Learning German Language - Any good resources out there? (2 Viewers)

[magicsurfbus]

I've signed up for a German language evening class at my local college, as my current mastery of the language is limited to what I read in Commando war stories as a kid. Great if you're in an artillery bombardment but hopeless if you're at a ticket office.

I already have a feeling that the course's teaching style won't best suit me but I want to stick with it so I can have the chance to interact with others. However, quite a few of the other students have done some German at school in the past so I need to catch up on the basics.

I've got a free phone app called Vocabulary Trainer, which on first impression seems alright, but I'm not mad keen on staring at a tiny mobile screen for very long so I'd only use it in the odd spare moment.

I'd be interested to know of any other resources that you've found useful, particularly any free websites that have good audio-visual material (as opposed to just lists of grammar and vocabulary) and/or interactive exercises for learning the German language.

Danke schön.

 

[mariner]

I learned what German I had, when I lived there, from a Linguaphone course!

Don't even know if they are still going.

I have used Rosette Stone for my Spanish and it's pretty good.

It's like anything else, once you start, you have to see it through, which is easier said than done.

Bitte Schon.

 

[CWH]

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http://deutschkurse.dw.com/KursPlattform/WebObjects/KursPlattform.woa/wo/2.1

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[bellabee]

I'm subscribing to Babel to try to learn a bit of Portuguese. I like the Babel style of teaching. If you go to their web site, you can have a go and see if you like it before subscribing.
I am lucky enough to be fluent in German - and would say that the learning of German can be a long, hard slog. It's grammatically quite complex for a native English speaker, so you'll have to put in a lot of work to begin with. Spanish and French are much easier by comparison.
It's well worthwhile persevering with any language, though. It just brings a whole new perspective to your travels.
Good luck!

 

[vwalan]

there used to be a bbc course learning german .it was called when in germany....
my kids found it useful. it had a book and a cassette . it accompanied a bbc tv series about learning german .
i know my eldest took evening classes at our local collegue has he was late starting german at school .
he need special permission to take the evening course . but he spent lots time with the book and the cassettte and with the schhol teachings he got highest mark on his o level german .
i really only speak car parts . not good for conversation . but my lad was brill.
if you get stuck give a pm . i can send the kit . would like it back but if you want to borrow it give a shout. inne spracken bichen duetch . bremmsen . hauspouf . kupplung , kupplung hanger . litch machine . spelling might be wrong .
i speak better arabic . that one is a great one to learn .

 

[Tootles]

I learned what German I had, when I lived there

Bet it was your oath of allegiance mate!! I had you all wrong, you signed the German one.......

"Ich schwöre bei Gott diesen heiligen Eid, daß ich dem Führer des Deutschen Reiches und Volkes Adolf Hitler, dem Oberbefehlshaber der Wehrmacht, unbedingten Gehorsam leisten und als tapferer Soldat bereit sein will, jederzeit für diesen Eid mein Leben einzusetzen."

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[mariner]

Bet it was your oath of allegiance mate!! I had you all wrong, you signed the German one.......

You really are a Dick Head!

How much googling did you have to do to get that?

 

[Rob and Val]

We bought this to help learn a little German before we went on holiday to the Mosel in June. It was very helpful: -
Amazon product ASIN B00A4TIX6U

 

[Tootles]

You really are a Dick Head!

Thanks.....I'm........flattered....

How much googling did you have to do to get that?

Actually, its written on my swastika flag, the one I got off a snotty nosed pimply kid in Wolverhampton. You know him, you went to his house.

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[Landy lover]

To be honest when we have been over there we had a good phrase book and that worked very well in breaking the ice, we then found most spoke excellent English and when you got to know them they were keen to practice their English and also helped with us learning German - the thing you do need more than anything is continual practice interacting with German speaking people. We have not been over now for 5 years and therefore we are very rusty. Found the southern Germans very pro English and great fun to be with.

 

[mariner]

He was from Walsall and you signed his petition!

 

[Tootles]

He was from Walsall and you signed his petition!

And proud I am for doing so.

Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer

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[pappajohn]

While i attended German language night class my ex gf, who speaks fluent kraut WITH a regional accent, went to Spanish class.
From day one the Spanish tutor would not speak English.
She actually learnt quite a bit of Spanish.

 

[Minxy]

i really only speak car parts

Ah ... can you confirm what this is please:

"flippenfloppenmuchenspreaden"​

My friend told me it was German for a windscreen wiper!

 

[TheBig1]

Ah ... can you confirm what this is please:

"flippenfloppenmuchenspreaden"​

My friend told me it was German for a windscreen wiper!

a shit spreader for the tractor

seriously, every charity shop I have ever been in seems to have a set of teach yourself german. normally only a couple of quid and when done send them back

best place to learn german though is germany. i picked up more speaking with german friends than i ever did from books

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[Gromett]

I went through a bunch of different courses when I was trying to learn French. The best one however that actually worked really quickly was the Michel Thomas ones. He has quite a unique style which is very effective and very easy. He also does a German one which may be worth a try.

There is no book, no writing stuff down or struggling to remember stuff. It concentrates on effective communication as quickly as possible and you find yourself building vocabulary very quickly at the same time as you learn how to use it. I was extremely impressed.

I tried the linguaphone and BBC courses at great expense and failed miserably with them.

 

[Gromett]

If you want to know more about the Michel Thomas method...

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[magicsurfbus]

Thanks for the info so far people - all very helpful.

Coming from a teaching background I fully understand that everyone has different learning styles, and I've already done year long courses in French and Italian, and a short one in Spanish (although I forgot most of that one). Of course its best to be in the country reading signs and notices and so on but that only happens for me when we holiday there, and I don't like relying on people to speak my language in their own country, however good they are at it. Hell, I even learned a few words of Dutch for our last trip there and they speak English better than most English do.

The difference with this course is I'm not working full-time any more so I actually have time to practice the language at home between lessons. If my experience at school is anything to go by I reckon ploughing through set exercises in a textbook will get me nowhere, and formal grammar is a complete non-starter, It needs to be a bit more varied and interactive, and include the sound of people speaking the words. I want to get beyond simple phrase book sentences, and most importantly I need to be able to ask about items I'm buying and haggle over prices!

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[filopastry]

If you want to know more about the Michel Thomas method...

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I used Mr thomas for french and found his method of teaching good ... "for me" I know others have tried his programmes without success .... my view ... BRILLIANT

 

[vwalan]

Ah ... can you confirm what this is please:

"flippenfloppenmuchenspreaden"​

My friend told me it was German for a windscreen wiper!

der sceibenwischer is windscreen wiper.
but the best book i have is a oxford duden pictorial german & english dictionary.
started with a french one , helped alot for in france . the german one followed ,cost 12 quid in 92.

 

[Hagstrom]

Michel Thomas worked for me too.

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[oldfozzie]

Not tried the German course, I speak that already, but have had a lot of success with http://www.earwormslearning.com for learning French, its based on brainwashing techniques which certainly worked quite well with my tired old brain

 

[DBK]

Ah ... can you confirm what this is please:

"flippenfloppenmuchenspreaden"​

My friend told me it was German for a windscreen wiper!

That's not far from the truth. Some German technical terms are literally made up of words joined together to describe the whole and end up ludicrously long by our norms. So the German for a gyroscope translated is something like "bit-of-metal-which-spins-around-an-axis" and takes up two lines. In a tank repair workshop staffed by Germans which I knew the locals soon ditched the proper term and called it a gyroscope. They still use gyro to describe kebabs I think.

 

[gus-lopez]

While i attended German language night class my ex gf, who speaks fluent kraut WITH a regional accent, went to Spanish class.
From day one the Spanish tutor would not speak English.
She actually learnt quite a bit of Spanish.

All like that around here & it is rare to find one that Actually speaks English. We learnt in Spanish only. The children attending to learn English were taught by UK English teachers who rarely spoke Spanish.

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[mariner]

That's not far from the truth. Some German technical terms are literally made up of words joined together to describe the whole and end up ludicrously long by our norms. So the German for a gyroscope translated is something like "bit-of-metal-which-spins-around-an-axis" and takes up two lines. In a tank repair workshop staffed by Germans which I knew the locals soon ditched the proper term and called it a gyroscope. They still use gyro to describe kebabs I think.

Gyros or Gyro, is the Greek word for dish made of meat, cooked on a rotisserie.

It did look for a while that the Gyros was going to replace the Bratwurst as the street food in Germany, but fortunately it didn't and the Imbiss is alive and well.

 

[Minxy]

Ah ... can you confirm what this is please:

"flippenfloppenmuchenspreaden"​

My friend told me it was German for a windscreen wiper!

Gawd help those of who who thought this was a 'serious' question!

"Flippen floppen muchen spreaden ... " in English would be:

Flipping and Flopping Muck Spreader!​

Shame it's not April Fools Day!