What we’re about
Fang Reden An: Innenstadt KC Deutsche Lerngruppe
Start talking: Downtown KC German learning group
Hi! Are you learning German and ready to do more casual speaking, but don’t quite consider yourself “conversational?” Are you looking for a German speaking group that is welcoming to people still learning the language? This meetup is part study-group, part conversation club for German learners. The meetup is targeted towards people roughly at A2 to B1 in the CEFR scale, but that's not a hard rule: Generally if you can speak a little German but still feel uncomfortable in real-time conversations, you are welcome here.
Meetings will alternate between:
- Study Sessions - where we will simply gather to study and body double together. Bring your grammar books or any other study materials and enjoy the benefits of body doubling, social camaraderie, and shared brain power. These meetings will be unstructured, but will be focused on each of us studying at our own pace. At the end we will have time for chit-chat and can talk about what we are learning, or get to know each other.
- Structured Stammtisch - where each meeting will have a lighthearted theme and activity to facilitate conversation. The themes and activities will be fun and largely just to give us a focus for our conversation and vocabulary practice.
I am not a language teacher and this is not a German “class” or “lesson”. I’ve found there are Stammtisches and groups for more advanced German speakers in the KC area, but there don’t seem to be any public groups to help early speakers “on-ramp” to more fluent conversational settings. I hope this group offers us a fun, low-stakes opportunity to speak more and gain confidence!
*Note: this group welcomes diversity and embodies the spirit of "Deutschland bleibt bunt." If you do not share these values, this group is not for you.
Upcoming events
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German Study Session / Deutsche Lerngruppe
Kansas City MO Central Library, 14 West 10th Street, Kansas City, MO, USEvery month, Fang Reden An hosts a study group session to help us prioritize our German Learning.
Bring your grammar books or any other study materials and enjoy the benefits of body doubling, social camaraderie, and shared brain power. These study sessions will be unstructured, but will be focused on each of us learning our own materials at our own pace. We will start with brief introductions and what we want to learn today. Then we will study for about 60-90 minutes. At the end we will have time for chit-chat, getting to know each other, or just generally talking about how our studies went.
This meetup is part study-group, part conversation club for German learners. The meetup is targeted towards people roughly at A2 to B1 in the CFER scale, but that's not a hard rule: Generally if you can speak a little German but still feel uncomfortable in real-time conversations, you are welcome here.
Some Ground Rules:
Language Immersion - Our goal is to speak German. So, to the best of our ability, we will speak only in German. If we aren't sure how to express ourselves, we can do our best to get our main idea expressed in a different or creative way. We can use German dictionaries or sites like Verbformen.de to self-correct our grammar, or even use visual aids.
The goal is to do our very best to avoid relying on English (or AI translations) as a crutch.
Safe Space to Speak - Speaking with real people in a language you’re still learning can be stressful. All of us will make grammar mistakes, will forget our words, or say something silly. It's okay! So please be kind: don’t poke fun at people and don’t discourage people. It is a good idea to ask someone if they are open to receiving corrections before just correcting them. If you do give corrections, be gentle about it.
Kindness and Respect - Rudeness, disrespectful behavior, bigotry and hatefulness will not be tolerated. Please note this group is also explicitly LGBT+ friendly.
Keep it Light - Let’s avoid stressful or controversial topics and lets be sensitive if someone says a topic is uncomfortable or potentially triggering for them1 attendee
Structured Stammtisch: Winter Hobbies
Crows Coffee, 304 East 51st Street, Kansas City, MO, USToday’s theme is: Winter Hobbies
Did you know December 21 is the first day of Winter (Winteranfang)? Today's conversation will be guided by our favorite things to do in Winter. This is a great opportunity to practice your vocabulary for snow sports, hobbies, holidays, and the weather.
Fang Reden An meets to practice our German speaking and conversation skills, and to get to know other people who are also interested in German language and culture. Each Stammtisch has a lighthearted theme and/or activity to facilitate conversation. The themes and activities will be fun and largely just to give us an icebreaker for our conversation and vocabulary practice.
This meetup is part study-group, part conversation club for German learners. The meetup is targeted towards people roughly at A2 to B1 in the CFER scale, but that's not a hard rule: Generally if you can speak a little German but still feel uncomfortable in real-time conversations, you are welcome here.
Some Ground Rules:
Language Immersion - Our goal is to speak German. So, to the best of our ability, we will speak only in German. If we aren't sure how to express ourselves, we can do our best to get our main idea expressed in a different or creative way. We can use German dictionaries or sites like Verbformen.de to self-correct our grammar, or even use visual aids.
The goal is to do our very best to avoid relying on English (or AI translations) as a crutch.
Safe Space to Speak - Speaking with real people in a language you’re still learning can be stressful. All of us will make grammar mistakes, will forget our words, or say something silly. It's okay! So please be kind: don’t poke fun at people and don’t discourage people. It is a good idea to ask someone if they are open to receiving corrections before just correcting them. If you do give corrections, be gentle about it.
Kindness and Respect - Rudeness, disrespectful behavior, bigotry and hatefulness will not be tolerated. Please note this group is also explicitly LGBT+ friendly.
Keep it Light - Let’s avoid stressful or controversial topics and lets be sensitive if someone says a topic is uncomfortable or potentially triggering for them2 attendees
Past events
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