German language

[yoshimoshi]

Friends please, I'm a beginner (in every sense) aspiring to learn the german language. Self tutor materials from any and everyone are highly solicited. I know you are good people. Thank you in advance.

Please let me know how I can get the materials from you if you can help.

[bonesbines]

most of my German stuff has been in Goethe-Instituts (very good experiences in Munich and Dresden), but i've worked through some books indepedently that are pretty okay:

April Wilson's German Quickly

Christopher Hall's Modern German Pronounciation

Essential German Grammar (a Dover paperback)

not sure what your goals/interests are with all this, but a German-for-reading type thing (like Wilson's book) might serve you best....

[Jenn16]

Hey, I used these self-studying materials from online during my self-study.

If you like to know which level of German you're in on, and like organziation of material, you need to try IE Languages: http://www.ielanguages.com/German.html

If you are a visual learn, and focuses on vocabulary, use German flashcards. They have German words and sentences based on levels of beginner, intermediate, and advanced: http://www.german-flashcards.com/

If you focus on grammar, and like insightful grammar lessons, you must try this Georgia Southern University professor's site. It's also great, because it offers exercises for each lesson: http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/german/grammar/grammar.htm

My personal favorite are lessons from Deutsche Welle. It's more for young adults and teens, because the lessons are colorful and interactive. They also have a game (MIssion Europe) where you learn German, along with French and Polish, while you play: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,,2547,00.html

Email me if you want more online resources for your self-study.

[UnlikelyGrad]

I originally learned German through immersion but have recently checked out some materials to brush up on it. I second the nomination for Dover's Essential German Grammar. It's a good, thorough book, and it's cheap.

I have friends who swear by Rosetta Stone for learning languages, but I've never checked it out myself.

Jenn, thanks for the websites!

[Jenn16]

I originally learned German through immersion but have recently checked out some materials to brush up on it. I second the nomination for Dover's Essential German Grammar. It's a good, thorough book, and it's cheap.

I have friends who swear by Rosetta Stone for learning languages, but I've never checked it out myself.

Jenn, thanks for the websites!

If you already know German, don't get Rosetta Stone. It doesn't let your skip lessons. If you want to be fluent, or master the language, Rosetta Stone doesn't teach enough vocab. And also Rosetta Stone does not emphasize grammar.

However, Rosetta Stone can be good for you, since it requires patience and takes lessons very slowly.

Oh yes you should check out this site: http://www.uni.edu/becker/German2.html. It's a databse of sites that offer German lessons, country info, etc.

Edited July 30, 2010 by Jenn16

[UnlikelyGrad]

If you already know German, don't get Rosetta Stone. It doesn't let your skip lessons.

Actually, I was thinking of getting it as an introductory course for my kids...

One thing I learned over 15 years of homeschooling is that there is no perfect curriculum for anything. No matter what you buy, it will have shortfalls, and you'll have to buy something else to fill in those gaps.

[lifetimestudent]

I am a history student so my goals with German were mostly reading proficiency - not fluent speaking - but I found German for Reading Knowledge to be very useful. Also since I got past the main grammar I have just been focusing on acquiring vocab. For this I have tried a number of iPhone flash card apps but ended up just writing my own in the end since none of them fit my needs. I decided to clone the SuperMemo study system, and the app is called FlashCards++. I've found it to be a godsend in terms of learning vocab - over the past 2 months I have learned > 3000 words in Russian & German combined.