Hosted on Podbean: German Island 
Page updated in October 2022
Acknowledgements:
I wish to thank all those who have kindly recorded the texts below: Carolina Seez, Christina Seez, Maxi Gürlich, Jana Kühn, Nathaniel Smith, Laura Bühler, Hannah Entrup, Diana Bösel, Cheryl Blessing and Charlotte Yates.
Note: The six episodes that Carolina Seez and I created to support students going on an exchange to Germany can be found on this page: School Exchange: Audio Texts 
.
— Roslyn Green
Episodes: Related Pages, Quizzes and Downloads
Written by Carolina Seez and recorded by Charlotte Yates
Carolina describes her adventurous and sometimes hair-raising holiday in the north of Australia. The podcast episode is recounted in the first person.
Worksheet: Ein Urlaub in Australien The worksheet is similar to the podcast episode, but is written in the third person. It is divided into two parts: the first provides vocabulary exercises; the second offers practice with supplying the correct auxiliary verb in the perfect tense.
Audio Quiz created at LearningApps: Ein Urlaub in Australien
Written by Roslyn Green and recorded by Charlotte Yates
Sara möchte eine Ratte als Haustier
Sara wants a pet rat. Some children just don’t give up when they have an idea. And why should they?
Written by Roslyn Green and recorded by Charlotte Yates
Ein Brief an den Weihnachtsmann
Sienna writes a letter to the German equivalent of Santa Claus with a mixture of hope for the world and consumer cravings for herself.
- Related Site Page: Unit of Work: Christmas with Downloadable Booklet
- Audio Quiz: Vocabulary Exercises Based on This Text
Written by Roslyn Green and recorded by Charlotte Yates
Die Adventszeit
A teenager and his little brother celebrate Christmas and New Year in Germany.
- Related Site Page: Unit of Work: Christmas with Downloadable Booklet
- Audio Quiz: Vocabulary Exercises Based on This Text
Written by Roslyn Green and recorded by Charlotte Yates
Das erste Jahr der Pandemie | The First Year of the Pandemic
The final year at school is always stressful and challenging. This student had to deal with the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020 as well.
- Related Site Page: Describing the Pandemic in German
- LearnClick Audio Quiz: Vocabulary Exercises Based on This Text
- A LearningApps Audio Quiz
Written by Roslyn Green and recorded by Carolina Seez
Adapted and simplified from Ping Pong 1; recorded by Carolina Seez
Tim und Tom sind Zwillinge | Tim and Tom are Twins
Tim and Tom look so alike that it should be easy to trick their teachers. Shouldn’t it?
Audio Quiz: Tim und Tom sind Zwillinge
Worksheet: Tim und Tom sind Zwillinge
Written by Roslyn Green and recorded by Carolina Seez
Mia findet einen Freund | Mia Makes a Friend
Ben is sad and lonely, but then he meets Mia.
Audio Quiz: Mia findet einen Freund
Written and recorded by Diana Bösel and Cheryl Blessing
Tag eins: Zwei Mädchen | Day One: Two Girls
First day at high school. Anxiety, then joy.
Recorded by Carolina Seez
Ich heiße Hannah | I am called Hannah
Hannah describes herself, her family, her pet and her favourite subjects.
Audio Quiz: Ich heiße Hannah
Written and recorded by Diana Bösel and Cheryl Blessing
Co-written by Jana Kühn and Roslyn Green, recorded by Jana Kühn
Doktor Tierlieb
Doktor Tierlieb is an animal lover who has a menagerie of colourful friends.
Related Site Page: Animal Quizzes
Written by Jana Kühn und Charlotte Yates, recorded by Charlotte Yates
Meine Familie: Unsere Hobbys und Sprachen | My Family: Our Hobbies and Languages
Charlotte has grown up bilingual in Melbourne. Speaking in her first language, she describes her diverse family connections and her interests.
Audio Quiz: Charlottes Familie, Hobbys und Interessen | Charlotte’s Family, Hobbies and Interests
Written by Jainam, Kimberley and Chao; recorded by Carolina Seez
Three Students and Their Hobbies
Jainam, Kimberley and Chao describe their interests and hobbies. These three delightful students were in Year 7 in 2014. Carolina Seez, our young German assistant teacher at the time, checked their texts and recorded them with their permission for others. Thank you, Jainam, Kimberley and Chao.
Audio Quiz: Kimberleys Hobbys | Kimberley’s Hobbies
Related Site Page: A Unit of Work on Hobbies and Leisure
Written by Alice, Rachel and Seungho; recorded by Carolina Seez
Three Students and Their Hobbies 2
Alice, Rachel and Seungho describe their interests and pastimes in these short texts. As Year 7 students in 2014, they quickly learned to express themselves in their new language. Carolina Seez, our young German assistant teacher at the time, checked their texts and recorded them with their permission for others to hear. Thank you, Alice, Rachel and Seungho.
Related Site Page: A Unit of Work on Hobbies and Leisure
Recorded by Carolina Seez
Mein Zimmer | My Room
A teenager describes her room, which is also her refuge.
Quick Quiz: Mein Zimmer → Match 16 pictures of objects in a bedroom with their German names.
Worksheet: Mein Zimmer → Vocabulary explanations and exercises based on the text
A spontaneous presentation by Laura Bühler
Mein Zimmer in Deutschland | My Room in Germany
Laura describes her small room in a student hostel in Germany to a class of year seven students in Melbourne.
Audio Quiz: Lauras Zimmer in Deutschland
Written by Roslyn Green and recorded by Carolina Seez
Eine vergessliche Schülerin | A Forgetful Student
Mia would rather read than have to pay attention to everyday issues. Her Maths teacher has other ideas.
Written and recorded by Diana Bösel and Cheryl Blessing
Erzähl mir von deiner Familie | Tell me about your family
Two young women meet and describe their families.
Corresponding site page with related activities
Written by Jana Kühn and Charlotte, recorded by Charlotte
Deutsches Essen ist lecker | German Food is Delicious
Charlotte has a German mother so she gets to try German food in Melbourne – and she finds it delicious. Mostly.
Audio Quiz: Deutsches Essen ist lecker
PDF file with text and activities
Related Blog Pages: Deutsches Essen ist lecker | Deutsches Essen A-Z
Written by Jana Kühn, recorded by Jana Kühn and Nathaniel Smith
Eine Deutsche in Melbourne | A German Woman in Melbourne
Frau Kühn asks for details as a Melbourne tourist and encounters a helpful guide who speaks German.
Written by Jana Kühn, recorded by Jana Kühn and Nathaniel Smith
Ich brauche Ferien!
Two young people discuss their weekends, their school workload, and their plans for a holiday break.
Audio Quiz: Ich brauche Ferien!
Written by Roslyn Green, recorded by Charlotte
Vier Verben | Four Verbs: werden, möchten, müssen und können
Anna’s plans for the future require planning, dreaming, learning and work obligations. Describing Anna’s future therefore requires modal verbs.
Written by Roslyn Green, recorded by Carolina Seez
Mein Alltag: Ein typischer Tag
Everyday life can be a real grind—especially when you’re a high school student.
Audio Quiz: Mein Alltag: Ein typischer Tag
Related Site Page: Alltag
Written by Roslyn Green, recorded by Carolina Seez
Gestern war wirklich ein anstrengender Tag
The previous account of a difficult day, but this time in the perfect tense
Audio Quiz: Gestern war wirklich ein anstrengender Tag This quiz provides practice with typing in the conjugated auxiliary verb (haben or sein) and the past participle.
Related Site Page: Alltag
Written by Roslyn Green, recorded by Carolina Seez
Auf Klassenfahrt | Off on a School Trip
Year 9 students visit the Australian wilderness, where they wear out their teachers with long hikes, grill marshmallows around the campfire, watch presentations from firefighters and forest rangers, and tackle the high ropes course.
Audio Quiz: Auf Klassenfahrt | Off on a School Trip
Written by Roslyn Green, recorded by Carolina Seez
Am Wochenende mache ich gern nichts | On the weekends I like to do nothing
The teenager’s mother wants him to achieve something. But he is totally unfazed by all that aspirational stuff.
Audio Quiz: Am Wochenende mache ich gern nichts
Related Site Page: Alltag
Written by Roslyn Green, recorded by Maxi Gürlich
Viele Liebesgeschichten | Many Love Stories
Love is complicated. But we all agree, wonderful.
Related unit of work: Familienleben
Written by Roslyn Green, recorded by Christina and Carolina Seez
Meine Mutter ist mir peinlich | My mother is embarrassing
Is there any teenage girl who doesn’t find her mother embarrassing?
Written by Roslyn Green, recorded by Hannah Entrup
Elternsprechtage sind grauenhaft | Parent-teacher days are ghastly
A boy suffers through the first parent-teacher interview— and realises with horror there are nine more to go.
Written by Roslyn Green, recorded by Carolina Seez
Fast alles in meinem Leben geht schief | Nearly everything in my life is going badly
Luka can list his problems one by one. Fixing them is harder.
Related Site Page: Alltag
Written and recorded by Jana Kühn
Besuch aus der Zukunft | Visit from the Future
After a typical day of reckless energy consumption, a teenager has a strange and disturbing dream.
Related Blog Pages: Besuch aus der Zukunft | Umwelt A-Z
Written by Roslyn Green and recorded by Laura Bühler
Horrortag | Horror Day
Oskar has a miserable day, yet he somehow retains his sense of humour.
Written by Roslyn Green and recorded by Carolina Seez
Neue Fans für australischen Fußball | New Fans for Australian Football
Two young Germans go to a game of Australian football. They discover the rules of the game and the passion of its supporters. Inspired by their observations, they even develop a new, football-based definition of “Schadenfreude”.
