I need to learn a foreign language for college, and I've always wanted to learn German. I've been taking CLEP/DSST tests in order to get my degree quicker.

There are two CLEP tests for German that transfer to my school as Elementary and Intermediate German. There are two Elementary and two Intermediate classes and I would get a grand total of 12 credit hours. However if I took the two CLEP tests I would receive 18 credit hours. The classes are offered by one teacher and he teaches only class a semester in it's in a sequence of 101, 102, 201, and then 202.

So with the cost of tuition, the benefit of receiving 6 more credit hours, and the ability to take other classes that aren't offered as CLEP/DSST tests I think I'd be crazy to not try to learn German on my own.

Does anyone have any software recommendations for learning German? The test consists of listening and reading.

I got on Amazon and looked and saw Rosetta Stone going for $500 (it being the most expensive) and then other brands being mainly in the $50-20 range.

I've never looked at anything like that and have no clue what to look for and what brands are reputable.

I appreciate any insight on this!

I searched back through the forums to try and see if this has been posted before and I couldn't find it. If it has and someone finds the link to the thread I'd really appreciate it!

Join the Army.

We get Rosetta Stone software free of charge. And Uncle Sam will happily send you for one-year of language immersion in Germany.

Look for D-LAB study manuals online.

Alyssa,
In my day Germany was considered 'good' duty one got to go to after one served in some hostile or difficult tour. Then you had only a shot at getting an assignment like Germany.
You're right, nothing like 3 or 4 years in the service to learn some local 'color' though.

Randy

Megan,

Not sure where you live, but have you thought about doing a search for a German Speaking group you might join in your area?

I lived in Germany for a while. Wonderful people willing to practice with you and serve you Bratwursts! Ha... bliss...better than going it alone with immersion courses....unless you are vegetarian of course

I would definitely look for a group to join/practice with. College classes seem to take forever to learn just a little (of course combined with all of the other subjects you're taking it's still a lot of info). I learned the most by doing a study abroad in a relevant country. Also by hanging out with international students whose native language was what I was trying to learn.

Good luck with the German... I took Italian and Spanish in college. Had to learn a bit of German pronunciation for a Brahms Requiem I sang in last month, boy did it seem tough in comparison!! I can now understand why one of my profs (who was from germany) said that her mother complained of americans with lazy mouths

Rosetta Stone, BTW, is pretty damned good.
I learned passable Arabic in 45 days prior to deploying.

It'd be worth the investment if you did decide to spend the money.

If you have any Army friends, they can "share" their Rosetta Stone with you- they get it free online at AKO.

I wish I had some army friends The course I bought years ago is so boring that I still haven't learned German!

Rosetta Stone also offers an online thing. If you learn quickly it would probably be much cheaper than buying the full course, but it is $200 per 6 months so could get expensive if you take too long. I believe you have full access to the software online that way. I plan on doing that possibly in February if I am settled into a new job by then.

Carolyn,

A fellow singer....tha'ts why I was in Germany...to sing

From a practical stand-point, whatever you do, don't go to Austria or associate with Austrians.

I took 8 years of German before going there, and I was rather demoralized thinking I hadn't learned a -f-ing thing...until I spoke with some actual German tourists and realized the problem was not mine at all.

Viel Glück!

I would hope the Rosetta Stone is as good as what it costs in comparison to other computer programs!

While that seems like a lot of money I think it'd be worth. Compared to take taking the classes you probably wouldn't have that much in books let alone tuition.

I seriously doubt if there are any German speaking groups in my area. How would one go about finding that sort of thing?

My b/f has a couple friends in the army, one is in TX and I'm not sure where the other is. There's a guy that I work with who is in the National Guard that just got back a couple months ago. Would he be able to "share" with me?

I think I'm going to look a little more into the online one, because I only have to take two one hour classes this semester. I can get the rest of the credits I need through CLEP/DSST exams.

Steven thanks for the tip about the Austrians!