Ich, ich, ish, ich, ish, ick

So how does someone who cannot follow the German her workmates rattle off get the needed hour plus amount of practice per day? We fall short of the target but fly from the bow with the tandem. I have two tandem partners, but we always seem to speak more English, hmm.

First great lesson was the pronounciation of "ch". as in ich, nicht, mich. I was told I was sounding it too hard. The breakthrough was realizing that the "ch" in "ich" was different from the "ch" in "noch". The "ch" accompanying open mouthed vowels (as in macht and noch) sound as harsh as the stereotype, but in "ich", it is a hissing whisper, softly aspirated, with hints of "sh".