Als Brite in Berlin: Was ich beim Deutsch lernen erlebte
„Wer eine Fremdsprache lernt, zieht den Hut vor einer anderen Nation.“ T. Wilder
Als ich vor sechs Jahren nach Deutschland (Berlin) kam, konnte ich schon etwas Deutsch, weil ich fünf Jahre lang Deutsch in der Schule gelernt hatte. Ich hatte einen tollen Deutschlehrer, der in mir eine lebenslange Begeisterung für diese äußerst komplexe aber sehr melodische Sprache erweckte.
Trotzdem war es anfangs nicht einfach, mich in Deutschland einzuleben, und ich musste mir deswegen wirklich viel Mühe geben, um meine deutschen Sprachkenntnisse zu verbessern.
Die deutsche Bürokratie spricht „ein anderes Deutsch“
Erstens gab es sehr viel Bürokratie (z.B. bei der Wohnungssuche und Anmeldebehörde, dann kamen die Krankenversicherung für meine Familie, Handyverträge, Haftpflichtversicherung, Bankkonten, usw.) wobei ein ganz anderes Deutsch angewendet wird als das, was man in der Schule lernt!
Zweitens erlebte ich plötzlich den Berliner Dialekt und die rasante Geschwindigkeit, mit welcher viele Berliner Deutsch reden. Vor allem wenn Handwerker bei uns vorbeikamen, verstand ich manchmal tatsächlich kein Wort, was natürlich zu einigen lustigen Ergebnissen in unserer Wohnung führte, samt Ärger von meiner Frau!
Drittens hatte ich die Herausforderung, dass die meisten Deutschen, sobald sie nach drei Worten merkten, dass ich Brite bin, sofort ihr Englisch aufpolieren wollten! Als Brite war ich einfach zu höflich, den Wunsch meiner neuen Landsleute abzulehnen, was natürlich meine Fortschritte in der deutschen Sprache erschwerte.
Beim Fremdsprachen lernen muss man sich immer wieder selbst motivieren
Ich war aber ganz stur und blieb dran, weil ich über eine innere Motivation verfügte, diese Probleme zu überwinden. Diese Motivation stammte teilweise vom meinem Frust, denn ich kannte die meisten Deutschen damals eher oberflächlich, aber ich wollte sie unbedingt besser kennen lernen, verstehen, Erlebnisse austauschen und mich mit ihnen anfreunden.
Kulturelle Feinheiten in einer fremden Sprache zu verstehen braucht viel Zeit und Übung
Ich stellte ebenfalls fest, wenn man eine Fremdsprache nur begrenzt sprechen kann, bleiben die Kenntnisse der Kultur, Politik, Geschichte und Gesellschaft begrenzt. Dass viele Deutsche, im Vergleich zu den Briten, nicht so viel Smalltalk anwenden oder manchmal ganz direkt ihre Meinung äußern, konnte ich am Anfang nicht so gut verstehen, denn mir fehlten die von der Weltanschauung geprägten Feinheiten und Nuancen der Sprache.
Das Wörterbuch steht jetzt im Internet und ist jederzeit griffbereit
Ich suchte als Erstes praktische Lösungen: Jedes Mal, wenn ich ein neues Wort hörte, schlug ich es im Internet nach und versuchte, es zu lernen. Ich stellte mein Handy auf Deutsch, damit ich die technischen Ausdrücke lernen und mit der Sprachsteuerung meine Aussprache üben konnte. Zudem las ich die Zeitung und schaute abends fern.
Es gab glücklicherweise einige Leute, die von meinen Bemühungen sehr begeistert waren und die mich wirklich ermutigten, weiter zu machen. Einige hatten auch viel Geduld, hörten mir einfach zu und boten ab und zu Vorschläge zur Verbesserung an, was mir sehr geholfen hat.
Freunde finden und mit ihnen sprechen hilft beim Erlernen der Sprache
Durch diese Ermutigung traf ich mit meiner Frau zusammen die Entscheidung, Deutsche einfach bei uns einzuladen, wenn ich merkte, sie waren besonders aufgeschlossen und freundlich. Einmal in der vollgestopften S-Bahn fing ein deutsches Ehepaar an mit mir zu reden, einfach weil mir mein ältester Sohn seinen Platz anbot. Wir kamen ins Gespräch und wir luden sie zum Abendessen ein, auf diese Weise begann eine enge Freundschaft, die wir heute noch sehr schätzen.
Wenn man sich mit der Sprache auseinandersetzt, entdeckt man auch, dass wenn die Deutschen direkt reden oder sich nicht so sehr für Smalltalk interessieren, es sich eigentlich um eine Echtheit handelt, auf welcher sich ein wichtiges Vertrauen aufbauen lässt.
Ich freue mich heutzutage sehr, dass ich mit der deutschen Sprache dran geblieben bin, denn es hat sich wirklich gelohnt.
Nun habe ich viele deutschsprachige Freundinnen und Freunde, ich kann Anträge und Unterlagen fast mit geschlossen Augen ausfüllen und nun wird nicht mehr die Waschmaschine repariert, wenn der Fernseher repariert werden soll!
Nigel, ein Brite in Berlin
Dieser Blogbeitrag ist inspiriert von der Blogparade der sprachenverrückten (so bezeichnet sie sich selbst) Deutschlehrerin Carolin Aschemeier: http://lebenalacarte.de/aufruf-zur-blogparade-made-in-germany/
Caro fragt:
- Was bedeutet Deutschland für dich?
- Was verbindest du mit dem Land und der deutschen Kultur?
Diese Fragen haben wir zum Anlass genommen und in unserem internationalen Team, in dem eine Syrerin mit Deutschen, einem Briten, einem Schotten und einer Brasilianerin arbeitet, Antworten zu bekommen.
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