Learning speak German

I recently purchased the Rosetta Stone Program for my new Mac computer. Right away I was impressed on how well I was doing on Level I. I don't have a lot of free time so I was surprised when I retained all that I learned in working on the program a little here and a little there. The program is excellent and I've recommended it to my friends

if you want to start with some free programs before buying, I've been recommended these two sites:

http://www.byki.com/http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/

I also tried the bbc site and was very impressed with it as a starting point, plus it's free.

Go to the local library, they may help you... I got great cd/learn German in car.... love it !!

Rosetta Stone is great for linking images, reading, listening, writing AND speaking into the learning process. CD-wise (for car/iPod) I'd recommend Michel Thomas.

Thing that appealed to me about Rosetta Stone ended up being the thing that let it down...for me personally. Learning like a child learns it's mother tongue. Practice and things start to sound either right or wrong to your ear.

Personally, I prefer to learn the 'why' as well. (Spell out a few grammar rules for me please; so I know why something is right and can have an educated guess when I come across something I haven't seen/heard before).

Some good resources on the web to help there tho'. 2 that spring to mind are:linguee.de (dictionary-wise) and mein-deutschbuch.de (grammar-wise).

If you get the time/money I'd really recommend taking a German course tho'. You can't beat a good teacher and students to measure yourself against. I made real progress when I signed up, especially since we had weekly tests to gauge progress.

I also looked for s/ware for my iPhone, since I carry that around all day. (Figured flashcards, dictionaries, translators etc. in ya pocket are handy for moments stolen on ya daily commute). What I found fell short for my needs, so I wrote one and finally published it the other day. ;o)

Phew that was longer than intended! ;o) In short Rosetta good, CDs good, web good, classes excellent...and practice all you can. Don't be afraid to sound cute ;o)

I have registered into one of the language schools in Frankfurt here,. its a good way of meeting people and integrating i think. I think the best bet is still learning in a school.

Can someone recommend a good german language school in Frankfurt or Darmstadt?

I used Rosetta Stone to get a good basis of German. I really liked the program. I'm currently working on the Swedish program as well.

I haven't tried Rosetta Stone, but have also been pleased with the BBC site.  It's interactive and helps you learn German in concrete learning blocks.  I've also been watching children's cartoons in German, which is helping.

The Best way to study languages is on a language school. As someone posted, its the best way to meet new people, with whom you also can speak German and learn even more. I went to a school called the DAS Akademie in Berlin.

(das-akademie.com)

Its very nice and personal.. you easily make friends and the groups are very small.