Learning German, after advice.

Anominity · 22 Jul 2013 at 10:23

Hey guys and gals, I would like to learn German, and I am essentially after peoples opinions on what the best method is for this. Any online courses that anyone could recommend?

My aim is to maybe move to Zurich in the not too distant future, and I guess one of the best ways to learn a language is to be surrounded by it, but I would like to have at least a basic understanding before attempting.

I have little to no backing in German other than a few words here and there, but I have always been pretty good at pronunciation, and I feel that now is as good a time as any to learn a 2nd language.

I have downloaded a couple apps (babble German - seems good for vocab, but not much else {sentence structure etc} and some phrase books.

Any and all advice on German is welcome!

Thanks

MooMoo444 · 22 Jul 2013 at 11:22

If you have any favourite movies you've watched a lot and know the words to, pick up the german dub.

Dave M · 22 Jul 2013 at 11:35

Depends on your free time and dedication - online tools like rocket languages, transparent or public service sites like bbc languages and the very good resources on deutsche welle.

If time is scarce or you need some external pressure to make time for it then a local or skype tutor is very good. They will want to progress through the grammar first though so if you just want some pidgeon german quickly online may be better for you. That said a good tutor should tailor the lesson to your requirements so long as you make it clear what you need, but it is expensive, if you can afford the time and fees though an hour each day with 3 hours study to reinforce the lesson will see very rapid progress.

German language youtube videos (with german subtitles) are also very good for improving comprehension. Note, beware of subtitles being different to the german speech - particularly a problem on dubbed american films!

I think it mostly comes down to you though - if you put in enough time and effort the method used to learn isn't too critical (note effort - putting german radio on in the background may have time, but no effort - and thus no results).

Oh, this all refers to the standard german, which doesn't really exist in any area but especially not Switzerland.

Dis86 · 22 Jul 2013 at 11:35

Try DuoLingo. It's free too!

Guerrilla · 22 Jul 2013 at 11:37

Could give Duolingo a try, some people get on with it well.

Edit: Beaten

Anominity · 22 Jul 2013 at 17:01

I downloaded DuoLingo today and think its very good so far. Telescopi, I see you say what has been mentioned quite often in my enquiries "Standard German". I guess the German I want to learn would be the Bavarian dialect (If there is one?) as that is the area of Germany closest to Zurich as far as I understand.

djshauny1 · 22 Jul 2013 at 17:03

Xordium · 22 Jul 2013 at 17:07

Just remember not all German is equal. What would be acceptable in Berlin will be very different in Munich and even more different in say Vienna and Zurich. Just bear that in mind. When you are learning you may find you have to undo a large amount of your learning if you follow most courses because of the regional variations in the use of "perfect" and "imperfect".

Just a heads up to think about.

GW1970 · 22 Jul 2013 at 17:09

I wouldn't worry about it as they all speak English.

Dave M · 22 Jul 2013 at 17:31

Anominity said:
I downloaded DuoLingo today and think its very good so far. Telescopi, I see you say what has been mentioned quite often in my enquiries "Standard German". I guess the German I want to learn would be the Bavarian dialect (If there is one?) as that is the area of Germany closest to Zurich as far as I understand.

Not bavarian, swiss german is it's own thing. It appears much more complicated than english regional dialects so I'd probably try to pick up some standard german (not standard swiss german) and then pick up what differences there are in Zurich as you go.

If you can find good online resources for swiss german, or a swiss german tutor it will no doubt amuse your future colleagues

Clarkson · 22 Jul 2013 at 18:24

djshauny1 said:
NIEN

That's incorrect. To get the 'I' sound it needs to go after the 'e', thus nein

If the 'e' is after the 'I' in a word then generally it's an 'e' sound.

D.P. · 22 Jul 2013 at 18:30

Anominity said:
Hey guys and gals, I would like to learn German, and I am essentially after peoples opinions on what the best method is for this. Any online courses that anyone could recommend?

My aim is to maybe move to Zurich in the not too distant future, and I guess one of the best ways to learn a language is to be surrounded by it, but I would like to have at least a basic understanding before attempting.

I have little to no backing in German other than a few words here and there, but I have always been pretty good at pronunciation, and I feel that now is as good a time as any to learn a 2nd language.

I have downloaded a couple apps (babble German - seems good for vocab, but not much else {sentence structure etc} and some phrase books.

Any and all advice on German is welcome!

Thanks

If you are moving to Zurich then learning High German is not really advice, at least expect the locals to simply reply in English. They don't speak German in Zurich, they speak Schweizerdeutsch and feel really uncomfortable speaking German.

When ever I was in places like Zurich and Bern and I didn't want to sound like a mindless tourist I would speak French. Swiss Germans take great delight in speaking French as well as the suisse romande while the suisse romande barely speak any German!
My wife is a native German but would never utter a word of German when in Zurich, always French or English.

Tibbz2 · 22 Jul 2013 at 18:48

djshauny1 said:
NIEN

Well done, you have failed to spell one of the most well known and simplest words in German.

ic1male · 22 Jul 2013 at 20:42

Michel Thomas's courses are good and Linguaphone allTalk German, too. Both audio only so no faffing about.

Lartyconshayo · 22 Jul 2013 at 20:50

ic1male said:
Michel Thomas's courses are good and Linguaphone allTalk German, too. Both audio only so no faffing about.

+1

I just finished the Polish Michel Thomas courses and feel really confident with the structure and understanding.

ic1male · 22 Jul 2013 at 20:55

djferrick said:
I just finished the Polish Michel Thomas courses and feel really confident with the structure and understanding.

LOL, I was wondering how you pronounce all those sz cz rz sounds.

Jonod2977 · 22 Jul 2013 at 20:57

rosetta stone is supposed to be very good

sigma · 22 Jul 2013 at 20:57

djshauny1 said:
NIEN

Gotta love Warhead.

ScoTTyBEEE · 23 Jul 2013 at 10:48

German is pointless to learn because everyone speaks English. Just raise the level accordingly until an understanding is found.

[FnG]magnolia · 23 Jul 2013 at 10:55

The handful of Germans I know speak fantastic English so they could talk to you in the only language you have learned to speak. Or German, if you spoke it.