In the book "Zwischendurch mal Landeskunde" there is a lot of background information about Germany. It contains a good mix of topics: Family and friends, clothing and looks, health, food and drink, travel, holidays, work and many more. The texts are at the level A2 - B1 and are marked with asterisks. (* simple ** medium *** difficult) There are tasks and solutions for every topic. In class, I often use the book for vocabulary enhancement, and in conversation classes, students can prepare the texts at home so we can talk about it in class. The book is also suitable for self-study.

"Grundwissen Deutschland" is a paperback that contains 71 informative texts about Germany. The texts are relatively short and after each text there are tasks with solutions. The level is B1.

For all learners of German at level A2 / B1 and above, a German-German dictionary is a good help to learn new words. All explanations are in German, so you can also learn how to explain a word you do not know with words you know.

The Wörterbuch von Langenscheidt has 90,000 entries, many illustrations and is very comprehensive.

The Wörterbuch von Hueber has 41,500 entries, grammatical tables and many helpful tips on how to study new words.

Those who want to train their listening skills and their ability to speak, can learn well with these three books.  Thanks to the audio CD you could also study alone. To do this efficiently, look at the tips: How to study German.

If you want to improve your grammar skills, I can recommend you three very good grammar books. They are perfect for refreshing and deepening German grammar. There are many exercises, good explanations and a solution part.

A - Grammatik:

The entire grammar of levels A1 and A2 is explained in a simple and understandable way. The book is also well suited for self-study. The explanations are also in English.

B - Grammatik:

This grammar book is also very suitable for self-study. As the name implies, it includes the grammar of levels B1 and B2.

C - Grammatik:

If you  want to perfect your German, this is the right grammar book for you!

After so much grammar you get thirsty. How about a "Brauereikarte"? The poster measures 91cm x 61cm and fits any wall. Unfortunately, not all breweries are noted, but the poster is very decorative. It also hangs in my classroom.
Not so decorative, but very informative is this "Bierkarte Deutschland". Whether Pils, Alt, Weizen, Bock or Kölsch - every brewery in Germany is listed here, and there are many other interesting information on this map. For real beer drinkers a true treasure.

Maybe you've already read my books, and you want to read more stories. Do you like to read detective stories? Then you will surely like the books of Felix & Theo. Detective Helmut Müller and his charming secretary Bea Braun solve everybody’s problems with many tricks. Here are three books for the level A1 - A2. But there is more!

Oktoberfest Kriminell:

Detective Müller visits the Oktoberfest in Munich. But soon he is in danger.

Raub im Kölner Karneval:

Detective Müller disguised as Elvis at the Cologne Carnival. This time it is Bea who is in danger.

Verschwunden in Neuschwanstein

Müller travels to Neuschwanstein Castle to solve a case.

If you want to prepare for a language exam, I recommend these books.
They explain the exam very well and show you how to solve the tasks step by step.
There are four model tests and suggested solutions in each book.

For my beginner lessons I mostly use the course book "Themen aktuell". It is well structured and has proven itself over many years. The book has a practical format: course book and workbook are combined in one volume. The books include an audio CD and the A1 book (chapter 1-5) also a CD-Rom. For both books you can also get a translation (Glossary) German - Japanese. The words from the course book (chapter 1 -10) are translated in the glossary page by page.

Continue with: Easy German books for beginners

Continue with: German Grammar Explanations

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