Evaluating a Workshop Beyond Satisfaction Scores | Learn German in English

German lesson set in a contemporary Berlin everyday setting: After a professional workshop, two colleagues plan a short evaluation that measures later application rather than satisfaction alone..

EN → DE / Level: B2

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Use Evaluating a Workshop Beyond Satisfaction Scores to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Nach dem Workshop brauchen wir mehr als nur Zufriedenheitswerte.

NAHKH dehm VURK-shop, BROW-khen veer mair ahls noor tsoo-FREE-den-hites-VAIR-tuh. After the workshop, we need more than satisfaction scores.
B

Wir sollten messen, ob die Teilnehmenden die Methode später anwenden.

Veer ZOL-ten MESS-en, op dee TYLE-nay-men-den dee meh-TOH-duh SHPAY-ter AHN-ven-den. We should measure whether participants apply the method later.
A

Die Anwendung lässt sich schwerer messen, ist aber wichtiger.

Dee AHN-ven-doong lest zikh SHVAIR-er MESS-en, ist AH-ber VIKH-ti-ger. Application is harder to measure, but it matters more.
B

Wir könnten nach der Umsetzung um kurze Reflexionsnotizen bitten.

Veer KURN-ten NAHKH dair OOM-zet-soong oom KOOR-tsuh reh-flek-see-OHNS-noh-TEE-tsen BIT-en. We could ask for brief reflection notes after implementation.
A

Das würde zeigen, was sich verändert hat und was weiterhin schwierig war.

Dahss VUR-duh TSI-gen, vahss zikh fair-EN-dairt haht oont vahss VY-ter-HEEN SHVAIR-ikh vahr. That would show what changed and what remained difficult.
B

Außerdem liefert es uns Material, um die nächste Sitzung zu verbessern.

OW-ser-daym LEEF-ert ess oons mah-teh-ree-AHL, oom dee NEX-tuh ZIT-soong tsoo fair-BESS-ern. It also gives us material for improving the next session.
A

Lass uns das Formular kurz genug halten, damit es ehrlich ausgefüllt werden kann.

LAHSS oons dahss for-moo-LAHR koorts guh-NOOKH HAL-ten, dah-MIT ess AIR-likh OWS-guh-FUULT VAIR-den kahn. Let's keep the form short enough to complete honestly.
B

Eine übertriebene Evaluation führt oft zu nachlässigen Antworten.

EYE-nuh OO-ber-TREE-buh-nuh eh-vah-loo-ah-TSYOHN FUURT oft tsoo NAHKH-less-ih-gen AHNT-vor-ten. Excessive evaluation often produces careless answers.

Word by Word

Nach In ‘Nach dem Workshop’, ‘Nach’ means after the workshop. It is used with a time or event that follows, as in ‘Nach dem Workshop’ when planning a follow-up.
dem In ‘Nach dem Workshop’, ‘dem’ is the definite article used after ‘Nach’ before ‘Workshop’. It belongs to the complete time expression ‘Nach dem Workshop’.
Workshop ‘Workshop’ means a workshop or organized practical learning session. In ‘Nach dem Workshop’, it names the event that has already finished.
brauchen In ‘wir brauchen’, ‘brauchen’ means need. A reliable pattern is brauchen plus the thing that is needed, here ‘mehr als nur Zufriedenheitswerte’.
wir ‘Wir’ means we and refers to the two colleagues speaking together. It is the subject in ‘Wir sollten messen’, a useful way to make a joint proposal.
mehr In ‘mehr als nur Zufriedenheitswerte’, ‘mehr’ means more and signals that something additional is needed. The reusable pattern is ‘mehr als’ followed by what is being exceeded.
als In ‘mehr als nur Zufriedenheitswerte’, ‘als’ means than and introduces the comparison. Use it in the pattern ‘mehr als’ when saying that one amount or scope goes beyond another.
nur In ‘mehr als nur Zufriedenheitswerte’, ‘nur’ means only or merely and limits the reference to satisfaction scores alone. It commonly appears before the element being restricted, here ‘Zufriedenheitswerte’.
Zufriedenheitswerte ‘Zufriedenheitswerte’ means satisfaction scores, the numerical results of participants’ satisfaction judgments. In ‘mehr als nur Zufriedenheitswerte’, these scores are presented as insufficient by themselves.
sollten In ‘Wir sollten messen’, ‘sollten’ expresses a recommendation about what the colleagues ought to do. A reliable reuse pattern is ‘Wir sollten’ followed by an action, such as ‘messen’.
messen In ‘Wir sollten messen’, ‘messen’ means measure or assess. Here it is used for collecting evidence about later application, and it also introduces the question ‘ob die Teilnehmenden die Methode später anwenden’.
ob In ‘ob die Teilnehmenden die Methode später anwenden’, ‘ob’ means whether and introduces the question being measured. It starts a subordinate clause, where the verb appears at the end.
die In ‘die Teilnehmenden’, ‘die’ is the definite article before the participants referred to as a group. It is reused with the plural noun in the exact phrase ‘die Teilnehmenden’.
Teilnehmenden ‘Teilnehmenden’ means the participants, the people taking part in the workshop. In ‘die Teilnehmenden die Methode später anwenden’, they are the people who may apply the method later.
Methode ‘Methode’ means method, referring to the approach learned in the workshop. The dialogue uses it as the object in ‘die Methode später anwenden’.
später In ‘die Methode später anwenden’, ‘später’ means later, after the workshop has ended. It can be placed with an action to show that the action happens at a later time.
anwenden In ‘die Methode später anwenden’, ‘anwenden’ means apply or use a method in practice. A reliable pattern is a method as the object of anwenden, as in ‘die Methode anwenden’.
Anwendung ‘Anwendung’ means application or use in practice. In ‘Die Anwendung lässt sich schwerer messen’, it refers to whether the workshop method is actually used later.
lässt In ‘Die Anwendung lässt sich schwerer messen’, ‘lässt’ is part of the construction ‘lässt sich ... messen’, meaning that the application can be measured. This construction presents the subject as something that permits the stated action.
sich In ‘lässt sich schwerer messen’, ‘sich’ is part of the construction that means can be measured. The complete reusable pattern is ‘etwas lässt sich ... messen’, rather than assigning the whole meaning to ‘sich’ alone.
schwerer In ‘lässt sich schwerer messen’, ‘schwerer’ means harder or more difficult to measure. It compares the measurement of application with the easier measurement of satisfaction scores in the dialogue.
ist In ‘ist aber wichtiger’, ‘ist’ links the application with the description ‘wichtiger’. The dialogue uses it in the pattern ‘etwas ist wichtiger’ to state relative importance.
aber In ‘ist aber wichtiger’, ‘aber’ means but or however and marks a contrast. The application is harder to measure, yet the speaker says it is more important.
wichtiger In ‘ist aber wichtiger’, ‘wichtiger’ means more important. It expresses that later application has greater importance than the satisfaction scores discussed earlier.
könnten In ‘Wir könnten ... bitten’, ‘könnten’ presents a possible or tentative suggestion. A reliable reuse pattern is ‘Wir könnten’ followed by an action, here asking participants for notes.
der In ‘nach der Umsetzung’, ‘der’ is the article used after ‘nach’ before ‘Umsetzung’. It forms the complete time expression ‘nach der Umsetzung’.
Umsetzung ‘Umsetzung’ means implementation or putting an idea into practice. In ‘nach der Umsetzung’, it identifies the later stage when participants can reflect on how the method was used.
um In ‘um kurze Reflexionsnotizen bitten’, ‘um’ marks the thing being requested; the construction means ask for brief reflection notes. A reliable pattern is bitten plus ‘um’ and the requested thing.
kurze In ‘kurze Reflexionsnotizen’, ‘kurze’ means brief or short and describes the notes. It is used before the noun in this request for concise written reflections.
Reflexionsnotizen ‘Reflexionsnotizen’ means reflection notes about what happened or was learned. In ‘um kurze Reflexionsnotizen bitten’, they are the material requested after implementation.
bitten In ‘um kurze Reflexionsnotizen bitten’, ‘bitten’ means ask for or request. The reliable construction is bitten um something, as in the dialogue’s request for notes.
Das At the start of ‘Das würde zeigen’, ‘Das’ means that and refers to the proposed collection of reflection notes. ‘Das würde ...’ is a useful pattern for describing a possible result of a proposal.
würde In ‘Das würde zeigen’, ‘würde’ marks a hypothetical or expected consequence: that action would show something. A reliable pattern is ‘Das würde’ followed by an action such as ‘zeigen’.
zeigen In ‘Das würde zeigen’, ‘zeigen’ means show or reveal. Here it introduces the information that the proposed notes could make visible, including ‘was sich verändert hat’.
was In ‘was sich verändert hat’, ‘was’ means what and introduces the thing being identified. It is reused after ‘zeigen’ to specify what the evidence will reveal.
verändert In ‘was sich verändert hat’, ‘verändert’ means changed and describes a change that has taken place. Together with ‘hat’, it forms the past expression for what has changed.
hat In ‘was sich verändert hat’, ‘hat’ helps complete the past expression meaning has changed. Because this is a subordinate clause, it appears at the end after ‘verändert’.
und In ‘was sich verändert hat und was weiterhin schwierig war’, ‘und’ means and and joins two kinds of findings. It connects what changed with what remained difficult.
weiterhin In ‘was weiterhin schwierig war’, ‘weiterhin’ means still or continuing to be the case. It shows that the difficulty persisted after the workshop rather than disappearing immediately.
schwierig In ‘was weiterhin schwierig war’, ‘schwierig’ means difficult. It describes an aspect that continued to cause difficulty and is linked with ‘war’.
war In ‘was weiterhin schwierig war’, ‘war’ means was and describes the past state of being difficult. It completes the clause about what remained difficult.
Außerdem At the beginning of ‘Außerdem liefert es uns Material’, ‘Außerdem’ means in addition or additionally. It adds another benefit of the evaluation to the benefit already mentioned.
liefert In ‘liefert es uns Material’, ‘liefert’ means provides or supplies. The pattern here is providing someone with something: ‘uns’ identifies the recipients and ‘Material’ identifies what is provided.
es In ‘Außerdem liefert es uns Material’, ‘es’ means it and points back to the evaluation idea or resulting reflection process just discussed. It is the subject of ‘liefert’.
uns In ‘liefert es uns Material’, ‘uns’ means us and identifies the people who receive the material. It is used with the pattern of providing someone with something.
Material ‘Material’ means material or useful information and resources for the next session. In ‘Material, um die nächste Sitzung zu verbessern’, it is what the evaluation supplies for improvement.
nächste In ‘die nächste Sitzung’, ‘nächste’ means next and identifies the session that follows the current one. It is used directly before the noun it describes.
Sitzung ‘Sitzung’ means session or meeting. In ‘die nächste Sitzung zu verbessern’, it is the session that the colleagues want to improve using the evaluation material.
zu In ‘um die nächste Sitzung zu verbessern’, ‘zu’ marks the infinitive in the purpose construction ‘um ... zu’. Together, the construction explains the purpose of the material: improving the next session.
verbessern In ‘die nächste Sitzung zu verbessern’, ‘verbessern’ means improve. It names the intended action in the purpose expression introduced by ‘um ... zu’.
Lass At the beginning of ‘Lass uns das Formular ... halten’, ‘Lass’ starts an informal suggestion meaning let’s. The reusable pattern is ‘Lass uns’ followed by an action.
Formular ‘Formular’ means form, the document participants are asked to complete. In ‘das Formular kurz genug halten’, it is the item whose length the colleagues want to control.
kurz In ‘kurz genug halten’, ‘kurz’ means short and describes the desired length of the form. It combines with ‘genug’ to express that the form should be sufficiently brief.
genug In ‘kurz genug’, ‘genug’ means enough and completes the idea of being sufficiently short. The reusable pattern is adjective plus ‘genug’, as in ‘kurz genug’.
halten In ‘das Formular kurz genug halten’, ‘halten’ means keep or maintain in a particular condition. The pattern is to keep something plus an adjective, here keeping the form ‘kurz genug’.
damit In ‘damit es ehrlich ausgefüllt werden kann’, ‘damit’ means so that and introduces the intended result of keeping the form short. It begins a subordinate clause explaining the purpose.
ehrlich In ‘ehrlich ausgefüllt werden kann’, ‘ehrlich’ means honestly or truthfully. It describes how participants should complete the form so that their answers are sincere.
ausgefüllt In ‘ausgefüllt werden kann’, ‘ausgefüllt’ means filled out or completed. Together with ‘werden kann’, it expresses that the form can be completed honestly.
werden In ‘ausgefüllt werden kann’, ‘werden’ is the auxiliary that forms the passive expression for being filled out. The form is the thing receiving the action rather than the person completing it.
kann In ‘ausgefüllt werden kann’, ‘kann’ means can and expresses the possibility of completing the form. It combines with ‘ausgefüllt werden’ in the subordinate clause.
Eine In ‘Eine übertriebene Evaluation’, ‘Eine’ means a and introduces one unspecified evaluation. It appears before the adjective and feminine noun in this noun phrase.
übertriebene In ‘Eine übertriebene Evaluation’, ‘übertriebene’ means excessive or overdone. It describes an evaluation that goes beyond a useful amount of questioning.
Evaluation ‘Evaluation’ means evaluation or assessment. In ‘Eine übertriebene Evaluation führt oft zu nachlässigen Antworten’, it is the cause linked to the resulting answers.
führt In ‘führt oft zu nachlässigen Antworten’, ‘führt’ means leads and describes a cause producing a result. The reliable construction is führen zu plus the resulting outcome.
oft In ‘führt oft zu nachlässigen Antworten’, ‘oft’ means often and shows that this result happens frequently but not necessarily every time. It is placed with the verb to describe frequency.
nachlässigen In ‘zu nachlässigen Antworten’, ‘nachlässigen’ means careless or insufficiently careful and describes the answers. It appears as part of the outcome phrase after ‘zu’.
Antworten ‘Antworten’ means answers or responses. In ‘zu nachlässigen Antworten’, it names the responses that may become careless when the evaluation is excessive.

Grammar Points

Komparativ: wichtiger / schwerer

Diese Umsetzung ist wichtiger.

DEE-zuh OOM-zet-soong ist VIKH-ti-ger.

This implementation is more important.

Die Endung -er bildet den Komparativ: wichtiger bedeutet „more important“ und ist ein Adjektiv, kein Adverb.

German Vocabulary

anwenden verb
AHN-ven-den to apply
Anwendung noun
AHN-ven-doong application
bitten verb
BIT-en to ask for
brauchen verb
BROW-khen to need
messen verb
MESS-en to measure
Methode noun
meh-TOH-duh method
schwer adj
SHVAIR difficult schwerer
später adv
SHPAY-ter later
Teilnehmende noun
TYLE-nay-men-duh participants Teilnehmenden
wichtig adj
VIKH-tikh important wichtiger
Workshop noun
VURK-shop workshop
Zufriedenheitswert noun
tsoo-FREE-den-hites-vairt satisfaction score Zufriedenheitswerte

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

later

Show Answerspäter

application

Show AnswerAnwendung

to need

Show Answerbrauchen

to measure

Show Answermessen