Learning German

My 15yo ds is currently using Rosetta Stone for German. We’re very pleased with it. However, I know others here who like Tell Me More as well.

We use Tell me more and like it very much, it works well for us because I am fluent in German, we use books as well for when we have been on the road.  Three of my favorites is Living German by R W Buckley, Rosenberg’s German How to Speak and Write It, and Living Language Ultimate German Beginner-Intermediate and this one comes with CDs for exercises.  I cannot say if these would work for you – but my daughters like them very much – though most of their learning is coming from Tell Me More.  Linda

This might be a touch young for a 12 year old – but it is free and enjoyable. 

http://www.knowitall.org/instantreplay/content/LanguageIndex.cfm?offset=0

First Step Auf Deutch

Hmm, what we use would be unlikely to help anyone–our 14yo is doing German using LiveMocha and another computer program, babbel.com , and a book, Demystifying German, to help with grammar details.  It seems to be working pretty well, but LiveMocha requires that they be teenagers and also requires pretty fast internet.

All helpful information for us here too. We’ve lived in Germany for a year but still haven’t grasped much of the language. We use a CD-ROM program called Instant Immersion, because it was gifted to us when we moved here, plus trial and error out in town – ha! Excited to try out some of the suggestions. Thanks!

Good luck ladies – Mommasmurf, one of the best ways to learn the language while in the country is just to get out there and try – having lived in Germany for many years – I found all the German’s to be really happy to assist and it really does work.  I wish the girls could live over there like I did for so long, because it really is a fantastic way to learn.  One day we may try and go back, because it is our favorite place in the world to live.  Gaeleen, good luck with Living German and Tell Me More – will you both let us know how you get on?    Blessings, Linda

My mum was German and I spent every summer there as a child plus many Christmas holidays.  My father was English and we lived in England, but mum said Germany must have been in my blood, because I always preferred being there.  I spent every summer on a farm with my aunt and uncle who spoke no English – so I had to learn to speak.  That is actually how I became so fluent in the spoken language – constant immersion every summer and winter, and then when I was in my early twenties I moved there and lived and worked there for about 10 years until I met my husband.  After one year in the US we moved back to Germany spent another three years there and then 6 years in the UK before returning here.  I love the way of life, the walking and hiking trails, the feeling of being safe in my home there. the food, the bicycle paths, the people and sites – I love it all – and both my husband and I consider our times in Germany to be the best and happiest in our lives and we would love to return to live there again one day.  We were very involved with outdoor activities, swimming, hiking, biking and touring and visted many places in Germany while we were there, we actually got engaged in Berlin at the same time as the wall was coming down.  My sister was not so keen, she was English through and through and still is – I was always hankering for Germany and I still do – funny that.  Anyway, that is why I love it – I still have relatives there and friends.  Linda