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I could be interested in this. I am an intermediate German speaker, but my husband is native and he could help if needed. I've always wanted to learn Arabic, but I have had trouble with learning the basic alphabet sounds in the past. I could really use some help with that. What did you have in mind exactly, chatting over skype? What makes you want to learn German?

In my college Spanish classes, we often used parallel stories. I thought they were helpful, but I imagine that is only because we were already at a certain level of Spanish understanding. We used them more to learn about the various meanings a particular Spanish word can have. By having an English translation right there for comparison, we could see the many different translations/connotations of each word. But I also think that probably anything that gets you to learn a word and associate its definition is helpful. Looking at vocabulary lists is pretty boring, so I'm sure switching it up and reading a story is useful for learning.

Haha, these are great! I especially like "Dumm wie Brot." I'm not sure if it counts as an idiom, but I often hear people say "Kopfkino." As I understand it, it means the imagery of something bad or worrisome which plays in your head. Another idiom to add to the list is "Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof." I haven't actually heard anyone say this to me, which is a good thing I think, but I read it once before coming to Germany and it has stayed in my head. It is when the speaker doesn't understand what you are saying, so they say, "I only understand train station."

I'm waiting for Swedish too! I've used almost finished Duolingo for German, even though I haven't played with it in months. I just keep picking up new hobbies and getting interested in other things. But since I live in Germany now, I should really be focusing on learning Deutsch. :speechless: