We are making progress every month. Vocabulary knowledge is at a very good level, and understanding of the spoken word is promising. Members now need to focus on mastering their pronunciation when expressing themselves.
Horst
Horst
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The German group meets weekly, including on June's Fifth Tuesday on the 30th June, providing a great opportunity to celebrate Horst’s birthday, to have ’Kaffee und Kuchen zur Feier von Horsts Geburtstag’ after class.
Happy Birthday, Horst! ‘Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Horst'. The knowledge of most members has now reached the stage where they would make themselves well understood when talking to a native German. We now have to polish up their pronunciation to make them appear to be a native speaker, which I hope we will be able to do in the next six months.
Horst Gunther German-speaking is becoming free and without inhibitions.
Our report backs on last week's experiences at the beginning of each class are helping members to express themselves about various subjects. The group is making very pleasing progress, Horst The German group continued travelling in Germany and Austria during March. A lot of grammar review was included and all members benefited.
Members restarted writing their weekly experiences and reading them out at the beginning of class, with the opportunity this provides to improve pronunciation. I am delighted with the progress everyone is making. Horst The German group is progressing very well, and even the new members are catching up tremendously. We started to do a lot of reviewing to get the new members going, and went for a trip to Germany in a continuing story to gather lots more vocabulary and practise pronunciation.
Horst Gunther The year 2025 is coming to an end, and has proved once more to be a successful one.
When I hear comments from members, "I can talk and understand German with my in-laws", I feel very satisfied that our efforts throughout the year have been useful and successful. The classes have always taken place in a friendly and humorous atmosphere. I thank all members for their constant attention and willingness to learn, as well as their after-class contributions, which make this almost feel like a family affair. Great thanks go to Bev Lee for ensuring that all our work can be digitally displayed and easily read on the Room1 television. My thanks goes to the management for allowing me to share my knowledge of the German language with a very willing group of learners. Have a Merry Christmas, and I wish you all a healthy and prosperous New Year. Horst Gunther Hello from the German group. We are all reaching the stage of self-confidence to try and write and read stories of our lives and have conversations in class. The pronunciation sometimes goes a bit haywire, but with every wrong sound we learn a bit more about the difference in the pronunciation of the English and the German alphabet. With a lot of humour, we often overcome the difference of the Umlauts. I personally relearn a lot more of the German grammar that I probably missed in the years during and after the war, 1940-1950.  Sophie brought one of her delicious cakes to our Oktoberfest celebration! Horst
The German group is now busy writing weekly stories about events in our daily lives. The general pronunciation is vastly improving, and I applaud the members' willingness to produce something interesting every week.
We will use the 5th free Tuesday afternoon to have an Oktoberfest screening and a touch of celebration. Horst Gunther I am thrilled to hear the stories that members now produce and read competently every Tuesday. As members read, I become aware of weaknesses in their grammatical knowledge and then try to provide the correct lessons to improve it. The members have now reached the stage that the professionals call A2.
Horst Gunther It is wonderful to see how eagerly we all learn and how well we are progressing in our efforts to master the German language. Excellent stories are being produced every Tuesday morning, giving me insight into where I can create reinforcing lessons to polish up grammatical errors and prompting me to find and provide the right answers to the big "Why." During last Tuesday’s blackouts, we settled on doing a lot of reviews, which turned out to be very beneficial. I am very grateful to the members for their warm birthday wishes and presents, and to Sophy for the cake.  Horst Günther
It was Horst's birthday celebration on 1 July. Horst's daughter Annette joined the class and took this photo. Thank you Annette!  A celebration followed the class,with slices of the delicious birthday cake Sophie made for Horst enjoyed by all.
The German group is making great progress in their knowledge. A short spoken report about the week's happenings is now possible and enjoyed at the beginning of each session.
We are now trying to find any gaps in the basics, and we will fill them as we become aware of them. A new member has joined us from Wangaratta who has a strong background and fits in well with the group. I am very pleased and thankful for the intensity and cooperation shown by the group members. Horst Gunther The German group gained a new member again this month. It is pleasing that Benalla U3A's efforts are well known around eastern Victoria. Group members are making tremendous improvements in their general knowledge of the German language.
Horst Gunther The German group has a new member who has fitted well into the present program. The first talk at the beginning of every weekly session shows a remarkable boost in confidence by individual members. The occasional slipping in of some grammar helps to boost that confidence. We used free room time for a longer session on the fifth Tuesday to enjoy coffee and cake and listen to some German travel shows which help the ear to get used to the rhythm of the German language.  We made significant progress this month.
Horst The German class is making very good progress. We're communicating more fluently, and reading aloud helps with pronunciation.
Horst The German group has settled in well.. We started with the basics to review our learning over the last few years. Next month we will delve a little more into the intricacies of the German language.
Horst Welcome, 2025. I look forward to another exciting year of learning and discovery. Welcome to our new group for 2025. Thank you for trusting me to share my German knowledge with you. Welcome also to Beverley, our loyal supporter and outstanding helper. I leave the following music with you to get you into our usual friendly spirit... Horst "Dies sind die Weihnachtslieder die wir als Kinder Hörten. Habt alle eine gute Zeit. Herzliche Grüße Horst"
2024 was a wonderful and productive year for the German Group. Everyone, including me, learned a lot. I was able to share my knowledge with the group, and they helped me understand why certain expressions are used. They also encouraged me to find clear grammatical answers in YouTube lessons. This way, we stayed a close-knit group, and I believe everyone enjoyed our Tuesdays together.
Keeping my brain active, which is important as we age, was beneficial, and I'm sure it helped all the group members too. Throughout the year, we discovered that many English words have been adopted into the German language. The group also enjoyed Oktoberfest in Beechworth. I am very grateful to Beverley Lee for all the help and support she gave us throughout the year. I also want to thank the management for allowing us to meet in such a pleasant environment where learning is enjoyable. Our year-end celebration will be at Sophie’s beautiful garden and home. Horst Gunther Many of you may have noticed that the German group had a fantastic time at the Oktoberfest in Beechworth! Thank you for the selection of photos, Rene! You can watch the video that René posted on YouTube below—it captures the fun of the event and the impressive turnout of people dressed in authentic German costume. I'm also pleased to share that conversation in German has become a regular feature of our sessions, and several written stories are being produced. Progress is being made! Horst Gunther
The German group is advancing well. We have reached the stage where most can write a story or report, in fact, we have discovered a poet among us. Most sessions are mingled with a lot of humour and the songs are well received. We are trying to diminish the inhibition most have to speak freely.
Horst Gunther On the ‘fifth Tuesday’ in July, with no class taking place after us, we used the time to enjoy a German variety show. Like our weekly addition of a German song, music is good for the ears to get accustomed to German pronunciation. The songs are many years old but have clear speech that modern songs lack. A trip to the Beechworth Oktoberfest was suggested and welcomed by most members and is now organized for the 12th of October. The weekly conversation is getting better and better.  Horst
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German - Home PageAre you interested in learning or improving your German?
Perhaps your parents spoke German, you're married to a German speaker, or you enjoyed learning the language at school and want to build on that foundation. Maybe you grew up in Germany, have children living there, or have an ear for the language. Whatever your reason for wanting to learn, we invite you to join our German classes, where we'll help you improve your speaking, listening, and comprehension skills. All levels are welcome! During the first 30 minutes of each class, a special session for beginners and less confident learners, mentored by more advanced class members, will be held. Convenor Contact Details
Horst Gunther
0447 595 059 Meeting TimesWeekly Sessions
Tuesdays 12:00 - 1:30 pm, with sessions extending to 3 pm on the 5th Tuesday. U3A Meeting Room 1 Archives
July 2026
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