Learn German With Stories: Digital in Dresden - 10 Short Stories For Beginners

Dino lernt Deutsch #9

by André Klein

Take your German to the next level and boost your vocabulary, reading comprehension and grammar sense with episode 9 of the bestselling Dino lernt Deutsch German short story series for beginners! In this sequel to Zurück in Zürich,Dino lands a promising new office job in Dresden with stable pay and promotion opportunities, but it’s only so long before corporate implications force him to make a tough decision.While the stunning architecture and baroque allure of the capital of the Free State of Saxony seem like a fairytale at first, Dino soon meets some of its disgruntled citizens and starts investigating the roots of their rage. Explore Dresden, learn about local culture, history and improve your German effortlessly along the way!Learning German Doesn't Have To Be A ChoreJust got started learning German? Memorized a few words but struggle with longer texts? We've all been there. This book is designed to help beginners make the leap from studying isolated words and phrases to reading (and enjoying!) naturally flowing German storytelling.Using simplified sentence structures and a very basic vocabulary you can build upon, this set of 10 connected short stories is carefully crafted to allow even novice learners to fully immerse themselves in an authentic German language experience. Each chapter comes with a complete German-English dictionary with special emphasis on collocative phrases (high frequency word combinations), short sentences and expressions designed for improved memorization.By working with these building blocks instead of just single words, learners can boost their active usage of new material instantly and make the learning process more fluid and fun.What You'll Find In This Book10 chapters set in the city of Dresdena balance between cozy vocabulary and introduction of new wordstons of phrases and expressions you will actually use in daily lifefun facts about Dresden, past and presenta detailed German-English dictionary after every chapterenough support to make following along easy, without spoiling your own effortsfun short quizzes to check your text-comprehension (including answers)a relatable protagonist and other fun charactershand-drawn illustrations by the authorthe beginning of a grand German learning adventure ...Read, Learn & Collect Them AllYes! That's right. This is the ninth episode of a whole series of exciting German short stories for beginners. Follow our protagonist to Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg, Vienna, Berlin and many other cities! Before you know it, you'll have travelled half of Europe and picked up more German than years' worth of expensive courses. Learning German has never been more fun.What You WON'T Find In This Bookparallel translations that may seem convenient but don't teach you anythingdull characters designed by academics and committeesinterspersed English sentences that take you out of the reading flowarchaic German words and phrases nobody uses in real lifea jumble of unrelated places, people and eventswordy footnotes that only get in the way of immersioncondescending storytelling that insults your intelligencea teaching approach which takes itself too seriously

Genres: German Literature, Fiction, Language

122 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 10, 2018

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

[Efe Karabulat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, it's the best yet.

It might be the first time the storyline is actually interesting. Between internet trolls, click farms, anti-immigrant "concerned citizens", out of context communism-bashing which gives a ticklish pleasure, Digital in Dresden offers a nice panorama of modern society.

Better yet, at some point, you notice that you understand even sociological and political content now. I was feeling a bit resentful towards the book because my only compatriot in the entire series turns out to be a lying, cheating, racist asshat. Then I notice I can analyze and understand the abstract notion of racism of a certain individual —in German. Some months ago I was struggling to pronounce die Schokolade. That moment of awakening is amazing and transformed my feelings into their polar opposite.

To anyone who reads this, we've come a long way. Here, take your virtual *pats* on your back.

[Vicky Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

et cetera... (etc.) / und so weiter... (usw.)

Dino (and Vicky) has learned much more than German in this installment of the "Dino Learns German series of graded readers! This was my first time reading this book. I had previously read books one through eight in the series starting in 2021. This time through I had progressed a bit on my Intermediate German (after doing my Intermediate Spanish) and was ready to move on in the graded readers series. There is a lot of new vocabulary introduced here, and I also found quite a few words I had just learned recently, which gives the learner a great feeling of language power! Laugh out loud Joy!" I found myself repeating new sentences out loud like some mad scientist over his new creation. "Eureka, I can read it!" Is it okay if I admit to the pure pleasure of learning to read? It is what it is. I have no memory of learning to read in English.

But, as I said there was more than the German here. The story deals with Dino's new job in Germany. He works for a "review farm" writing angry reviews against restaurants, hotels, and vacation homes (which he has never visited) for good pay. Things take a turn for the worse when he is asked to write fake political commentary on social media feeds. The story deals with the issues of refugees and immigration and how it is affected by social media manipulation. It is a delight to read and well worth the investment to buy this whole series. I have both the Kindle and Audible editions, and usually read first the print, then follow along again with the audio, paragraph by paragraph. I recommend this for all learners of German.

[since the terrorist attack on the Berlin Christmas market, all markets now have such concrete blocks!] "dass seit dem Terrorangriff auf den Berliner Weihnachtsmarkt jetzt alle Märkte solche Betonblöcke haben!" (In English/German)

[On the one hand, people want to travel to Morocco and eat in Pakistani restaurants, but on the other hand, they don't want Moroccans and Pakistanis to live in their neighborhood.] "Einerseits wollen die Leute nach Marokko reisen und in pakistanischen Restaurants essen, aber andererseits wollen sie nicht, dass Marokkaner und Pakistanis in ihrer Nachbarschaft wohnen." (In English/German)

[Andy Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last of the beginner’s series for the moment. Can not recommend this series highly enough! Absolutely fantastic and the stories become more interesting and complex along the way. I’m really invested in Dino’s life! And I didn’t really expect that after the first book ‘Cafe in Berlin’ as the story is fairly light and easy going but from then there are many twists and turns.

[Samichtime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stuff. It’s either a cognate or they throw me for the wolves with 18 syllable words! 🙀

[Radek Husek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I jumped into this apparently ninth book without reading the previous ones. I like that the writing is structured so you can really learn new words. However, I found the story a bit boring, maybe it is because I havent read the books before.
I think I will buy one more book from this series and then I wil lrather switch to normal books.

[Nathan West · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book so far

I love that with each book, the level of vocabulary gradually increases. I've been able to gradually improve from an A1 beginner to about B2 intermediate reader, simply by reading books like these. Outstanding

[Jena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este libro continua las aventuras de el italiano Dino en Alemania. Dino por fin ha encontrado un trabajo en una empresa ComTex, en la que se hacen reseñas con noticias falsas de hoteles y centros turísticos. Esto quiere decir que Dino ya sabe suficiente alemán para hablar y escribir el idioma. Aquí, el segundo capítulo es el más interesante, porque cuenta algo sobre las manifestaciones contra los inmigrantes, un tema muy actual no solo en Alemania.

En una conversación en un bar con su compañero de trabajo Omür, que es de origen turco, Dino se da cuenta que los recién llegados a Alemania y con ciudadanía reconocida, son "más papistas que el Papa", es decir, son más alemanes que los alemanes mismos, y que los inmigrantes que llegan en masa, se convierten en un gran problema para ellos. Esto me trae a la memoria el caso de Frida Kalho, quien para afirmar su mexicanidad de primera generación nacida en el país (como Omür), se disfrazaba con vestidos y peinado de indígena.

Luego de esta conversación desagradable, Dino encuentra en la calle una manifestación de "vecinos indignados" como los llama Omür, y portan carteles con leyendas que dicen: "Alemania para los alemanes", "Merkel se tiene que ir" (del gobierno). A Dino no le queda más remedio que huir y buscar refugio en su departamento. Bueno.

[Serdar Poirot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dino ve Elizabeth Dresden şehrine gelir. Dino, abisi Alfredo'nun bulduğu işte Bogdanovic adında bir adamın emrinde çalışmaktadır. Burada medya manipülasyonu yaptıklarını söyler. Sosyal medyada troll yorumlar yazıp, sahte hesaplar oluşturmaktadır. Elizabeth de çok yoğundur. Bina yöneticisi zamanında Doğu Almanya'dan gelmiş ve oranın bazı yönlerini sevmektedir. Dino'nun iş arkadaşı Omür Türk kökenli olmasına rağmen Alman olduğunu söyler ve diğer insanları sevmez. Bir gün klavyeden kahve döken Dino bütün fotoğrafların silinmeye başladığını görür. Omür gelir ve karın yarısı karşılığında yardım edeceğini söyler. Para yanında piiza da söylemiştir. Bir gün işe gittiğinde polislerin patronunu götürdüğünü görür ve eve döner. Elizabeth ısıtma sisteminin çalışmadığını söyler. Görevli ile konuşup tamir ettirir. Omur eksi bakiyeye düşmüştür. İş bulması gerekir. Çoğu zaman uğradığı Lübnan lokantasında onu işe sokar Dino. İkisi de Urfa kökenli çıkmıştır. Eve gelince de telefonuna gelen fotoğraftan amca olduğunu öğrenir. Çok mutludur. Ve Elizabeth ile romantik bir noel geçirmektedir. Keyifle okunan bir kitap.

[Nancy Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andre Klein continues to write very up-to-date stories that use "everyday" vocabulary and idioms while highlighting current social issues. In Learn German With Stories: Digital in Dresden - 10 Short Stories For Beginners, Dino (who is a 20ish Italian learning German) has adventures in the paid internet troll sector. He also has interaction with some immigrants to Germany with interesting attitudes. He learns about some of the differences between the former East Germany and the parts of Germany he had visited previously. For English-speaking students learning German (high school age and up), these stories are highly recommended. They would work best for an advanced beginner or intermediate level student.

[Emily Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

More hilarious adventures for Dino! I love this series and have followed Dino through his quest to make his German language skills good enough to win a good job in Germany. This episode focuses on Dino's new internet job. But, is he an influencer or a promoter of fake news?
Reading Dino stories in German has been a fun way to improve my high school German before an upcoming trip. I also read them aloud to the kids and let them help translate. Super fun!

[Tony Dib · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've found this to be the most interesting book in the series so far. I liked how the characters discussed current issues like the refugee crisis, racism, and manipulating the media for political gain.
I have only the book of Stuttgart left to complete the beautiful series. It's been a nice journey with Dino.

[Alexander Goussas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the most interesting one so far in the series. It touches on topics such as immigration and refugees in Germany, as well as different attitudes Germans have towards them. Also, it's poetic that when Dino finally get a job, it's to be an Internet troll. I'm losing my hopes for him, and it would not surprise me if the series finishes with him being a hippie. We'll see.

[DavidO · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting to mature

Dino is finally starting to mature. He now acts like a mature 15 year old.

Amusing book. Some insight into the culture. I think I might be up to a K5 reading level after this.

[Curtis Hartwig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Travels with Dino

Dino gets a questionable job for which Elizabeth does not approve. It ends in disaster, with no pay. But Omur gets rewarded. It all ends in a visit to the oldest Christmas market.

[Staś Werno · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tour de force through Dresden

[Henry B. Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short book with content that is up-to-date and reflects current issues and daily situations. This makes the book fun to read.

[Aaron Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Five stars for the effect of narrative on my German. It has really improved both my comprehension and my confidence

[Annm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m just pleased I could understand as much as I did. I’ve already bought the next in the series.

[Gro E. L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die Bücher werden ja immer besser!
Wichtiges und tolles Vokabular und den Inhalt finde ich auch ganz wichtig für Schüler (DaF)

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid addition to the Dino series.

[Gaspar Torrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dieses Buch ist sehr lustig und hilfreich für die Anfänger. Total empfehlenswert!
Fünf von fünf Sternen. Nicht mehr und nicht weniger.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dino redeems himself

Dino exasperates me in some of the other books, but I need to mark down that this is my favorite in the series. This whole series is excellent for building German-language reading fluency.

[Roberto Jara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Klein‘s Dino Lernt Deutsch books are not only great for learning German, they’re also fun, entertaining and relevant! I am an American living in Vienna and the series has been great for me as a beginner German learner. The content is often laugh out loud funny. I read sections to my wife who is a native German speaker and she is impressed as well by the humor and authenticity in these books. Digital in Dresden is no exception. What’s more it courageously deals with real issues like fear of immigrants, societal polarization, media manipulation and the past authoritarianism of East Germany without coming across as moralistic or “preachy.”
I thoroughly enjoyed Digital in Dresden as I have enjoyed all of Klein’s books and recommend them highly to anyone learning German!

[Arta Berisha]

It's amazig book