Wie geht-s- Text-Audio CD pkg.- An Introductory German Course Description:

Wie geht's? Text/Audio CD pkg.: An Introductory German Course review:
4 stars (Not bad, but not great!) - I used this book for two semesters of German language courses in college. While its not a bad book, the memorization of tables and stuff can be daunting. I thought the descriptions were precise and clear, and the grammar exercises were okay. The problem was the application of grammar was too 'precise'. Ie. there was the constant memorization of tables. This book is ideal for an engineer. Overall, its also a good reference book and is well laid out. A nice touch was the culture topics; however, I would have liked to see something focusing a bit more on conversational practice.
1 stars (Not what I'd hoped for) - I've started taking German in college in preparation for graduate school. So far, I am not impressed with Wie geht's?. The charts and diagrams are not clear, the grammar is presented seperately from the culture and vocabulary sections, and the exercises are mindless. I also find it fairly useless to be given anywhere from 20-60 vocab words in one lesson with the grammar as an afterthought. I would much prefer to be presented with the grammar lesson and then the application of it through vocab. I can always look a word up in a dictionary down the road, but more importantly I need to be taught the grammar!
2 stars (Outmoded approach, not at all communicative) - Wie geht's has many strengths--including its use of realia and images of modern Germany. But its over all concept is totally outmoded: no German teacher coming out of an education program will have been trained in this methodology, which is not at all communicative, and most of the language exercises built in are of the "mindless" variety--you don't have to understand what you're doing to perform the task at hand.Ultimately, I think "Na Klar" is the best textbook selection on the market today.