After a Menschen A2.1 class, choose one question from the lesson you have just studied. You might know the grammar on paper but still need a moment to use it in an answer about your own family, plans or habits. That transition from reading to speaking is where the real work happens. Try your answer aloud, check a word you missed, and bring any remaining questions back to your next class. This guide is built around the 2013 first edition of the textbook from Hueber Verlag. The book's official audio and your teacher's homework are your main resources. The original HearSay conversations below offer optional extra scenarios to help you practise between classes.
Quick answer: Choose the Lektion your class is currently studying. Listen to a short exchange from the textbook or a companion scene, answer one question aloud using your own details, then check one phrase you found difficult. Bring any questions to your next class. The three examples below show how to apply this routine to different chapter themes.
Start with the chapter you are using
Use a small piece of audio from your current lesson. Listen for who is speaking and what one person wants to find out. Pause the recording at a question, then answer it aloud using your own life as the subject. If you need to look up a word, check it in the chapter and then try the answer again without looking at the page. If you are practising with a classmate, they can ask you a follow-up question. If you are alone, imagine what they would ask and record a second answer.
The routine works best when it is short. Focus on a single exchange rather than trying to review the entire lesson at once. The publisher's official Menschen series page can help you locate official study materials, but you should primarily rely on the audio and worksheets provided by your course tutor.
Listen to the recording once to understand the general situation, then replay the specific turn you want to practise. Keep your answer simple and direct. Note down whatever stopped you, whether it was a past tense verb, a preposition or a specific German noun for a food item. Bring that sentence to your teacher. There is no set schedule for this practice. Use it when you have a few minutes between classes.
Meeting the parents (Lektion 1)
In Lektion 1, Mein Opa war auch schon Bäcker., the class focuses on talking about jobs, describing family relationships and putting past life events in order. The textbook introduces the past tense (Präteritum) forms of haben and sein, alongside the possessive articles unser and euer. To practice these grammar points outside of class, you can use the companion course Meeting the parents from HearSay.
The scene is set on a regional train from Bochum into the Sauerland on a Sunday morning. Derya is taking her boyfriend Malte to meet her parents in Arnsberg for the first time. Malte is nervous and asks about her family's background to prepare himself. They speak informally using du. The lessons in this course cover asking about occupations, telling a family story in chronological order and talking about childhood dream jobs.
To practice this theme, listen to the train conversation or the publisher's audio for Lektion 1. Focus entirely on the occupations mentioned. Do not worry about translating every word. Simply listen for how the speakers connect specific jobs to different family members, such as Derya's grandfather coming from Turkey to work in the Ruhr region mines (Bergbau).
Next, try a speaking exercise using your own family details. Imagine a colleague asks you about your parents or grandparents. Speak your answer aloud. For example, you might say that your mother was a teacher (Lehrerin) or your grandfather worked in an office (Büro). To talk about your childhood dream job, use the past tense of wollen to explain what you wanted to be. By adapting the structure of the train dialogue to your own life, you turn a grammar rule into a practical story.
If you prefer to keep your personal life private, invent a fictional family tree for the exercise. Assign jobs to two relatives and describe how they are related. Ask a partner to repeat the relationship back to you. If they make a mistake, find a simpler way to explain it. If you are practising alone, draw a quick diagram and describe the connections without reading your notes.
Training for the company run (Lektion 7)
Lektion 7, Wir könnten montags joggen gehen., introduces the subjunctive Konjunktiv II forms könnte and sollte to make suggestions and give advice. It also covers temporal adverbs like montags and the preposition zwischen with the dative case. You can explore these structures through the HearSay companion course Training for the company run.
This conversation takes place in the kitchen of an insurance office in Wiesbaden on a Monday morning. Christian has signed up for the company's five-kilometre run, but he has not exercised in years. He asks his colleague Carina, an experienced runner, for advice over coffee. They address each other with du. The lessons cover asking for training tips, suggesting times to run together and admitting physical limitations.
Start your practice by listening to this office scene or the corresponding audio from your Hueber textbook. Focus specifically on how the speakers make suggestions. Listen for the words sollte (should) and könnte (could), and note how they schedule runs using zwischen (between) and temporal adverbs like dienstags (on Tuesdays) or abends (in the evenings).
To practice speaking, personalise this scenario. Imagine a friend asks you how to start a new fitness routine or learn a new skill. Give them two recommendations aloud using du solltest or wir könnten. You might suggest running on Thursdays or meeting between five and six in the evening. Admitting a weakness is also useful practice. State aloud what time of day you are too tired to exercise. This helps you practise giving polite suggestions in German.
You can also practice negotiating plans with a classmate. Have your partner reject your first suggestion because they are busy or dislike running, then suggest an alternative. If you are studying alone, speak both sides of the conversation, changing the constraints each time. You can use this same language to arrange study sessions, coffee meetings or weekend trips.
Lunch at the student canteen (Lektion 12)
In Lektion 12, Wenn es warm ist, essen wir meist Salat., you learn to use the subordinating conjunction wenn (if/when) to describe habits and conditions. This chapter also covers comparing eating habits, expressing quantities and showing surprise. You can practise these concepts with the companion course Lunch at the student canteen.
This scene is set in the busy university canteen (Mensa) in Tübingen during a Tuesday lunchtime. Beatriz, an exchange student from Brazil, sits down at a table with Lennart, a German student. They use the informal du register and compare what they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, discuss how stress affects their appetite, and talk about German food habits.
Your listening task for this unit is to identify the conditional sentences. Listen to the canteen dialogue or your classroom recordings, and pay close attention to where the verb goes in sentences that start with wenn. Notice how the verb moves to the end of the wenn clause, and how the main clause starts with the verb.
To practice speaking, describe your own eating habits using this structure. Speak aloud about what you eat when it is hot, when you are stressed or when you have very little time. For example, you might say: Wenn ich wenig Zeit habe, koche ich Nudeln (When I have little time, I cook pasta). You can also compare your current diet with what you ate as a child.
Ask a practice partner what they eat before an early class or after a long day at work. If you are practising alone, imagine an answer that is different from your own and explain why someone might make that choice. Keep your sentences short and focus on correct word order. Write down any difficult sentences to check with your teacher.
Change the question, not just the answer
After you give an answer during your practice, try to ask a follow-up question. This helps keep the conversation going and gives the other speaker a reason to respond.
Instead of simply stating your job or your family's background, ask the other person about theirs. If you are practising the family theme from Lektion 1, ask: Und was machen deine Großeltern? (And what do your grandparents do?). If you are planning a training session for Lektion 7, do not just agree to a day. Ask a clarifying question about the time: Treffen wir uns vor oder nach der Arbeit? (Shall we meet before or after work?).
If you miss a word during your practice, do not stop the conversation. Try to describe the missing word in simpler German, and then look up the exact term afterwards. If you are practising with a classmate, ask them to clarify what they meant. The goal of this practice is to communicate real meaning rather than to recite perfect, memorised sentences.
Take one useful question back to class
At the end of your practice session, make a note of three things: your first spoken answer, the phrase or vocabulary word you had to look up, and one question for your teacher.
Check the grammar explanations in your Menschen A2.1 textbook. If you are still unsure about a specific word order or verb form, bring your attempted sentence to your next class. Your teacher will find it much easier to help you if you bring a concrete example of what you were trying to say.
Your official textbook, homework assignments and CD recordings are more than enough for this routine. The optional Menschen A2.1 companion courses on HearSay provide additional real-world dialogues on related themes if you want to practise your listening in different contexts.
HearSay is not affiliated with or endorsed by Hueber Verlag. Menschen A2.1 is a trademark of its owner. These are our own companion conversations, written around each chapter's themes.
FAQ
Which edition and chapters of Menschen A2.1 does this guide use?
This guide is based on the first edition (1. Auflage, 2013) of Menschen A2.1 published by Hueber Verlag. It focuses on the topics, vocabulary and grammar from Lektion 1, Lektion 7 and Lektion 12. If you are using a different edition of the textbook, check your book's table of contents to match the chapter titles.
Can I use this practice routine without HearSay?
Yes. The practice routine is designed to work with your official textbook, classroom homework and the publisher's audio recordings. HearSay offers optional companion courses on similar themes if you want extra listening and speaking practice, but they are not required to use this routine.
What should I do if I cannot answer without reading?
If you find it difficult to speak without looking at your notes, start by checking just one key word or verb form in your book. Give a very short, simple answer first. If you are still unsure about the grammar, write the sentence down and ask your teacher to check it in your next class.