studio d A1: Kurs- und Übungsbuch Pocket Book – April 2, 2005

I purchased this along with the  Studio D: Sprachtraining A1 (German Edition)  to be used in conjunction with my beginner German courses at the Goethe Institute. (This review covers the text  Studio D: Kurs- Und Arbeitsbuch A1 (German Edition) , for some reason reviews for both products are grouped together.)The books together make for an effective teaching tool, using repeated exercises to help you with each new section while keeping it interesting. It generally stays away from "corny" scenarios as I have seen in other language books and instead (generally) seem to jump into real world dialogue. The exception of course is a certain amount of grammar and vocabulary.Initially I was put off by the fact that the entire book is in German, even the instructions for each exercise. Sometimes this slowed the process down as I might have had to look up a few terms to understand the point of the exercise. In the grand scheme of learning a language, this is definitely the best way to learn these words or phrases.I'm not sure how effective it is to sequence the chapters in somewhat of a non-linear way. For example, you don't really "start" by learning the alphabet, numbers, days of the week, etc. You really do jump into situational exercises like how to make an appointment over the phone, ask for directions for a certain location, etc. I believe this works, as it helps the speaking process and should you be making a trip to Germany will help you there. It also comes with a supplementary CD which helps you with listening.The exercises allow you to write directly into the book, and the answers are provided in the back for checking. My criticism is that there aren't that many good charts or "cheat sheets" to help you with grammar. This would be harder to use without an instructor, as you often need verbal instruction to go along with these books. Generally, I feel this is a good tool and better than other language books I've used.

I am most pleased with the book I received, its condition is exactly as described and all pages are unmarked.

Note: this whole book is in German. I know it's a German learning book, and I was taking classes at Goethe-Institut. This was the required text. If you don't know German, and don't have instruction, this is not the book for you as it assumes as you go that either someone is explaining some of the text or that you have fundamental German understanding.That said, once you do have those things this book is excellent. Sehr Gut!

Mine came answered. No CD. Very dissapointed.

If the directions were in english, this would make a great manual!

Great book for learning German.

Just wish the instruction would be in English as well

Tough book, but terribly useful.

Used it for my German classes in University. Good book but you will need Google translate for the words you do not understand.My book arrived a tad bit dented even though it was new, that's why I gave it a four star.

I needed this book for a course offered by the Goethe Institute. It is completely in german which can be a challenge to understand exactly what the exercise wants from you, but I guess that is part of the point.

The book, like all other books is fit for purpose but it is only of use in a classroom setting. Not for the faint hearted.

It is a god textbook for beginners

Fine as a course book