Learning some basic German

Try iTunes. You can download basic language podcasts that are helpful for learning the basics.

I found the "Michel Thomas Method German for Beginners" to be excellent. It is a set of audio CD's and you can buy it from Amazon. It is very highly rated by Amazon's customers as you will see.

Do you meaning learning before you go or taking a course there? Assuming that you mean to learn a bit before you go:

An adult ed or college German class might be handy to learn the sounds.

I liked Berlitz German for Travelers to learn specific phrases that are handy for ordering meals, asking for meals, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/Berlitz-German-Travelers-Editions/dp/B000VGGIXG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1287769108&sr=8-1

You could cover ground faster with a tutor but that would be very expensive.

Regards, Gary

When I first started to learn German, I got a series of tapes. They taught me to say, "I have a wife and two children in London (I don't)". I think you will get far more out of an interactive experience, such as with an actual instructor in a class room. German has a rather complex grammatical structure, and I think that requires some explaining. Once you have built up some vocabulary, reading German language websites is helpful. I also have a German to English dictionary on my computer so I can translate unfamiliar words.

"Ich habe eine Frau und zwei Kinder in London." ;-)... Yup, that's truly a lie. Anyway... Try the genuine German resources at www.dw-world.de

Dennis - Try this workbook "German in 10 Minutes a Day" - it comes with a CD Rom with matching exercises to do on your computer. You can get it on Amazon.com or at some bookstores (I saw it at Borders). It's basic but very good. I also took a non-credit "German For Travelers" course and listened to CDs in the car. They were all helpful to some degree. Don't be too worried about Germany. I returned a month ago and was surprised that everyone spoke at least a bit of English.

Do the BBC German steps for beginners!
It's fun, free & you will really learn something.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/

I would also suggest the BBC course as a free basic course.

Head to your library. They will probably have lots of language courses available for check-out. You can try them then use the one most suited for you.

Once you are there. Take every opportunity to use the language. It's not easy since most Germans speak outstanding English and will use it whenever they meet an English speaker.

I did an officer exchange in Germany. I had taken several years of high school and college German as well as cramming for months on a language course before my trip. Although I was defacto interpreter for my group, it took a full two weeks before I was regularly conversing in German (which is how I judged my success with the language).

I think it's great that you want to learn a bit of the language. Contrary to popular belief I would say that out of the towns and cities very few locals speak even a word of English especially amongst the farming agricultural communities and amongst the older generations. In our local pub there are only 4 people who can speak English. Be prepared and learn the basics, even those who can speak English will be pleased that you are making an effort.

Check with your local library, they may subscribe (which would be free for you) to an internet German language series or, as someone already pointed out, have tapes or CDs for checking out. I'm studying French and find the internet course time consuming and tedious. However, I like the Pimsleur CDs because they force you to repeat everything several times, which I find very helpful. They, too, are time consuming but pretty effective. If you have cable or a dish antenna, you may be able to get the Deutsche Welle on TV, they broadcast in German but I believe not 24/7. This would help in getting you used to hearing it. German is not easy to learn because the grammar is complicated but pretty much phonetic, so once you have the pronunciation down, you could at least read most of it. As others said, a lot of Germans are fluent in English, often by the time they're 16 if they are attending secondary schools; by then they'll have traveled to English speaking countries or areas and have used it. Depending on where you will be in Southern Germany, the locals may have very heavy accents, especially in Bavaria but they all speak High German in school. They'll understand you fine but you may wonder what they're saying to you. So practice saying "wie bitte?" - that'll make them repeat what they said. Don't worry too much about grammar, just learn the basics and basic vocabulary and the numbers. I speak fluent German, by the way.

These books are helpful. The short stories have the language you're learing on the left and English on the right.

http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Search/QuickSearchProc/1,,Parallel%20Text,00.html?id=Parallel%20Text

"wie bitte".

Unfortunately we can no longer use ampersand codes. In the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) characters, that would be "vi: 'bite?", with the last 'e' upside down. Try "vee bit'eh?".

Another vote for the BBC series online...it's perfect for travelers wishing to learn just some basics for travel.