Rating: 
Summary: The best by far!
Review: by Edward Trimnell, author of "Why You Need a Foreign Language, and How to Learn One" (ISBN: 1591133343). This is by far the best course for learning basic German in its price range. Half of the cassettes are formatted for listening only, which is perfect for those learners who spend a lot of time in the car. I would also recommend the Hugo's German in Three Months course.
Rating:
Summary: The best by far!
Review: by Edward Trimnell, author of "Why You Need a Foreign Language, and How to Learn One" (ISBN: 1591133343). This is by far the best course for learning basic German in its price range. Half of the cassettes are formatted for listening only, which is perfect for those learners who spend a lot of time in the car. I would also recommend the Hugo's German in Three Months course.
Rating:
Summary: Ausgezeichnet!
Review: Excellent book for introduction, improvement, review, or reference!
Rating:
Summary: Ultimate German - Basic/Intermediate
Review: For anyone wanting to learn German as a foreign language - this is the course to take. It moves at just the right rate - not too slow nor too fast. It is not an easy thing to teach yourself a foreign language, but as long as you have the interest the authors here make it a lot easier! I would recommend this to anyone who is serious about learning German. The authors also give cultural information besides the language stuff, which is very important. It is an excellent choice out of all the books & lessons out there - this is the best!
Rating:
Summary: Not perfect, but probably the best bang for the buck!
Review: I am taking German in college, and am in my 2nd semester now. I bought Ultimate German to supplement my college textbook. I agree with some of the other reviewers that the material is very 'bland'; however, for the money, it probably provides the best value. It comes with a set of CD's to use with the book, and another set that you can use w/o the book (ie. in your car). The material in the book, while no frills, appears to be accurate and gets straight to the point. The cultural notes are a nice, but the book could use some color and pictures. I've looked through several other 'inexpensive' german course, and I believe this one to be the best for the money. Sure there are probably better courses out there, but they are very expensive. The college textbook I am using is very good (its called "wie geht's", but the book alone was $107, and it only comes with a single CD. I would recommend Ultimate German to anyone who wants to learn German. I would recommend picking up some other reading, as you might get bored with only this course.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic deal if you're motivated
Review: I bought this cd/book set because of all the good reviews on Amazon, and because my fluent girlfriend suggested it. I had no previous experience, unless you count Latin! If you have the motivation and the time, you should definitely spend the $50 (this used to be $50 on here) instead of whatever it would cost for a few college courses. It took me about 5 months to go throught it all. I'm reading Spiegel.de and Grimm's fairy tales now. Here's what I suggest and what worked for me:
-Stick to a schedule. I tried to do 2 chapters a week and memorize 10 new words a day. I was only spending about half an hour a day working on German.
-Buy a cheap dictionary. There are so many typos in this book that you have to get a dictionary to double check. You could use dict.leo.org
-Do more than just the book. The dialogues are good, but you should try to read something else by chapter 20ish (there are 40 chapters). You really need more than just dialogues and subsequent quizzes. Writing a diary or something might help too. Check out Project Gutenberg for free literature online.
-Make your own grammar notebook for reference.
Despite its problems, I can't imagine this package being much better. If you are self-motivating and do everything (including listening to all the cds multiple times) you can get a good grasp of German pretty quickly. I very much appreciated the organization of concepts and vocabulary, and I think it allowed you to pace yourself. Still, you can't expect a 400 page book to thoroughly teach 2 years of grammar, vocab, and developed reading and writing skills.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic deal if you're motivated
Review: I bought this cd/book set because of all the good reviews on Amazon, and because my fluent girlfriend suggested it. I had no previous experience, unless you count Latin! If you have the motivation and the time, you should definitely spend the $50 instead of whatever it would cost for a few college courses. It took me about 5 months to go throught it all. I'm reading Spiegel.de and Grimm's fairy tales now. Here's what I suggest and what worked for me:-Stick to a schedule. I tried to do 2 chapters a week and memorize 10 new words a day. I was only spending about half an hour a day working on German.
-Buy a cheap dictionary. There are so many typos in this book that you have to get a dictionary to double check. You could use dict.leo.org
-Do more than just the book. The dialogues are good, but you should try to read something else by chapter 20ish. You really need more than just dialogues and subsequent quizzes. Writing a diary or something might help too. Check out Project Gutenberg for free literature online.
-Make your own grammar notebook for reference. Despite its problems, I can't imagine this package being much better. If you are self-motivating and do everything (including listening to all the cds multiple times) you can get a good grasp of German pretty quickly. I very much appreciated the organization of concepts and vocabulary, and I think it allowed you to pace yourself. Still, you can't expect a 400 page book to thoroughly teach 2 years of grammar, vocab, and developed reading and writing skills.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent.
Review: I can honestly say this set of cds and the book, are better than the semester long course I took at college. You will learn the basics without becoming confused, and your knowledge of German will improve drastically, both as begginer or intermediate German student. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn German, or needs to learn German due to their profession. With diligence, this will help you learn the language very quickly!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent.
Review: I can honestly say this set of cds and the book, are better than the semester long course I took at college. You will learn the basics without becoming confused, and your knowledge of German will improve drastically, both as begginer or intermediate German student. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn German, or needs to learn German due to their profession. With diligence, this will help you learn the language very quickly!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Learning Program
Review: I have been studying German in one format or the other since 1993. I have tried many different ways to learn and absorb the language in an environment where I have no exposure to it. I have attended classes both at Berlitz and another school; tried innumerable home study programs including computer-based training and found without a doubt this program to be not only the best designed but the one with the greatest retention capability. Even after a 6-month break from studying I can still reccount most of what I learned in many of the chapters I stuidied. Learning a language is a highlyt repetitive task and as a result sometimes a difficult and even boring one. However, this is the only course where I have found that "starting over" at times produces the best and most consistent results. The single qualification I would recommend to any one considering purchasing this course whereupon they will be teaching themselves that they gain a familiarity with the basics of the German language with a very simple learning program. This course, and similar such courses as that of the "Foreign Service", begin right with the language. There is no English instruction except for the workbook. As a result one who is not used to some of the nuances of the language may find initial studying more difficult than necessary.
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