“ ASSIMIL” METHOD BOOKS FRENCH WITHOUT Tom. ITALIAN WITHOUT Tom RUSSIAN WITHOUT Tol, SPANISH WITHOUT TOIL Bound books, Ivey ilstated, containing lessons recorded on gramephone record, “ASSIMIL” SPARE-TIME DAILY COURSES GERMAN WITHOUT TOIL BY A. CHEREL # Mlustrated by Pierre SOYMIER and Robert GRING “ ASSIMIL” 5, rue Saint-Augustin (Bourse) PARIS (2°) BRUXELLES AMSTERDAM - DUSSELDORF - LAUSANNE -LONDON MADRID - MONTREAL - NEW YORK - TORINO2 é 8 WITHOUT TOIL” RECORDS has been recorded on the lesous and exercises of “German Without Te oth men and women, q é i 3 i z z i & 2 3 3 2 z 4 3 i wgly recom Although the phonetic pronunciation is given in this handbook, the records are mended. ‘They are an invaluable help to the learner because by their nature afford a quicker and more nat and ey ensure perfect pronunci he spoken language. ara ol HOW TO LEARN GERMAN WITHOUT TOIL The first thing we want to impress on you is that you cought not to consider the study of this book as drudgery. ‘We firmly believe that you can acquire a fluent kmov- Jedge of colloquial German provided that you bear in mind two very important things : First : do not try fo do too much at once, but do a lle regularly. Half an hour steadily, day by day, is worth infinitely more than a frenzied burst of on hour or too al irregular intervals. Let “a little and often” be ‘your mollo. SECONDLY : as far as possible, avoid working when you are mentally tired. When your brain is fatigued, jour powers of assimilation Become saturated, and the more you try 10 take in, the less you really absorb, "To sum up, we ask you to apply yourself to the study ‘of German with the same attention you would give to mastering the tules of a new game. If you do this, you ‘will soon realise that studying by the “ASSIMIL” me~ hod will not be drudgery but a fascinating hobby whith brings its own reward ae ‘There is nothing to learn by heart, not even those formidable declensions, for instead of compelling you to memorize from dry-as-dust tables we shall introduce word-endings in everyday sentences which are so easy to absorb, Gradually, almost unconsciously, they will become fixed in your memory.vi This is the way to work : Read the first paragraph which gives the German text. Then compare it word for word with the phonetic trane- cription and with the English translation. Afterwards, revtead the Geman text, this time aloud. Do the same for each subsequent paragraph, and when you have reached the end of the lesson read the German text aloud once more, referring to the pronunciation ond the translation only when you do not feel quite sure of them. Figures in brackets—eg. “(1)"—tefer to the Notes. Read these notes carefully. and the lesson will then be over. Of course, this does not mean that you will know the lesson thoroughly, but on the following day—-or even an hour or two later, according to how your leisure is arranged—read it again before beginning the next one. ‘A short interval between repetitions will, pay better dividends than uninterrupted and tiring repetitions, which would tend to make you bored rather than enthusiastic about your new venture, Gradually, s you progress, you will find that sentences, constrictions and colloguialisms are purposely repeated so that they may become more and more faznil- iar to you. The two “waves” : ‘Learning the language in two “waves” (passive and active stages) is one of the most attractive features of “German Without Toil.” Tt quickly brings you to the point where you can enjoy German even though you do not umderstand all its. grammatical subtleties. ‘The first “wave” (passive stage) is intended to take you through the whole course at a lively pace. As soon as you can understand and vepeat a Iesson, you should move on to the next one. In this way you will avoid the dullness of what used to be termed “the geam- mar grind.” Absorb as far as possible with your car vi rather than your minds you can, if you like, think of fees ‘which a baby understands what iis told lone Defore it Years the niceties of written and epoken tana ond wave” (active sage) eins about a third of the way through the fist “wave” (Lesson 46). This is the proper time for you to go back to lesson cone and start to think about the language and its gram fpatical constructions, and you will find that you will earn all the more easily for having postponed your more formal attack upon it. . Do not et the second wave” prevent or from, keep ing up 2 good pace with the rest of the first “wave.” Go ire vp the end of the book at your original pace, but at the same time Tink each new lesson with on old one sidied in more detail. Thus the sinle comprehension se 46 should be linked with a new and analytical pone te ae, Lesson 47 will be iked with fesion 2 and s0 01. ners ‘phonetic transcriptions, the stressed syllables are shown in bold ‘ype. A NOTE ON THE ASSIMIL RECORDS “These records will bring you in your own home the voices of German actors and actresses whose pronun- ciation is the standard one; you can sten to them over fou devote, say, @ quarter of aft hour (or even 1 ee mal) dy to leaning bythe “ASSIMIL” method, you ‘will achieve your object. Listen: carefully to the vecords, repeat ‘with the: wero care what you have heard and you may rest assured i ‘once you go to Germany or meet Gemanapenking Perl le yo ee "samophone, we shall be pleased, to assist you in choosing & model to suit your ideas of price.