Mastering German Vocabulary: A Thematic Approach

This is an excellent book--paperback and easy to carry, for review and new learning for the intermediate German langauge student. I highly recommend it for the student taking his or her first trip to Germany--before and after, and it will highly motivate you to turn your book learning into real immersion learning. With 7 formal years of German language learning and several trips to Germany in adulthood, as well as a stint in a Gymnasium, I still find it worth opening at any page.

This is wonderful book for reviewing vocabulary. You should also know that French, Spanish, and Italian versions exist as well. The words covered are very helpful, especially for those who like to travel and need to know "easy" words that do not appear frequently in literature but do come up often in offices, stores, etc. Each entry offers a clear example of usage in its proper context. These books are so inexpensive, that it is worth taking one with you on a trip abroad, even if you end up abandoning it at the end to make more room in your suitcase for the books that you want to bring home.

It is usually the case that we look up the translation of a word we want to use in a dictionary. And then, it turns out to be not the word we've wanted, for the fact that the usage of it is somewhere different. Thematic approach was what was missing, and needed at the same time.This book, however, has changed that. With its 40 chapters on different themes that include 'eating', 'clothing', 'actions and behaviors', 'feelings and instincts', this book offers german-learners everything they need to know for both learning German and living in Germany. Now, it is possible to walk into a shop and tell exactly what kind of a shoe you want, without any difficulty. The book offers another feature: example sentences that help you understand how you use the word. Therefore, every word can be used fluently during talking.It is concise, and simple. Its small size allows for carrying in a bag. Any further grammatical complications,such as the plurals and different tenses of the verbs, unlike other reviewers, I think, would make the book difficult to use, and heavier to carry. This book can be used with an additional grammer companion, if very necessary. But, for the sole purpose of building vocabulary, the book is excellent. Yet, the grammar section at the end is quite satisfactory for quick referrals. I highly recommend 'Mastering German Vocabulary: A Thematic Approach' for all german-learners.

This book does exaclty what it promises. It does help you to enlarge your vocabulary. Words are sorted by theme, which is great since it helps you to memorize the words. At the end there is a very well built index where words are (of course) alphabetically sorted. I have taken 6 semester of German (I'm just in the basic level) but I found this book to be very useful in two specific situations: To collect examples of usage of a word that I recently learned ; To help me fill those moments of idleness when I'm not at home (for instance, before a movie begins or when I'm waiting for someone in a meeting at work). The comprehensiveness of this book, its small size, and low cost makes it one of the best cost-benefit books I have ever bought!

I moved to Germany 6 months ago (I'm in the military). I had a good start in German, having completed a German technical translation program in college. But that was 15 years ago. I have a LOT of German instructional books, but this is by far the one I use the most, since I already have the grammar and pronunciation down. I try to go through at least a page every day before I go to bed. This book has taken me a long way towards my goal of total fluency, because even if you have perfect grammar and have an excellent accent, you can't get around the fact that there are thousands of words you simply have to know cold.I HIGHLY recommend this book!