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Assimil Duits
Learn modern German in 100 lively and entertaining lessons. In just five months, you will be able to hold a conversation with German speakers. The audio recordings, made by professional voice-over artists, are invaluable for picking up the rhythms of the spoken language.Workbook and Cassette Package - 100 Lessons.
647 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 23, 2016
About a year ago, I had began my German journey. Instead of wasting my money on Rosetta Stone, the Pimsleur approach, or some other garbage, I decided to buy this book. I bought this book, because of the videos of a renowned polygot named Luca Lampariello(who has a youtube channel). He claimed that his method is an easy way to learn languages without getting too heavy on grammar. In many of his videos, he claims that Assimil is a great place to begin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEpIm...
After 10 months of Assimil, I have started to read Harry Potter in German(on the second book atm). I can write sentences in German with very little effort. My listening comprehension is pretty solid(I bought the cds along with the book). The only thing I'm weak at is speaking in German. There is only so much a book can do for you. I may be able to form sentences pretty quickly, but I'll have to work with a tutor, or better yet, talk to native Germans over Skype. By doing so, I'll make sure that my pronunciation is solid.
On day one, I translate the German text into English. I leave myself notes about grammar, or any other difficult point I know that I may get stuck on. Then, I usually listen to a lesson two times and make sure that I know the sounds of each of the words; I may even write down the pronunciation of each word. On day two, I translate the English text back into German with the help of the notes that I wrote for myself. I repeat this process for all 100 lessons. By the end of the book,I was amazed at my progress. It took me 200+ days to finish the book, but I was in no hurry. It took alot of work and patience, but I had more fun as I progressed.
March 2, 2016
I finished this book today, and here is my review.
I started off doing a lesson each day using a Pomodoro timer. At that pace, you can complete this book in just over 3 months. However, later on I doubled my workload and I covered the last 40 chapters in 18 days.
The structure of the book is as follows: there is a German text on the left page, with the English translation on the right page. There are footnotes within the German text to explain pertinent grammatical points.
After the text, there are two exercises. The first is a reading exercise, that mimics vocabulary and grammar introduced by the main text. The second is a 'fill in the blank'-type exercise that's a very simple and useful check to see if you absorbed the new vocabulary and how the new grammatical structure works. Both exercises are very short.
The course has audio, wherein the main text and the first exercise of each chapter is read clearly. The audio is slower in the earlier chapters, and then approaches conversational speed in the later chapters.
Starting at lesson 50, you are required to do a 'second wave', whereby you revise the book starting at chapter 1, simultaneously continuing with lesson 50 onwards. In other words, you do lesson 50 with lesson 1, lesson 51 with lesson 2, and so on.
You will realise how much you have learned during this second wave. You'll remember how you struggled in the beginning and how much easier it seems to be now.
I haven't done a unique word count of this book, but I've read online that the word count is upwards of 2000.
I have yet to take a Goethe test, but the short preliminary tests on the Goethe site put me somewhere around B2. Personally, I think I'm closer to a B1. I've made this progress mostly using this book, Seago's Intermediate Grammar book, and by reading general stuff in German online.
To get the most out of this book, I did the following:
Read the main text. Write out the main text. Write translations above new words. Later, these will be added to my flashcard deck. Underline any grammar I'm not sure about, so I can look it up online. Do the exercises.
I listen to the audio at another time, such as when I'm cycling to work, or going to sleep. I do this so that my brain can mull over the content when I'm in different places and different states of mind. I do Anki flashcards every day with the above content. I ought to translate the English back to German, but I never did.
During the last 20 or so chapters, I wasn't sure if I was making any more progress. It seemed as though a new idea was being introduced in each chapter, and then not used again. This isn't true in the earlier chapters, where ideas are continually building on one another. I suppose it's inevitable for any text to do this: you are bound to introduce the more common, important ideas first in a book, and the ones relegated to the end of the book are necessarily those that you aren't going to see as often. So I don't fault the book for this at all.
The texts in the book are very good. They are clear and often funny and lighthearted, as are the drawn cartoons in the book.
There's not much to complain about. This book is very good. However, later on in the book, I noticed that there were some typos. At other times, new grammatical ideas could have been explained a little clearer without much effort. Both of these points could be seen in a positive light: they encourage you to look for explanation in other sources. Nevertheless, further editions, if there will be any, ought to focus on these points.
I'd recommend coupling this book with one of Schenke & Seago's grammar books.
I started off doing a lesson each day using a Pomodoro timer. At that pace, you can complete this book in just over 3 months. However, later on I doubled my workload and I covered the last 40 chapters in 18 days.
The structure of the book is as follows: there is a German text on the left page, with the English translation on the right page. There are footnotes within the German text to explain pertinent grammatical points.
After the text, there are two exercises. The first is a reading exercise, that mimics vocabulary and grammar introduced by the main text. The second is a 'fill in the blank'-type exercise that's a very simple and useful check to see if you absorbed the new vocabulary and how the new grammatical structure works. Both exercises are very short.
The course has audio, wherein the main text and the first exercise of each chapter is read clearly. The audio is slower in the earlier chapters, and then approaches conversational speed in the later chapters.
Starting at lesson 50, you are required to do a 'second wave', whereby you revise the book starting at chapter 1, simultaneously continuing with lesson 50 onwards. In other words, you do lesson 50 with lesson 1, lesson 51 with lesson 2, and so on.
You will realise how much you have learned during this second wave. You'll remember how you struggled in the beginning and how much easier it seems to be now.
I haven't done a unique word count of this book, but I've read online that the word count is upwards of 2000.
I have yet to take a Goethe test, but the short preliminary tests on the Goethe site put me somewhere around B2. Personally, I think I'm closer to a B1. I've made this progress mostly using this book, Seago's Intermediate Grammar book, and by reading general stuff in German online.
To get the most out of this book, I did the following:
Read the main text. Write out the main text. Write translations above new words. Later, these will be added to my flashcard deck. Underline any grammar I'm not sure about, so I can look it up online. Do the exercises.
I listen to the audio at another time, such as when I'm cycling to work, or going to sleep. I do this so that my brain can mull over the content when I'm in different places and different states of mind. I do Anki flashcards every day with the above content. I ought to translate the English back to German, but I never did.
During the last 20 or so chapters, I wasn't sure if I was making any more progress. It seemed as though a new idea was being introduced in each chapter, and then not used again. This isn't true in the earlier chapters, where ideas are continually building on one another. I suppose it's inevitable for any text to do this: you are bound to introduce the more common, important ideas first in a book, and the ones relegated to the end of the book are necessarily those that you aren't going to see as often. So I don't fault the book for this at all.
The texts in the book are very good. They are clear and often funny and lighthearted, as are the drawn cartoons in the book.
There's not much to complain about. This book is very good. However, later on in the book, I noticed that there were some typos. At other times, new grammatical ideas could have been explained a little clearer without much effort. Both of these points could be seen in a positive light: they encourage you to look for explanation in other sources. Nevertheless, further editions, if there will be any, ought to focus on these points.
I'd recommend coupling this book with one of Schenke & Seago's grammar books.
March 30, 2015
As the last lesson told, it's hard to depart from this lovely book... the things we've been through together.
A very friendly, open-minded, concise, plain-written book; a must-have for any Language learner.
Assimil + Michel Thomas = It's on, baby!
A very friendly, open-minded, concise, plain-written book; a must-have for any Language learner.
Assimil + Michel Thomas = It's on, baby!
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August 7, 2025Non completato, trovate altre risorse
July 9, 2024
Wonderful Book. Short lessons properly explained with entertaining stories, and short/comfortable exercises. 100% recommendable.
October 31, 2015
This is probably the most boring of all Assimil books I've worked with so far. After the mid of the book I almost stopped copying the lesson texts, because I hardly find any sense to do it. The grammar is spread well, according to me. There is also a nice grammar overview at the end of the book. Probably another huge minus is the lack of any dictionary at the end, which is strange for the Assimil books.
I think that the book, also, uses a bit older orthography (for example, scharfes s where nowadays one would usually find double s - like in the conjugation of müssen, the conjunction dass, the adverb bisschen, etc.).
I expected more.
I think that the book, also, uses a bit older orthography (for example, scharfes s where nowadays one would usually find double s - like in the conjugation of müssen, the conjunction dass, the adverb bisschen, etc.).
I expected more.
August 25, 2018
Es besteht kein Zweifel: fünf Sterne 👌🏻
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews