Ed Swick - Practice Makes Perfect: German Conversation

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ISBN: 978-1-26-014378-2
MHID: 1-26-014378-3

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Many thanks to Stefan Feyen for his advice and keen eye for detail.

In the Practice Makes Perfect series of German books, the books are designed around a specific grammatical or structural topic. This book, however, is designed to provide linguistic scenarios that reinforce conversational language. Grammar and vocabulary are of course used in all foreign-language books and therefore appear in this book as well. However, the main goal here is to develop conversational skills in German, not just to practice grammatical structures and vocabulary.

Each chapter begins with a dialogue on a topic that is the basis for the content of the chapter. The dialogues are relatively short and are written in natural language appropriate for intermediate readers. Following each dialogue is a series of questions that check for a basic understanding of the dialogue and competence with new, important conversational structures.

New to this premium second edition, recordings of all of the dialogs in the book are available as streaming audio through the McGraw-Hill Education Language Lab app. In addition, the answers of many of the exercises in this book have also been recorded.

Although lists of words and phrases are provided, they are not composed of random words and phrases but rather of terms that are linked to the topic of the chapter. Then the words and phrases are introduced again, but this time in complete sentences appropriate for a conversation on the topic of the chapter.

Numerous exercises are provided to give detailed practice with the new words and phrases. Some of the exercises repeat an important grammatical concept and simultaneously use that concept as a vehicle for manipulation of the new conversational material. Other exercises check for comprehension or the ability to use new words in a useful phrase.

The reader should not forget that this book practices conversational German. Therefore, it is important that every German word and phrase be pronounced out loud. Conversations, in any language, are not merely silent thoughts in ones head. They are spoken entities. When working with the introductory dialogues, say each line out loud, and you cannot say them smoothly, practice them until you can say them with ease. And, of course, always think about the meaning of each line. Readers have to know what they are talking about.

Read all the lists of words, phrases, and sentences out loud as well and, again, practice them until you can say them smoothly. Do the same for the exercises. Write down the answers to the exercises, but dont stop there. Read the exercise aloud and then practice reading your answers aloud until you can say them easily and naturally.

At the end of the book there is an Answer key. Be sure to check your answers againt the Answer key before practicing saying them out loud.

German, like English and many other European languages, is written using the Latin alphabet. Use the following descriptions of German letters and their pronunciations to guide you through this book. When in doubt about how to pronounce a word, ask a German-speaking friend or consult a dictionary.