The Everything Learning German Book: Speak, Write and Understand Basic German in No Time (Everything (Language & Writing)) [Paperback]

Edward Swick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2003 | Series: Everything (Language & Writing)

It’s easy to become intimidated by the prospect of learning a foreign language, and many consider German to be the most difficult of all. The Everything® Learning German Book has eliminated the stumbling blocks of learning a language to bring you quick and easy success.

Whether you’re a first-time learner, a re-learner, or an international traveler, The Everything® Learning German Book effectively teaches the German language through step-by-step instruction, practical exercises, and cultural information that make it both simple and entertaining. Readers learn pronunciation, parts of speech, and basic vocabulary and usage that can benefit students, travelers, restaurant-goers—and anyone seeking to learn the language upon which English is heavily based.

Learn how to:
·Understand verbal etiquette
·Order in a restaurant
·Ask directions
·Communicate efficiently when traveling
·Greet strangers properly

Supplemented by both English-to-German and German-to-English dictionaries, The Everything® Learning German Book is the perfect way to learn—or relearn—the language.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, German

About the Author

Edward Swick has been teaching languages for more than thirty years. He holds a master’s degree in German, Russian, and English, and was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Hamburg. He is a longtime resident of Chicago, Illinois.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media; 1 Blg edition (June 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580628753
• ISBN-13: 978-1580628754
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #493,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good!, February 8, 2004

By 

mail "mail" (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Everything Learning German Book: Speak, Write and Understand Basic German in No Time (Everything (Language & Writing)) (Paperback)

This book is superb! I am married to a native German speaker and need all the help I can get. I am writing as a self taught German student that is trying to learn all as fast as possible. This book starts off slow with very useful vocabulary. There is an excellent pronunciation section which is very necessary with German. I very much like how new vocabulary and workbook pages are mixed together. Everything is index so perfectly so it is easy to find help within the book. All new vocabulary have translation so there is no need for an extra dictionary with this book. The presentation is very well done. It is a basic level book (as the title mentions) so it is great for new students or self taught students. The book can be used again and again for practice. There are so many words to learn and exercises to do making this book well worth the money. I am very sorry this book was not available when I began my studies! The author is very talented. Thanks to him for such a useful book and hopefully there will be more advanced books with audio programs in the future.

92 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book was exactly what I was looking for!, September 17, 2003

By 

Chris C. (Rhode Island, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Everything Learning German Book: Speak, Write and Understand Basic German in No Time (Everything (Language & Writing)) (Paperback)

I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning the German Language. It is full of all the little questions and answers that other books lack.

Last year I decided to start teaching myself German and for someone who has language based learning disabilities this was going to be a challenge. Since I started teaching myself German I have mostly used audio CD's, some of which come with books to aid you. I found all of these CD books to be unhelpful since they all usually moved to fast and did not explain or answer the small questions that someone would naturally develop as they started learning. Because of the lack of information in these CD books I ended up only focused on the CD's themselves. After nine months I was feeling confident enough and had enough questions to start learning the rules of the German language so I began hunting for a good book to help me. When I found this book I immediately knew this was the one. It starts off with the very basics by explaining the origins of the German/English languages and how they broke apart and differ from each other. As the book moves forward the author adds notes and explanations to many of the questions that one might ask. I am still reading this book and will probably re-read it many times using it as my German language text book but I am confident that between this book, a vocabulary book and some audio CD's I will eventually teach myself this language. I give this book a big thumbs up!

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best single-source German starter!, November 4, 2006

By 

Stephen Beckvonpeccoz (Berlin) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Everything Learning German Book: Speak, Write and Understand Basic German in No Time (Everything (Language & Writing)) (Paperback)

This book is phenomenal. It is written with concise common sense and humor. I am a student who just began learning German professionally 20 hours/week. I use this book as my self-selected textbook; I refer to it every day. Edward Swick wrote it for Americans and it has all the grammar rules and the short cuts to remember them. The best feature is the pronunciation guides after German words: particularly helpful with sounds we don't have in American English, such as the guttural "ch" and the three umlaut letters.

This book also includes cultural information, the new spelling rules, common German usage, and appendices with basic German-English and English-German dictionaries. Combine this book with some CD's such as Learn in Your Car German and you will be learning German in no time!