Did you hear the news?
Hast du die Nachrichten gehört?
- Discuss what you saw on television or heard on the radio.
- Time expressions for recent events.
- Get to know the popular media stations in your host country.
In this lesson, you learn to discuss recent news in German, using useful vocabulary like Nachrichten (news), hören (to hear), sehen (to see), and berichten (to report). Practice phrases for talking about media sources and sharing updates at work or in daily conversations.
Vocabulary (13) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Übung 1: Conversation exercise
Anleitung:
- Describe what happened on the news. (Describe what happened on the news.)
- Describe the different media types you see. (Describe the different media types you see.)
- Do you read or watch the news regularly? (Do you read or watch the news regularly?)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
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In Luxemburg hat die Regierung eine Sitzung abgehalten. Eine Frau hielt eine Rede. In Luxembourg, the government had a meeting. A woman gave a speech. |
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Es gab einen großen Protest in Paris. Busse und Autos konnten nicht mehr fahren. There was a big protest in Paris. Busses and cars could not drive anmore. |
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Ich sehe Kurzvideos und Bilder über die Nachrichten in sozialen Medien. I see short videos and pictures about the news on social media. |
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Ich sehe die Nachrichten im Fernsehen. I see the news on the television. |
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Ich lese die Nachrichten auf einer Website. I read the news on a website. |
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Ich schaue jeden Abend die Nachrichten. I watch the news every night. |
| ... |
Exercise 2: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 3: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Haben Sie sich heute Morgen über die Nachrichten ________?
(Did you ________ about the news this morning?)2. Ich habe gestern die neue Sendung im Fernsehen ________.
(I ________ the new show on TV yesterday.)3. Wir ________ uns täglich über das aktuelle Wetter im Radio.
(We ________ ourselves about the current weather on the radio daily.)4. Letzte Woche ________ ich die Nachrichten im Fernsehen gesehen.
(Last week ________ I watched the news on TV.)Exercise 4: Have you heard the news?
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Sich informieren - to inform oneself
Präsens
- ich informiere mich
- du informierst dich
- er/sie/es informiert sich
- wir informieren uns
- ihr informiert euch
- sie/Sie informieren sich
Haben - to have
Perfekt
- ich habe
- du hast
- er/sie/es hat
- wir haben
- ihr habt
- sie/Sie haben
Sein - to be
Präsens
- ich bin
- du bist
- er/sie/es ist
- wir sind
- ihr seid
- sie/Sie sind
Sehen - to see
Perfekt
- ich habe gesehen
- du hast gesehen
- er/sie/es hat gesehen
- wir haben gesehen
- ihr habt gesehen
- sie/Sie haben gesehen
Berichten - to report
Präsens
- ich berichte
- du berichtest
- er/sie/es berichtet
- wir berichten
- ihr berichtet
- sie/Sie berichten
Grammar Share Copied!
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Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
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Lesson Overview: Talking about News and Media
This lesson focuses on discussing recent news and media experiences in everyday situations such as the office, breakfast table, and café. It is designed for A2-level learners of German, helping you practice practical conversations about current events and the media sources you follow.
Main Topics Covered
- How to talk about hearing or watching the news (e.g., "Hast du heute Morgen die Nachrichten im Radio gehört?")
- Using time expressions to specify when you saw or heard news programs (e.g., "Ich habe sie um acht Uhr gesehen.")
- Discussing favorite media channels and programs
- Introducing and using relevant vocabulary related to media and news consumption
- Practicing verb conjugation to describe past events and routine habits
Key Vocabulary and Expressions
- die Nachrichten – the news
- das Radio – the radio
- sehen (to see) and hören (to hear)
- berichten – to report
- informieren sich – to inform oneself
- die Sendung – broadcast or program
- Time adverbs like heute Morgen (this morning), gestern Abend (last night), letzte Woche (last week)
Grammar Highlights
This lesson provides verb conjugation practice focused on present tense and perfect tense forms of common verbs used to talk about news consumption, for example:
- Haben Sie sich heute Morgen über die Nachrichten informiert?
- Ich habe gestern die neue Sendung im Fernsehen gesehen.
- Conjugation tables for verbs like sich informieren, haben, sein, sehen, and berichten help reinforce correct usage.
Instruction Language vs. Learning Language Notes
Since the instruction language is English and the lesson content is in German, this guide focuses on explaining German with English support. German frequently uses separable verbs like sich informieren, where the prefix informieren is combined with a reflexive pronoun. Time expressions usually come at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis, e.g., Heute Morgen habe ich...
Useful phrases for everyday conversations include:
- Hast du die neuesten Nachrichten gehört? – Have you heard the latest news?
- Welche Sendung magst du am liebsten? – Which program do you like the most?
- Ich höre oft Radio Bremen. – I often listen to Radio Bremen.
There is no need for translation of German sample sentences into English here, as the focus is on understanding and using natural German expressions to discuss media and news topics.
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