conversation

[Zatte]

Hi everybody,
although, I had succesfully complete the english course of my study last Semester (i don't know how i got it ), but i really  want to increase my abilities further. I would to asses myself that my abilities are:
- vocabulary = bad. During i wrote this text, i had to look on dict.cc for many words :read: .
- appreciation = okay, when i'm reading a text. When i hear someone who is speaking,bad.
- converse = very bad because the vocabulary and the inhibitions.
- Syntax = bad, when i speak english
summarized = my english is bad
I have started this training because i have the vision, that I will be able to read books and look films in english in the future and i want to have a conversation with my Cousins, who grew up in Toronto, when i will travel to Canada next year. I hope for interesting stories/conversations and someone who can help me for reach my Goal, give tips and rectify my texts.
let me introduce myself. I'm Zatte from the small but beautiful Leverkusen . who are you guys and how are you ?

[Keswick (Contributor)]

Hi everybody,

Although, I did successfully complete the English course of my study last semester (I don't know how I got it ), but I really want to increase my abilities further. I personally would to asses myself that my abilities as follows:
- vocabulary = bad. While writing text, I had to look up many words on dict.cc :read: .
- appreciation -- was meinst du hiermit? = okay, when I'm reading a text. When i hear someone who is speaking, bad.
- conversation = very bad because of  the vocabulary and the lack of self-confidence.
- Syntax = bad, when I speak English

Summarized = my English is bad

I have started this training because I have the vision, that I will be able to read books and watch films in English in the future. Also I want to have a conversation with my cousins, who grew up in Toronto, when I will travel to Canada next year. I hope for interesting stories/conversations and someone who can help me to reach my goal, give advice and correct my texts.
Let me introduce myself. I'm Zatte from the small but beautiful Leverkusen . Who are you guys and how are you ?

Hi Zatte,

Willkommen im Forum! 

Ich habe dir deinen Text einmal verbessert und als kleine Anmerkung: I im Sinne von ich schreibt man immer gross.
Wir werden dir hier mit deinen Texten und Uebungen bestimmt helfen koennen! Nur nie aufgeben, auch wenn du einmal steckenbleiben solltest! 

Who I am? I am Keswick, I am living in a small rural village close to the Northumbrian border in the Northeast of England. And I am well, thanks for asking!  

[Zatte]

Hi Keswick
I wrote  'appreciation' because I wanted to say 'Verständnis'. I took this word from dicct.cc. Maybe, I better took the word 
' understanding'. 
I've never been in this part of England. How is the weather there? have you a real summer? we don't have it in germany.
Are you a nativespeaker? And how long have you been active in this Forum?

[Keswick (Contributor)]

Hi Zatte,

Appreciation ist Verstaendnis nicht im Sinne von Verstehen, sondern im Sinne von Wertschaetzung. Daher ist hier "understanding" die bessere Wortwahl.

As for your other questions, now in English  : the weather in the Northeast of England is fairly windy with being so close to the sea. Generally it is cooler than the South of England, but it does not rain as often as people believe. As for the summer: last year it was a wash out and this year it hasn't been a proper summer so far either. It's been fairly so-so. Yesterday however the was nice and sunny, and believe it or not, I caught one of the worst sunburns I have ever had   .  And we are supposed to have 25+ degrees tomorrow and Tuesday. Can't wait! 

I am not a native speaker, but I have lived in England for a long time, and I am married to a Brit. And I have been on this forum for 8 years this month  . 

I visited my family in Germany a fortnight ago, and expected it to be really hot (30+) and humid, but it was actually very comfortable. What's the weather like in Leverkusen?

[Zatte]

Before I wrote the last text it had been very humid and cloudy. Today, the weather is great. It will be 25+ degree and very sunny. At work, I’m coming to sweat caused by the heat and it’s not even twelve o’clock.

The weather in Leverkusen is also fairly so-so. The times are changing. Ten years ago, it was normally that you can expect four up to six weeks of great weather. However, since recently the weather is more so-so or extreme. In my vacation 4 weeks ago, it was rainy nine of nine days. That annoyed me. The only advantage was that I had enough time to learn for the study and to improve the English grammarJ. Even I tried to watch Films in english, but this was not successfulL

Currently I’m looking for an easy but exciting book in English, for reading and improving my English skills.

Eight years? Wow, it seems that you like it to help us amateursJ,

As to the language,  was it difficult for you at the beginning when you arrived in England?

[Keswick (Contributor)]

Before I wrote the last text it had been very humid and cloudy. Today, the weather is great. It will be 25+ degrees and very sunny. At work, I have already started to sweat caused by the heat and it’s not even twelve o’clock.

The weather in Leverkusen is also fairly so-so. The times are changing. Ten years ago,  four up to six weeks of great weather during summer were considered normal and were expected. However, for some time now, the weather has been more so-so or extreme. During my vacation 4 weeks ago, it was rainy nine out of nine days. That annoyed me. The only advantage was that I had enough time to learn for the study and to improve the English grammar J. I even tried to watch films in English, but this was not successful L.

Currently I’m looking for an easy but exciting book in English, for reading and improving my English skills.

Eight years? Wow, it seems like you like it to help us amateurs J.

As for the language,  was it difficult for you at the beginning when you arrived in England?

As for books, I always recommend to read your favourite book that you've already read in German. That way you already know the context, and possibly don't have to look up every other word. Why don't you give it a try? My same advice applies to films, in case you'd like to give it another try  . 

The reasons why I am still on the forum are easy, really. I like helping people with the English language because I think it is a fantastic language. Not necessarily an easy language, but very enjoyable. Also, the people on the forum are very friendly and kind. I like the thought that people might leave here thinking that English is not the complicated monster of a language that they considered it to be.

I had already learned English at school and university for over ten years when I came to the UK, so from a grammar point of view I was quite alright. Never did I expect the different accents to be so specific though. During my time in Edinburgh I had gotten used to the Edinburgh accent which wasn't too difficult, but I remember my first encounter with a Geordie (that's how you call people in Newcastle). He was a train conductor and asked me something about my ticket. And I remember just starring at him because I didn't understand him. So to answer your question: my general knowledge of English was fine when I first came to the UK (Scotland back then) but my knowledge of local dialects let me down .

I hope the weather stays nice and sunny for you!

[Zatte]

...Never did I expect the different accents to be so specific though...
Can you explain, when I would use this grammar? I read that it is called "inversion". But I don't understand, when I need it.
As for your advice regarding books, I read the thread where you mentioned it. But the books by my favourite writer (Sebastian Fitzek, do you know him?) are supposedly poorly translated. That's the reason why I'm still looking for some books.
Yes, I know this situation, when someone is speaking to me and I don't understand quite everything. :lol:
But I think you can just improve this, when you use that language.   And that is the point, which brings me to the next question.
What are your hobbies?
The weather today is really nice, I hope at your place too.

[Duckduck (Contributor)]

Hi Zatte,

ich hatte zum Thema Inversion schon vor längerer Zeit mal eine Erklärung geschrieben und hoffe, sie hilft auch Dir weiter. Das ist schon ein wenig auf der komplizierteren Seite und deshalb empfehle ich langsames und konzentriertes Lesen , aber dann ist es einfach genug.
ftopic7724.html?hilit=inversion

Grüße
Duckduck

[Zatte]

Hi Duckduck,
I think that I have understood it. Thank you!

[Keswick (Contributor)]

Hello again ,

My hobbies are probably quite boring to be honest.

I like gardening but am not very good at it (yet). We bought a house with a large garden in 2014 and so far I have tried to grow some vegetables such as kohlrabi, tomatoes, chillies, cucumbers or brussels. We don't need many vegetables so I am now more tempted to grow flowers and herbs to fill up the beds that I am currently not using for vegetables. You see, not very exciting haha   . Apart from gardening I like doing photography, I like travelling, cooking and films/TV series. What are your hobbies?

[Zatte]

Was in the Text everything correct? I can’t believe it.
If I had a garden, I would also grow herbs because one of my hobbies is to barbecue. And for barbecue you can always use herbs. But I haven’t one!
That’s my Dream for the future. I would like to have a House with a garden, a nice terrace and a little place for my lovely barbecue. If I have enough area, I would build a poolJ.

The other hobbies what I have is to bike, fishing, Krav Maga, to play football and to support my favorite football team Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Even I have started to play e-guitar. You see, too many hobbies for too little time caused of my Study beside my jobL

[Keswick (Contributor)]

Was the text completely correct? I can’t believe it. - not quite, I have made the amendments in your original post  .

If I had a garden, I would also grow herbs because one of my hobbies is to barbecue. And for barbecues you can always use herbs. But I haven’t got one!

This is my dream for the future. I would like to have a house with a garden, a nice terrace and a little place for my lovely barbecue. If I had enough space, I would build a pool J.

I also enjoy biking, fishing, Krav Maga, playing football and supporting my favorite football team Bayer 04 Leverkusen. I even have started to play e-guitar. You see, too many hobbies for too little time caused of my studies beside my job L

Oh I love barbecues!  I wish we had better weather. I could have a barbecue every weekend   . 

In theory we would have enough space to build a pool, however there is a bigger chance of us using it as an ice rink rather than actually swimming in it. We do get some really hot weather, like last week when we had 38 degrees in the sun. But it is always windy, so the average summer temperature is only about a felt 20 degrees.

What is Krav Maga?

[Zatte]

Yes, I could have a Barbecue every day. But my girlfriend doesn't eat much meat, she rather eats Pasta or something like that.

20 degrees are sufficient for Swimming, you just have to swim fast enough.

Krav Maga is an active-selfdefense, developed by israeli Military. There are three kinds of Krav Maga. The first is the Military, but it is not allowed to practice this Kind of KM when you are not in the Army. A furhter Kind of KM is the Streetdefense. That is the defense vs. Knifes, Pistols, Baseball bats, the fight vs. more than one Person etc.. And the last Kind of KM is the Fitness based on KM-technics. In our School, we practice 60 % Streetdefense and 40% Fitness.

[Zatte]

do you do sports?

[Keswick (Contributor)]

No, I am not a sports person at all, I am afraid. I like going for walks but that's about as athletic as it gets. Sorry.