Customer Reviews

Beyond the Basics: German (Book and CD Set): Includes Coursebook, 4 Audio CDs, and Learner's Dictionary (Complete Basic Courses)

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The general evaluation of the book:

A good self-study material for those who have already had a course covering the basics. Or for those who are so-called false starters.

However, from book editing viewpoint, the book is a nightmare:

1. No active page headings, on the top of each page you have only the title of the book, which makes it a little difficult to locate something specific quickly.
2. Headings on a page are mostly inconspicuous, so you need to look carefully where you are inside a lesson.
3. Perhaps the book is too grammar centered, which is reflected in putting the grammar into the book twice, once inside the units and once at the back. Probably a shorter and tabular description inside the unit and a reference to the grammar summary at the back could have saved some space for some extra material.

All the lessons have the same structure:

1. A long conversation with English translation after each turn
2. Usage notes to expressions and structures in the conversation
3. Culture Notes (in English)
4. Grammar and Usage (the book has a thorough grammar curriculum) (a very long section)
5. Exercises (surprisingly short compared to the previous section)
6. Key to the exercises

What can you find at the back of the book?

1. an 83-page grammar review
2. a 10-page-long guide to letters, e-mails and internet resources
3. the rules of the 1998 German Spelling Reform (2 pages)
4. a short index (2 pages)

What's on the CDs?

1. Each conversation of the book (fast, natural speech speed)
2. Each conversation again but broken up into easily repeatable chunks to help you learn the language while in a car, or cooking in the kitchen or pottering in the garden

Some positive and negative features of the mini dictionary included in the package:

+ it's small enough to carry around anywhere
- one with weak eyes may need to buy a magnifying glass to be able to read the minuscule letters
+ It highlights the most common words, using all capitals, and lists some useful expressions with them.
- it does not have any grammatical information to the words (e.g. plurals to nouns, irregular forms to strong verbs, etc.)

This new series is perfect for anyone who has been "dabbling" in a language and is interested in "finding their voice" so to speak. There are 4 cds with 5 scripted dialogues on each. First you just listen, than it is repeated with time beween each phrase for you to repeat. Each lesson is followed by "Grammer and Usage" where you repeat more sentences. Nowhere but in the book are translations and clarification found.
The format can be challenging at first, because being a beginner you won't understand much. You have to read the book and be persistant to make it work. It really forces you to start listening and understanding dialogues in normal speaking pace.