Customer Reviews

Drive Time: German (CD): Learn German While You Drive (All-Audio Courses)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was very happy with disc 1. Each new word was repeated 3 times, each was spoken slowly and distinctly enough for a beginner, and each was used several times throughout the disc. There was plenty of time to repeat the words, phrases, and sentences. You were quizzed regularly, and the correct answer was given immediately afterward.

Today I played disc 2 and see no reason to ever try discs 3 and 4. You hear each new word, phrase, or sentence once. They are spoken at the rate a fluent German speaker would use. Although the instructions at the beginning of the disc say to repeat things as often as necessary, that is not only impractical, it would be dangerous to do while driving. There is so much new vocabulary and grammatical information that it is (for me, at least) impossible to remember. I could not even hear the words distinctly. How many words in that sentence? I have no idea because it's not possible to hear the words separately.

I listened to the entire disc, hoping that the beginning was only a sort of introduction and that the remainder would go back over things. It was a false hope. The disc is jammed full and quickly done. There are entire conversations that you are supposed to participate in after only one exposure to the content. Not only that, verbs are conjugated (once), and you must remember it all for use later.

If you have some exposure to the language already, are concurrently taking a class, or have a German-speaking friend or relative, this set would probably be a nice supplement and way to practice. But for a complete beginner, it is, in my opinion, frustrating and depressing. I feel as though I wasted my money.

I got so much out of these CDs that I gave mine away to my sister and bought myself some more. We are both using them in addition to a beginner German class we are taking. The CD does an excellent job of drilling in the pronounciation and vocabulary, and adding a few extra words or phrases along the way.

I don't know how this CD would work to teach someone who is starting from scratch who is doing absolutely no studying outside of listening to the CDs. But for someone who is doing a little bit of work, this is a fantastic way to reinforce what you are learning, get more exposure with the sounds of the language, and practice pronounciation and vocab. It's really a great program.

I bought this tutorial after using and enjoying the Drive Time: Japanese set. Frankly, this series sucks. The main problem is that the speakers speak WAY too fast. It's not something that being comfortably familiar with the German pronunciation of letters will solve either. They just speak too quickly. It's as if you're eavesdropping in on a conversation between two people in Berlin which, for me, means I'm going to catch about every other word, if that. So, as an intro tutorial, it's just too fast. The narrator says you can learn from their CD's without any books or materials which is not true for me. If I didn't have the book to refer to, I'd never confidently learn some of these words b/c I wouldn't be able to see them spelled/written in order to discover what letters are making those words that they're flying through at 90 mph. The CD's would probably be good for an intermediate speaker who simply wants to practice HEARING German spoken as a native would speak it. For the beginner who only knows 'frankfurter' and 'kindergarten' and is just starting out, these are vastly more frustrating than they are helpful.

I learned German in school decades ago but never used it, and wanted to prepare for
trip to Germany this summer. Learning Chinese since then made it even harder to go back to German -- got to remember that "Wo" means "where" not "I" regardless of a low, high, rising, or falling tone. This course isn't perfect, but it was a big help for bring back my basic knowledge of German.

The first disk "On-Ramp to German" is really a separate course, intended just to give a taste of the language. The main course in disks 2-4 is intended to give an ability for basic conversation. Disk one was probably added as an afterthough to give complete beginners at least a small chance; some things such as colors are later repeated in the main course. I don't agree with those who say the pronunciation in disks 2 to 4 is too fast -- it is natural conversation. CD players have Rewind and Previous Track buttons, and I needed to make frequent use of them. Breaking the disks into many tracks, each one clearly announced for lesson and section (1a through 17h) in the first seconds, is a very big help. Complete beginners will need to rewind and review each section many times, while those with a strong background might be OK with listening only once or twice. The use of native speakers is a plus, and each lesson is well organized.

The criticisms that I have with the course are
1) Some odd selections of vocabulary words that probably won't arise very often -- such as "spark plug", "parquet floor", and "baggage cart" but leaving out many much
more common words
2) Dialogs using grammar that hasn't been introduced yet. Each lesson on disks 2-4 has vocabulary words, then a dialog, then more vocabulary -- then the explanation of the new grammar in that lesson. Even then, much of the grammar especially about word ordering isn't explained until later lessons.

But these aren't huge problems, and the course is still very useful provided that you rewind and review the lessons appropriate to your proficiency in German.

I can't really review this product from the perspective of someone who didn't already speak German. When I first started listening to the CDs, I was a few months into an elementary German course, and had grown up around adults who spoke the language. So I was somewhat familiar, but certainly not an expert (or intermediate, for that matter). I have only listened to the first CD (twice) so far, but it has helped me a lot with articles and colors. I found my second time through the CD to be grueling, as I had listened to it all once before. But for anyone who is learning German and wants a little boost, I do recommend these CDs. Just pay close attention the first time so you don't have to pull your hair out for a second hour.

It's slow going, but these CDs eat up the drive time. My accent has improved and I'm headed into disc 2. Definitely worth what I paid for them.

There are a lot of choices in this area. These CDs are fine.

This is a very good product, worth buying. You can definitely learn some language basics while sitting in your car.