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Saturday 19 January 2019

6 tips to practice your oral comprehension and prepare for the Sproochentest


Those of you who took recently the oral expression and interaction exam are probably now intensively preparing for the comprehension test scheduled for next month. Therefore, in today’s article, I would like to share with you 6 tips on how to practice and be more prepared for your oral comprehension test and also improve your Luxembourgish at the same time. These pieces of advice might be useful not only for the Sproochentest preparation, but also in general if you wish to keep learning and improving your knowledge. If you do not have a lot of opportunities to practice Luxembourgish nor find Luxembourgish very useful for your daily life (as I am told by some), you can look at it as a brain gym, which helps us stay as long as possible away from Alzheimer 😀

1. Watch movies in Luxembourgish

Watching movies in Luxembourgish is a great way to improve your oral comprehension. Not only you improve your oral comprehension, but you also learn about the culture, about idioms and other expressions. Some of these movies are also available with transcription in Luxembourgish subtitles or with subtitles in French or English.

There are different ways you can find and watch movies in Luxembourgish:

·        you can watch them on TV and RTL regularly airs new television series which allow you to start recognizing daily useful vocabulary. The last very successful TV series, called “ZĂ«mmer ze verlounen” (Room to rent) airs on Tuesdays at 7 pm and is so much more engaging than listening to the news. You should be able to see the previous episodes on Replay by clicking on the link below (as long as RTL decided to offer it): http://tele.rtl.lu/emissiounen/zemmer-ze-verlounen/lu/

·        you can rent them for free from the National Library;

·        you can rent them or buy them on the platform www.vod.lu – the prices vary between 0,99 eur to 3,99 eur for rent and 6,99 eur to buy them;

·        you can go to the cinema every time there is a movie in Luxembourgish, such as the recent Superjhemp Retörns, which can still be seen in some regional cinemas.

2. Watch interviews with transcription in Luxembourgish as subtitles

The series of interviews “Wann ech Premier wier” that you can find on the 100,7 radio is absolutely great because you have the Luxembourgish transcription as subtitles while the interviewed persons speak. Very useful to make progress.

Below you will find a list of 4 interviews, for more just search on the 100,7 website and search using the name of the radio show.

"Wann ech Premier wier": Jacques Welter
"Wann ech Premier wier": Marie Harter
"Wann ech Premier wier": Ascanio Martinotti
"Wann ech Premier wier": Patrick Hurst
Depending on your personal interests, you might also like to watch certain regular TV shows with a topic close to your heart. For example, because I am serial entrepreneur, I highly appreciate and watch the TV series “Success story” which selects on different rounds start-ups with a high potential. Stay tuned, a new edition will be aired again in spring 2019. 

I also enjoy watching shows about Luxembourgers living abroad. They present different personal stories and different professions so the vocabulary is very useful.

You will find below a list of interviews of Luxembourgers living abroad: http://tele.rtl.lu/emissiounen/letzebuerger-am-ausland/

3. News in Luxembourgish 

Watching or reading the news in Luxembourgish is an extremely efficient way to prepare for the oral comprehension part of the Sproochtest.

The daily news brought to you by rtl.lu (both radio and TV), eldo.lu, 100koma7.lu are very useful in practicing and helping you improve your oral comprehension on a regular basis.

The great thing about them is that most of the time you can read what you hear, which helps you understand more.

100,7 is the only site proposing the audio and the transcription in Luxembourgish simultaneously. RTL.lu’s TV News shows the translations as subtitle, which is not the best method to make progress but it’s great practice anyway if you try not to focus on the subtitles.

4. Podcasts in Luxembourgish

Recently one of my clients asked me for podcast recommendations so you will find below the only 3 sets that exist for the moment:

Easy Luxembourgish with Anne: This is the best, most structured and complete postcast series and in addition it’s free. There are two levels, level 1, with 40 lessons, and level 2, with 20 lessons.

Here you will find the link.

One minute Luxembourgish : These free podcasts follow a good concept: a short lesson of 1 minute. 10 podcasts were offered in 2008 but unfortunately nothing else after that.

Here you will find the link.

Lux Lingo Podcast : These podcasts were a good idea and offered the first episode for free and then a monthly subscription of 10 eur. However, the link to subscribe is no longer valid and there has been no activity since March 2018. You can find below 2 episodes:

First free episode can be listened to here.

Free episode Valentine Special can be listened to here.

5. Practice evenings in different cafés

Participate in the practice events organized by different communes and organizations. For example, Languages.lu’’s Clara Moraru has been organizing free monthly practice evenings called “365 Days Luxembourgish”, the same name as the perpetual calendar to learn Luxembourgish. In recent years, the concept of social gatherings for practicing Luxembourgish (and other languages) has become very fashionable. A lot of communes including Bettembourg, Walferdange, Hesperange, Differdange offer this kind of events, some even offer cookies and refreshments. To find if, when and where such a practice event is offered in your local commune, check the web site of your commune or stop by and ask on your way to work. In addition, you will find a non-exhaustive list of the SproochcafĂ©s offered in different cities in the country in the article below:

https://luxtimes.lu/the-hub/36099-language-exchange-talk-like-a-local


6.   Total immersion in the Luxembourgish language

Learning is done quicker if you immerse yourself in the language and culture of the country. This means that you should dedicate some time to attending events at which the main language used is Luxembourgish. Some examples include parties organized in the neighbourhoods or villages by the scouts, the sport and music associations, the different political parties or the local church. The City of Luxembourg and more specifically the Integration Commission - of which I am a member of - organizes regular events to allow residents from the different communities to get to know each other, such as the Noppesch Fest (The Neighbours’ celebration). Check the web site of your commune for a list of regular events; here is the link to the Luxembourg City Agenda.

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