Customer Reviews

Communicating In German, (Novice Level)

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a practical little book concentrating on the vocabulary and grammer needed for basic encounters in a foreign country. The idea of a set of books advancing thru the same set of practical tourist and office conversation topics in ever greater depth is a good one. Unfortunately the publisher shipped the beta and there's still quite a bit needed for a finished product. First, someone needs to proofread and correct all the places where new German vocabulary is introduced without giving English equivalents. Next, to be useful for self study, it needs answers to the many reasonably good exercises. And glossaries, both German-English and English-German are a must for those of us who study on the run and and prefer to skip the extra dictionary. Finally, I'd prefer a workbook format with room to write answers, so I don't need to carry a separate notebook.

Schaum's "Communicating In German" three-book series, co-authored by Lois M. Feuerle and Conrad J. Schmitt, covers three levels of competence: Novice, Intermediate, Advanced. I was tempted to acquire the full series based on my very favourable experience with Shaum's "Outline of German Grammar" (I confess to being a Schaum's Outlines Series Junkie since High School). So, I tracked down the three books. The topics covered in the first book are reprised and developed within the subsequent levels. With each pass, newer, "higher level" vocabulary and/or grammatical structures are presented. Although exercises are provided, there is no answer key. In the preface, the authors note that "the answers to most exercises and activities are open-ended." Okay, I'll buy that. However, in many cases, the authors could have provided "suggested" or "likely" answers, but chose not to do so. So, what do I "really" think of them? The objective of the series is to lead the reader through common situations and introduce useful vocabularly at each successive level. In this sense, the authors achieve their goal. However, I have to agree with some other reviewers' complaints, particularly with respect to the lack of answers for the exercises. I'm rating the series as "3 stars", as it represents genuine value for a dedicated student of German.

For anyone seriously interesting in expanding their understanding of German, I would recommend Cambridge University Press's "Using German Vocabulary" by Sarah M.B. Fagan, first published in 2004. While her approach is "somewhat similar" to that of above series; that is, there are increasingly difficult levels of vocabulary to be mastered, she really hits a home-run with her book!

This is a poor excuse for a beginners guide. Not enough explanations are given for the first 14 chapters and afterward, its still bad. Look for something else. I hear the Schaum's German Grammer guide is good for beginners.