It used to be a pretty straight forward choice; if you wanted to learn to speak German you’d take a class at your local school or community college. However today with the advent of the personal computer and high speed internet connections, there is a whole line of “learning to speak German” computer software products available.

At first glance, it can look very confusing. With so many choices which one should you purchase? Well, here’s a quick rundown of what these systems are all about.

Today, most of the better systems utilize a multi-pronged approach with each element reinforcing and building on the others. This is a vast improvement over classroom learning where you’re basically listening to a teacher and taking notes. No, with these systems you can listen to an audio lesson, do some flash card exercises then play a quick game, all from your computer without ever having to worry that you’re not keeping up with the rest of your class. Nope you’re working at your own pace, when you want to.

These courses all contain some form of audio (a few even use the mp3 format and can be played directly on your Ipod). The audio lessons will teach you the perfect pronunciations of the words and phrases you’ll be learning. Typically the exact transcriptions are also included so that you can follow along.

Most of the systems include some form of flashcard learning. Flashcards are a time-tested way of reinforcing the words and phrases you’ve already learned. However, with today’s computer software based learning systems, the flashcards are no longer clumsy old cards that you’ll have to keep track of, no today the flashcards are all stored within your computers hard drive, waiting to be called up whenever you want to practice.

Games are another innovation of the better computer based learning systems. With the games, you’re putting your brain into a relaxed state, it’s a proven fact that when your brain is relaxed, you learn more and retain more information. The games are typically fun and interactive with corrections being displayed right on the screen, immediately.

Another important facet of these learning systems is user support. The better systems incorporate a member’s only chat board that allows you to contact a German language expert 24 hours a day, seven day a week. This is a major benefit of the better systems and one that needs to be considered if you’re in the market for one of these packages.

Finally, cost is another factor that you should consider. These systems run from as little as about $40 to several hundred dollars (US). My favorite system is under $100, and is fully downloadable, meaning you can buy it right now and be learning the language within minutes.

So if you’re serious about learning to speak the German Language, you need to consider the various computer software programs that are available. The best ones will help you learn German faster and more efficiently then traditional class room learning.