German

Home>>Language Index>German

Audio Lessons     Software     Translation    Dictionaries     Exercise Books     Flashcards     Video & Media     Learn Online     Immersion     Culture Corner

You'll find all the resources you need to learn German right here. Featured below are some of the best recommended resources - the ones you're looking for - including guidelines as far as what seems to be so great about these audio lessons, software, dictionaries, and exercise books. Add to that scores of internet freebies which will help you on your way to learning one of the world's most spoken tongues.

If there is something you would like to know but can’t seem to find it through us, please let us know - we will be happy to do some research and do our best to dig it up, and improve the site for you. The comment box is at the bottom of this page.

Did you know?

All nouns in German start with a capital letter. According to Wikipedia this was also common in English a long time ago, but now we simply capitalize proper nouns. German is the only language that seems to have this particularity when it comes to capitalizing nouns.

Useful phrases

guten Morgen (good morning)

guten Tag (good afternoon)

guten Abend (good evening)

Sprechen Sie Englisch? (do you speak English?)

wie geht es dir? (how are you?)

mir geht es gut, danke (I'm fine thanks)

wie heisst du? (what's your name)

ich heisse Clara (my name's Clara)

schön, dich kennenzulernen (nice to meet you)

auf Wiedersehen (goodbye)

bis später (see you later!)

Berlitz Phrase Book: If you're looking for more phrases, here is the ideal phrase book to take with you on your travels. Nicely sized with all the phrases you'll need to get by comfortably on your trip.

Language Synopsis

German is spoken all over the world by about 100 million people, making it one of the world's major languages. About 80 million people are able to speak German as a second language.

Other than Germans who have moved to other countries, the widespread nature of the language can also be credited to the many Mennonite groups that in the past took up residence in North and South America, as well as Russia and former Soviet countries.

According to Mapsofworld.com, the world's top 10 countries with the most German speakers are:

German Audio Lessons

Audio lessons will help you develop your conversation skills and accurate pronunciation. We've found that the best audio lessons for learning German are the following:

Pimsleur Audio Lessons

By far the best when it comes to aiding memory/recall and pronunciation of the language. From Beginner levels to Advanced you will find something that suits your pocket aswell. Pimselur lessons are fun and manageable as you only need to spend 30 minutes per day on them. Very quickly you'll find yourself churning out useful phrases which have been forged into your mind by the scientifically proven Pimselur method.

For a more detailed description of the Pimsleur Method and why it's so effective, please visit our Audio Lessons page.

Where to buy:

We've found that Pimselur Language is both an official distributor of the lessons, and very reasonably priced. Click on the banner below to visit their site.

Michel Thomas Audio Lessons

Whereas Pimsleur comes top for recall and pronunciation, Michel Thomas comes first for developing language structure.

The Michel Thomas course is a must have for anyone serious about learning German. The lessons are designed to quickly and effortlessly teach you vocabulary and language structure without using complicated grammatical terms. The way the lessons help you apply what you already know in English to the German language is masterful. Follow the instructions for each lesson and you'll be creating phrases and questions accurately in no time.

For a more detailed discussion on the Michel Thomas method, please visit our Audio Lessons page.

Where to buy:

Amazon is the cheapest place to buy the Michel Thomas courses. Click on the links below to go striaght to the courses.

Michel Thomas Speak German For Beginners: 10-CD Beginner's Program

Michel Thomas Speak German Advanced: 5-CD Advanced Program (Michel Thomas Speak...)

Internet freebies:

BBC Audio Course: includes a quick course in holiday-German and a guide on German slang.

Catching up with the popularity of Ipod and mp3 players is GermanPod101 - providing free audio podcast lessons, with extra course materials and features on trial for free. Perfect for those of you on the go, and stimulatingly practical!

German Language Learning Software

Using language learning software is a great way to learn a language. Good language programs combine all aspects of learning a language through interactive methods. We recommend the following software for learning German.

Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone is the most comprehensive language learning software course available. The software comes in 3 levels all designed to provide beginner to advanced instruction. Rosetta Stone use the "Dynamic Immersion" method whereby you learn vocabulary through image association. This proves very effective as it simulates the way you absorbed and learned your mother tongue as a child.

For a more detailed description of the Rosetta Stone method, please visit our Software page.

Rosetta Stone Deutsch Level 2

Rosetta Stone Deutsch Level 3

Where to buy:

You can try a free demo of Rosetta Stone software through their official website. All the Rosetta Stone courses are availble to buy either as a boxed product, or an an online sunscription basis. Click on the banner below for more information.

Internet freebies:

BYKI is an excellent free resource for language learners. The free interactive software for beginners to the language is available to download off the BYKI website.

English-German Dictionaries

Having a good English-Germnan dictionary is essential for your language development. We recommend you get your hands on the following:

Oxford-Duden German Dictionary: The result of a collaboration between two of the world's most acclaimed dictionary publishers - Oxford University Press and the Dudenverlag, this dictionary is without a doubt the best English-German dictionary available in terms of entries and usability.

Internet freebies:

Translate into German using the following free online dictionary:

	Language:	German MultiLanguage	Direction: Into English From English
	Word:

Free Picture Dictionary: The Little Explorers site has a free picture dictionary - great for beginners.

Exercise Books

Exercise books can be a great way to develop your reading and writing skills as well as understanding of the grammar and structure. If you like using exercise books to learn, we recommend the following:

Hugo German in Three Months: If you're new to the language this book is a fantastic way to get into the structure of the language. If you're the kind of learner that needs grammatical explanations, this is for you.

PDQ: The Linguaphone course, complete with the CD audio lessons, is perhaps the most comprehensive course around. If you want to learn more than the basics, this course is for you.

501 Verbs: Verb conjugation is one of the many challenges in learning the language. This extremely useful reference tool gives all the possible conjugations for the 501 most used verbs in the language.

Internet freebies:

Grammar Handbook: Everything you need to know about the grammar of the language.

GFT provide four free written lessons about weather, family, colours and numbers. Use this and follow the guidelines in our Immersion section below. You'll be on your way to learning in no time!

---

Language Flashcards

Flashcards are an excellent way to build vocabulary. By associating words with images your mind is much less likely to forget them. We have found German Interactive Flashcard Book (Flash Card Books) to be a good value flashcard compilation.

Internet Freebies:

We are happy to offer free flashcards in any language, please see our Flash Cards page for more information.

---

Video & Media

Here is a table of classic and well known German films that a learner could watch, and if possible, obtain in DVD format so as to be able to use English subtitles to learn the dialogues, etc.

Title	Year	Rating
The American Friend (Amerikanische Freund, Der)	1977	Unrated
Beyond Silence (Jenseits der Stille)	1996	PG-13
The Blue Angel (Der Blaue Engel)	1930	PG
The Boat Is Full (Das Boot ist voll)	1981	Unrated
The Harmonists [Region 2] (Comedian Harmonists)	1997	15?
Heimat II: A Chronicle of a Generation	1984	15
Run Lola Run (Lola rennt)	1998	15
Vaya Con Dios	2002	15?
Wings of Desire (Special Edition) (Der Himmel über Berlin)	1987	PG-13

Internet Freebies:

BBC Video Course: a free video introduction to the language in ten short parts. Also clips from classic TV series.

GFT provide several free language learning video exercises based on famous movies and trailers.

---

Learning Live Online

Let's Talk Online is a well established online school which combines traditional teaching with state of the art media. Whatever your level they'll have something for you.

Internet freebies:

Live Mocha: This online language exchange site allows you to develope your speaking skills by conversing with native speakers who want to practise their English. You can also practise reading and writing the language by writing and receiving e-mails.

Language Immersion

Surrounding yourself with German words and sounds and music will be the very best way to learn, trust us. We are looking into courses abroad at the moment, and will soon be able to recommend one or two. Also, you could look into travelling to Germany on your own back. In that case, we recommend that you invest in some trustworthy Travel Insurance.

Until then, feel free to do your best to immerse yourself where you live, using the following suggestions… for example, use a dictionary to print words like “table”, "door", "window", "kettle", "bed", "chair", "mirror" etc and stick them onto those items around the house. Over time these words will automatically become part of your vocabulary, without even trying to memorize them! You could also in time join some verbs, like eat, open/close, wash, boil, sleep, sit, look, etc so as to associate them with the objects. Try it!

Internet freebies: Immerse yourself right away by...

~Listening to the radio a little each day and tune in your ears!

~Keeping up with the news each day (this site is great because it provides the same news stories in English aswell as German)!

~Keeping up with media!

~Using German Google instead of Google in English and/or setting your search options to include results showing pages in German is a useful way for advanced learners to practice searching and navigating in the language.

~Learning the lyrics to your favorite songs! For example here is a early "rap" song (very happy sounding) called 'Die da' by Fanta 4, and here are the lyrics along with a translation of the lyrics. Listen as they sing to note the proper pronunciation. Sing along if you like, after listening to it for a couple times.

Culture Corner

Cultural Quirks:

GFT provide an excellent page on the Deutsch culture - information on everything from etiquette to cars and famous people.

National Dishes and recipes:

Germany is known for its fantastic bread and sausages and beer!

The German Cookbook: A Complete Guide to Mastering Authentic German Cooking is a fantastic gold-mine of recipes, 560 pages with indexes in English and German.

Traditional Music:

Help Others Live & Learn

Have you had experience in learning German? If so we'd love to hear about how you learned the language. What resources did you find useful? Did you use audio lessons? Which did you find best? Which dictionary was the most user friendly? What software helped you? What tips could you give?

Please e-mail us your tips using the form below. Your shared language learning experiences will save other language learners' time, energy, and money. In fact, that is the the mission of Live & Learn Languages!