Sitcoms

[Jayne]

I came across the advice that German learners at my stage should practice by watching American/English sitcoms translated into German.  Supposedly the level of language and predictability are suitable.  It gave the example of "Friends" which just isn't something I find bearable to watch.  In general, I do not like the sitcom genre and I often find the underlying assumptions to be opposed to Catholicism.

Does anyone have any suggestions for sitcoms likely to be available in German and not offensive to Catholics?  (Something I actually find funny would be nice too, but may be too much to hope for.)

[diaduit]

Go old style.

Yes Minister
The Good Life
To the Manor born

[Heinrich]

Was ist dein Niveau? Ich empfehle Cartoons.

[Deirdre]

Frasier?

[Jayne]

Go old style.

Yes Minister
The Good Life
To the Manor born

When I was young, there was a lot more British influence on Canadian culture than now and CBC imported a lot of BBC content.  My tastes very well may run more towards British than American, so looking there makes sense.

[Jayne]

Was ist dein Niveau? Ich empfehle Cartoons.

This advice was specifically for those completing a German comprehension course that I just did.  I could probably pass but not excel at a B1 test.

I am planning to watch My Little Pony in German since that is something my granddaughter likes and I can watch with her.

[Jayne]

Frasier?

I could try it and see. 

[Deirdre]

Frasier?

I could try it and see. 

It's my favorite modern sitcom.

[Jayne]

Frasier?

I could try it and see. 

It's my favorite modern sitcom.

That is definitely a point in its favour.

[Insanis]

Frasier?

I could try it and see. 

It?s my favorite modern sitcom.

That is definitely a point in its favour.

I won't comment on that, other than there is this scene:

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe_IIyjiBJg[/yt]

It is appropriate for this thread's topic and purpose. The scene takes place in Niles's home (which is why he reacts to the broke vase, etc), and he thinks his wife is cheating on him with the fencing instructor. Also, Niles's wife is never seen and described in ridiculous terms constantly (it is a running joke in the show).

(This is not an endorsement of the show or a condemnation of the show.)

[queen.saints]

Have you seen "Heimat" 1984 ? We watched Part 1 about 10 years ago and I don't remember anything bad in it besides adult themes that are not explicitly shown. The scenes of German life are really beautiful and touching.

It'd be a lot classier than "Friends" and the lips would match the words.

[yt]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf1zPDeCPaQ[/yt]

[Jayne]

Have you seen "Heimat" 1984 ? We watched Part 1 about 10 years ago and I don't remember anything bad in it besides adult themes that are not explicitly shown. The scenes of German life are really beautiful and touching.

It'd be a lot classier than "Friends" and the lips would match the words.

This sounds really good, but I think it's too challenging for my current level of German.  The theory behind recommending sitcoms is that they are light entertainment and predictable enough to be followed by a person who can't understand everything being said.  But thanks for mentioning it so I have something to look forward to growing into.

"Friends"  is not something I'm even considering, but I have been researching "Frasier" and it sounds promising.  Apparently much of the humour comes from making fun of pompous characters.  That might be edifying for me.  And the major theme is the importance of family which is probably the best that a secular show can manage.

[Fleur-de-Lys]

For what it's worth, Jayne, in my experience, this kind of immersion is less effective for more inflected languages. Unless you are just trying to build vocabulary and exercise your listening skills, I would focus on mastering the cases first, if you have not done so already.

[Jayne]

For what it's worth, Jayne, in my experience, this kind of immersion is less effective for more inflected languages. Unless you are just trying to build vocabulary and exercise your listening skills, I would focus on mastering the cases first, if you have not done so already.

I completely agree that this sort of thing cannot replace mastery of grammatical structures.  As you say, it is an exercise to develop listening skills and build vocabulary.  It would be inadequate as a sole approach to learning a language.

Listening skills tend to be one of my weak areas in learning new languages, so I am trying to give it extra attention as I'm learning German.

[Fleur-de-Lys]

For what it's worth, Jayne, in my experience, this kind of immersion is less effective for more inflected languages. Unless you are just trying to build vocabulary and exercise your listening skills, I would focus on mastering the cases first, if you have not done so already.

I completely agree that this sort of thing cannot replace mastery of grammatical structures.  As you say, it is an exercise to develop listening skills and build vocabulary.  It would be inadequate as a sole approach to learning a language.

Listening skills tend to be one of my weak areas in learning new languages, so I am trying to give it extra attention as I'm learning German.

Yes, but more than this, recent studies have shown that some focus on grammar before exposure to spoken input significantly improves the processing of that input. So, it's not a question of replacing one with the other, but rather of sequencing them in the way that is most effective for acquisition.