My Car is having serious problems someone please help!!!

i have a '97 volkswagon jetta and recently its been having a little trouble starting up and when i go to a stop sign the engine will sputter and stall out. Does anyone have any idea what my problem is?

Is the check engine light on? If so have the codes read at Auto Zone or your local auto parts chain (you can rent a code reader there for free). Any major changes to the car lately? Tune up, pulled it off the bottom of a lake, overheated or caught on fire, used it to go off roading... you get the idea. That's the place to start, otherwise it's like talking to your doctor over the phone and only saying "I don't feel good" and expecting him to know what's wrong.