Facts and Episodes
about Germany, the Germans and the German language
The intercultural paradox
Do you know the sultana paradox? Probably not, because it's more of an inside joke among friends of the culinary arts. The sultana paradox goes like this: "Nobody likes sultanas, yet they're in everything." OK - that's perhaps a bit of a bumpy introduction. So let's...
Other countries – other customs: To tip or not to tip?
For continental Europeans, the German tipping culture is not a problem. On the continent, habits are largely similar. For U.S. Americans in particular, however, the German tipping culture holds surprises in store. Tipping is also popular here - especially in...
Is this the ‘typical German presentation’?
In the past few years, we have often helped executives from all over the world to prepare presentations in German. Sometimes this involved complete presentations. Sometimes our clients' German is only good enough for a short welcome and introduction in German. In this...
The missing letter
Clear: The picture shows the alphabet. Complete. Really complete? Not if you want to learn German. Because then you also need the 'ß'. This letter is called 'esszett' or 'scharfes s'. And you need information about when to use this strange letter 'ß' and when...
Learning German in Paradise
If you want to book a face-to-face German course, the first thing to consider is, of course, the quality of the provider. Here, we at S&W Training really don't need to shy away from any comparison: https://sw-training.com/kunden-englisch/ In addition to the...
An Italian learns a difficult German word – or two?
Some time ago I was reading a German text with my Italian client Flavio. Then it came to this little dialogue: Flavio: Niels, what does ‚anhalten' mean? Niels: 'to stop', 'fermarsi'. (I see Flavio noting: „anhalten = to stop“. I intervene)...
How the Decision Tree Found its Way into our German Language Training
I had done my best and tried to explain to my American client Tom when to use 'haben' as an auxiliary verb and when to use 'sein' in the perfect German. But Tom wasn't entirely satisfied. "That's certainly right, Niels. But I'm an engineer, and as an engineer, I love...
Presenting Facts and Figures in German
In terms of grammar, Business German hardly differs from German as a general language. In terms of vocabulary, however, it differs a lot.. And here the purchasing manager in the automotive industry needs a largely different technical vocabulary than the chief...
Learning German at the cradle of aviation
If you book a German language course, you naturally want to learn German above all. If you book a German course at S&W Training in Meersburg, you are largely safe from unwanted distractions. Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, we have only accepted one...
German Vocabulary Training
Anyone who wants to communicate successfully in a language needs, of course, an extensive vocabulary. This is a necessary, but of course not yet sufficient condition. Of course, knowledge of grammar, among other things, is also indispensable. But let's concentrate on...
Why Giuseppe learned German so incredibly quickly
Of course, a one-to-one intensive German course at S&W Training in Meersburg is basically a very time-efficient way to learn German. https://sw-training.com/executive-training/ But no one before had ever learned German as quickly as Giuseppe. This could not only...
Business German: Four particularly important verbs and their pitfalls
If you take a beginner's course in general German, you may never encounter these verbs. If , however, you want to learn Business German efficiently, you will encounter them in the very first lesson - provided, of course, you learn Business German from a provider with...