[IchbinkeinTeufel]

First paragraph is all that is needed to read. :P

Just curious. I've been studying German from home, for the past 4 or so years. If you are, what do you use? I use German.About, its chat, Duolingo, Google Translate, and various dictionaries. I also watch some cartoons/programmes, have my Facebook/Skype/Google (and will probably soon more) set to German. I frequently chat in German, either to strangers on Duolingo, strangers elsewhere online, or with my online German buddy.

Here are some links for you:

https://www.duolingo.com/
Amazing website. I think it would be good to start with, but it will definitely have its limits. I started using Duolingo something like 22 days ago, and while it has certainly helped, I was far from a beginner, so I had a head-start. I think if you use this first, you're gonna want plenty of other resources at your disposal.

free flash chat rooms everywhere.
Useful German chatroom, if the need should arise. Various languages seem to be allowed, particularly, of course, English and German. If you can't find anyone to chat to in German, just head on to the chatroom. If you have any questions, someone will probably be able to ask. (not always, though, ... today, I asked someone a grammatical question about the accusative and imperative, and they just fobbed me off with nonsense about how grammar is pointless and I should go off and read a book! Haha)

The Four German Cases: Summary
German.About's case table, which is handy as heck. I keep this on my toolbar.

English - German Dictionary - leo.org: Start page
Very useful dictionary, with pronounciations and detailed run-downs of words.

Learn German
The homepage of German.About. Worth checking out. This was my goto site for a long time, and I learned a lot about grammar, spelling, punctuation, and God knows what else. (which Duolingo is helping me to reinforce, and further)

Google Translate
While it gets a lot of stick, it is brilliant if you know how to use it, but it's definitely not limitless. Be sure to type flawless English when translating English to German. Be sure to know that some idiomatic expressions won't translate well, if at all. Know, also, that some more complex grammatical structures confuse Google. When I first started, I used Google in a way as to "decipher" German, thinking of it as a code, and while it made me very, very rough around the edges, I actually did quite well, all things considered, and from there I was able to improve it. Honestly, though, I recently read some of my German (on this site, actually) and cracked up, ... it was from 2 years ago, and my grammar was horrendous! I can safely say, it's worth using ALL of these resources.

There are also some brilliant videos on YT, one especially called "Deutsch für Euch", which means "German for You". The young woman is amusing, friendly, and a great teacher. The woman's explanation of word order was a real revelation for me, and only further explained by people on Duolingo.

Oh, and I also use my diary, in that I sometimes type out entries in German, to get in some exercise and encourage me to use new or rarely-used words.

As for the programmes I watch:

Extr@ was shown no channel 4, some time back; it had several versions, and German was one of them. I love the characters, even though it's pretty cheesy, sometimes. It really helps me with my listening skills.

Or this:

TroTro, the adorable little, ... thing. It's very much a kiddies cartoon, which is exactly why I sometimes watch it, and particularly used it to get used to hearing German spoken. I tend to just stick with Extr@, now, but it's nice for a change and/or new words. I recommend TroTro, first, as Extra is, IMO, the level up. There are plenty of TroTro videos out there. (for other languages, too)

This might sound silly, but I found learning Funkel Funkel kleiner Stern (twinkle twinkle little star, but not the same as the English one) helpful to learn, as well as amusing. I particularly liked the usage of "mir so fern" (far from me) and "strahlend Diamant" (shining/radiant/bright diamond).

GL!

[CaptainChaos79]

I learned the phonetics by studying voice (singing) for 8 years privately. Someday I may learn the translation. ...

[LaborIntensive]

I am simply "studying Germans". They keep eating all my sauerkraut and drinking all my beer.

[ptangptang]

Hey zwang. Thanks for all that, i've bookmarked this page. yeah i did German at school, been there quite a few times, spent a few years at evening classes and generally feel an affinity with all things German ( well not quite all) but without the motivation of needing to learn it i let it drop. Same thing with trying to teach myself to play the piano. Keen, have the resources and i can sustain it for a while but eventually it peters out. I'm sure if i lived there i would be fluent pretty quickly. I even swear in German. Take care mate. Love and peace.

[ptangptang]

German Swear Words hehe