Learning German through Storytelling: Zum Bärenhaus – a detective story for German language learners

Baumgartner & Momsen #4

by André Klein

This book contains:


* includes vocabulary with difficult and important words translated to English
* ready for on-demand translation
* includes exercises for comprehension training
* hand-drawn illustrations by the author


From the introduction:


In German, detective stories are called Krimis. One of the most famous German Krimis is perhaps the TV-series Tatort which means crime scene and has been running since 1970 on television channels in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Watching the weekly Tatort has become an almost iconic activity in everyday German culture. Each Sunday at 8:15pm, shortly after the evening news, millions are flocking to the screen to solve fresh crimes and mysteries.
This book is a detective story especially written for German learners. Not only does it invite readers to help solve a crime but also to pick up important Krimi vocabulary that can serve as a preparation for watching series such as Tatort and many others in the original.
Each chapter contains a selection of relevant words translated into English, and is followed by questions regarding the content. (The correct answers are to be found at the end of the book.)
While the writing itself primarily aims at an entertaining and interactive experience, the language is specially designed to familiarize the reader with unique forms of spoken German, with an emphasis on dialogue and the daily culture of speech.

Genres: German Literature, Fiction, 21st Century, Mystery

116 pages, ebook

First published May 22, 2013

About the author

André Klein was born in Germany, grew up in Sweden and Thailand and currently lives in Israel. He has been teaching languages for more than 15 years and is the author of short stories, picture books and non-fiction works in English and German.

Reviews

[OhoodAlA · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read for learners, recommend.

[Nancy Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent story by Andre Klein to help English-speakers learn German. There is a very helpful glossary at the end of each chapter. I gave this four stars rather than five because the senseless murder of a young woman recently immigrated from Eastern Europe was too gruesome for my taste. Also, these two detectives bantering with each other are not nearly as fun as Dino--the protagonist in Andre Klein's book series for beginners.

[Efe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading Klein's intermediate series and this one really stands out, in my opinion. It is significantly harder from the first three, contains a lot more idiomatic expressions than them and the story is fairly engaging. I wouldn't say it is a good Krimi but quite fun nonetheless. One could say the author really enjoyed taking a free hit on vegans.

I loved the fact that Grabowski is just extra naughty in this one. He is the Vince Masuka of die Mordkommission.

[Marloes D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een geschikte Krimi voor mensen die Duits aan het leren zijn door eenvoudige taal en woordenlijsten aan het eind van elk hoofdstuk. Verwacht alleen geen volwaardig boek met plotwendingen en karakterontwikkelingen en zo. Het is om de taal te leren.

[Staś Werno · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tour de force durch Zoo

[Ashley Melucci · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great tool for learning German. The vocabulary is useful and it repeats throughout the text to help reinforce your knowledge.

[Judy Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich mag dieses Buch. Die Handlung ist interessant und die macht mich sehr neugierig und gespannt. Auch die Worten sind nicht zu schwierig.

[Bálint · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story - great for german learners, but nothing of a life changing.