German fairy tales are not the best solution for totally beginners, however, it’s worth trying reading or listening to their easier versions (see below). They are ideal for learners who would like to improve their vocabulary and have great imagination and love to read, listen or watch fantasy genre at the same time. We are talking here about stories and films which were written or made by Germans. The plot is always great, the films are of highly quality and you will enjoy watching them.
READING
If you would like to READ fairy tales, then feel free to take advantage of the following possibilities:
Reading – EASY language:
- Literatur in einfacher Sprache – when you are there just click on the Märchen box on the left hand side menu. These texts have been adjusted for kids with hearing impairment.
- Goethe Institute has adjusted 12 most popular Grimm fairy tales for learners: Grimms Märchen zum Lesen
Reading – “NORMAL” language:
Autenrieths Linkbibliothek für Lerner und Schüler (when you are there, just click on any of the provided links and chose a fairy tale that you would like to read).
LISTENING
Listening – EASY language:
Grimms Märchen zum Hören: Goethe Institute has also provided a possibility for learners to listen to fairy tales. They are between 3 and 16 minutes long.
Listening – “NORMAL” language:
You can listen to Grimms Märchen as radio dramas too. When you are on that web page, just click on the links in the right hand side menu.
FILMS
If you would rather WATCH films, there are two possibilities for you:
My favourite source of German fairy tales: Fairy Tales in the ARD Mediathek
Another valuable source of fairy tale films can be found here: Märchen TV (this is actually a real fairy tale TV!)
FOR TEACHERS
Materials provided by Goethe Institute that you can use for your classes can be found here: Märchen im Unterricht. You can find many other interesting stuff there. Just look at the tabs at the top of the page!
