The training includes a website and two books: ‘German Grammar for Beginners’ and ‘River Speak’. You follow the training on the website and sometimes you need the books. The website works on both your PC and your phone. The emphasis is on speaking and understanding German during your work. Writing is less important. During the training you listen to all kinds of audio clips and you get speaking exercises. At the end you will be given a concluding speaking exercise. You record this and we get an impression of the progress. The training has no fomal exam.

German Grammar for Beginners

In this book you will find everything about German grammar and pronunciation. The book goes way beyond what you need for this training, so if you enjoy it, you can learn as much as you want. The training on the website refers to pages in the book. The book comes with audio clips to help you with your pronunciation. You can download and save all audio clips here as one 70 Mb file.

River Speak

This is a translation booklet full of phrases and nautical terms that you may encounter during your work. This booklet also goes further than just spoken language during loading and unloading, so you can also get a lot of extras from it.

Planning

The training takes up to eight weeks and at the end you record your speaking exercise. Perhaps you already master some German and you will finish the training sooner. The training can be followed induvidually or you may start the training together with the entire crew on board. The captain keeps the overview, gives tips and ensures that you have the opportunity to practice. Tips for studying effectively

• Studying frequently for a short period of time works better than studying for a long time every now and then.
• Use your headphones
• Practice with your colleagues
• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
• Keep practicing even after training. This way you keep your language skills up to date.