Preface

This edition of Hugo German in 3 Months was written by Sigrid Martin, whose experience in teaching her native tongue ranges from beginners  to post-graduate level. The course is designed for those learning at home who want to acquire a good working knowledge of the language in a  short time.
The course begins with an explanation of German pronunciation. Referring to our system of ‘imitated pronunciation’ in the initial weeks of the  course will help you learn to understand and pronounce German.
However, we strongly encourage you to download the free DK Hugo in 3 Months app (see p.5) and to listen to the accompanying audio – this  will enable you to pick up the distinctive sounds of the German language.The rest of the course contains the following teaching elements to  provide a complete introduction to written and conversational German:
Grammar These sections present the basics of German in a practical way, in an order designed for the learner to make rapid progress. Constructions are clearly explained and examples are included. Listen to the audio to hear the texts pronounced and repeat them out loud. The exercises are designed to consolidate what you’ve learned as you put the rules into practice.
Vocabulary New words are included in the vocabulary lists: these will help you understand the texts and complete the exercises.
Exercises The exercises will help you remember the rules through applying them. Check your answers against the key at the back of the book. If you make mistakes and don’t understand why, go back to the relevant section and read it again.
Conversations The conversations reinforce the points that have been seen, as well as introducing idioms and colloquialisms for a thorough  grasp of everyday German.We suggest that you listen to the conversations first, then read them aloud and see how closely you can imitate the voices on the recording.
Ideally, you should try to spend about an hour a day on the course, although there is no hard and fast rule on this. Do as much as you feel  capable of doing; it’s much better to learn a little at a time, and to learn that thoroughly.
Before beginning a new section, always spend ten minutes revising what you learned the day before.Then read each new section carefully,  ensuring that you have fully understood the grammar, before listening to the audio to learn the pronunciation of sample sentences and new  vocabulary. Finally, complete the exercises at the end of the section. Repeat them until the answers come easily. Repetition is vital to language  learning. The more often you listen to a conversation or repeat an oral exercise, the faster your listening skills and fluency in speaking will improve.
When you’ve completed the course, you should have a very good understanding of the language – more than sufficient for general holiday or  business purposes, and enough to lead to language validation tests if this is your eventual aim. We hope you enjoy Hugo German in 3 Months,  and wish you success with your studies!