Deutsch, Na Klar: An Introductory German Course (German Edition) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Deutsch, Na Klar: An Introductory German Course (German Edition)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Deutsch, Na Klar: An Introductory German Course (German Edition). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Deutsch, Na Klar: An Introductory German Course (German Edition) ReviewThere's really no point to owning this book if you're enrolled in a German class, and there's absolutely no reason for a self-learner to pick this up otherwise. There's a lot of people who say this book "is great if you're in a class / using video / using audio / great teacher / etc etc..." and the truth is, when you have that much enrichment anyway, you don't need a very good book (which is the only time when using this book is acceptable). And the "listening comprehension" CD? It's much more useful as a coaster. A coaster that might cost you a whole paycheck.
Gripes:
-Never provides ANY blocks of words/pronunciations in chapters (even when it does, it tends to have whole phrases translated, not word-by-word breakdowns like you need, especially in the beginning). You have to learn 90% of your words on your own, and then try to figure out what's going on in the book based on your own knowledge. This is an almost absurd problem considering the price.
-Randomly tosses around different dialects of German with little division. Without a professor keeping you informed, you might not even notice some of the differences. My fiancee was dismayed to learn that I wasn't learning the same dialect that she knows (and her dialect is High German, which is the one you're "supposed" to learn in an introductory class). I think I'm learning a more Southern or Austrian dialect. Is that the book's fault or my professor's? Since the book doesn't help, I have absolutely no clue!
-The CD is truly worthless. It barely follows the book, and doesn't provide ANY quick access to any necessary elements. It doesn't have access to very much in the way of pronunciation at all- nearly all of the CD is composed of text application of the words with little or no motivation except as practice for what you should have learned before (except there is no "learning before"- in the book or CD). Inexcusable.
-No answer keys. The book might have you learn new phrases with something like "figure out which of the following phrases are greetings or goodbyes", and unless you ask a professor, you might never know. Again, it's just amazing that a book would cost so much and not contain something like this.
-How can you learn a language when the book never really teaches anything new, and just keeps expecting you to apply knowledge that it doesn't give? It makes no sense!
Counterpoints:
-It's... kind of pretty. If you don't mind that a lot of the pictures aren't properly explained. And those pictures are example exercises in the chapter... yeah, you'll mind.
If you HAVE to have this book for your class, just hope it's a good class. This book seems near-worthless for trying to teach yourself, which as any student knows, is critically important to ANY language class. Listen in class, and don't expect the book to be of much help.
So what do I reccomend?
Even if you class doesn't reccomend it, try to find the two workbooks/lab manuals that go along with the book. Frankly, I've found that they sometimes do a better job of teaching than the book does. AND they have answer keys to help you check your progress. Sadly, however, the manuals don't come with the necessary listening CDs, so you're still going to be left out in the cold for most of the experience. Again, just ridiculous.
Overall:
-If you're taking a German class, and this is the book, you don't have much choice anyway.
-Which is to say, if you're not taking a class and you're learning on your own, virtually any other book does a better job.Deutsch, Na Klar: An Introductory German Course (German Edition) Overview

Want to learn more information about Deutsch, Na Klar: An Introductory German Course (German Edition)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now