Grammar might just be the driest part of learning a language, but it’s got to be done. Giving special importance to perfecting the grammar of a new language from the get go will help you to build a solid linguistic foundation. It’s very hard to unlearn grammatical mistakes, so why not just get the laws of grammar sorted out from the onset? But how do you do that? You study, study, study.
"Learning grammar is no joke, but the simple format and thorough explanations offered in Collin’s Easy Learning German Grammar can help any dedicated student to learn grammar without too many headaches."
If you’re learning German, then you can use Collin’s Easy Learning German Grammar to help you. If you have ever studied grammar of any language before, then you might be somewhat of a skeptic about the title; how can learning grammar ever be easy? Well, you’re right. Learning grammar is no joke, but the simple format and thorough explanations offered in Collin’s Easy Learning German Grammar can help any dedicated student to learn grammar without too many headaches.
The book starts out with an introduction that may be necessary for those of you who don’t know the parts of speech or grammatical terms in English. Don’t know what a relative clause or a superlative is? You’ll find out in the introduction so that you can be ready to learn once you get to the German grammar lessons.
After the introduction, the book goes into the units, the first being “Nouns”. A good place to start, the nouns chapter again presents the English definition of a noun, giving examples in English. And before you hit the German, the book offers you a nifty tip that will help you throughout the chapter. The layout of the chapter is easy to read; it gives all the pertinent information without flooding you with text to read. By offering boxes with “Tips” and “Key Points”, you can easily learn the rules without going into a thorough analysis. The structured layout, bullet points, and charts are logical and comprehensible for most learners.
The main difference between Collin’s Easy Learning German Grammar and other grammar study books is that there are not practice exercises to test what you’ve learned. Instead, the book simply relays information, expecting diligence on the part of the student. As a teacher or a self taught student, this makes the book slightly less useful. Reading about grammar isn’t enough; one needs to practice. While Collin’s Easy Learning German Grammar does a great job presenting the information, it doesn’t do a great job of helping the student put what’s taught into practice. You can always create your own practice exercises for each unit, but who really wants to do that? Plus, if you are studying German on your own, who is going to be there to tell you if the answers are right or wrong? However, as much as we don’t like the absence of practice exercises, don’t be quick to discredit the entire book. It truly does present the information in an easy and accessible way that is different from most grammar books and that shouldn’t be overlooked. Chances are, you’ll just have to use this in conjunction with another book.
