don’t be disheartened! Remember that even when listening to songs in English, it isn’t always easy to pick out every word! This is why songs are a great test for your listening comprehension and good for your pronunciation.
How exactly, then, can you make the most out of a song to benefit your language skills? Read on to find out our top 6 tips!
1. Just listen, with no peeking!
Try listening to the song a few times without looking at the lyrics. Even if you can only pick out the odd word at first, this is a great start, as getting used to the sounds you’re hearing is good practice for your listening skills.
2. Now add the lyrics!
Look up the lyrics online (in the original language, not the English translation!) and listen to the song again while reading through them. This will help you to associate the sounds you’ve heard in the song with written words with which you may already be familiar. This stage is usually quite reassuring, as you realise that you actually do know a lot of the words being sung.
3. Compare with an English translation
For many songs, you can find an English translation of the lyrics by searching online. Compare this to the original lyrics and note down any new vocabulary. The new words you are learning are within context and attached to a tune – often making them easier to remember! If you can’t find a translation of the lyrics, try running them through an online translator – just remember that this often can’t provide a perfect translation, but it should help to give you a rough understanding of the text.
4. Use the lyrics as a reading text
Now you can look through the original lyrics as if it were any other reading text, looking for examples of language points you have been learning about. Try noting them down so you can remember examples of these grammar points being used in context!
5. Cultural knowledge
Look up the artist online to expand your cultural knowledge. When you get the chance to practise your languages with native speakers, it is not only important to have an understanding of their language, but their culture as well. Knowledge of other cultures helps to connect with people better and gives you something interesting to talk about too!
6. Enjoy your listening!
Add the song to your regular listening playlist and enjoy getting to know it! Maybe you’ll even have all the lyrics memorised after a while. Just think how many new words and structures you will have learned!
As you can see, language learning can become a part of other aspects of your everyday life and doesn’t have to only come from specific language learning content. So between your Coffee Break podcasts, why not check out our Tune for Tuesday Spotify and YouTube playlist? Every week we add a new song from around the world to create a multilingual playlist of world music! We’ve embedded the Spotify playlist below or there’s a YouTube link if you prefer.
Which songs do you already know in the language you’re learning? Share your favourites in the comments, we’d be delighted to add some of them to our playlist!
Bonjour ! ¡Hola! Hallo!Ciao! This Friday 21st June is la Fête de la Musique – a celebration of music throughout France. To join in the festivities, we’re launching a new Coffee Break feature – ‘Tune for Tuesday’! Every week our team will select and share a song with you to introduce you to some new styles of music from around the world, while helping you develop your language skills.
Our first ‘Tune’ is a French classic, which you may recognise from its English version. The song is La Mer by Charles Trenet, who is often considered one of the greats of French popular music. This song has been translated into many languages and at the time of Trenet’s death in 2001, it was estimated that there were over 4000 different recordings of it! Have a listen to the song throughout the week – on your way to work or while making your morning coffee – and see how much you can understand by the end of the week.
Each week we will add our Tune for Tuesday to our brand-new Spotify and YouTube playlist to build up a collection of songs from all over the world and in many different languages. Scroll down to follow the playlist and keep up to date!
We’d love to hear if you enjoyed listening to La Mer in the comments below. Happy listening!
In this episode Francesca and Mark discuss one of Italy’s most famous authors, Italo Calvino. Calvino’s work can be read on many levels, and as a result of the type of language used, his books are very accessible for learners of Italian. In our Q&A segment, Francesca explains the difference between stare and essere.
To ask “do you have children?” in German you can say hast du Kinder?, or in a more formal situation, haben Sie Kinder? You may also want to ask someone “do you have brothers and sisters?” This would be hast du Geschwister? or more formally haben Sie Geschwister? In this episode of Coffee Break German To Go, Julia asks this questions to interviewees in the streets of Berlin. You can use the answers of our interviewees to help you learn to answer this question yourself.
In the first part of the video, watch the interviews without subtitles and try to understand. In the second part of the video, we’ve provided subtitles in German at the top of the screen. You can choose to turn on subtitles in English using the Subtitles/CC button.
In our first series, Julia is in the city of Berlin, and in each episode she’ll ask passers-by one question. Of course, that one question will result in many answers, and it’s through these answers that you can practise your German and build your vocabulary.
If you’d prefer not to wait for all 10 lessons of Season 1 to be published, you can access downloadable versions of the videos along with audio versions and lesson notes / transcripts in the Coffee Break Academy: https://coffeebreakacademy.com/p/coffee-break-german-to-go-season1/
What do you like doing in your free time? In this episode of Coffee Break Spanish To Go, Marina asks the question, ¿Qué haces en tu tiempo libre? (informal) or ¿Qué hace usted en su tiempo libre? (formal). You can use the answers of our interviewees to help you learn how to talk about what you do in your free time in Spanish.
In the first part of the video, watch the interviews without subtitles and try to understand. In the second part of the video, we’ve provided subtitles in Spanish at the top of the screen. You can choose to turn on subtitles in English using the Subtitles/CC button.
In this first series of Coffee Break Spanish To Go, Marina is in the city of Málaga, in the south of Spain, and in each episode she’ll ask passers-by one question. Of course, that one question will result in many answers, and it’s through these answers that you can practise your Spanish and build your vocabulary.
Coffee Break Spanish To Go will be published every two weeks here on YouTube, and each Season will be filmed in a different part of the Spanish-speaking world.
If you’d prefer not to wait for all 10 lessons of Season 1 to be published, you can access downloadable versions of the videos along with audio versions and lesson notes / transcripts in the Coffee Break Academy.
Coffee Break Spanish To Go is based on the popular podcast series and online course Coffee Break Spanish. For access to the free podcasts, please click here.
Join Coffee Break Founder and CEO Mark for this week’s edition of the Coffee Break Catch-up, our weekly show in which we’ll update you on all things Coffee Break Languages. There are discussions on language learning, and a roundup of some of the cultural events happening around the world.
In this edition:
updates on our latest episodes of the En Marcha con Coffee Break Spanish, our Coffee Break French Magazine, and the launch of One Minute Greek on our YouTube channel;
a sneak preview of our new project, Tune for Tuesday starting next week;
this week’s Talking Point focuses on language learning in schools vs learning a language in later life;
cultural news from around the world
If you’d like to access all the links for this episode and practise your reading skills, click here.
In this episode of the Coffee Break French Magazine we’re taking a trip to the movies to see one of the all time classics of French cinema, Jean Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bête. You’ll learn more about the film and about the work of Cocteau, and there’s an interesting listener’s question about how to translate “to look like” and “to feel like” into French. This series is aimed at learners who have completed at least Seasons 1 and 2 of Coffee Break French.
In each episode of this 10-lesson season for intermediate learners, you can build your vocabulary, increase your understanding of grammar and learn to use the French language in a more natural way. This series is aimed at learners who have completed at least Season 1 and Season 2 of Coffee Break French.
¡Es la hora del tapeo! There’s no doubt that trying delicious local delicacies is one of the best things about visiting a new place. In this penultimate episode of Series 1 of En Marcha, Mark and the team head off on a gastronomic adventure around the streets of Málaga. Led by knowledgable guides Jaimie and Susanne from the food tour company Devour Tours, we discover the secrets of Málaga’s mouth-watering offering of food and drink, as well as learning more about the concept of tapas. ¡Que aproveche!
To ask “when is your birthday?” in German you can say wann hast du Geburtstag?, or in a more formal situation, wann haben Sie Geburtstag? In this episode of Coffee Break German To Go, Julia asks this questions to interviewees in the streets of Berlin. You can use the answers of our interviewees to help you learn to answer this question yourself.
In the first part of the video, watch the interviews without subtitles and try to understand. In the second part of the video, we’ve provided subtitles in German at the top of the screen. You can choose to turn on subtitles in English using the Subtitles/CC button.
In our first series, Julia is in the city of Berlin, and in each episode she’ll ask passers-by one question. Of course, that one question will result in many answers, and it’s through these answers that you can practise your German and build your vocabulary.
If you’d prefer not to wait for all 10 lessons of Season 1 to be published, you can access downloadable versions of the videos along with audio versions and lesson notes / transcripts in the Coffee Break Academy: https://coffeebreakacademy.com/p/coffee-break-german-to-go-season1/
Join Coffee Break Founder and CEO Mark for this week’s edition of the Coffee Break Catch-up, our weekly show in which we’ll update you on all things Coffee Break Languages. There are discussions on language learning, and a roundup of some of the cultural events happening around the world.
In this edition:
Updates on our latest episodes of the Coffee Break Italian Magazine, En Marcha con Coffee Break Spanish and the launch of One Minute Swedish on our YouTube channel;
a welcome to our new social media assistants who started this week;
a discussion about the origin of some words associated with tennis and how they are related to the French language;
cultural news from around the world
If you’d like to access all the links for this episode and practise your reading skills, click here.
The French Open – les Championnats Internationaux de France de Tennis – is an annual event which takes place at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris. Since this is the only one of the four most prestigious tournaments in tennis which is held in a country where English is not the official language, we thought we’d take a closer look at the links between tennis and the French language. So, if you “let” us, we’d “love” to “serve” you up this “set” of fascinating discoveries!
Of course, etymology is sometimes not an exact science in that some word origins are not 100% clear. However, we’ve done our best to investigate the words below and we’re excited to share our findings, donc c’est parti !
1. Tennis
Let’s start with the name for “the sport of kings”. Back in 13th century France, a version of what would later become modern tennis was played in which players would hit the ball with the palm of their hand. This game was called jeu de paume in French. In this game, before hitting a shot across to their opponent, it is thought that players would shout tenez (from the verb tenir, meaning “to hold”), to let them know the point was about to be played. Over the years, tenez evolved into tennis, giving the sport its name.
2. Let
A let is always an exciting moment in tennis. During a player’s serve, when the ball strikes the net and topples over onto the opponent’s side of the court, the player is given the chance to retake their serve. This is called a “let” and, due to the net’s starring role in this shot, “let” is thought to be a shortened version of the French word for net, filet.
3. Love
Next on the list is the term we use when a player has not yet scored any points in a tennis game. in English, we say “love”, but don’t be tempted to use amour, the French equivalent! In French, you simply say zéro in this instance. But what is the origin of the word “love” in tennis. Believe it or not it has something to do with the oval-like shape of the zero. Back when tennis was in its early stages in France, people thought that the zero looked like an egg, or an œuf. If we add a definite article, this becomes l’oeuf, and this is said to be where “love” comes from in the English scoring system.
4. Deuce
Our final tennis term is the word “deuce” which is used when two players have 40 points each. There are a couple of theories as to the origin of the word deuce, but one of the most likely is that it is derived from the French phrase à deux de jeu, meaning “to be two points away from winning the game”. It’s also possible that it came from the Old French word for two – deus – now deux in Modern French. Interestingly “deuce” is not used in French: instead when score reaches 40-40 this is called quarante-A. If one player then gains advantage by winning the next point but subsequently loses the following point, the score returns to 40-40. From then on “deuce” is referred to as égalité.
So now you have the perfect opportunity to practise your French further while enjoying watching – or playing – tennis. And if you’re learning another language then you can download our multilingual tennis terms cheat sheet below. According to our scorecard, that makes it jeu, set, match !
In episode 3 of the Coffee Break Italian Magazine we’re heading to the north of Italy to find out more about the Walser Community. In addition we’ll be looking at the best way to move from using Lei to using tu when you’re getting to know someone.
In this episode Marina asks the interviewees about their work and studies using the question ¿a qué te dedicas? or ¿a qué se dedica usted?, literally meaning “what do you dedicate yourself to?”
In the first part of the video, watch the interviews without subtitles and try to understand. In the second part of the video, we’ve provided subtitles in Spanish at the top of the screen. You can choose to turn on subtitles in English using the Subtitles/CC button.
In this first series of Coffee Break Spanish To Go, Marina is in the city of Málaga, in the south of Spain, and in each episode she’ll ask passers-by one question. Of course, that one question will result in many answers, and it’s through these answers that you can practise your Spanish and build your vocabulary.
Coffee Break Spanish To Go will be published every two weeks here on YouTube, and each Season will be filmed in a different part of the Spanish-speaking world.
If you’d prefer not to wait for all 10 lessons of Season 1 to be published, you can access downloadable versions of the videos along with audio versions and lesson notes / transcripts in the Coffee Break Academy.
Coffee Break Spanish To Go is based on the popular podcast series and online course Coffee Break Spanish. For access to the free podcasts, please click here.
