Speak German in 90 Days: A Self Study Guide to Becoming Fluent: 1 Paperback – 10 Oct. 2015

My story started in Switzerland, where I was under pressure to complete my B1 certification. I had visited a few classes and every course recommended me a new German book.I was constantly searching for and asking the course leaders, Is there ONE book which will help me to pass the B1 certification. This Book IS THE ANSWER.I am writing this review, because you need not undergo the ordeal I went for finding this so called ONE MAGIC Book for passing German Grammar certification.Here in Switzerland German classes are conducted in German to teach German. So most of the time when complicated Grammar terms are explained (in German), we just nod our head without understanding much. This MAGIC BOOK explains the grammar concepts in very simple, plain and easy to understand English with examples and exercises. In fact from Chapter ( Day ) 24, I also started writing the exercises to improve my SCHREIBEN skills.I downloaded the Kindle version, when it was free. However later on after passing my B1 TELC exam with flying colours, I ordered a hard copy of this book, just to reward the author for his effort. Many of my friends wanted me to share my free copy. But I refused and asked them to pay cash and order it. We HAVE TO reward the Author Kevin Marx for his efforts in explaining tough complicated German grammar in plain easy to read ( and understand ) simple English phrases.Many reviewers have given a single and 2 star rating on the pretext that this cannot be completed in 90 days. But the Author clearly mentions that everyone's learning curve is different. Further Author also suggests to read the book at your own phase until you understand the concepts REGULARLY (Most important word).Also for those who feel that this is not for the complete beginner, My recommendation is please read German for dummies followed by Intermediate German for dummies and then come to this book.Truthfully the first 25 chapters are for beginners only. For B1 certification syllabus and grammatik, the meat starts from chapter 25 onwards upto around Chapter 76. Chapter 77 onwards is for level B2 and above.All my friends when writing certification exams were not expecting a high score in the Grammatik part, But in my case since I had revised this book a few times, My TELC B1 Grammatik score was 100 %. Yess, you read it right. In TELC B1 certification there were 2 parts of grammar with 15 questions each. I got all the 30 correct.I dedicate my cent per cent score to the Author.The score was entirely due to the structure of the book and explanation by the author.I have NOT searched for any other German grammar book, as this book has satisfied all the requirements. Further, I also recommended this book to my friends circle who have been attending quite a few German classes and all of them have given this book a 5 Star rating.There are a few typos, however I will not list them as I just wanted to warn the readers on this. If you read the book thoroughly, the contents and explanation will clarify the typos. So there is no need of me listing them.The good news is, majority of the errors have been corrected when compared with the old Kindle version.Some suggestions are :Chapter 30 Present Perfect and Chapter 32 Simple Past could have been sequential as they deal with the same topic for speaking and writing. When I revised, I made sure that I always read chapter 30 and 32 and then went back to chapter 31.I found day 31 challenging as I did not know when to end with Sein and when to end with haben. The complications were extended in Day 32 and 33. Chapter 31 was only a general read, as it is confusing me a lot.I thought my most difficult chapter was on day 31 until I encountered chapter 33. I just had to faintly remember chapter 33 without being through on it, as this was holding me from proceeding further.Later on, I overcame the above issues, by listing sein verbs and haben verbs separately. That helped me in easing chapters 30 and chapter 33.For my B1 exam preparation, I put brakes after day 70 and revised well all the chapters before going through the Intermediate grammar from Day 71 onwards. This strengthens your memory.My methodology was I went through all the 90 chapters (ok upto 70 chapters) and then again re started one by one. After completing a section, I was revising the section again i,e Noun basics, grammar basics, Verb basics etc. After completing 30 days, I revised these 30 days. Same for 60 days and 90 days. Same for the various sections also. i,e Keep revising when you finish a logical part.The design of this book is 1 chapter per day, but as you go beyond 43 days it will be difficult to grasp the concepts in 1 day, so as the author says in introduction, spend some good time trying to understand the concepts without being worried about the target.To stretch your German learning ability, read this book parallelly with German for dummies . Once you complete both, revise this book again and then kick off with Intermediate German for dummiesAfter reading this book the yellow book of german verbs makes sense.Full five star rating for this book, as that is the maximum I can rate in Amazon. For effective learning, you have to keep revising after finishing section by section, to get the best out of this book. There are also a few spelling mistakes which must be corrected.If you are looking to move from General German i,e around A1 level to understanding the grammar i,e A2 to B1 level, this book is the BEST guide. Author takes you gradually as he states in Day 51 Schritt für Schritt.Remember the success in learning Languages are the 2 Rs : REGULAR and REPETITON. i,e as the Author has pointed out, you have to regularly keep studying without spending a lot of hours only on weekends. You have to keep Repeating until the words and concepts go to your Long term memory.A MUST HAVE if you are serious on taking a German Certification exam and the Best grammar book I have ever ever ever(to the power of nth) come across.

This is a an excellent book for those wanting to learn german or those wanting improve their german. It is a super guide and does not pretend there are short cuts to becoming competent - even though a super book it requires you to work hard at the language and emphasises the key to success is constant practice.

I really wanted to speak a second language,and this book which is easy to follow and FREE was just what I needed to motivate me. However,no matter how good the book is,or how easy the book is to understand. Only If you put the self effort ,and study time in to practice, and learn,will you benefit.

Best buy

Not exactly what expected, but good

A little complex to get around but over all a good purchase, shows how to pronounce words and is good for an e-book.

The idea behind this book is that if you learn 10 German words a day, you will have acquired a vocabulary of 900 German words, which is enough to get a fairly good grasp of the language. You need three 10 minute sessions per day to accomplish your task. I say, go for it!

With a German mother I have a knowledge of the language that is enough to get by. This is well structured tutor has definitely helped improve my fluency. Thank you.