English language teaching in German primary schools

Do you speak English? - ©iStockphoto.com/atakanWhen my daughter started school in Germany, I wondered how long it would be before she learnt something in her English lessons, that I did not agree with.  A piece of grammar maybe, or a translation.

Regular readers of this site may recall that she is being taught “school English”, which was defined as spelling “colour” with a “u”.  Whilst not exactly the words “British English” that I would like it to be defined as, I am at least happy that I do not yet have to explain that other countries leave that “u” out and in some cases even use other words for the same things.

It was whilst I was helping her revise for a vocabulary test a few days ago, that I suspected the time may already have come, and further inspection of her vocabulary book confirmed my suspicion.  In some cases, I found the translations to be unusual, but in some to be down right wrong.

And since there were some entries from her teacher in the book, I am assuming that she has seen the offending words and that this is not just a mistake that took place copying them from the blackboard. [Read more…]

Eine Deutsche Bäckerei in Puerto del Carmen

Deutsche Bäckerei in Puerto del Carmen, LanzaroteDeutsche Urlauber und Auswanderer in Puerto del Carmen, die Sehnsucht nach Laugengebäck haben, werden sich freuen zu erfahren, dass es in der Nähe vom Fariones Hotel eine deutsche Bäckerei gibt.

Hier findet man neben dem bereits erwähnten Laugengebäck auch Mohn- und Sesambrötchen, Blechkuchen und sogar Körnerbrot.

Die Bäckerei befindet sich am Platz zwischen den Hotel und Burger King (Calle Roque del Este).

On-line credit card payments just got more complicated

Credit cards - ©iStockphoto.com/zentiliaPaying with a credit card when buying things on-line has become a part of life on the internet.

A few years ago credit cards were not particularly popular in Germany, and many shops still do not take them.  Many people only have them for ordering goods on-line, so they do not get that much use.

One of the main reason for their popularity is probably the fact that it is considered safe, because if something goes wrong you can call the credit card company and get their help to sort it out.  This makes it better than a bank transfer, cheaper than ordering something to be delivered as “Nachnahme”, and avoids giving out bank account details for a direct debit payment.

Of course, the credit card companies have an interest in making their system safe, [Read more…]

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