Assimil Language Courses / German with Ease (Book and four audio compact discs) (English and German Edition) [Audio CD]

Assimil (Compiler)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 1989 | ISBN-10: 0686561309 | ISBN-13: 978-0686561309

This book aims to take users from scratch to having a solid base in German within six months, and to feel comfortable with the language in as little as three months. In only half an hour a day users will move ahead naturally until they are at ease with all the basic structures needed for communication and become familiar with the basic words and grammar of German. The method comprises two phases: the passive phase, in which users simply repeat what they hear and read, and the active phase, in which users begin to create sentences and imagine themselves in a variety of everyday situations.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: French & European Pubns (November 17, 1989)
• Language: English, German
• ISBN-10: 0686561309
• ISBN-13: 978-0686561309
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,883,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining way to learn German, April 18, 2000

By 

Michelle (Christchurch, New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: German with Ease (Assimil Method Books) (Audio CD)

Initially I got this kit out of my local library but liked it so much I decided to purchase it. This study kit is made up of 100 individual lessons, with the aim of doing one lesson each day. Despite good intentions, this has not happened for me - I usually manage about 3 or 4 lessons per week. Vocab and grammatical concepts are introduced gradually, with the intitial focus being on understanding the dialogues and later moving onto a more active phase of study. Every 7th lesson is a review of the previous six, which draws together the grammatical points introduced. The texts are entertaining, and are supplemented by cartoons that are amusing. Using this course I have found my German has made very good progress in a short time. The key thing with this course is persistence - keeping the momentum going and trying to do a little each day. There are a few errors in the texts, but these are fairly obvious and not misleading to the learner. I find it useful to have a dictionary handy to check individual words and a book of verb conjugations (I find the "501 German Verbs" book most useful) as sometimes a new verb is introduced in the past tense. I find the CD format useful for shutteling from track to track. This course may move too quickly for some peoples liking but for me the pace is ideal.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Easy Way to Learn a Language, September 22, 2006

By 

Mr. William Handley (Melbourne, Vic. Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: German with Ease (Assimil Method Books) (Audio CD)

I used the Assimil German course for six months before travelling to Germany. I had never studied German before so my knowledge was nil when I began.

I studied one lesson per day, spending a total of around 20 minutes broken up into chunks of five or ten minutes at a time. I would read the text of the lesson through in the morning, taking note of the meanings of new words and reading the explanations and grammar notes. Then I would play the recording several times until I understood it. Then I read the text several times through the day in coffee breaks or during lunch, then play the recording and read the text in the evening.

I didn't worry about memorising vocabulary or grammar. Any words I forgot would be reviewed tomorrow and for the next week of review. I reviewed each lesson for a week. I picked up most of the grammar by usage.

I was able to converse with my German friends after two months using Assimil and I spoke good German after completing the course in six months. I got a job in Germany as a technical translator, translating from English to German. I had to negotiate in German on behalf of my company and I taught in a German school. After a year I did a lot of public speaking. I wrote reports in German and did a fair amount of correspondence in German.

I was so pleased with my Assimil German program I bought Assimil courses for French, Russian, Dutch, Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, Polish and Italian. I have used them all except for Hebrew and Arabic. Assimil was not my primary program for Russian and Polish but I highly recommend them.

Assimil takes the hard work out of learning a language. Learning becomes fun. Assimil texts are friendly and humorous. Each lesson has a cartoon to illustrate the lesson. Some of the older courses have a central person who visits the country where the language is spoken and you follow his adventures as he comments on customs and the people. You feel you get to know the characters.

I am looking at tackling more languages and Assimil will be my first choice.

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good language learning system, September 5, 2004

By 

Paul Gillette (Garden Grove, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: German with Ease (Assimil Method Books) (Audio CD)

I highly recommend all the Assimil products for aids in learning a new language. I have used Assimil to learn both Hungarian and German, with very good results. The key to this system is assimilation, so be sure to practice a little bit every day for best results. This system will teach you a foreign language, but I have a suggestion to help you along with the process. There is a very good website with radio streams from all over the world, at http://www.live-radio.net/info.shtml where you can find radio broadcasts from the country of your target language. Spend some time every day listening to native speakers speaking the language you are trying to learn, the news stations are best. This way, as you progress in your studies, you will be surprised at to how fast you will be able to follow along to broadcasts and start to understand the native speakers. This is truly assimilation, and the more time you spend studying the Assimil tapes and listening to the foreign radio, the faster you will learn, the more fun you will have, and the more motivated you will become to stick with it. Don't give up! Leaning a foreign language can be a very rewarding and stimulating undertaking.