Vocabulearn German/Englisch/Level III: Instant Vocabulary Fast, Fun & Effective (VocabuLearn)

Rating:
Summary: Only for the most serious student
Review: Basically this program consists of audio flash-cards accompanied by repetitive classical music (to enhance the learning experience). If you are looking for an easy or fun way to improve your language skills, this program is NOT for you. If you are determined to improve your skills through sheer hard work, through rote repetition -- this can be a very useful tool. I especially find it useful in practicing the pronunciation of the words -- which are not always intuitive from what I had learned from books. Words like "die Suppe" -- which is pronounced like "DEE ZUP-UH" can only be learned from hearing a native speaker's lilt and vowel placement. Expect to listen to each tape about 15-20 times before it can be internalized. I would recommend it for jogging or commuting -- some activity during which you can focus on the tapes. I would also recommend repeating BOTH the Engish and the German aloud -- to associate the words with more than one sense. Though not for the lazy learner, if you want to solidify your vocab skills through hard work, I give it a hefty thumb up.

Rating:
Summary: Only for the most serious student
Review: Basically this program consists of audio flash-cards accompanied by repetitive classical music (to enhance the learning experience). If you are looking for an easy or fun way to improve your language skills, this program is NOT for you. If you are determined to improve your skills through sheer hard work, through rote repetition -- this can be a very useful tool. I especially find it useful in practicing the pronunciation of the words -- which are not always intuitive from what I had learned from books. Words like "die Suppe" -- which is pronounced like "DEE ZUP-UH" can only be learned from hearing a native speaker's lilt and vowel placement. Expect to listen to each tape about 15-20 times before it can be internalized. I would recommend it for jogging or commuting -- some activity during which you can focus on the tapes. I would also recommend repeating BOTH the Engish and the German aloud -- to associate the words with more than one sense. Though not for the lazy learner, if you want to solidify your vocab skills through hard work, I give it a hefty thumb up.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource
Review: I disagree. This program gives the PATIENT language student a chance to improve his/her German vocabulary substantially. As a former student of German at the University of Virginia, I highly recommend this course.

Rating:
Summary: It did not help me
Review: Let us speak frankly, learning vocabulary is boring. This program does not make it more amusing. I doubt that this is going to help you a lot to gain fluency in German. On the other hand, if you want to improve your pronunciation there are specialized courses. Maybe I am not so patient as "a former student of German at the University of Virginia" but in my modest opinion reading books is the best way to learn vocabulary.