Customer Reviews

Ultimate German: Basic-Intermediate Cassette Program (Ultimate Beginner-Intermediate)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pros:
If you're interested in seriously studying German, Ultimate German is the course to get. I decided to buy this book because of all the good reviews for it on Amazon.com, and I am very pleased that I did. This is an extremely thorough, well explained and well written program. The concepts are introduced so that they build logically on one another and are presented in a clear and readable manner. The dialogues and situations throughout the book are realistic, enjoyable and full of useful phrases. There are small quizzes after every chapter and review quizzes after every five. At the end of each set of ten chapters is a German reading selection- mostly to accustom the reader to finding the main idea of a piece of writing without understanding every word. There are also interesting and informative cultural tips at the end of each chapter. Another point in favor of Ultimate German is that it includes the plurals for nearly all the nouns in the vocabulary lists. In the back of the workbook is a summary of grammatical concepts, a glossary, a listing of the changes enacted by the German Spelling Reform, and more. At the end of this course you don't have only a few memorized phrases that are meant to guide hapless tourists, but a strong and solid beginning to real knowledge of the German language.
Cons:
Other reviewers have written that it's helpful to know a bit of basic German before starting this book, which is probably true. I don't know fom personal experience because I did have some knowledge of the language before I began using Ultimate German. However, I get the feeling that if you don't, although you may have a hard time at first and have to go very slowly, you'll still survive. A greater drawback is the number of typos in the textbook. Although they aren't everywhere, there are enough to be annoying and, at times, confusing.
My Own Suggestions:
Since there is so much information in this book (the equivalent, according to the book's cover, of two full years of college- level study), I found it helpful to have a notebook for all the important points and vocabulary words of each chapter, and I also think it's worthwhile to look over the book again after you finish it. I recommend using the Pimsleur program in addition to this one to get used to conversational speaking, but Pimsleur is very expensive, so try getting either a library copy or a used one. I also recommend going to the website of Das Erste (one of Germany's TV stations), where you can download news broadcasts using Real Player or Windows Media Player. At first they may seem extremely difficult to understand, but if you keep at it you'll eventually understand more and more.

I have been studying German in one format or the other since 1993. I have tried many different ways to learn and absorb the language in an environment where I have no exposure to it. I have attended classes both at Berlitz and another school; tried innumerable home study programs including computer-based training and found without a doubt this program to be not only the best designed but the one with the greatest retention capability. Even after a 6-month break from studying I can still reccount most of what I learned in many of the chapters I stuidied.

Learning a language is a highlyt repetitive task and as a result sometimes a difficult and even boring one. However, this is the only course where I have found that "starting over" at times produces the best and most consistent results.

The single qualification I would recommend to any one considering purchasing this course whereupon they will be teaching themselves that they gain a familiarity with the basics of the German language with a very simple learning program.

This course, and similar such courses as that of the "Foreign Service", begin right with the language. There is no English instruction except for the workbook. As a result one who is not used to some of the nuances of the language may find initial studying more difficult than necessary.

I bought this cd/book set because of all the good reviews on Amazon, and because my fluent girlfriend suggested it. I had no previous experience, unless you count Latin! If you have the motivation and the time, you should definitely spend the $50 (this used to be $50 on here) instead of whatever it would cost for a few college courses. It took me about 5 months to go throught it all. I'm reading Spiegel.de and Grimm's fairy tales now. Here's what I suggest and what worked for me:

-Stick to a schedule. I tried to do 2 chapters a week and memorize 10 new words a day. I was only spending about half an hour a day working on German.
-Buy a cheap dictionary. There are so many typos in this book that you have to get a dictionary to double check. You could use dict.leo.org
-Do more than just the book. The dialogues are good, but you should try to read something else by chapter 20ish (there are 40 chapters). You really need more than just dialogues and subsequent quizzes. Writing a diary or something might help too. Check out Project Gutenberg for free literature online.
-Make your own grammar notebook for reference.

Despite its problems, I can't imagine this package being much better. If you are self-motivating and do everything (including listening to all the cds multiple times) you can get a good grasp of German pretty quickly. I very much appreciated the organization of concepts and vocabulary, and I think it allowed you to pace yourself. Still, you can't expect a 400 page book to thoroughly teach 2 years of grammar, vocab, and developed reading and writing skills.

Edit: Since writing this review, I've gone through all the Pimsleur series for German. It's good at helping you think in German instead of translating, but going through a grammar book like this is still probably necessary. At the end of all 3 units of Pimsleur you think "Is this it?"

There are a lot of German tapes and CDs out there (believe me I've looked at them all, and even have bought a few others as well), but this one really is excellent. I actually feel confident speaking and understanding German after using this. The lessons are current and interesting (and not totally outdated, like the ... beware!) and the instruction is intelligent, without moving too fast. But the best part is this method they have. It really works. This ... it's really worth it. You won't be disappointed.

For anyone wanting to learn German as a foreign language - this is the course to take. It moves at just the right rate - not too slow nor too fast. It is not an easy thing to teach yourself a foreign language, but as long as you have the interest the authors here make it a lot easier! I would recommend this to anyone who is serious about learning German. The authors also give cultural information besides the language stuff, which is very important. It is an excellent choice out of all the books & lessons out there - this is the best!

I am taking German in college, and am in my 2nd semester now. I bought Ultimate German to supplement my college textbook. I agree with some of the other reviewers that the material is very 'bland'; however, for the money, it probably provides the best value. It comes with a set of CD's to use with the book, and another set that you can use w/o the book (ie. in your car). The material in the book, while no frills, appears to be accurate and gets straight to the point. The cultural notes are a nice, but the book could use some color and pictures. I've looked through several other 'inexpensive' german course, and I believe this one to be the best for the money. Sure there are probably better courses out there, but they are very expensive. The college textbook I am using is very good (its called "wie geht's", but the book alone was $107, and it only comes with a single CD. I would recommend Ultimate German to anyone who wants to learn German. I would recommend picking up some other reading, as you might get bored with only this course.

This product is better at teaching you the technicalities of the language than at teaching you to speak the language. I found the Pimsleur series both more engaging and far more effective at getting over that crucial barrier towards being able to actually use what one learns. The Ultimate text is decent, but rather dry and academic (even compared to my vintage high school german texts!). The audio program is simply ineffective; it is mostly vocabulary (a word in German, a word in English) and does little to teach one the use of the language. The book, however, uses a variety of approaches (blocks of text, exercises, diagrams and tables that document German forms, grammatical and cultural asides, etc.). I'd recommend buying the Pimsleur tapes, and complementing with this book/audio. The audio on the Ultimate German adds comparatively little, but is worth getting simply to help ensure you're correctly pronouncing the exercises in the book. Bottom line; the tape/cd is OK for pronunciation, but weak at teaching usage.

Excellent book for introduction, improvement, review, or reference!

This book could be improved for beginners of German. I think if you first use Pimsleur before this book, it can be five stars for your purposes. But unless you get a good CD which covers the basics well, with enough repetition to master the declensions, this book would be too difficult to start out with alone. For German and Russian (and any other language with complicated declensions and other grammar), repetition is extremely important for most people, to learn the various endings. The Latin languages are not difficult in this respect, allowing one to breeze through the same material presented for German or Russian. The number of stars often varies depending upon what a book will be used for, and the level of advancement of the student.

I am just starting this course and find it well organized, comprehensive, easy to understand, & fun. I especially like the design of the lessons with doing the book lesson first followed by the CD work. The grammar, vocabulary, & lesson tests are also terrific. And I look forward to purchasing the advanced version of this program once I finish this level. All-in-all, this is a terrific value in a language course!