German Made Simple: Learn to Speak and Understand German Quickly and Easily

I bought this four months ago and loved it the moment I opened it with the cute font and the way each chapter takes an interaction and gives the meaning on the right side column, vocabulary at the end and then grammar discussions and extensive exercises. It also smoothly progresses using a single theme of an American businessman learning German and interacting with his teacher and traveling to Germany and so on with progressive increase in grammatical structures. Can't pass a day without even reading something from this book. Even take it with me if I travel for even a few days. Have to open this at least once a day! Only con was the inadequate index of German terms at the end of the book. There is no single place to look up the German words unless you knew which chapter it occurred in first so if you came across a word in some dialog or exercise in chapter 33 and if it is not listed in the vocabulary right there you are on your own if it is missing from the index at the end of the book also; have to search previous chapters tediously. This is the only problem I faced. But overcome by the good things of this book if you kept a dictionary such the Collins.

We are learning German for the summer. The title is completely accurate. The way the book is laid out and the explanations really make this an easy way to learn. My kids and I are having no problems being able to read and speak some German. We are just beginning but so far we are having a ton of fun! The book starts with describing related German and English words. Some examples are Mann-man, Haus-house, Onkel-uncle, kalt-cold. The book then moves into German letters and sounds in words and sentences. The next chapters involve Mr. Clark being taught German by Mr.Muller and so we follow along and are taught as well. The book includes the answer key and glossary for vocabulary. The book also contains exercises and a review at the end of the chapters. I chose German and my kids are interested in learning Italian so I am buying the Italian Made Simple book. We are learning and we are having fun. The best part is that my kids are excited to continue and learn other languages and we will be using another Made Simple book!

It's a good book in most respects but was a little short and simple. I joined a conversational class that used this book, however they were using the later chapters, not the early ones. It has a little story arc to it as well as new vocabulary in each chapter plus exercises. It is more of a nuts and bolts learning format rather than a conversational style even though it has terse conversational parts to it. I used another one from days past, Deutsch Naturlich, which is conversational approach and I like it a bit more since it threw in a great deal of real life scenarios in longer stories. This book is good for basics and has some value for advanced learners with all of the "fun" with cases but light in the conversational area.

I am using this as a supplement to Rosetta Stone German. This book is very easy to use and very informative. This book helped to answer many of the basic grammar questions that the Rosetta Stone Program assumes you don't need answered with their learning method. For instance, Rosetta Stone wants you to learn by subject-verb association, without explaining the basics of conjugation. This book teaches the basic rules of conjugation and aids the reader in understanding when certain verb-endings should be applied. It also teaches the reader how to identify masculine/ feminine /and neuter nouns and articles (an/the/a), and very simply explains the difference in the forms of singulars and plurals. The book also provides a very detailed explanation on pronunciation of consonants, vowels, and umlauts. I recommend this in conjunction with any other program that uses an auditory approach.

Some things about this book are good, like the pace at which one is able to learn. The idea that a student is compelled to search for words and phrases is also good, but I just ran into Exercise 35: What a mess! It says "describe the picture." Now, unless I have lost my mind or my eyesight, there is no picture in the entire chapter, chapter 10 that is. I looked back and forth and I thought perhaps the picture is one that is described, but none exists. I cannot "write at least ten sentences where the things are" and then write the same amount of sentences about "where the things in the room should be." I am mystified at this section of the text. I have also found that certain words are part of sentences in the chapters, but they are not in the vocabulary in the back? Either I have lost my mind, or the "revision" of the older text is quite bad. Still, not entirely a bad text.

I think this is a GREAT book for learning German. I have taught German to high schools with a school-approved text book for many years. I have recently begun teaching adults using this text. It explains topics well; exercises are relevant. One review said that it's not 'useful' German; I disagree. True, it's not a book that will teach you catch phrases if you're traveling to Germany next week (but seriously, English is so prevalent now, that's hardly a real concern), but it is great for teaching the structure and grammar of the language - better than anything else I've seen - if you desire to become fluent. Of note: my most recent student used it in conjunction with Rosetta Stone, and found this text to be very helpful in explaining some of the 'why' and 'how' that are missing from full immersion materials.

Great book. Clear, well structured, and to the point. I first bought this book 45 years ago as I was beginning to learn German. It taught me everything I needed to know to get started. Years later I found myself in Bremerhaven giving a lecture in German to native speakers, and while I did much in between to master the language, it was "German Made Simple" that gave me my start. I've since bought two more copies; one for my wife when we were living in Basel, Switzerland, and another for a colleague as we were putting together a student trip to Berlin, Weimar, and Dessau. Highly recommended.

However, there are some issues. I have a good friend in Germany with whom I Skype at least once a week. I have read several sections of the dialogues in the book to her, in both English and German. Sometimes she will nod her head, but quite often she also says. "that's not how we say that." It's kind of like we native English speakers will react when we hear a non-native speaker say something that he/she obviously learned in a book or class. Of course, it depends on what your aim in learning a language is. If you just want to be understand - and of course native speakers of a language will usually allow for the fact that their language is not yours - then that's OK. As my German friend says, the dialogues ARE understandable. So you will be understood when you use the German taught in this book, but you might not understand when they other party responds. Or you can face the frustration that I often feel when I try to speak to someone in their native language - and they answer me in good English! Man, that is really a bummer!

Absolute must have....im intrigued with this book ...indespensable

Learning German isn't easy. I adore the Michel Thomas audio courses, but they almost shy away from explaining the use of Accusative, Dative or Nominative... and you do need this for correct German. This book tackles it head-on, from about Chapter 5 onwards, and does it brilliantly. It is clearly written, with plenty of vocabulary, dialogs and explanations. It's well worth the money (but wish it was available on Kindle). In a nutshell, if you're getting started on German, you NEED : 1. The Michel Thomas audio courses. 2. German Demystified: A Self Teaching Guide 3. This book. Together, these three will give you a better head start than most language centres.

Indeed, just the book for beginners to learn the German language!

Me encanta! Calidad muy buena y es fácil de entender. Lo mejor es que ayuda a entender como pronunciar. Los ejercicios también ayuda.

Sir the book is very useful for any body who wants to understand the basics ofthis wonderful german language .The author has put his experience in this book to make the understanding of this language in much simplified way.go for this book.