Lingo Mastery

I read this book via an Amazon KU [KINDLE Unlimited] download.

During my college days, about 45 years, I had Sociology as my major for which I’d received my BA, and for my minor, I wound up taking German. In those days, my oral comprehension had been excellent [I’d received an A]; reading comprehension had been a B+, with my writing being somewhat lower. The oral capabilities are the most important that one needs to communicate with others in German.

While my oral comprehension of spoken German going from German to English after all of these years is still relatively quite decent after all of these years, these days, I’ve got problems trying to formulate what I’d like to say in German. I’m mentioning this because my dear OH and I might be traveling to Europe this summer with the possibility of spending a day or two in either Germany.

With the summer desire to travel to Germany getting squashed by the COVID-19 virus, I figured I should try to brush up on my reading German skills. Having found this publisher’s book on German conversational dialogues helpful in my verbal skills, I felt their book on reading German [for beginners] would be a decent job on my reading skills, as I’ve already stated. I wasn’t disappointed.

I found reading the stories to be relatively easy, especially when I envisioned someone else reading the stories aloud as I concentrated on the visual words I read. The German-English dictionary at the end of each story aids in increasing a reader’s German vocabulary for both reading and speaking German. The questions at the end do a decent job of revealing whether or not a reader understood what they’ve read.

All in all, I found this book to be a WUNDERBAR and AUSGEZEICHNET [wonderful and excellent] resource in helping beginners of the German language in being able to read it with some proficiency. Having refreshed my memory in reading German and others in the beginning to read it, I’ve given the publisher 5 STARS for their endeavor here.… (more)

Intermediate Chinese Short Stories will assist those who have a fundamental grasp of the Chinese language and character recognition to understand more within a Chinese cultural context. Of the ten very short stories, eight are about family reunion, Marco Polo, zodiac trivia, water toting monks, friendship, outsmarting a monkey, and a foolish swordsman. The remaining three stories deal with mobile communications, a lost wallet, and a China job offer for a foreigner. The stories and fables are told with both Chinese characters along with the standardized Pinyin English pronunciation. The following summary and extended vocabulary list of newer terminology are in both formats and English as well. Finally there are five easy comprehension questions and answers. This is an interesting approach to supplement language acquisition. I would only suggest that page numbers would be helpful.… (more)

The Business English Vocabulary Builder functions on two levels. This book would be a great help for individuals who have English as a second language and for people entering into the world of business. For non-native speakers, it presents potentially confusing phrases in easy, understandable terms. Terms like “at arm’s length” and “belt tightening” can be tough because the meaning can’t be easily derived from the components. This guide gives definitions and accurate examples of the use of the phrase. For entrants into business, these are terms that will be encountered almost daily in meetings, seminars and emails. This book would be a handy reference to ensure accuracy in communications.
The reader who loves English and all the colors of the language will find this book entertaining. Over 300 idioms presented in an easy to read format, that’s a win-win situation. Some, no doubt are very familiar while others may be less so, and the presentation allows for easy assimilation.
Overall, I am very happy to have encountered this book. I am glad to have found some of my favorites listed and to have encountered a few novel phrases. Most of all, I appreciate the availability of a reference book that can explain these terms. I have recommended this book to several friends who teah English as a Secong Language courses.… (more)