Because I meet students outside of normal classrooms without large maps on the wall, I’ve been tracking down maps to print out and take with me. Check this out–great maps of Germany!

Print them out, bookmark the page, and learn more about Germany through these maps. They are a great accessory and visual tool for your study sessions and when you're in class.

An "Elfchen" is similar to a Haiku in that it has a set form, however it is unique in that it has 11 words, the lines having 1-2-3-4-1 words, respectively.  Here’s one I wrote for my student’s Valentine’s Day (Valentinstag!) lesson last night:

Liebe

bewegsam

grosse Gefuehle

veraendert das Herz

bringt uns neue Gedanken

innerlich

2-14-12

A great site to help you with your German studies, Toms Deutschseite.

It's worth poking around and looking for some explanations, vocabulary lists, etc. He's updated the format since I first found it, however it's still great information.

The Deutsche Welle (translated: German Wave) is Germany's international news broadcaster and has news in 30 languages, including English and German, as well as podcasts, German spoken s-l-o-w-l-y (langsam gesprochene Nachrichten), and resources for learning German.

Be sure to check out their Media Center for video, audio, pictures, and podcasts. Remember to listen to a segment repeatedly--you will understand it better if you listen to it more than once or twice!!

The Deutsche Welle used to have a newsletter that you could receive regularly with short news items; I used it for practicing my German at the beginning, much like I use German magazines now for practice. This is a very reliable, solid resource for you. Use it!

Spiegel Online is the web version of the German magazine “Spiegel.” It's like Time or Newsweek in its circulation and reputation. Check the English section for news written in English.

This is a highly reputable news source with everything from politics to business, personal feature stories to humor. I read it almost daily and highly recommend it.