Customer Reviews

Lyric Language I (German/English)

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

 

 

We have the audio cassette of this and our 5 kids are really interested in it...the video is even better because the words are right on the screen andthere are lots of kids acting out the songs. It is amazing how the kids haven't lost interest in learning German and actually ask to watch over and over again! It's great fun for them and a great way to expose them to the language of their heritage. One of the kids is already asking for the Japanese version as he is learning some in school. Another wants Spanish. AMAZING! Unlike some childrens tapes, I'm not losing my mind from listening to this over & over & over again...!

For what it is, this is an excellent video. It is a fun way to review German (if you already know a little) or to gain some exposure to it. I wouldn't expect a rank beginner to pick up more than a small number of vocabulary words, and I wouldn't consider it a video for "learning" German - but then, I wouldn't expect to learn much from one short video anyhow. The video consists of several songs performed in an echo format - the lines are sung in either German or English, and then repeated in the opposite language. The songs are fast-moving, but repetitive enough to give you several trys at repeating a phrase. The songs are pleasant to listen to, and the video is fun to watch (it shows children doing the activities talked about in the songs and is well done).

My big disappointment - and the reason I deducted a star - is because this video doesn't provide a very authentic German experience. The music doesn't sound the least bit German (in fact the first song sounds Caribbean), and the children, locations and activities depicted are clearly American. Why didn't they shoot this on location in Germany and use German children? They missed a great opportunity to make this video a cultural experience. If I knew of better videos, I would have given this one a lower rating. For what it's worth, Penton Overseas (the producers) now have this video available on their website (http://www.pentonoverseas.com/lyric-language-DVD.htm) as a DVD/CD combo at a very low price. The DVD is 70 minutes long, so it must be a combination of all three of the VHS videos (they don't give much detail on their website, so I can only speculate). For the price they're charging, I believe it's well worth buying.

I've had this video for a very long time. It was interesting the first three times when I was six years old, but then got very irritating.

Now, I'm a senior in high school, actually taking a German class. I find the video fun to watch to reinforce vocabulary and grammar. With the exception of three extremely annoying songs, it's really catchy. I find myself singing the songs in class.

I dislike that the video portion features American children and activities, but know that the video part is the same for all the Lyric Language tapes (I have the French version as well, it's exactly the same).

My daughter is 15 months old and really enjoys this tape. Not as much as Bilingual Baby - German, but a close second. The songs are catchy, without being too obnoxious, so I don't mind seeing the video over and over again.

Songs are fun -- really! Even adults will find themselves humming a few bars and then all of a sudden out comes a bunch of German and you even know what it means. Oh, yea kids love it too! French and Spanish are also available in this series. We have it all and are now trading up to DVD's.

My 2yr old is learning songs in four different languages...and so am I!!! All parents should expose their children to foreign languages at an early age.... it's amazing how much they're capable of at such a young age.