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Books for German self-learners | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| val112 Newbie Brazil Joined 4860 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes Studies: German | Message 1 of 3 05 August 2011 at 10:41pm | IP Logged |
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Hello, i study German by myself, and i made some Placement Tests, and i found out that
i'm in the A2 level, but now i wanna go further, till the b2 or if i have time to the c1, but now i wanna know if you guys could give me some books to self learn the levels b1 and b2... P.S. I bought a book collection called "Em neu" von Hueber Verlag, are these books good ? 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Emme Triglot Senior Member Italy Joined 5347 days ago 980 posts - 1594 votes  Speaks: Italian*, English, German Studies: Russian, Swedish, French | Message 2 of 3 06 August 2011 at 3:45pm | IP Logged |
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First of all, welcome to the forum, val112.
I haven’t seen the “Em neu” books yet, but I know the older edition very well: we used to use “Em Abschlusskurs” (the 3rd volume which brings you to the C1 level) at university some years ago. I don’t know how much material they have updated in the new edition, but I don’t suppose they’ve radically changed their teaching method. I like the “Em” books: their graphic and layout are clear and pleasant to the eye. They make it easy to pick and choose the topics you want to concentrate on (they are quite flexible as learning tools). They don’t overburden you with lots of grammar explanations, which is a positive thing if you have a very solid foundation, or a teacher who can help you, but if you are on your own you might find it necessary to look for other resources to delve into German grammar more in depth. And here is one problem with these books: they are meant to be used in a class setting with a teacher. I don’t think, for instance, that they have added an answer key to the exercises in the new edition. Anyway, I think you can find a lot of useful things to do with those books even if you are a self-learner. This is especially true if you are an experienced language learner and you’ve already found out what works for you and what doesn’t. As most forum members will confirm, the first important step in learning a language is learning how to learn. The second problem you may find with “Em neu” is that they begin at B1. If you really are still at A2 you may find there’s a gap between you current level and the level they take for granted that you’ve already achieved. Don’t worry, though. If you find the going too hard you can easily find other resources to bridge the two levels, and you don’t even need to spend any money if you don’t want to. You can use online materials: excellent starting points are the site of the Deutsche Welle and the FSI one or you can use your local library (and many offer interlibrary loans). If you want to use books, try first to find out if there are good learning materials in your mother tongue: it is usually easier to study a target language using your native language (L1 to L2) than to use a second language to learn another one (L2 to L3). But if you feel confident in your L2 proficiency you can certainly use your L2 (I suppose English is not your mother tongue) to study German – many people do. There are a few series available in English to learn foreign languages as self learners and I advise you to search the forum to find out different opinions about these products. Among the best known are Teach Yourself, Colloquial, and one of the favourites among the forum members: Assimil (which is supposed to bring one to the B1 and maybe even the B2 level: but opinions differ widely on this topic). Many also have a high opinion of audio-only programmes like Pimsleur and Michel Thomas. And finally, it seems that software language learning programs are still huge disappointments and are best avoided. Good luck with your studies and be sure to come to the forum with your questions and doubts. You will certainly find someone willing to help! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| val112 Newbie Brazil Joined 4860 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes Studies: German | Message 3 of 3 06 August 2011 at 5:51pm | IP Logged |
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I finished the A2 level with Warum Nicht, but i've found that there is a lack of grammar
resources in that course, i.e. The Genitive Case,in any of the 4 books, they don't explain it ! Now i'm studying with 'Themen Neu', i have some doubts sometimes, but i can handle it :-), but for me the hard thing of these books is when i have doubt, because i have to post questions in some websites, and sometimes i don't find the answer, so i wanna buy a great grammar book, i found this :Der Kleine Duden 4 :Deutsche Grammatik , it is in German, but i've looked some pages, and i found it very useful :-) P.S. I have to study by myself, because there isn't any German course in my city, only english (which i've learned as a self-learner) :-( 1 person has voted this message useful |
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