My 17yo ds just informed me that he wants to learn German. HELP!!

[DB in NJ]

He's already had 2 years of Spanish using Power Glide (never again) and another conversational program we borrowed from a friend (can't remember what it was, but it was something he -- the friend -- used to learn the language before he visited Spain).

Now ds wants to learn German. I have no clue about anything other than Power Glide (I repeat: never again). Rosetta Stone just seems SO incredibly expensive!!!! Is it worth it? Does it work? What will I need to get with it? Headphones, microphone???? Any other options out there?

Thanks!

[Michelle in MO]

I majored in German; although it hasn't helped me much since then, I still love the language and the literature. Plus, it's a close kin of English, and you'll find that German grammar is more similar to Latin grammar than any of the Romance languages---really! German has retained four of the five noun cases (nom., acc., gen., and dat.) in the articles, prepositions (which take cases, like Latin does) and adjectives. The word order is more similar to English except that the main verb comes at the end of the sentence.

As far as a solid place to study German, IMO you need look no further than German Online (http://germanonline.okstate.edu/) at Oklahoma State University. I've never used them, but I have read so many good reviews of this program and this particular teacher that I don't think you could go wrong! Over and over again I've read good reviews of German Online on these boards, and I think your ds would get a solid foundation there.

German pronunciation is not nearly as difficult as English, IMO. I think it's a much more phonetic language than English, which has undergone so many permutations throughout its history that English spelling has ossified while it's pronunciation has shifted. (And, don't tell anyone I told you this, but when spoken by native speakers, it's not nearly as brute as the parodied versions of German you'll hear in certain quarters!)

I've had only a brief perusal of Rosetta Stone, but it didn't look rigorous enough for a high-school level course, and although probably better than Power-Glide, perhaps not as solid as it could be in the instruction of grammar.

HTH! Good luck! I think German is cool (but then, some might call me a nerd! :tongue_smilie: )

Added later: Just to clarify about the German/Latin comparison, German is more similar to Latin in that it has retained four of the five noun cases that Latin has, but it is not derived from Latin, nor are the noun declensions similar to Latin, i.e., "terra, terrae, terrae, terram, terra", etc. But, the nouns are declined and, together with the articles, which also sometimes change according to case, they signify case and therefore the purpose (subject, direct obj., ind. obj., possessive) of the noun in the sentence. Hope that makes sense!

[DB in NJ]

WOW! Thanks!!! I'll check it out.

ds thinks German is cool too. He can't roll his R's; you should hear him "speak" Spanish. ;)

[Michelle in MO]

the "r" is more in the back of the throat. I remember practicing to words like "Rabe, Rose", etc. It's hard to do a "demo" by explaining it in words, but it's a little like gargling in the back of the throat, only without any water. I think the Spanish "r" is more "flipped" or "trilled" at the front of the tongue.

Does that make sense? At any rate, I would imagine that German Online would allow for plenty of practice with pronunciation.

Good luck to you and your ds!

[Karin]

We have the older Homeschool version of Rosetta Stone German which comes with a workbook. While I don't think it alone is enough to count as a high school credit, I do think it's a great introduction to vocabulary, reading, & writing. I still like the idea of learning the vocabulary without translating first. I am going to look at this OK State U German online course for dd when she gets to high school, though. It's expensive, too--it costs as much per course as more than one level of RS, but may be worth it. I think her experience with RS will help a lot.

Rosetta Stone has changed their course in the latest edition. I read on this board that it includes more tourist stuff (my words, not that of the poster) and is somewhat thinner than the version we have. That said, I just received an ad & the new edition includes 3 levels and is very expensive. I have 3 dc who are going to do the RS German, so I think it worth the price. I tried the old Learnables (pre CD-Rom course) and liked the RS better. I haven't seen their CD-Rom to compare.

[Colleen]

Okay, that subject line is optimistic, given we've not yet used Oklahoma State's online German program. But I've been looking at it for two years, waiting until I thought my oldest was ready to go for it. I think that time has arrived! Although it's a high school course, I think he'll be fine starting it this fall.

I heard about the course here and all the feedback has been very, very positive. Check it out! I do also have Rosetta Stone German (just replaced version 2 with version 3). I don't think anything's needed alongside the OSU course, but RS is a nice extra and my younger guys use it, too.

I think it's nifty that your son wants to learn German, but I'm admittedly biased.;)

[yslek]

the "r" is more in the back of the throat. I remember practicing to words like "Rabe, Rose", etc. It's hard to do a "demo" by explaining it in words, but it's a little like gargling in the back of the throat, only without any water. I think the Spanish "r" is more "flipped" or "trilled" at the front of the tongue.

:iagree:

I grew up speaking German, and couldn't do a trilled "r" to save my life for a looong time. (I practiced and practiced until I got it, but it's still hard for me. It bugged me that my friends who couldn't make a German "r" sound could do the trilled "r" so easily!)

It's made roughly in the same part of the throat where hard "g" is articulated. But more of a gargle/growl (as stated above). :)

Kelsy

[hswarden]

Sorry, but all I can think is, what a great problem to have. G'zun heidt!

[sarahli]

There are free German courses (4 levels) at www.livemocha.com. It works similar to Rosetta Stone, which is not my favorite learning style (I find it a bit choppy), but you can't beat free!
For me, I prefer a whole to parts approach, like Pimsleur.

[Kirsten in MO]

I looked at the website for the OK online German and I couldn't find any info on a deadline for registering for a class. Anybody know? Michelle?

thanks!
Kirsten

[Kirsten in MO]

I looked at the website for the OK online German and couldn't find any info on a deadline for registering for a class. Anybody know? Michelle?

Thanks!
Kirsten

[Colleen]

I looked at the website for the OK online German and couldn't find any info on a deadline for registering for a class. Anybody know?

There is no registration deadline as its self-paced course and you may begin at any time. I've been looking into this just recently and I had a number of questions that weren't addressed on the OSU site. Here's a recent thread that will be of interest to you: http://67.202.21.157/forums/showthread.php?t=42584

[Michelle in MO]

:iagree:

I grew up speaking German, and couldn't do a trilled "r" to save my life for a looong time. (I practiced and practiced until I got it, but it's still hard for me. It bugged me that my friends who couldn't make a German "r" sound could do the trilled "r" so easily!)

It's made roughly in the same part of the throat where hard "g" is articulated. But more of a gargle/growl (as stated above). :)

Kelsy

Glad to have you on board! I think I read one of your posts on the K-8 board about math instruction in Germany, which I thought was very interesting. Math instruction in Germany sounds much better than our typical math instruction in the U.S.

Colleen, I'm glad you posted this; I would not have known this otherwise!



There is no registration deadline as its self-paced course and you may begin at any time. I've been looking into this just recently and I had a number of questions that weren't addressed on the OSU site. Here's a recent thread that will be of interest to you: http://67.202.21.157/forums/showthread.php?t=42584

[DB in NJ]

Oh my goodness. I just spent almost an hour checking this out. Now I want to take German with these people!!! LOL This really looks amazing -- and very doable!

I'll be showing ds this site later on to see what he thinks.

Thanks again!!!!

[Karin]

I do also have Rosetta Stone German (just replaced version 2 with version 3).

How do you like version 3 compared with version 2? How do they fit? Is the third level of version 3 beyond the second level of version 2? I was wondering if I should get that third one for dd or not.

[Kirsten in MO]

Thanks Colleen for the info and the link to the earlier discussion. Cleared up my questions for me. I'm glad you can start anytime...that will give my son time to get his BEST robotics competition behind him before we start.

Kirsten