Learn Hardcore German: In der Ausspracheübung spricht die Dozentin langsam, und wir wiederholen die Sätze laut. - In the pronunciation exercise the lecturer speaks slowly, and we repeat the sentences aloud.

Accusative = movement into something (direction):
Ich gehe in die Ausspracheübung. – I go into the pronunciation exercise.
Dative = location (no movement):
In der Ausspracheübung sprechen wir. – In the pronunciation exercise we speak.

Your sentence describes what happens during / in the exercise (a location/situation), not movement into it, so dative (der Ausspracheübung) is correct: in der Ausspracheübung.

What exactly is Ausspracheübung, and why is it written as one long word with a capital letter?

Ausspracheübung is a compound noun:

die Aussprache = pronunciation
die Übung = exercise, practice
→ die Ausspracheübung = pronunciation exercise

German very often combines several nouns into one long noun instead of using separate words, where English would say “pronunciation exercise.”

All nouns in German are capitalized, so Ausspracheübung starts with a capital A even in the middle of a sentence.

Why does the verb spricht come right after In der Ausspracheübung?

German main clauses follow the verb‑second (V2) rule: the conjugated verb must be the second element in the sentence.

Here, the first element (the whole first “slot”) is the prepositional phrase:

In der Ausspracheübung – first element (a whole phrase)
spricht – conjugated verb (must be in second position)
die Dozentin langsam – everything else

So the verb moves in front of the subject to keep the verb in second position.

Why is the subject die Dozentin placed after the verb here?

Because something else (the phrase In der Ausspracheübung) has been moved to the first position for emphasis, the subject has to go after the verb to maintain the verb‑second rule.

Compare:

Die Dozentin spricht langsam. – Subject in first position.
In der Ausspracheübung spricht die Dozentin langsam. – Adverbial phrase in first position; subject comes after the verb.

The meaning doesn’t really change; the sentence just starts by setting the scene.

What is the difference between Dozentin and Lehrerin or Lehrer?

Lehrer (m.) / Lehrerin (f.) = teacher in general, especially at schools.
Dozent (m.) / Dozentin (f.) = lecturer, usually at a university or adult‑education context.

The ‑in ending marks the female form:
Dozent → Dozentin; plural: Dozenten / Dozentinnen.

So die Dozentin tells you this is a female university (or similar) teacher.

Why is there a comma before und in this sentence?

In German, when und connects two independent main clauses, a comma is normally required:

In der Ausspracheübung spricht die Dozentin langsam,
und wir wiederholen die Sätze laut.

Each part has its own subject and finite verb (die Dozentin spricht / wir wiederholen), so they are two main clauses joined by und, and the comma is correct and expected.

Why is it spricht … langsam and not something like spricht langsame?

In German, when an adjective is used as an adverb (to describe how someone does something), it normally does not change its form:

Sie spricht langsam. – She speaks slowly.
Er läuft schnell. – He runs fast.
Wir schreiben deutlich. – We write legibly/clearly.

The forms langsame, schnelle, deutliche etc. are used when the word stands before a noun and must agree with its gender/case:

eine langsame Dozentin – a slow‑speaking lecturer
ein schneller Läufer – a fast runner

Here, langsam describes the verb spricht (how she speaks), so it stays in its base form.

How is the verb wiederholen working here? I thought wieder‑ was a separable prefix.

German has both:

wiederholen (inseparable) = to repeat
wieder holen (separable) = to fetch again

In your sentence, wiederholen means “to repeat”, and it is inseparable, so in the present tense it stays together:

wir wiederholen die Sätze – we repeat the sentences

You can tell it’s inseparable because:

the prefix does not move to the end (holen wir wieder would be the separable version)
in speech, the stress is usually on the second part: wiederHOlen.

Why is it wir wiederholen die Sätze laut and not wir laut wiederholen die Sätze?

The “neutral” word order in German main clauses is often:

Subject – verb – (indirect object) – direct object – manner – place – time

So:

wir (subject)
wiederholen (verb)
die Sätze (direct object)
laut (manner: how we repeat)

→ wir wiederholen die Sätze laut

Wir laut wiederholen die Sätze is possible in special emphasis, but it sounds unusual and marked. The given order is the standard, natural one.

What case is die Sätze, and how do we get this plural form from der Satz?

Die Sätze is accusative plural:

We are repeating what? → die Sätze (direct object) → accusative.
Plural of der Satz is die Sätze: the vowel a changes to ä, and we add ‑e:
- der Satz – the sentence
- die Sätze – the sentences

In the plural, the definite article die looks the same in nominative and accusative, so the case is shown mainly by the ‑e ending and the Umlaut (Ä).

Does laut here mean “loud” or “aloud,” and can it appear in other positions?

In this context, laut means “aloud / out loud” – that is, not silently in your head:

wir wiederholen die Sätze laut – we repeat the sentences aloud.

It can also mean “loud” in the sense of “not quiet,” depending on context.

As for position, laut is flexible:

Wir wiederholen laut die Sätze.
Wir wiederholen die Sätze laut.

Both are grammatically fine; … die Sätze laut is more idiomatic here.

Could I leave out the pronoun wir, like in Spanish: “… und wiederholen die Sätze laut”?

Normally, no. Standard German is not a “pronoun‑dropping” language:

You must say wir wiederholen, ich spreche, sie lesen, etc.
Leaving out wir would sound incomplete or poetic, not normal everyday German.

There are a few special cases (imperatives, some very clipped informal speech), but in a normal sentence like this, you need the subject pronoun wir.

Are there any pronunciation tips for Ausspracheübung and Sätze?

A few key points:

Ausspracheübung:
- Split it roughly: Auss‑prache‑ü‑bung.
- Aus like English “ouse” in “house,” but shorter.
- spr cluster at the start of sprache is common in German (like in sprechen, Sprache).
- ü is a fronted vowel (like saying English “ee” while rounding your lips) – different from u.
Sätze:
- The ä is like the vowel in English “bet” or “set,” but a bit tenser.
- The z in German is pronounced /ts/, so Sätze sounds like SET‑tsuh.