Learn German with Paul Noble

by Paul Noble

The language guru everyone is talking about - Paul Noble will revolutionise the way you learn language. No textbooks, no rote memorisation, no chance of failure.

Genres: German Literature, Language, Audiobook, Nonfiction

40 pages, Audio CD

First published September 1, 2012

Reviews

[Bibi · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, I've been learning German, French, and Spanish (hey, don't scoff. I'm an empty-nester!) through the Paul Noble system and I completely understand why his learning system is rated highly.

Paul sets you up for success by identifying the similarities between the subject language and English. For instance, by adding 'ch' onto 'I' you get the german "I"; switch the C to K then tag on an extra N and you've changed the English word 'can' to 'kann' in German.

Further, we learn that most English words ending with 'ing' automatically end with 'en' in German. If Paul hadn't enumerated these, such glaring associations and similarities would be totally lost to a beginner.

As a result, these associations make it easier for the brain and mind to switch languages, which means learning is infinitely less daunting. He also teaches proper sentence construction, situational conversation and more importantly, how to respond when a native speaker responds to your questions.

Lastly, Paul speaks with such a mellifluous tone which instantly soothes even the most nervous beginner. Anyway, I am hoping to try my German next summer when, hopefully, I should be proficient. Ja, ich Kann! (Yes, I can).

[shal · Rating 4 out of 5]

/* I've created a list of German language learning resources here . It'd be a great help to all the independent learners if you could contribute. Danke! */

Well, I haven't tried many audiobooks for learning languages but "Learn German with Paul Noble" is definitely a good recommendation for absolute beginners of German language and better than all the other audiobooks I laid my hands on. It's quite slow paced, with sufficient pauses for the listeners to recall the answers before the phrases are actually spoken in a native German voice. And we already know this method of recalling the information is far more effective for long-term memorization than simply reviewing it repeatedly.

However, since the audiobook is only 12 hours long, it's quite limited in vocabulary and pronounciation lessons sufficient only to speak basic German sentences. I'd mostly recommend it to the beginners who can't find sufficient time for learning the language actively such as from flashcards, videos or textbooks. From my personal experience, those methods are far more productive than passive learning, you'll be able to learn a lot more if you spend first 12 hours on memrise, duolingo, pronounciation videos and a good basic german book. But even for intermediate learners, it could be a good way for language immersion during commuting or personal errands' hours.

In addition to all these perks, this audiobook as well as his Italian, French and Spanish audiobooks are available for free on scribd.com. If I learn any of these languages in the future, I'll definitely be using Paul Noble's audiobooks.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

این سری صوتی آموزشی خوبی بود.
حدود چهل ساعت آموزش کاربردی بود.

[Tariq Mahmood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul's method gets you talking German in a few days, which gives you a lot of confidence. The only issue is that I bought an Audible version which makes it slightly challenging to learn the German spellings, so I guess the best way is to listen to the book along with a printed copy.

[Enkee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Битгий цээжил, дагаал хэлээд бай гэхнээ нэг л мэдэхэд цээжилчихсэн бх нь энэ залуугийн арга тохирсоных юм болуу да.

[Cameron Maxworthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful revision for basic sentence structure and gender rules. I wish he'd used more specific language when talking about cases, but using grammatical terminology to explain things would kind of defeat his purpose (and it was funny seeing the Object of each sentence consistently referred to as the 'Victim')

Thank you Paul Noble please do Koine Greek next.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. The methods are stress free and the lessons are incredible.

[Athraa Awad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good at making you understand grammar. But it doesn’t teach a whole lot so you to completely and fluently converse in German.

[Edwin Monsanto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've unsuccessfully tried many other language acquisition courses before e.g. Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, LingQ, Busuu, Living Language, memrise, etc. And I can safely say that, with the Paul Noble approach I finally feel I have found a way to overcome a life-long fear of learning German. There's many similarities between PN's and Michel Thomas method. But, what sets PN's apart is that it is much more focused, refined, and better-paced, especially for beginners. However, it sadly only offers the language basics (For advanced level with a similar approach you should get MT's).

What distinguishes this method from MT's is Paul's soothing, almost meditative, stress-free, inviting voice, and his patience between questions with its long pauses allotting users the necessary time to recall and construct responses without pressure. Moreover, PN complements the material with cognates i.e. etymological insights on the German language and its Anglo-Saxon associations and origins with modern English, pertinently laying down the relevant bits and pieces as building-blocks/blueprint through the episodes as we move forward. This comes quite handy if you're already an English speaker. Only the Pimsleur method comes close in effectiveness to PN's method. However, Pimsleur, instead of focusing in understanding rather than on memorization (i.e. associating already known English cognates), is based on the Spaced Repetition System that expects you to memorize the target language without understanding the new terms. I should also mention that I had the benefit of using the actual book with this course.

[Lennart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good way to get an introduction to the German language. There's lots of repetition and the progression is not too fast. I only wish that he'd use some of the grammatical names for the things he introduced, instead of only referring to grammar rules as 'sex change rule' etc. If you've studied other languages it'd be helpful to have the proper names. Other than that, I can highly recommend the course. I listened to it during long walks while being on paternity leave, and it wasn't too fast or complicated for my absent minded parental brain.

[Tanvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went through the audible version of this book with my A1 classes. Paul explains concepts in a way that is very helpful for the English reader. The book touches upon almost all basic principles, though do not expect it to build a huge vocab for you. Simple principles of Dativ & Akkusativ are very helpful. It cannot replace a real course, but a must add if you are seriously learning the language.
Though most of the time I listened to it at almost 1.6x the speed cos things were a bit slow for me and repetitive, again only because I'm also studying the language with a teacher.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not very useful unless you want to kiss or kidnap someone. The focus is heavily on the side of words that are identical or close to English words instead of words a visitor to Germany might need. I also found it odd that the course referred to the object of a sentence as the victim. At least that tied into the vocabulary choices. It's a very long course without much meat to it. You can do better.

[Amy Mortensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this audiobook if you are wanting to learn German. All phrases are spoken by a native speaker so you learn the correct pronunciation. He also prompts you to say them out loud with him so you are confident in speaking German by the end of the audiobook! I LOVED IT and highly recommend any language course by Paul Noble!!

[Ciara Lawler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Noble delivers again with this course - I listened to this before heading to Germany and while I had a little bit of knowledge before, this book was excellent. Paul's way of explaining German grammar is excellent and made it easier for me to understand. He really understands the difficulties of the langauge. I couldn't recommend it enough.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book if you’re looking for a good head start in German and if you learn best by hearing the language taught verbally. The frequent repetition, while frustrating at times, is a key reason you retain as much of the instruction as you do—-at least in theory and at least for me. I’d certainly use these audio books again for further my German studies and to pick up a few more languages.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love Paul Noble audiobooks for learning a new language. I've listened to both his French and German audiobooks and always find them to be a helpful start to learning the language. They are great for beginners because he takes the time to explain why something is that way in the language (instead of relying on memorization) and he includes a lot of repetition. I highly recommend it!

[Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The course is so well designed. It teaches you how to work with and think in the language, building on what you know to deduce what you need to know. It made German cases much more comprehensible than when I learned them in college. The only fault is that it was not longer and even more complete.

[Amber Hyde · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 Stars.

This was one of the best teaching methods that I have come across. I would listen to this again and again. Highly recommend for any German learner.

Das war sehr interessant und hilfreich. Paul Nobles Stimme ist auch sehr nett. Danke!

[Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been learning German, self taught, for three years now. I wish I would have found this at the beginning of my journey. German articles are difficult to get a handle on but this system helps a lot. I highly recommended this course.

[Karin Rosner · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a start, but this is the most basic beginner's course. I'm actually more impressed with the "Next Steps" course, which is reminding me of lots of content I learned in my first year of University German, which I barely recall. I love the clear examples and the removal of the grammar jargon.

[Marie-Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook. Excellent, clear explanations of 'why' you say things in a certain way and not just that you do. Lots of (necessary) repetition but doesn't get boring. (Good companion to Duolingo, which doesn't really explain anything.)

[Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun and engaging way to get an intro to a language!

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook if this title, which was just over 12 hours long. Extremely well paced and informative. Highly recommended to anyone looking to start off learning German.

[Pap Lőrinc · Rating 4 out of 5]

"How would you say...?"

[Steven Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helps a lot with some of the more confusing parts of learning German.

[Gabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved his way of teaching- different than any language course I have taken!

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was able to navigate my daily interactions while living in Germany for a summer after using this language course.

[Jamie Huen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I put this on from time to time when going to bed. Hopefully absorbing it formation by osmosis

[Phillip Fitzsimmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is nicely done. I recommend it.

[Barbara Woodke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easiest way to learn when to change "the."