Deborah F.
I have bought Laura’s Foundation course…
I have bought Laura’s Foundation course and was very disappointed. She simplified building plurals and made it seem very easy, but she simplified it so much that it was not useable. If you use her train stops method to pass a test, you would fail. I paid for her Vocabulary Builder course only to find that I had to buy another book. I told her I wanted B1 level, but the course was A1, so totally useless. Please do not buy any of her courses.
Response from German with LauraFeb 27, 2022
I'm sorry for your disappointing experience, Deborah. I created my unique Plurals Hierarchy system as an alternative to the pure random memorization that most German learners sadly think is their only option. I try to be upfront with students that there are some additional aspects (e.g. working with some unavoidable exception lists) that have to be added to my Plurals Hierarchy system in order to get us to a nearly 100% perfect success rate; we intentionally don't cover this additional information in 'German Foundations' (but, rather, later on) so that we can focus strictly on the rules before we add in nuanced details. You made it clear in our private correspondence that the Plurals Hierarchy (1 module out of 6 in ‘German Foundations’) was your only dissatisfaction with my course. I wrote you detailed explanations of how it works, but you have persisted in believing that my Plurals Hierarchy system teaches incorrect information despite all the evidence to the contrary that I have provided. I have also offered to give you additional one-on-one assistance and you remain welcome to respond to me anytime with the nouns that you plugged in and got incorrect answers for. I will gladly help you learn how to use this valuable resource correctly. That you have at least up until now chosen to remain unhappy instead of allowing me to help you makes me sad. But, ultimately, I can help only those students who truly want to be helped. Regarding my ‘Vocabulary Builder’ beta-course: I mention upfront that students must purchase additional resources from 3rd parties and a detailed course syllabus (and actually the entire first module of material) is also previewable so that students can make their own educated decision regarding the course’s suitability; however, I will gladly look over this information to make sure that I can't do something to make this information even clearer to future prospective students. Of course, it is possible to think a course will be a good fit (or at least be willing to test it out) and discover that it isn’t. As soon as you informed us that Vocabulary Builder wasn’t right for you, we promptly (and truly happily) refunded you with no hassle whatsoever. However, the vast majority of students who have taken Vocabulary Builder have been very happy with the course. Learning is a very personal experience and it’s simply not possible that one given resource can be the ticket for absolutely everyone. I wish you the best of luck finding resources for your German-learning journey that are a better fit for you.