I want to brush up on my German before my trip this spring. Does anyone have any recommendations for CD's, tapes, etc.? I've heard Rosetta Stone is good, but it is expensive. I don't mind the cost if it is worth the money. I'd appreciate advice.

Thanks.

If you belong to Costco, they often carry very nice CD/CD-ROM language box sets for only about $19 to $29. I've tried a couple for French and one for Italian. The brands vary, but your best choice mostly depends on which media you prefer. For example, the CD-ROMs that came with one set are really corny. But the CDs are handy for driving in the car, especially. Or to put on your iPod.

Maureen,
I prefer something that I can use on my computer, there is something about being at the computer that helps my focus. I do belong to Costco, so will take a look next time I am there. Thanks for the suggestion!

I have used both InFlight French and InFlight Italian. One hour of basic phrases that you would need. If you have a background, might just be enough to remind you. Got mine at Barnes & Noble. I assume they have German.

I have tried Berlitz and Pimseuler (I hope I spelled that right) Pimseuler is great. Very repetitive and makes me feel much more confident. They have 4 levels and you will have to get going on them to get through them all before Spring. If you buy all 4 sets off of EBay they will cost you over $500 but I feel they are worth it. I have not heard any of the Rosetta Stonet tapes or CDs.

PS You can sometimes get the first set of CDs of Pimseuler German at Costco for about $30.

Thanks for the advice. I just ordered Pimsleur from Amazon. Hopefully I'll be up and running by May!

I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Pimsleur is an excellent choice. I have previously used their French, and am using their Italian as we prepare for our next trip.

Woody

In addition to Pimsleur, which is quite good, for those who want to use their computer there is a great resource at learner.org. The complete French in Action is online at:

http://www.learner.org/resources/series83.html#jump1

On the right side of the screen you will see a navigation window under the heading Related Sources that will take you to Destinos (a Spanish series) or Fokus Deutsch (the German one). The windows for these aren't real big, but each lesson loads quickly (if you have DSL or cable) and, of course, you get the audio.

I use about.com's language section for exercises. At http://german.about.com, you look up vocabulary, "Essential German, grammar lesson, "word of the day", you can have emailed to you the beginning lessons, or ALL of them and work at your own pace. There are sound files, too, for listening.

By the way, they have this for French, Spanish and Italian, too.

I've started my German lessons with Pimsleur. So far I really like it!! Thanks for all the suggestions. I think when I finish German, I'll tackle another language!!

Pimsleur is great, so is Inflight, and a new recent one by EARWORMS (I have French and Italian) is fantastic. I have Rosetta Stone and personally don't understand why everyone raves about it so.