Best way to recover lost language?

Margaret,

I really like the Pimsleur language series and have found that they've worked well for learning Italian. I'm certainly not fluent but can manage fine. That may be all you need to get back up-to-speed with German. Your local Library may have them.

Thanks, Ken!

I agree that starting with tapes (well, now CD's or mp3's), like Pimsleur, would be good.

Another poster recommended News In Slow, which is news reports read slowly and with a transcript that you can follow along. This requires paying, but I see they also have grammar tips and other features for free. https://www.newsinslowgerman.com/

Once you start to get back some fluency, movies are a great way to hear a language spoken more naturally, as opposed to the artificial diction of language tapes. Good Bye Lenin! and Mostly Martha are good ones to start with - not too heavy in slang, feature native speakers (some very good German movies are by Fatih Akin, and feature Turks speaking German, so the accent is quite different from native speakers), and are comedies so they're "easy to digest."

Coffee Break German is available as a podcast at no charge. Season 1 starts with the basics for 20 lessons, Season 2 has just started. It is a nice, although elementary review presented in 20 minute segments. Written materials to supplement the podcasts have costs. The expanded French version has seen me through France for three trips. It is a nice resource. Pimsleur is well received by almost everyone.

Hi,

Do you still have any of those books used in the college German courses? How many courses?

Youtube - learn german with jenny, learn german with ania, Deutsch fur euch

Fred, I had 23 semester hours of German instruction. I'll need to check through the chaos of my home: 42.9 (so far) years of marriage and several moves to see if I still have the textbooks.

Mac

Margaret, see what your local library has. I bought the cheap (<$25) set of CDs they sell at Sam's Club and listened to them while commuting to work. Also, pick up a German magazine or newspaper at Barnes & Noble or wherever you can, and work your way through it.

Try watching the free online replays of the nightly Tagesschau of the German national broadcaster, Das Erste. The segments are generally only 10-15 minutes long, the newscasters generally speak in clear, unaccented speech, and the images provide enough context that you can fill in the blanks of words you may not understand.

Harold is correct. German movies with subtitles if necessary is the best way to get the language back, besides being there.

I'd recommend the Duolingo app. It's like a free version of Rosetta Stone and let's you work at your own pace and level.

DJ

@ Margaret...23 semester hours means 23 semester units which means you did a German Minor in college, (3 units per course), at least according to public colleges in Calif 40-50 years ago. Wunderbar! I go by textbooks.

I studied German (4 courses) while assigned in Germany 40+ years ago. It was great to be able to practice real time as I learned.

I get out my old books now when I return. We also have a couple of tapes. I must say that all this did not help that much. I took up reading German mystery books (Krimi) and can read pretty well, but am just too slow in conversation. We have spent a couple days speaking only German but that was with a very patient friend. Give it a try but do not expect too much. Be sure to practice saying words/phrases; listening to tapes was too passive to help me much.

I endorse Pimsleur, too. You may also consider doing a few live sessions with a native speaker on a language learning site like italki (italki.com) to get back in the groove of conversation. This site (and others like it) match language learners with native speakers for lessons on Skype (it's how I've learned German). There is a cost for lessons, of course. Also... if there is a German American Club in your area, it may have a Stammtisch (regular table) at local restaurant once a week or once a month where people gather to speak German; the folks who attend these are generally very open to "outsiders" joining them to practice German.

Hi,

You did a Minor in the language, you need only the level of "Deutsch für Fortgeschrittene." Look under the publisher, Max Hueber Verlag.

A book -- not a tape or CD -- but: we've had good luck with the "________ Survival Guide" series. (Fill the blank: we've used Italian and French.) They are designed for travelers, and focus on vocabulary and phrases most likely needed by tourists. The series is far more comprehensive than the list of "useful phrases" you might see in a Fodor/Frommer guide. Also included are tips on etiquette, cultural background, etc. It might be all you need to brush up. If you have the time and ambition for a proper course like Pimsleur, by all means do that. (I'm a Pimsleur French dropout -- just lacked the discipline to stick with it.) I plan to use the German/Survival version for a trip to Austria later this year to top off 2 years of mostly forgotten high school German from the 1960s. Here's the Amazon link for the German edition: https://www.amazon.com/German-Survival-Guide-Language-Confidence-ebook/dp/B005LKMVOM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1487622798&sr=1-1&keywords=german+survival+guide The reviews provide a useful summary of pros and cons.

Gute Reise!

Thanks, everyone!

Yes, Fred, German was one of my minors in college.

Margaret

Hi,

"...one of my minors in college." That's why you don't need Duolingo, Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone, etc. zum Aufpolieren und Auffrischen.

Everybody has their own preferences when it comes to learning a language. Personally, I like Pimsleur and Berlitz. That's why I second the recommendation to check out the resources your local library has. In addition to books and tapes on the shelves, it may also have some online resources such as Mango Languages.

And yes, movies work well. Try to find some with German subtitles and not English ones. That has a much better learning effect.

The Goethe Institute has lots of resources online as well. Here is a free app:
https://www.goethe.de/en/spr/ueb/vok.html