Germany has had a rich short story culture throughout its history. Grimm brothers’ fairy tales’ collection, in particular, represents an example of how rich German is in short stories. These short stories also represent an excellent way to learn the language in which the likes of Gotha and Thomas Mann have written. The German short stories for kids, in particular, can be a great way of learning the German language by reading it.
There are several ways in which German short stories for kids can help one learn this beautiful German language. Some of these reasons include the following:
- Short stories for kids have simpler words.
The German language has a lot of words that may be too difficult for beginners. Short stories for kids tend to have simpler words since they were originally written for kids who themselves may not have a strong vocabulary. Thus, they are likely to have fewer difficult words in them. That makes it easier for the reader to learn the language a few words at a time. One can also read the short story aloud to practice and master the pronunciation of various German Words. The visual aid can also help one decode what’s going on in the story much better.
- Short stories for kids have shorter sentences.
A sentence can be as short as one or two words and can be several pages long. Only people with good dexterity with a language can process bigger sentences at ease. Fortunately, short stories for kids are often so written that they only have simple and short sentences making them ideal for both kids as well as people new to the German language.
- Short Stories are perfect for short learning sessions.
Short stories are also perfect for short learning sessions as they are, as is obvious from their name, short. One can easily read a short story in a few minutes. A session of an hour may be enough to read a short story twice (preferably first to oneself, then out aloud – to coach if available). There might also be time for some exercises like writing summaries, finding the meaning of newly learned words in the dictionary, and even using them in sentences.
- Short stories are always interesting.
After all, who doesn’t like stories of Snowhite and seven dwarves? Of the sleeping Beauty? Even if one knows the short story already, it will only facilitate the learning curve. There are always reasons to go back to one’s favorite children’s stories like Hansel and Gretel or Aesop’s fables.
- Short stories help retention.
The last but not the least way in which short stories for kids can help one learn the German language is through their memory retention techniques. Modern, easy German stories for kids, in particular, are very effective in repeating certain words at specific intervals to help better memory retention of these words.
The Bottom Line
One can easily wrap up the above discussion by concluding that the easy German short stories, particularly those meant for little kids, are a fantastic way to learn a new language like German.
