Hugo Language Course: German In Three Months (with Cassette)

Rating:
Summary: Breaking the Language Barrier
Review: "German In Three Months" is a thorough review of German which is user friendly and--when used with the tape option--provides important components of language learning done without a flesh-and blood teacher: hearing a native speaker pronounce, construct sentences, and use the rhythms unique to each language. My purpose in using the set was to resurrect my college German which has been ignored for thirty years. It served that purpose admirably. The set is not in the "useful phrases for the three-day tourist" style; but rather provides a relatively rigorous overview of grammar, as well as a varied started vocabulary. This throughness was wonderfull for my needs; but may perhaps be a bit challenging for the absolute beginner. In general, a very good quality package.

Rating:
Summary: An excellant review and challenging introduction to German
Review: "German In Three Months" is a thorough review of German which is user friendly and--when used with the tape option--provides important components of language learning done without a flesh-and blood teacher: hearing a native speaker pronounce, construct sentences, and use the rhythms unique to each language. My purpose in using the set was to resurrect my college German which has been ignored for thirty years. It served that purpose admirably. The set is not in the "useful phrases for the three-day tourist" style; but rather provides a relatively rigorous overview of grammar, as well as a varied started vocabulary. This throughness was wonderfull for my needs; but may perhaps be a bit challenging for the absolute beginner. In general, a very good quality package.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely Gets the Job Done!
Review: Hugo courses are some of the best I've seen (and I've checked out, bought and tried many) for anyone trying to learn a language without the help of a classroom course or actually living in a foreign country. These tapes and book helped me to become proficient enough that by the time I went to Germany I was delighted to discover I could hold intelligent conversations with non-english speaking Germans. The non-english speaking Germans were usually the older WWII generation since younger Germans have many years of compulsory english and thus most whom I met were excellent english speakers. Speaking to younger Germans was somewhat disappointing for me since it gave little opportunity to practice my language skills as they were far superior at speaking English than I was at German (3 1/2 months of speaking German doesn't begin to stand up to years of compulsory study and practice in speaking English). Despite this gap in years of foreign-language fluency - everyone I conversed with, young and old alike, agreed that I spoke German surprisingly well - particularly when they learned I'd only been studying it for 3 1/2 months with virtually NO other tools and NO ONE to practice with.

I was delighted to understand many of the newspapers, magazines, radio broadcasts and tv shows. And I had only been working with this exact course for about 3 1/2 months prior to going there. I followed the author and publisher's recommendations for studying effectively - i.e. 1 hour study sessions every night at home - but I also added listening to the tapes in my car when driving to/from work or errands. I used every spare moment I had when driving to listen to these tapes and practice speaking and it was always fun. I never found it a drudge or a bore.

I was so pleased with the easy and intelligent way this course was presented that I bought the Swedish and Japanese Hugo courses as well and have experienced similar results.

Rating:
Summary: What's needed is here, what isn't is not
Review: If there's anything that drives me insane, it's the fact that 99% of all language courses bombard you with subjects such as "at the hotel," "at the train station," "at the airport," etc, blindly assuming that the only reason you want to learn a language is because you've got a trip coming up.

I grew up with German, and my girlfriend wanted to learn so as to be able to impress my parents (not necessary, but I digress). When I found this and saw that travel vocab wasn't the focus of the course (or anything close to it), I couldn't buy it fast enough. She loves this course and has progessed amazingly quickly (admittedly, with some help on my part).

I admit that I laughed at the title "German in THREE MONTHS," but I've looked over this course and am amazed at what it contains. Since my girlfriend is French and we're in an already extremely long-term relationship, I bought Hugo's French course today (hey, let her return the favor).

I'll review that one when I'm done with it, but as for this course, take the word of a native speaker: you will NOT find a better value for your money than this course unless you're buying a survival course strictly for travel. If you are, you've got 50,000 or so choices at your disposal - if you actually want to learn the language, this course is THE place to start.

Rating:
Summary: Breaking the Language Barrier
Review: The author has done an excellent job of making German approachable to a complete beginner. She begins slowly and proceeds in a clear and logical manner. If you stick with the program, you could actually be speaking a new language in a matter of months. Highly recommended to adult learners.

Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic German Instuction Book
Review: This book starts off easy and gradually works it's way up in a very easy manner. I must warn you that you should not just look over the vocabulary and grammer. I kept memorizing it until I knew it well and then I moved on. My Berliner friend who used to not speak any German to me now talks small sentences to me and says that I have improved dramatically. It's only been two weeks! You have to get this book if you want to learn German quickly. I also recommend Pronounce It Perfectly In German. Hugo's German in Three Months has a good pronunciation section, but this one leaves you talking like a native. They're the best!

Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic German Instuction Book
Review: This book starts off easy and gradually works it's way up in a very easy manner. I must warn you that you should not just look over the vocabulary and grammer. I kept memorizing it until I knew it well and then I moved on. My Berliner friend who used to not speak any German to me now talks small sentences to me and says that I have improved dramatically. It's only been two weeks! You have to get this book if you want to learn German quickly. I also recommend Pronounce It Perfectly In German. Hugo's German in Three Months has a good pronunciation section, but this one leaves you talking like a native. They're the best!