Looking for really good self-study German program.

[KidsHappen]

Dd is currently working through Tell Me More but she doesn't like it very much. She preferred Rosetta Stone but out library doesn't have it on-line anymore and I am not sure that it is enough so I am looking for something more thorough. I had two years of college German so I can help her a bit. Any idea? Anything you have been sucessful with? TIA:)

[djkapp]

In reponse to a similar question concerning Spanish, someone on the board recommended a free website called LiveMocha.com for language instruction. My 11th grade dd has been using it this fall and is fairly pleased so far. It is structured somewhat like Rosetta Stone in its format. The BBC also has a free website for language instruction, but I haven't really looked at it. (www.bbc.co.uk/languages/ (http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/))

We use Rosetta Stone for German and have been overall pleased, but I know it is expensive. In addition to Rosetta Stone, I use the Practice Makes Perfect workbook series. This helps with the grammar aspect of the language which Rosetta Stone tends to teach intuitively.

We have also tried the Learning Company program Learn to Speack German. It was not nearly as expensive as Rosetta Stone, and I think that it combination with a workbook, it would be okay.

Hope this helps a little.

Yvonne

[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!

Update: Perhaps too much information here, but truly---I've read so many good things and great results that people on these boards have had with German Online that I personally would start with them. Check out the link provided---I've heard that the teacher is fantastic, and your child can progress at their own pace.