Hi,

I can't start german lesson 'till Sept...is there any book or website do you recommend to start studying by myself during the summer months?

tks a lot.

Hello,

I have used the Linkword series and found it very useful for quickly building up a vocabulary ... I have also found the Berlitz system useful, both are available over the internet.

good luck!

This site learn-german-fast-and-easy.com sends 6 free lessons for you to try by email over 6 days.

I pulled this from another post I did a few months back. Might stimulate some ideas about learning a new language (in this case German). I have not re-checked the links. Hopefully they still work.

Some more resources and thoughts from Tim Ferriss "The 4-Hour Workweek".

He has some interesting ideas on the practical side of learning a language.

http://fourhourworkweek.com/bonus/pd...-dont-work.pdf

http://fourhourworkweek.com/bonus/pd...arn-lang-A.pdf

http://fourhourworkweek.com/bonus/pd...f-wrapping.pdf

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog...-plus-a-favor/

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog...date/#more-609

http://german.about.com/

very helpful, give it a try and it is free.

One more Ferris blog post:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog...age/#more-1077

Another free link you can give it a try :

http://www.babbel.com/

And start watching German TV or German language DVDs (with or without subtitles in English)

You might as well start training your ears to sort out the German language sounds...

It takes awhile but there's really no other way to learn to understand a foreign language other than listening to it for awhile.

at least that I know of...

For me it took about 6 months with French and German (including Baselditch)

try and supplement your grammar that you learn by watching german tv daily. Many programs have subtitles that are indicated on the appropriate teletext page or you can check the free newspapers for this info (20 minutes, blick am abend ect). I find keeping up to date with a german soap helps a lot.

Thank you all!!

Once you start learning a bit, use it. By that I mean start trying to converse with people in german and try not to be aprehensive or embarassed. Hearing/understanding a language and speaking can be quite different things.

That is something I should have done because for the first three years in Switzerland I didn't and learned quite slowly, and as soon as I was forced to use german at work, I learned MUCH faster.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/dplus/

Good to start out.

really pretty decent

http://www.livemocha.com/

I strongly suggest that you join a german class in addition to teaching yourself with the help of the internet. It doesnt make sense to have a huge vocabulary but you have no idea when or how to use a certain word. Also the grammar (f.ex. structure of sentences) is quite different to the english one and you will not learn this just with the internet.

Anyway, am surprised that there are so many native english speakers here in Basel who have been here for quite some time and are still not able (and willing) to communicate in german. Am sorry if this sounds a bit arrogant but see it the other way round: if I worked in England, would meetings be held in german just because I am a native german speaker? Or could i take it for granted that i can go to shops and speak german and get a reply in german? I doubt it big time!

veraaloe - you are absolutely right, there is no substitute for german classes, the original question that was asked was how someone could improve their german before joining a class that didn't start for some time. You are also right in that it is shameful that there are a lot of native english speaking people here that seem unwilling to communicate in german...this is certainly not my intent.. for myself I was promised german classes by the company I work for and they have failed to deliver on that promise, I work for an american company who, rightly or wrongly, use english as their business language and so I can't argue that I need german for business and insist they honour that promise. The two internet courses I have used have helped me an awful lot in the absence of a class and were simply a suggestion for someone wishing to suppliment their german lessons. Also I have experienced, several times, that I go into a shop and speak german but on hearing my accent the shop workers automatically speak english in reply....what's a girl to do? I continue my battle to improve my german and intend fully to continue to do so, and will be starting classes myself soon

does it really matter if the company pays for the lessons or not??

ya.. totally agree with that. trying to speak a few words and small sentences also helps boosts the confidence...

there's a nice site http://forvo.com/ where you can hear the pronounciations of words of different languages.

it matters to me a little that they promised it and haven't delivered, but in reality my need to learn is more important... hence I'm paying for my own classes

What I also find is a good idea when you're learning a language, is to listen to podcasts on the internet in that language (maybe this would be for intermediate speakers then). You can find podcasts about german/swiss culture, or listen to current news. Even if you don't understand everything, it gives you a better ear for the language I find

Have a look at http://www.podclub.ch/ , set up by Migros Klubschule.

It has podcasts in different languages that you can download for free, and there is (I think!) a transcript of each podcast as well.

local boyfriend/girlfriend can also be very useful for learning German especially one that does not speak english.