<p>I've finished the required four semesters of a foreign language (German) at my college. I'm still interested in the subject, but do not want to pay for unnecessary credits. </p>
<p>What steps could I take to improve my abilities outside of the classroom? Would I benefit from watching German television and reading German news websites? </p>
<p>I'm wanting to visit Germany at some point, and stay for a couple weeks - however, that won't be possible until I graduate in May '10.</p>
<p>I definitely would watch some german television shows and listen to alot of music. I think that helped me with my japanese because I started translating the lyrics after awhile.</p>
<p>Also can you just sit in in your language classes? :D</p>
<p>You would definitely benefit from watching German TV and etc. It’ll keep the language fresh in your head because if you don’t use it, the memory of the language will diminish in time.</p>
<p>See if your college offers any opportunities to study abroad there or something! Other than just you visiting maybe?</p>
<p>german tv/music (check out the band juli)</p>
<p>or, when all else fails, free rice: german edition. (freerice.com) it’s highly addicting.</p>
<p>for German music: Rammstein!!!</p>
<p>There are a lot of great German films as well. I’d recommend watching the lives of others. it’s absolutely delightful</p>
<p>^
hahaha Rammstein’s awesome…</p>
<p>Pick up some films by Werner Herzog- Stroszek, Nosferatu (the 70s one), and Fitzcarraldo come to mind.</p>
<p>if you’re into video games, play on german servers. There’s generally some on games like Counter Strike and Team Fortress 2.</p>
<p>Check out German news websites, newspapers and magazines</p>
<p>spiegel.de is a good news site.</p>
<p>you need a systematic approach for improving your skills. The advice so far has given some good ideas on particular actions, but you need to put them into context of a larger plan. You need to come up with ideas on expanding your vocabulary, practicing speaking, improving understanding, etc.</p>
<p>You can find lots of info on learning/improving a language on the web. For example, [Language</a> Learning Forum](<a href=“http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/default.asp]Language”>http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/default.asp) Take a look also at the material at [Resource:</a> Fokus Deutsch](<a href=“http://www.learner.org/resources/series104.html]Resource:”>http://www.learner.org/resources/series104.html) And in many cities there are meetup groups, where you get together with other people sharing an interest in speaking your language.</p>