In the final episode of this season of the Coffee Break German Magazine, we hear a text about the well-known and successful German actor and director, Til Schweiger. As we hear about his life and international career, we review some important grammar points such as the imperfect irregular tense and scheint zu sein. As always, we hear relevant vocabulary along the way, including: Regisseur/-in, Produzent/-in and Drehbuchautor/-in before challenging you to our final tongue twister of the series!
Month: August 2022
CBS Mag 4.10 | Maíz
We have reached the tenth and final episode in this series of the Coffee Break Spanish Magazine and we’re rounding off the season by talking about one of the most cultivated cereals in the world – corn! Through the text featured in this episode, we find out where the term ‘corn’ comes from and its importance in Latin America. Of course, Mark and Anabel pick up on the important language points along the way. Alongside the range of nouns, verbs and adverbs, we hear some interesting phrases such as tener en común, querer decir and por cierto. That’s not all! We also have the opportunity to practise forming plural phrases in Spanish and learn more about how to use propio/a and mismo/a.
CBF Mag 2.10 | Vive la France : le quatorze juillet à Paris
We have reached the final episode of the Coffee Break French Magazine Season 2 and we’re going out with a bang as we’re discussing one of the most widely celebrated holidays in France – Bastille Day! As we discover how le quatorze juillet is celebrated in Paris, we learn some interesting expressions like grasse matinée, avoir la chance de faire qqch and finir la journée en beauté. Listen out for some reflexive verbs along the way, some examples of direct object pronouns and the use of the perfect tense, the future tense and the imperative. As always, Sophie joins Mark at the end of the episode and this time, they’re discussing dates of other national holidays in the French-speaking world.
CBI Mag 2.09 | La Serenata: una dedica musicale
Welcome back to the Coffee Break Italian Magazine! This time, we’re talking about the origins of a well-known romantic tradition – La Serenata. While listening to a text about this ancient tradition, we learn about the following grammar points: basta che + subjunctive, the ce n’è structure, and how to use il proprio / la propria as an alternative to il suo/ la sua. As always, there’s lots of new vocabulary to take note of along the way, such as chitarra, liuto and promessi sposi. In keeping with the theme of this episode, our ciliegina sulla torta is something musical! Listen until the end to hear this new Italian idiom.
CBG Mag 2.09 | Das Leben der Anderen
We’re discussing a film in this episode of the Coffee Break German Magazine: ‘The Life of Others’ by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Set in 1984, the film portrays life in the German Democratic Republic, in East Berlin, and follows a couple being spied on by a member of the Stasi. We hear more about the film through the text featured in this episode and Mark and Andrea focus on some of the key grammar points including: the passive, man and je… desto. Be sure to listen out for some new vocabulary, such as the words: bespitzelt, verdeckt and abgehört.
CBI 3.20 | Preterite | Storie di emigrazione
Welcome to the latest episode of Coffee Break Italian! In this episode we will be focusing on the passato remoto (past historic), on it’s formation and it’s use. We will then listen to a story from Carlotta’s grandfather about his family migrating from Italy to New York. Listen out for some key vocabulary such as dopoguerra, traversata and the classic storytelling phrase of c’era una volta + vissero tutti felici e contenti.
CBG 3.20 | Review episode 3.11 to 3.19
We’re halfway through Season 3 of Coffee Break German, so it’s time for a review episode! Join Mark and Andrea as they look back on some of the things we have learned in episodes 11 – 19; from prepositions with the Genitive to the future tense, qualifiers and reflexive verbs with the Dative – this episode is not to be missed!
CBS Mag 4.09 | Siglos de historia en Cádiz
In the penultimate episode in this series of the Coffee Break Spanish Magazine, we’re taking a virtual trip to one of the oldest cities in Europe – Cádiz. Marina shares an interesting text about the history of this city in the south of Spain before Mark and Anabel discuss some useful language points. Some of the key grammar points discussed include: the difference between qué and cuál, the imperfect tense, and the gerund. Don’t miss the end of the episode when Marina joins Mark to share a new expression: ser del año de la pera.
CBF Mag 2.09 | La dernière reine de l’Ancien Régime
In this episode of the Coffee Break French Magazine we hear a text about Marie-Antoinette, the last Queen of France before the French Revolution. Join Mark and Pierre-Benoît as they discuss the language featured in the text and listen out for the following expressions: se rappeler qqch, tenter de faire qqch and faire des reproches à qqn. We also hear examples of indirect object pronouns and preceding direct objects and learn about the use of the imperfect tense and the conditional perfect. Sophie joins Mark at the end of the episode to discuss a short text about the French Republican calendar.
CBI Mag 2.08 | I Monti Azzurri – I Sibillini
In this episode of the Coffee Break Italian Magazine, we’re talking about the Sibillini Mountains – a mountain chain in central Italy which includes a beautiful natural park. Join Mark and Francesca as they discuss a text highlighting what these impressive mountains have to offer while talking about some key vocabulary and grammar points including: si dice che + present or imperfect subjunctive, and the present subjunctive in the passive form. We finish the episode with our ciliegina sulla torta about a common Italian saying which has something to do with mountains.
CBG Mag 2.08 | Heißluftballonrennen im Januar
The topic of this Coffee Break German Magazine episode is hot air balloons – specifically the annual hot air balloon competitions which take place in the Alps during the month of January. As we learn about these fascinating competitions, we encounter some interesting vocabulary including the words: bunt, egal ob… oder… and lenken. Mark and Andrea also discuss the following grammar points: bei + noun, and the infinitive with zu and ob. Of course, we end the episode with a brand-new tongue twister!
