If you are already familiar with “Learn German with videos<\/strong> via<\/strong> Yabla” and would like to know how to work efficiently with it, just scroll down a bit until you get to the list. The vocabulary for the Yabla preview video \u201cDer Himmel\u201d with Piggeldy and Frederick you<\/strong> will find on Memrise here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yabla is a German language<\/a> learning platform that uses different kinds of videos as the main means of teaching or learning. They offer several languages and although I\u2019ll focus on how to learn German with them, you certainly will be able to use the following approach for all their other languages. The problem with Yabla is that it doesn\u2019t give you any guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are over a thousand videos on that site that you can roughly sort by level (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced) or that you can browse by category (e.g. Documentary, News, Travel). I would lose interest very quickly in being thrown into Yabla<\/a> without knowing what to do with it. I see the immense potential of this platform, so I would like to guide those who are interested in improving their German skills to the hidden gems of Yabla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each video comes with a printable and switchable transcript in German and English. You have to check the transcript before you click on the video button. It\u2019s a bit umst\u00e4ndlich (=inconvenient) but with a bit of practice, you will resist the temptation to click on the video link first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I suggest that you open the transcript and click on the \u201cprintable version\u201d button. Here\u2019s a step-by-step introduction to using the transcripts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The video player is extremely efficient and easy to use. The two loveliest features are the \u201cloop\u201d and the \u201cslow play\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201cloop\u201d repeats a sentence or element of the spoken text infinitely and the \u201cslow play\u201d button slows the audio down while you will still be able to understand what is being said. Just try it yourself. Here\u2019s a link<\/a> to their free preview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I suggest that you make yourself quickly familiar with its shortcuts so that you can smoothly skip back and forth through each video and activate respectively deactivate the subtitles and transcriptions quickly. This will come in very handy soon. \u201cTranscript\u201d means German text and \u201ctranslation\u201d: English text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n das Dosentelefon \/ Image from Pixabay<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNichts leichter als das.\u201d is what my clients often reply in their emails, when I ask them to do something for their homework. This phrase is taken from the \u201cHerzst\u00fcck\u201d (=centerpiece) of Yabla, the animated series \u201cPiggeldy und Frederick\u201d, two pig brothers. The younger brother always asks the elder one to explain things to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While this is a show for children, it is just lovely. The language is fine and useful and its repetitive elements make it even more remarkable and memorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You should certainly go for that series with the SmarterGerman technique that I will explain now. There are also plenty of episodes available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how to use Yabla to improve your listening skills and to work on your pronunciation. I\u2019ll start with listening, as it is the most crucial skill to master when learning any language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pronunciation will follow soon. I will first provide you with an overview of all steps and then explain the benefit\/reasoning behind each step afterward. If you are not interested in those, you can simply skip that part and hop over to the conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Did you know you can also learn German through the power of music? It’s true! If you don’t believe it, see for yourself<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n STEP 01<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We seek to understand the world. Watching something without knowing what it is about is much less efficient in regards of German learning than knowing what you are dealing with as your brain is constantly trying to figure everything out. By feeding it at least the context of what you are about to work with for the next coming hours is not only a smart move but also a gentle gesture towards you most important organ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n STEP 02<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You need to know where you are when you work with texts or videos. By quickly going through the German transcript (see the part about the transcript in the beginning of this article) and marking (!) all unknown German words, you will quickly get a clear impression of where you are regarding your possible understanding or not-understanding of that video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In any case please mark \/ highlight the new words with a colourful marker. Do not use a pencil or some ball pen. By highlighting the new words, you will instantly get an impression of the difficulty of the text. A pencil does not leave any significant impression on your brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t judge the words that you highlight yet. This step shouldn\u2019t take more than five minutes. If you start thinking too long whether you should mark a word or not, you will waste time. And you should definitely mark any word at this stage that requires you to think as you haven\u2019t mastered it yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n STEP 03<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Now it is time to read for understanding and to separate the useless words from the useful ones. An important word is one without which you can\u2019t make sense of a sentence or element of a sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, in the beginning this is rather difficult as there might be several words in a sentence that you don\u2019t understand. In that case, don\u2019t worry. Just mark them all as important. You will get better at picking out the good words very quickly. Also don\u2019t worry if you don\u2019t get too much of the text yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending on your motivation, you might be fine working with a text that you only understand 50% of. Others have a lower frustration limit and should better work with texts that they understand 70% of. Hardcore learners don\u2019t care at all and work even with a seemingly hopeless text. My suggestion is trying not to be too hard to yourself and also challenging yourself a bit every now and then as without leaving your comfort zone you can’t make progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n STEP 04<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n All these new words need to be learned. And there\u2019s no better tool than memrise. I personally don\u2019t like Anki, but others just love it. I won\u2019t discuss the differences here. Memories is just much simpler, more beautiful and as effective as Anki, hence my clear recommendation. You don\u2019t have to agree with me. You can even use paper flashcards if you like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On memrise<\/a> create your own course. Call it the \u201cNichts leichter als das\u201d-Kurs and create one level for each video\/transcript that you work on. Be careful: there are courses and levels! Do not just enter vocabulary into your freshly created course. That will become messy very soon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n STEP 05<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To learn quickly you need to understand. You could listen to Chinese radio for every minute of your remaining life and would not learn any significant amount of Chinese unless you are already an intermediate learner. But even then your progress will be extremely slow as you still lack context. So, study your new words with memrise until you have completed that level which means all the vocabulary of that video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I understand you might want to watch it right away but this would be like eating the desert before the main course. Behave. It will pay off soon. One last thing: Yabla has a built-in vocabulary trainer which I personally find very sluggish and cumbersome to work with. It is also not really appealing nor do I understand its structure. I suggest staying away from it until they upgrade it significantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n STEP 06<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After you have learned your German vocabulary, try to read the transcript again and see how much you understand now. Hopefully, your understanding has increased. It will still require a lot of thinking and be pretty slow but that\u2019s just the beginning and totally ok. Circling the remaining unknown words -now you might already be able to distinguish whether a word is useful or not- will help you visualize your progress. You will have a comparison to your former performance and a visual representation of your progress which is rare in German learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n STEP 07<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Now you may take a look at the video. Be gentle with yourself and turn on the English subtitles while watching it. Turn off the German transcript though. This way you will associate (and understand) the context to the individual scenes of the video. This enhances your understanding in the long run and is a very smooth approach to watching movies in German.<\/p>\n\n\n\n STEP 08<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Watching the video with German subtitles (i.e. the German transcription) will help you to understand what is being said. I mean which words are actually pronounced by the persons or pigs in the video. You will also improve your ability to write what you hear which is helpful whenever you pick up words in movies or on the street and want to note them down or want to look them up later on. At the same time, you will be able to guess the pronunciation of a word that you read more accurately. The pause after each sentence (!) is crucial in the beginning as it gives your brain the time it needs to process the new and abstract information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you don\u2019t take these little breaks you will create something called \u201cretrograde Lernhemmung\u201d and \u201canterograde Lernhemmung\u201d. A \u201cHemmung\u201d is an inhibition. The other two words simply mean that the new stuff that you are learning will hinder the old stuff to settle and the old stuff you have learned will disturb your brain from taking in the new information. Or in simple words: Just take those breaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n STEP 09<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you are through the video in a stop-and-go manner. Take a short break and after that break, you may watch it in one piece with German subtitles still activated. This way you will realize where you are standing now after only an hour or two and see or rather feel your progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n STEP 10<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Die Generalprobe. You might now be ready to watch the video without any further help. But I still suggest holding the video after each sentence for a few seconds to process what you have just heard. \u201cEile mit Weile\u201d is a saying that proves true when it comes to language learning. smarterGerman is an approach that teaches German very fast but also strongly pays attention to quality. Learning done consciously is far more time efficient in the long run than any quick-quick approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n STEP 11<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Die K\u00f6nigsdisziplin. Now you can eat the cake. Watch the video in one piece and without any breaks. Note how much of it you understand by now. You will most likely still have room for improvement and will have to repeat a few of the steps above in the coming days as review is the mother of all learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n STEP 12<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You won\u2019t have to repeat each step over and over again. Just pick the steps that you think you could have performed better in. You will also become much more proficient in this procedure after a few videos and will be able to optimize a few steps as you proceed. Don\u2019t change the order though. Order matters a lot here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have mastered this approach after a week or two, you will feel the difference in your German learning and can\u2019t imagine anymore how you could have worked any other way. They are working on a major improvement of their platform at the moment and I had the honor of peaking into one new exciting feature that will help you immensely with your listening and writing skills. So stay tuned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to try Yabla, you can use this link and support me and my work as I will get a provision from them if you subscribe via this link. It does not cost you anything more but I can create the next app and online course faster or maybe even the long awaited B2 German grammar course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is much more behind smarterGerman than the naked eye can see but this is not the place for philosophy. Thank you for your time and for making a difference in this world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can try a limited part of Yabla for free<\/a> or simply invest ~10 USD in your first month. I promise you if you work according to my instructions above you\u2019ll get a lot out of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some of the questions people ask about language learning methods using video content on Yabla and YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, immersion through TV can enhance language skills, but active learning methods are crucial for comprehensive proficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Easy German” is widely acclaimed for its clear, real-life language usage and engaging street interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This method can help you with vocabulary and listening skills, but for optimal learning, try switching to German subtitles or none as proficiency grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner, Yabla’s immersive German learning experience can be a great asset to improve your understanding of the language and your overall performance. The platform’s extensive video library and user-friendly video player, transcripts, and innovative features transform learning into an engaging adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As subscribers can access this array of excellent features, Yabla emerges as an indispensable tool for a school teacher and language learners alike. If you’d like to improve your German even more, come sign up with us at SmarterGerman<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This article will try to guide you through a fun and useful way of using videos for language learning, offering some helpful tips on how to use the Yabla platform for maximum effectiveness. Read on to discover how to most effectively use Yabla to enhance your learning! The Best Video Player in Town If you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[776,82],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartergerman.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2773267"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartergerman.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartergerman.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartergerman.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartergerman.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2773267"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/smartergerman.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2773267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2777625,"href":"https:\/\/smartergerman.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2773267\/revisions\/2777625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartergerman.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2773267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartergerman.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2773267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartergerman.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2773267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Transcripts (English and German Subtitles)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Learn German with Videos \u2013 the Video Player<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Yabla-Learn](\"https:\/\/smartergerman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/c29yX_RAxmK4YwC4sam1R76ArOF9q75_D6VuhL66usGlJQUl3X51HBlqwHCUnxo8C0tc4TRod0nA-Mq2qPWzYq0ypmIQnhF8yiLd0JywFXaPFhZJPzSUmnyox4qI-ElZumWPZRxk_K5xwFIgxXSQC4.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPiggeldy and Frederick<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to Improve Your Listening Skills in German<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
12 Steps for a better listening<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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with a second color or in any way different from those you found the first time.<\/li>\n\n\n\nAn Explanation of Each Step<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
FAQs about language learning with videos<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Can you learn German just by watching TV?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What is the best YouTube channel for learning German?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Does watching German movies with English subtitles help you learn German?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Summing Up: Learn German with Videos via Yabla<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n