Learn German the Fast and Fun Way (Fast and Fun Way Series) [Paperback]

P. Graves (Author), H. Strutz (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764125400 | ISBN-13: 978-0764125409 | Publication Date: November 1, 2002 | Edition: 3

Updated with helpful facts and tips for international travelers, this new third editions of Learn German the Fast and Fun Way is suitable as language teaching book for adults as well as for older children. It instructs beginners in the basics of reading, writing, understanding, and speaking German. The book lightens language-learning routines with cartoon-style illustrations, language games, and puzzles. A set of vocabulary flashcards and a small staple-bound bilingual dictionary booklet are bound into the book's spine and can be easily removed for supplementary use.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Available in: Chinese (book only) * French * German * Italian * Japanese * Russian * Spanish & Aprenda Ingles Facil y Rapido (Learn English the Fast & Fun Way)



It’s easy... It’s practical... It’s fun!



In just minutes a day, you’ll pick up the language you need for most everyday situations—from meeting and greeting people to asking directions and handling simple business transactions. You’ll learn the basic vocabulary for: introductions * finding your way * entertainment * dining * shopping * banking * using the telephone and mail services * medical help and emergencies



Plus: days of the week * months * seasons * weather * time * numbers * basic grammar * even a guide to road signs!



Special Bonus for Business and Vacation Travelers: Pull-out Bilingual Dictionary complete with Food and Drink Guide * Wine List * Tipping Information



Added Features: Two Quizzes (with answers) to test your growing skills * vocabulary cards give you practice with words and phrases

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series; 3 edition (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764125400
• ISBN-13: 978-0764125409
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > German
  • #58 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > German
  • #63 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > German > Instruction

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Review, March 14, 2006

By 

A Reader (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learn German the Fast and Fun Way (Fast and Fun Way Series) (Paperback)

I am a native German speaker who used this for a continuing education course at the local community college. I chose it because it did seem at first to be perfect. However, some things I found were:
The author seems to have rather many Austrian expressions as opposed to standard German. Other than Austrian expressions, there are words I never heard of and would not use in modern German conversation. I noted also that past and future tenses were not addressed. I will not use it for beginners again.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Opinion, March 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Learn German the Fast and Fun Way with Book (Barron's Fast and Fun Way Language Series) (German Edition) (Paperback)

This is a pretty good book, for the price. It has useful language themes (travel situations, practical things) and many good sample dialogs to model your language use on. The layout is visually appealing. Its coverage of grammar is a bit skimpy. Yes, it's very simple, but they may have gone too far. There is no grammar index so it's hard to locate various grammatical explanations. The past verb tenses are not explained in the book, which I think is a deficiency. There are a few typos, too.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Only Useful as a Supplement, November 2, 2005

By 

Kam-Hung Soh "Software Salariman" (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learn German the Fast and Fun Way (Fast and Fun Way Series) (Paperback)

I bought this book at a sale without any of the audio CDs, so I am only commenting on the book.

This book is structured around visiting Germany, starting with arrival at the airport, followed by travel, dining, shopping and finishing with departure from the country. Unfortunately, the motivating dialogue at the start of every chapter is unrelated to many of the words introduced in the rest of the chapter. For example, the first chapter has a conversation between an airport clerk and a visitor about lost luggage, then introduces words for family members and furniture but ends without discussing numbers, the casual and polite forms of "you" or even the noun "luggage" in the dialogue.

The book includes is a pull out dictionary in a booklet and pages for flash cards. However, it only has a brief table of contents and does not have an index, so it's pretty hard to find anything later.

Perhaps this book is intended to be used as a workbook with a tutor or with the audio CDs but it doesn't provide any guidance on how it should be used. I didn't find this book useful for self-study and I only use it as a supplement to other German study guides.

Kam-Hung Soh, 2 November 2005.