Learning German

Welcome to Expat.com, dnaraz

I hope some of the active members of the forum will soon come forward with some hints.

Best of luck
Arlette

Thanks...nothing so far...  I never thought about how hard it would be to try to find German language books/courses in Germany....LOL  I am at a loss....

What about classes at a local university or language school? If that's not an option, maybe a private tutor?

You can also order some awesome grammar books from amazon.de: amazon.de/English-Grammar-Students-German-Learning/dp/0934034311/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287897247&sr=8-1

amazon.de/Schaums-Outline-German-Grammar-Outlines/dp/0070251347/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1287897307&sr=8-4


munichami.blogspot.com

Does the VHS (Volkshochschule) offer classes near you?  This is the adult education system for Germany and is where I'm taking classes in Cologne.  I am only in the first class now so I can't tell you how well the courses work but they have many options for class times, the price is not too bad (200 euro for each "semester") and we are learning a lot of grammar. 

I took Rosetta Stone while I was in the States before coming here and found that the course did almost nothing in helping me to actually create sentences, although it did teach a lot of vocabulary.  Hopefully this way of learning at the VHS will be more successful for me.

Good luck!

Thanks guys for the replies...I will take a look at Amazon....and to Texasgirl (which IS where I came from originally...) I considered the VHS....I am concerned that they would not have a course close to where I live...I live in the country...but it might be possible that I could make it into the city twice a week during the day.  Do they have day classes where you are at and how long do they last?  One of my concerns was that since there will be people from LOTS of places going there as well to learn german...that they would not teach it in English...where I could learn it???  How do they teach english speaking people along with Turkish speaking people for example?  I hate to spend that much money on a course if it was not going to be in a way that I could learn from it and since I did not know anyone that had taken it I was not sure.  They are teaching a lot of grammar?  I would really appreciate your feed back... Thank you for your reply..

I can't say enough good things about the FREE interactive German course at Deutsch Welle. Just look up Deutsch Welle and you should get to the main site then in the links just find learning German and then the interactive course. It has grammar tools, verb tools, a dictionary, interactive lessons with sound so you can hear the words and also videos to listen to then analyze. It has levels for people who've never spoken German before and also higher levels for people looking to do their fluency test. At the end of every section there's a test to do that grades you on your writing skills etc... It's great!

Hi, the VHS class that I am taking is at Neumarkt but I know that they have classes elsewhere because they gave me a few options.  I'm sorry, though, that I can't remember what they were.  They also have options for mornings/evenings and intensive vs. a slower course.

I was concerned about how it would be taught, as well.  We have 20 people in our class (I'd like to have less but unless I'm ready to pay hundreds of Euro more this is what I'm stuck with) and we have people from Poland, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Columbia, Italy, and India.  The teacher actually tries to teach as much as possible in German.  This means we don't everything and in those cases she switches to English because most of the people speak some English.  It has actually worked out better than I thought it would.

Hi, I am going to the VHS the class is called DAF (Deutsch als Fremdsprache)there you can find several levels starting from A1 which means no previous German knowledge.
As texasgirl said normally the class is conducted in German as far as possible, in my class we have people from different countries as well but there is always a way to manage to explain (normally english).
The cost depends on the VHS, I am living in a small town and the price was almost like 60 Euros, but its only one class per week for a total of 12 classes.
Something important to mention it's the fact that maybe at the beginning you will feel a little bit frustrated about the class since everything is in german but i studied it before in my university in Mexico and there the classes was also always in german starting from the first day. Later on you will see that is a "normal" way to push you to learn and improve.

Hope it helps

hmmm...I wish my classes were offered just once a week.  It is daily here...Mon-Fri....and I am not sure I can commit to that since I would have to drive there...about 20 minutes each way everyday or take the bus.  I am going to try to see if they have the books that they use at the VHS at the libraray or available to buy somewhere and see how much I can teach myself.....BUT....are the books in German? Do you mind telling me the names of the books you use?  Thanks for you post.  Any suggestions are really helpful...and everyone has been really good about giving me ideas...  Thanks again...and good luck to you...

Hey!

The books that I use are in German but very easy to translate the instructions into English using Google.  The book is Tangram Aktuell 1 by Hueber.  We supplement with a lot of worksheets, though, and I don't know where to get those.  I also use a dictionary and Barron's 501 German Verbs which is also very helpful. 

I did also look at the Deutsche Welle course as someone else suggested and it looked pretty good, too.

Good luck!

I have not found any institution in Germnany that offers quick teaching of basic vocabulary and grammar in order to give you the opportunity to enrich the basic body afterwards by speaking. Maybe there is in Frankfurt, I don't know, i did not search there. The problem is that you want only the tree body and they offer the whole tree with thousands of branches. And this may be the right thing but takes time- and when you are here and you don't unterstand anything you want to learn quickly, I know!

The only solution is Private Course, after you already have an idea how it should be stuctured and discuss it with the teacher.
If you are total beginner the teacher should speak very well English or you native language- let people say that you should speak only German- in the begining somebody must introduce you quickly to basic German in order to speak afterwards only German!
I went through this last year. I spoke no German but with the right private course I am already almost in medium level~ lower certificate in English. And only in 5 months!

If you are finally interested -->
Right structure of the course for example is for 1.5h course:
30min speaking about the last days-relaxed- writing down the new vocabulary,
15min questions and repeat of the vocabulary you wrote down last time,
15min introduction to a new rule/grammar,
30min good exercises over this.
Homework on this for next time.
Repeat every grammatic rule in 2 courses.
I suggest a native German speaker with good knowledge in English or your native language as a teacher. It is comes  a little more in price compared with private institutes but for what you want is much better! And flexible!

! I also suggest a very good website which offers concentrated the basic german language rules- all explanations in English:
http://www.deutschseite.de/inhalt.html#grammatik

Like that you learn quickly in a level to survive here and make friends. Then, for accurate speaking you can attend a classic lesson of upgraded level in an institute.

Gutentag!

Thanks so much for the website...it is great!  I will have to spend some time there looking over all of it.  I too am having a really hard time understanding how it will be helpful to me to go to a course where they teach in German.  I know people do it all the time...I guess it is just me.  I am all for immersion...but I feel totally immersed already!!!  I am DROWNING I am so immersed....LOL  I need a life jacket!  Thanks for your suggestions.  Everyone has had some great ideas and each little bit helps.  Now I just have to apply them all.  I have some illnesses that make it hard to committ to a DAILY class for a long period of time.  I never know when I will feel well enough to go...so it helps to have some flexibility.  I wish the VHS that is close by was only one day a week...I think I could do that...but it is everyday...5 days a week for a couple of weeks at a time with a short break and then starts again...I just cannot commit to that OR spend the money for something that I am afraid I will only be able to do every now and then...so I have to find something that can conform to ME.  Thanks for your help...

Going back a few years now... but I managed through some locals to find a retired teacher - she taught German as a Foreign Language during her working life - so she taught children mainly from Turkish background.. She was very kind and came to our apartment each afternoon for 1 hour  - I worked hard on the vocab inbetween and she taught me the basics of german grammer.  Within 3 months, I was finding my way without too many problems.

Also helps to read in german (start with light magazines like Bunte)- this brings the language to the front part of the brain and helps retention. And watching tv programs that have been dubbed.  I found Baywatch great in its day because the dialogue was simple in english and therefore easier to understand when translated into german.

Also - make Post-it-notes your friend.  Especially when it comes to der die das... stick them all over your house and the visual will help.

When all else fails - I learned long ago that a glass or two of good red wine often helps to loosen the tongue and help the language flow -  

Otherwise - lots of good ideas already posted - make sure the whatever you chose is recognised when you are applying for your Visa - VHS are great - but not sure they fit the criteria???