How I did it: I used the Michel Thomas Beginner and Advanced packages throughout. I listened to German radio stations online and attempted to read German language websites. I set up a blog of my general goings-on in German to help with my written skills, which I found particularly useful for learning new vocabulary and setting out sentences in different ways.

Lessons & tips: 1. Take your time! Particularly in the beginning. I think this is where Michel Thomas beats other learning resources (short of one on one tuition in person or actually living in Germany!) because his emphasis is on saying everything very slowly in order to perfect pronunciation. His lack of "homework" exercises is refreshing too.

2. Use as many resources as possible. The internet has enabled non-native speakers of German to have access to resources like news/general websites and language-learning specific websites that make some level of immersion in the language possible. Use them!

Resources:

• Michel Thomas Beginner & Advanced CD packs
• Deutsche Welle (http://www.dw-world.de/) has a huge number of resources, well worth thorough investigation!
• busuu.com - The best free language learning website I've ever come across. Exercises in writing and speaking German are marked for you by native speakers. Invaluable and exciting!

Jan 31, 2012, 01:28AM PST | 1 comment | 9 cheers