Learning German from a 1970s Language Book

On my 38th birthday a sudden wanderlust pushed me to prepare for a trip to Berlin, so I downloaded Duolingo and began learning what the app thought I needed to know. It quickly felt off: lessons about buying five kilograms of potatoes and an ever-present phone tutor lacked romance, and the app’s reminders grew plaintive—"Mary, I’m not above begging.

Do your lesson, put my heart at ease!" At the library I requested Adrienne Penner’s German in 32 Lessons (1978), part of W.W. Norton’s Gimmick series. Adrienne, credited only by her first name and pictured in a fringed biker jacket, made the book feel like West Berlin in 1978; its sentences read like a spare play—"It’s his broad who makes him so nervous," "She tore up his letter two weeks ago"—and there were no points or streaks, only penciled-in notes from the last borrower at the Osterville Village Library.

learning german, duolingo, berlin, adrienne penner, german book, 1978, w.w. norton, gimmick series, west berlin, osterville library