Colloquial German (Colloquial Series)
Overall, the audio part seems to be well-integrated into the learning process, although it only teaches the standard pronunciations of words and perhaps omitting some regional quirks. Understanding that the Colloquial series tries to put more focus on everyday expressions of certain phrases and words, the audio certainly complements the text to aid the learner to pick out how letters or characters are omitted, or have their sounds altered in colloquial speech.
Colloquial German (Colloquial Series)
Fortunately, Routledge has handy some of their language Essential Grammar series, which offers a more in-depth analysis of how the language works. While departing greatly from the focus on colloquialisms intended by the Colloquial series, the grammar books offer a more complete reflection on the patterns, or usage of grammatical features in the target language. Thus, while these may seem to complement well with the Colloquial series, there are some coverage issues, considering that these two series are sort of independent of each other; a Colloquial series course may not have an Essential Grammar series counterpart. However, if the target language is generally more popular to learners, this should not pose that much of a problem.
The Routledge Colloquial series of language learning coursebooks for self-learners definitely offers a well-rounded experience for the budding language learner, making it pretty much on par with the Teach Yourself Complete series of books. However, with the added focus on colloquial expressions in dialogues and speech, the Colloquial series might gain an upper hand in preference for learners who prefer to take a more speech-oriented focus in their language learning goals. 041b061a72