11 Plus Exams Forum

DD has mentioned that it might be fun to watch a film in german to see how much she understands.

Anyone have any knowledge about german films and which ones might be suitable. She has been studying german for 1.5 years, it's probably her best subject, but I don't want to put her off by getting something boring or too difficult.

(I think there's a novelty factor about being able to understand someone that one parent struggles a bit with and the other doesn't really have a clue.)

I think unless she is unusually talented it would be hard to follow a film in German. Much of what you get over there is American material which is either dubbed or subtitled anyway. It might be a better bet to try and watch some German TV. YouTube isn't a bad place to start, or if you do some googling using the German-speaking parent you might come across something. (Deutsches Fernsehen or deutsches Kinderfernsehen for example). I've had a quick look for you and I think if you have a Sky box or similar you might with a following wind find something. There is also this link which may be of use.http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/t ... nels.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We certainly managed to get a German programme here once by mistake but thinking about it it wasn't the sort of material you would be wanting to share with a child...though lack of linguistic skills would not have prevented anyone from following the 'plot'.

My daughter used to watch Euronews, you could change the language.

I thought it would be you with an answer, Amber. thank you.

(Un)fortunately we don't have sky or cable, we will have a scout around on YouTube.

We saw a German language film for young children at a Barbican Saturday morning film club a few years back. Unfortunately neither DS2 nor I can remember the title, but it was an animated film about a penguin, an iceberg and a ship, and it came out in about 2010 . I think the version we saw was dubbed, rather than subtitled, but not a very complicated story so may be suitable to try to follow in the original. Will try to find out the title.

Hi Tinkers,

this is a very old film (1955 ). But if she used to like 'The Sound of music', there is a good chance she might like these ones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hf9edDCuqU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and she might well learn a bit about the Imperess Sissi at the same time!!...
advice: prepare the hankies for the 'ich liebe dich' coming in the second part of the film!

second film in the serie (Sissi has trouble to adapt to the life in court):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTfz5bD_9jo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

third film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F7D62jrHlA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

if it happens that she like them, please, it could be kind if you keep me informed! I had my heart broken by these when I was a teenager!!
Here is some info about the film:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sissi_%28film%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On DVDs I think you can select the language. That way she could watch something she's familiar with in German.

RedVelvet wrote:On DVDs I think you can select the language. That way she could watch something she's familiar with in German.

Apart from animations, the experience is never great though because the lips are mouthing different words.

Look for content made in the target language and released with English subtitles. That approach has worked for many a language learner. Expect it to be very hard to follow at first.

I did a quick search for you and found this: http://www.kinderkino.de/fremdsprachen/englisch" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I haven't clicked on the films, but it appears to be legal and reasonably promising. Let us know if this is good or if you find anything better.

Tinkers wrote:DD has mentioned that it might be fun to watch a film in german to see how much she understands.

Here is another idea... but not a particularly 'fun' film: the DVD 'Joyeux Noel' which is about the Christmas truce in 1914. The film is trilingual (English, French German). You can put the English subtitles on.

An extremely touching film, which makes one reflect on many topics: duty versus being able to see 'humans' in our fatherland's 'ennemies'; faith; hate speech; lies in times of war; etc.
This is a film rated 12 but my son watched it when he was 8 or 9 ( and I skipped the s.e.x. scene thanks to the forward button)
I always shed some tears when watching it...maybe your daughter will need some hankies...
If your daughter likes opera singing, she might me more especially touched.

When my DD was studying German ( she went up to AS but found it increasingly hard keeping up as most of her classmates were keen linguists rather than scientists keeping a language up) she watched (I believe recommended by the teacher ) Run Lola Run which I seem to recall was fine http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run_Lola_Run" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We have fond memories of a family trip to Berlin staying in a hotel decorated with film posters, including German language versions of classics such as " Die Welt ist nicht genug" . Great fun at breakfast time!