The best thing about Michel Thomas is that he makes you believe in yourself. The confidence that he gives you is invaluable. An excellent foundation to build from.

@NuisanceMan

2 жыл бұрын

I'm good enough, I'm strong enough, and doggone it, people like me!

@RexGalilae

2 жыл бұрын

I was able to start having basic conversations in Russian within 2 hours of recording. 2 hours and I was able to talk an angry babushka neighbor of mine into to calming down. 4-6 hours in, I was able to have meaningful and fun conversations with taxi drivers during my commute No other course I've seen gave me such results

My husband I have been trying to learn french for 8 months, duolingo, babbel, rosetta, living language, berlitz. We just tried Michel Thomas and while I have no idea what it would be really like if you knew no french at all, to have a good bit of vocab and structure under out belts, we found it to fix all of our problems. Placement of pronouns, constructing long sentences, syntax, accent, flow, future and past tenses explained better than I have seen with a bit of history. I will continue with them. We have dinner and listen and try to respond and laugh, because he's a funny man, I would recommend it at the very least an extra tool in your learning.

@GyroO7

5 жыл бұрын

any updates? like what program did you use after finishing MT...

@taylantapar9379

4 жыл бұрын

Michel Thomas Method has only audio or has any textbook as well?

@nnenne1

4 жыл бұрын

Searat you’re wrong, I’m learning with Michael Thomas and now babble and can’t communicate better with french speakers.

@treeskers

3 жыл бұрын

@Searat Not true. If you lived in France you'd become conversationally fluent in french in less than 8 months

I have used multiple sources for learning French, but I feel that the Michel Thomas method was the most valuable. My take on the recordings has been that the two students who participate are key to his process. Both make mistakes regularly (one more than the other) and I found myself correcting their mistakes and I can't help but think that Thomas counted on that as being part of the learning process.

For what it is, I don't think the Michel Thomas method could be much better. I find that I engage with it, and remember more than I do with other methods. I've tried Spanish, French, German and Russian, and its the same in each one - you get a sense for the structure of the language very early on, and most importantly, it becomes enjoyable. Enjoying your learning is absolutely the key to becoming fluent.

@charityneverfaileth22

Жыл бұрын

Have you tried Paul Noble? It is very similar, but for me it was less stressful to not have the other students and he also has a native speaker. Particularly for Japanese, one of the students and the teachers reaction to the student have me a lot of stress. Paul Noble takes all the good, but gets rid of the annoying things. For me it is much better.

I think it's an amazing kick start! I used Michel Thomas for French, Arabic and Italian and it worked wonders! I recommend to anyone who wants to start a new language. After finishing the course, continue to study further with another preferred method.

@inisus

3 жыл бұрын

I think that is indeed how to do it: t is crucial that MTM takes away all the stress at the beginning. Hugely important, especially since we are talking about home study here, not learning a course with a teacher in a class room (which is way easier than doing it on your own).

Amazing review my man. You are on point with the thing you said about being in a box with MT. It's a great course (maybe one of the best to get started into the long and endless journey of becoming proficient in a language) but sometimes you get too happy with your progress. That's a double edged sword can work for or against you. I usually pause the audio and write down every sentence he says to make sure i have the notes to revise the next day. Revision is key in language learning because you can build a lot but you also gotta maintain all of that which requires constant effort (in terms of dedicated days for revision). Also i usually try to make my own sentences after i'm done with my studying, or try to say something in a way MT taught me to. Of course, paraphrasing is difficult but i think for a beginner it's okay even if he/she is able to just speak in a single way.

Michel Thomas makes it like having a conversation. I really like the German course so far.

Interesting review and I agree completely. I'm a huge fan of Michel Thomas and incorporate his method into my pedagogy but of course like you say it needs to be accompanied with things like practicing conversation with friends who speak the target language or through iTalki, watching films or listening to radio, and reading before eventually moving to writing. The books THE LEARNING REVOLUTION by Jonathan Solity and THE FUTURE OF LEARNING by Marilynn and Wyatt Woodsmall unpack Michel Thomas' approach in great detail to find out why the method is successful, definitely worth a read.

@Langfocus

8 жыл бұрын

+Jeremy Wong I'm very familiar with Wyatt Woodsmall (his work in general). I think he's a very smart man, but in that particular case I think he is hugely overstating how much people learn in a few days from Michel Thomas.

I found the French course really did help boost by basic grasp of the living language in a material way. His technique of having students build sentences (I am going, to the beach, tomorrow at 3 pm, with my brother, because, we want to swim) helps get over the hump by internalizing a core skill. I also agree it's insane to say, "You learn 3 years in 3 weeks, one hour a day." Through a M.T. course, you learn a hundred or two hundred words and the ability to implement them, to mix and match, and that can only serve to bootstrap you into enthusiasm for further study. But that's better than all the US and Canadians who have several years of French, etc, and can barely count to 5 or name several colors.

I believe to supplement the Michel Thomas Method is to immerse yourself on the target language to gauge your level of understanding after the course.

The Michel Thomas Method is a great starting point in learning a language. It gives a great basis for delving further in to the language and developing your skills.

Ive always felt the same, but you put it really well. I am off to France in a few weeks time and I feel the flash cards my dad always made me read/say are probably more useful.

Great video! I would love to hear your review on the other two methods that that have a cult-like following: Assimil (the most popular in Europe) and the Paul Noble courses.

good review - my thoughts after limited use of Michel Thomas is that although he says no homework and no note taking one STILL has to do both of those things too, otherwise i think you'd simply forget what has been learned pretty quickly. but it's a good kick start

I took it Up through the advanced of Michel Thomas course for Egyptian Arabic. It really helped me to understand the structure of the language. It helped me to transition to Saudi Arabic, Najdi spoken in Riyadh and Urban Hijazi spoken in Jiddah. I am studying with a tutor now.

@fazarra5355

Жыл бұрын

Goodluck!

I like the Michel Thomas method a lot and have used it as a learner and teacher of languages. It's excellent to get started and to give you an understanding of grammar and sentence structure. It has its weaknesses too. I watched a TV programme he did way back in the 90s and was astonished at the complexity of the sentences the students could produce after a week. However, as Paul points out, they produce only sentences that he directs them to form. I found that my own students could perform very effectively when I tell them to say something, based on the structures that we have practiced but if I tried to initiate a conversation in the target language where they might need to freely come up with these structures without being prompted, they were at a complete loss. He never speaks to them in the target language other than to give them sentences which they are to translate. So, great for starting, but you'll still have a long way to go.

Michel Thomas -> Assimil -> Read a lot and watch a lot of movies/series -> talk to people online on language exchange sites etc.

Very good review: I used Michelle Thomas method and I was amazed. I think the biggest goal is that it makes you feel confident about learning a new language. In 2011 my English was crappy and I could speak a bit of German in a matter of weeks! On the other hand, you are right when you say that it is just the beginning and one should keep studying. A full Michel Thomas course is just an introduction to the language. Nonetheless it's a great one.

Based on my experience with these courses this is an insightful and balanced - and therefore very useful - review.

I loved the STRINGS OF PEARLS he provided! so yes I will never forget how he quickly builds vocab and when I went to Germany I quickly picked out enough words to understand parts of sentences Often enough to help me with a huge variety of issues. :)

I find that if a training gives you confidence then it works you must practice beyond the M,T but a great review thanks

two questions: Would Michelle Thomas be useful for the purpose of familiarising oneself with the language of a country one would be visiting but not remaining to living in? If Michelle Thomas is useful as an introduction to a language, but realistically, further study would be needed to become proficient, what other programmes would you recommend to add to this programme? Are there others available online or can nothing substitute a lesson in person (or Skype lesson at least?)

Hi, I'm also a teacher and a polyglot. It has to be very clear that we have to be very realistic about learning a language. That is an awesome review and you made those things very clear. You were very professional in every moment with every aspect. Very complete review. Thank you for sharing sir.

@imirish4702

7 жыл бұрын

FabinhoPirado you are a polygot? Do you have fluency in mandarin, Arabic or Turkish?

@FabinhoPirado

7 жыл бұрын

None of those language unfortunately (at least not yet). I'm fluent in English, Portuguese, Spanish and I can understand some French. Currently studying French, German and Russian. How about you?

@vChilem

6 жыл бұрын

FabinhoPirado, I'm fluent in english, french, spanish and some italian, but a polyglot is a word too big for me. I'm just a guy who was lucky to have very good teachers at the public school they taught me how to learn by myself.

@ipedros7

5 жыл бұрын

@@vChilem A polyglot, as you know for sure, is just a word to describe someone who can speak more than one language fluently, not gloating. So feel free. Its just a word after all. :)

@Jaidzeka36

5 жыл бұрын

I'd like to know the method(s) you've learned as well as taught to acheive fluency in multiple languages.

I would go over and over my MT french and it would sink in and stick. The only language teacher That ever Clicked with me. He does say if you miss have another serve and try again. I did use it in a restaurant in Paris and it worked perfectly. I would say it is great ice breaker as a tool to get you into a language as you have the initial confidence.

@forbillian11

3 жыл бұрын

So agree

I've been using this course and I find it works really well while I am doing boring domestic tasks just stick in the earphones and learn! I would say it's worth learning alongside different materials and also I write notes otherwise I would forget. He needs to introduce the TU forms as I find I use this more than the Vous form both just as important. It a good base start.

My problems with it: 1) Not enough pauses to process between teaching for you to repeat back what he said. Its fast paced 2) He comes across as a bit demanding on his students when they make mistakes 3) He contradicts himself. Their is no grammar to remember apparently, yet he constantly uses grammar terms to describe things. I would recommend Paul Noble courses instead. He has a slow and calming voice, doesn't use any grammar terms and also has native speakers.

I just saw the video and realized the channel has exactly 1000000 subscribers. Congrats!

@Langfocus

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks. It doesn’t make much difference though. The number of views and the amount of money I make is the same as when I had 50,000 subscribers.

Yes I bought his CDs for Spanish and German . It isn’t going to make you fluent but Michel’s courses do lay the groundwork . It is non academia . Down to Earth excellent teaching

Though I am huge fan of Michel Thomas, I somewhat agree with the review in terms of fast tracking language learning. Continuous practice cannot be substituted with a teaching method & and after using all of his Spanish lessons I too felt a bit deflated at first, when I couldn't speak as quickly as I believed I would. However, I must say that in terms of teaching verb & tense structure, his method definitely fast tracked that aspect of my language learning. All his simple & humorous rules and examples I hear in my head every time when I speak. So, Based on the structure aspect of language learning alone, I would & have recommended his lessons for anyone starting out learning a new language. That is where his method is proven.

I completed both the Michel Thomas Spanish beginner and advanced courses. I had tried lots of other methods of which only one or two were OK, but found MT method to be amazing. I learnt so much in such a short space of time. I wish I'd have found him earlier. My past and future tenses have come on drastically and I feel I now have a grasp of the whole structure of Spanish. I did listen through them a couple of times because there's so much content to learn and it's difficult remembering everything, but I did understand 90% of what he taught. I would recommend learning some Spanish before starting (even MT's beginer's course), as he does go through the content quite quickly. I'm not sure I would have grasped it had I not had some existing, basic knowledge of Spanish. Anyway, overall I have absolutley loved learning from MT and would definitley recommend. He's inspired me.

Hi there Paul, I find yours to be the most thorough and honest review of this method. Most other video reviews seem to be by language enthusiasts & polyglots who have tried out the method, but lack a linguistic background, and/or they don't seem to have studied the theory of language acquisition in order to be able to break it down fully. You're the first to question the complete absence of real exposure, and how discourse works in real settings. This method seems to be the complete antithesis of Michael Lewis' Lexical Approach, where are all those chunks?! The MT method does take elements from both Suggestopedia (the comfy chairs) and gets a tick for respecting Krashen's affective filter hypothesis (a stress-free learning environment). But it does hark back to 60s-style behaviorist approaches, and even a kind of "verbal grammar-translation". Also, it was never going to take off as a teaching approach in classes as the teacher has to be either bilingual or very proficient in the learner's own language (L1), AND the target language (L2). A lot also rested on the charisma and personality of MT himself. Many teachers may not be capable of recreating his style and delivery. It takes a skilled practitioner, and intensive teacher training to give this kind of course., which is probably why it only exists as a "self-study course " and has not been taken up by language schools. Finally, MT's life story is fascinating, and I do wonder if his famous secrecy and reluctance to share his method with action researchers originated from his wartime experiences. I completely agree with your conclusion - ok, start off with this if you are interested in a language, but then find some real practice with a conversation partner/tutor.

Was not expecting the Otis McDonald at the end... At least for Foundation Russian, Michel Thomas has been really helpful so far I went to Russia to produce a travel series in summer 2017, took an entire year of Russian during my last year in college, and had The New Penguin Russian Course for over 2 years now, 2 nights ago I read it was a great companion to the MT Total Russian Language Program So far, my first day and change, I am up to CD 1, Track 15 out of 19, MT has been amazing alone, partly from what I already knew, and I can see if I stick with it through Russian Advanced and Vocabulary, I should be on the right track here People should have reasonable expectations going in, but stick with it, do at least a CD a day, play through tracks again if you feel you did not understand from a previous listen, and have the best language learning book next to you to learn how to read and write in the language, as well as just to have as a sort of encyclopedia

Thank you for the video.

I used Michel Thomas method to learn Spanish from scratch and I loved it. Then I went to Cuba and when I was trying to speak with natives I got discouraged because they understood me pretty well but I could not understand them. All in all The Michele Thomas method is great to get into the language and then go from there.

@carmindi5061

4 жыл бұрын

Andrew D. Tbh I am a native spanish speaker I had to get used to their accent because it is quite strong.

@QUINTUSMAXIMUS

11 ай бұрын

Yeah, some accents can be tough. I can understand Peruvians, Mexicans, and Spaniards. No exposure to Cubans, but some native speakers can be tough.

Extremely informative review. Thank you for taking the time to share it!

I think it is a great course, I love that he has real students who go at the same pace that one goes and who ask questions that one might have.

Well I have spent years trying to learn French from books, tapes, Rosetta and computer software, and the only thing I could say was 'Yes," "No," and I am sorry. I tried Michael Thomas's method and in a few days constructed my own proper sentence in French, something I never was able to acomplish by the other means. I went to Pari and was able to easily speak it and get around. There is an old saying and it goes like this, "There is no magic formula, you only get out what you put in."

@Langfocus

8 жыл бұрын

+Major Tom Yes, Michel Thomas is really great for teaching you how to make sentences in a short amount of time. In your case too, you probably had more passive knowledge from your previous study than you thought. But yes, the most important part of learning a language is just being consistent and studying everyday, and frequently using it with native or fluent speakers.

@vChilem

6 жыл бұрын

I think to be able to make sentences and questions is a very very important skill you have to master. Most of my classmates never got it. My turning point in english was when I learnt how to use DO-DOES-DID, that put me in front of my classmates by far. The next part was reading books, books where you needed to know 500 words, 1000 words, 2000 words to understand, very entertaining books that kept me interested in reading and obviously learning. If you bore your students they won't learn. Michel Thomas is anything but boring. By the way I never studied, never memorised. I just did the fun part. If it's fun you learn.

@vChilem

6 жыл бұрын

In my country we have now 6 years of english lessons in our public education system. How many of those students are able to make sentences? very, very few. We are a rookie country in english. If I think about all that people that after 6 years of receiving english lessons can't make a simple question in english, I have to say without hesitation that Mr. Thomas was a genius. Those kids in the video after two weeks only were making sentences with very good grammar. Outstanding. I take my hat off to the late Mister Thomas.

@tswindell9496

6 жыл бұрын

Um... did you read what I put? There was no passive knowledge, all I had was "Yes," "No" and I'm sorry." We never covered the fact that words in English that end in ;tion' have the same meaning in French as in English, just different pronunciation or like with ''able' as in table and so forth. My college professor who taught French listened to my CDs and said the man was covering advanced subject in a very quick amount of time and if the Collage wasn't so ridged he would have loved to teach with the CDs. The French professor was a French citizen.

@Saludin2

5 жыл бұрын

@@vChilem where do you find those penca books weon?

I might add that sentence length becomes longer and harder as you advance so you gain confidence and motivation. I complemented MT Russian with Duolingo, Skype exchanges and translating songs, but at first I did the MT Russian course in two years and then I used this other methods so as to fill gaps, attain harder grammatical constructions, and get vocabulary and real practice. Totally recommend MT, personally, at least for Russian, Greek and Japanese, though the only one I really intended to complete was the Russian course.

I got into Italian through Michel Thomas, which opened the doors to Spanish and German. It's cumulative, and it's very forgiving, and feels very relevant to the day to day, the way a child might learn before being bombarded by school methods that oftentimes discourage language learning.

Wise words, I agree, as a beginner of Greek and having finished the Thomas courses I felt quite despondent trying to talk to greek friends, but it’s a good start I guess

Alright, so at first I thought your review was a bit pessimistic, re: you become overly confident when you do the MT course and think you know French when you don't. I thought how can that first part be a bad thing?! But now I get what you mean ;) I did an hour on my commute, with no prior knowledge, and had a moment of euphoria. Then got back into my car after work and had forgotten most of it. But! I have to say...what was I expecting?! Listened a 2nd time, to bits, and they have now stuck :) Happy days because I'm also doing a face to face French class at the moment and seem to have got more confidence from MT!

Very thorough review. Thank you.

@Langfocus

9 ай бұрын

My pleasure!

What needs to be remembered is that the three segments to constitute "the course" are by no means full. They are a gradual approach from Step One moving forward to a specific stage. Nowhere is it suggested, "this is the end". After all, as speakers in English, how many of us really know every word in the dictionary? Regardless, upon learning a new verb, one suddenly feels confident on how to use it - what its tenses are, etc. and the native speaker will be correct 99% of the time (e.g. one might be tempted to form the noun "absorbance" from "absorb" instead of "absorption", but this is not an obstacle to success - on the contrary, it is evidence that the speaker is familiar with the logistics). What one also needs to bear in mind is what one gets from five hours of Michel Thomas by far exceeds what one achieves from five hours of the classroom with its blackboard, visual distraction, repetition, drilling, exercises, and all other properties of conventional learning. Suffice it to say that whilst there will always be those to excel in the classroom, there will inavriably be those who are left behind and end up dropping out and all due to the urban legends, "Suzie is a better learner than you; you are not cut out for languages" and the tragic acceptance, "I am no good". Michel Thomas famously dismantled these myths on BBC in 1997 "The Language Master" whereby he developed the confidence of a handful of young adults all dismissed as incompetent by their "teachers". Thomas proved it had been the teachers that failed, because by the end, no single student was unable to communicate proficiently. The idiosyncrasies have been criticised but again, this is something that a teacher familiar with the MT method needs to modify at the appropriate juncture. It is by no means an argument that proves the method a failure. And it certainly is not a promotion for the outdated and ineffective classroom method which succeeds only to polarise the pupils: good kids (and girls) all go to A group - stupid boys into the lower group where he is taught slower but with the same method.

Thanks for this very accurate review which clarifies some things for me. Having completed Michel Thomas in Spanish (through listening repeatedly during my daily commute for a year) I would say that the positives are that his was the first course that managed to motivate me up to a level where I felt I could continue with further resources, that he gave me an overall understanding of the tenses whereas the language courses I had tried to used before just added bits and pieces of grammar as they went along which left me feeling in the dark, and finally that it was very reassuring to listen to other students on the tapes making the same mistakes in grammar and pronunciation as I did and this really helped me to remember some classic mistakes to avoid. Plus it's great to have a course you can do while you're driving with no exercise books necessary.

Man you should check out the Lozanov's method of language learning

Ok. I am buying it. Just arrived to Belarus (spanish native, english fluent, polish basic). Will be here 10 days. Will keep you updated

@LuisMartinez-ft9or

4 жыл бұрын

Arcturus Let us know how it goes. I’m going to be doing the same thing for French.

Thanks, I totally agree.

I'll add something else after reading everyone's messages. After everything we bought and tried and did, MT was the first thing to make us feel even remotely conversational. Eddie Izzard does a whole bit on this on French, easy to youtube, you learn the monkey is on the branch, the mouse is under the table. That's what duolingo does. Living language, babbel, rosetta you kind of learn where to ask where the toilets are, or the train station, or how to describe a play. MT teaches you to say things that you say all day "Would you like to come with me?" "When are you leaving?" "Let's leave now" "Will you come to dinner?" It's all conversational from minute one. VERY valuable.

@Langfocus

7 жыл бұрын

I don't think MT courses are conversational at all. It's all sentence by sentence translation, and I can't remember a single instance of an interaction with MT asking a question and the student being expected to answer, or vice versa.

As always, you're brilliant, kind and fair

I want to try this method. Should I go with Italian/Spanish where I have some very low knowledge or should I go ahead and give some completely tabula rasa (for me) language? Also, how many hours should I put in to notice some progress?

I enjoyed the method immensely (I did the Total Italian course). Where it works best is in teaching you words, and how to progressively string them together into longer phrases and sentences. Not relying on tests and not overwhelming you with grammar is also a big plus. What I didn't like about it were the claims of 'effortless learning'. I don't think learning a language (or anything worthwhile subject, really) should be effortless. It should be fun and not too hard, but some effort is required. Adding to that, the course relies on celebrity endorsements rather than actual reviews from educators. Lastly, there is a lot on English in these recordings, rather than audio clips to listen to in the target language. Still, I'd recommend combining this method with other approaches to learn some vocab and grammar, finding a system that work best for you, and then practicing with a native (or fluent) speaker, who will find the right balance between correcting you and encouraging you to speak.

I discovered Michel Thomas recently,I'm really liking it,I do agree that if one was to learn quickly they'll forget quickly,I personally think a lot of people have the idea that they can learn quickly and will remember it,which is not the case.Greetings from Ireland ! :)

@Langfocus

8 жыл бұрын

+james sullivan Thanks for the message, James! Yeah, I think the key is to finish the course and then keep on reinforcing what you learned. If you use Anki flashcards, some people have uploaded decks with the sentences from the Michel Thomas courses (at least for French, but I think there are others).

@jamessullivan5864

8 жыл бұрын

+Langfocus I haven't used anki in a while,I'm going to try and use it again ,I'm personally learning Japanese,Spanish,French,Mandarin and I just got an Italian book,I use a mix of books,youtube and for Mandarin,I have a hellotalk and I used to use sharedtalk,and I've managed to get to a decent level,literally by just talking to as many people as I could in Chinese ,also,I recently discovered this application,well set of applications,it's called fun learn(name of language,e.g Spanish/French) it has six thousand words divided into different sections ,first you start at the beginner level,which has about 1000 words,,then once you have learned all the words you move up to the next level,the only way to unlock the other levels without working is by paying to do it,the payment also disables ads,but I find there aren't too many ads on it

@cosmicplebe310

8 жыл бұрын

+Langfocus I have a question, do I have to have 1cd a day? Because it feels like I'm drowning with all this stuff it's kinda hard to keep up and I forget some vocabulary from past lesson :/(been using it for the last 3 days,French course)

Hi, I agree with you it is introductory. But it gives you a confidence and what you need is keeping practice then go to something else

I like the outdoor video. It looks interesting, has good light and feels a bit more relaxed.

I think Michel Thomas would be great if they had 40 levels including more vocabulary.

@vChilem

6 жыл бұрын

You can acquire that vocabulary by reading books, but books where you need 500 words, 1000 words, 2000, 3000 in order to understand what they say. Michel Thomas teaches how to cook, not recipes. From that point on is up to you to learn by yourself, read books, newspapers, watch movies, talk to people who speak that language, allow you to make mistakes.

@edwardjames6023

6 жыл бұрын

They do, they have langauge builders and Advanced CDs

Well, all what I get now that I should use it to motivate myself, and to help me to remember , but I souldn't think that I'm good enough to interact with the society. I still have more things to do first. thanks man it was a useful information, i will make sure to take a look on it ^^

Thank you so much for this review. I needed it!

Michel Thomas (italian) was a major breakthrough for me, it enabled me to independently generate my own sentences and express my thoughts after a relatively short timescale, I agree good for introductory level

@santiagonieto4619

3 жыл бұрын

How many weeks did it take you to get through the Italian course?

according to your own personal experience, which one would you recommend: FSI, PIMSLEUR or MICHEL THOMAS? which one do you think is the beat for you? I am learning mandarin, and have those 3 courses, but want to try one first :)

@glinglin83

8 жыл бұрын

+Jose Antonio Lanz without any doubt i will say pimsleur ,but after using pimsleur it s good to use michel 's thomas course

@jimmychan4971

6 жыл бұрын

hey my friend, learning mandarin, spoken is easay but written is hard.

@mikethomure4155

4 жыл бұрын

Michel Thomas taught me way more than Pimsleur because you understand the grammar. Pimsleur just basically taught me a bunch of phrases but I really felt like I learned the language with Michel Thomas. I did the Italian course before I went to Italy just driving in my car and I was able to convey to people that I was lost because of the train door not opening. I was able to communicate with them to tell them where I wanted to go negotiate a taxi how much and I got us back to the right train station. I knew it wasn't going to be able to make me completely fluent but I was able to get around just fine.

I couldn't agree more with Paul's review. I heartily recommend MT as a foot-in-the-door first step in learning a new language. ( Then the real work begins).... One thing that Paul didn't mention, which I feel is important about the MT program, is that the format of the course helps the student to avoid forming bad habits in the target language. As a language teacher myself, I often find students, even advanced ones, have formed bad habits, and it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to uproot these linguistic weeds once they've become ingrained. I feel the MT course helps to avoid this pitfall. This is why I recommend MT as the go-to first step introductory program.

Is that in Japan??

@Langfocus

8 жыл бұрын

+Jesse Taylor Yes it is!

Hi Paul, I have studied Portugese with Thomas Method (I am fluent in Spanish) so it was a fast and efficient methıd for me to build my basic knowledge. But while I was learning I was in Brazil so that I had thosands of opportunity to practice what I have learnt. Now I started French with the same method(honestly it was prepared way better than Portugese), Just realized that I have to listen same corses over and over because only listening for once usally is not enogh, you can be so lost in the fallowing lessons. As a result listen and memorize and be ready is a rumor I think. Additionally (talking about French, you DO have to learn and practice your writing skills as a matter a fact that French has a such a complicated writing system and you just can't visualise it just listening the lessons...

I’ve used Michel Thomas Italian, French, Spanish and German and enjoyed them but I did think MT wasn’t at his best in the Spanish one. He was often very impatient with the male student (who admittedly wasn’t very quick.) I often wonder what that student must have felt like. They worked for me as I already had a fair knowledge of French and German so I found they were great for revision and consolidation. Also they are great listening in the car.

Very valuable insight as I am using Babel and Michel Thomas ... I think also good to watch Spanish movies initially with subtitles and then without it....

@coraconvay8724

3 жыл бұрын

here's several ideas for how to learn French Decide precisely why you want to speak French Try to use French everyday Decide what method works for you the best. (I read about these and more on Magic language method site )

I think Michel Thomas is one of the best out there, and will easily teach you any language IN COMBINATION with other sources like a teacher or conversation practice with speakers of that language, grammar books, and lots of reading/listening/watching material in that language. I don't know of any single program (outside of an academic program) that can provide all the pieces, and this is no different to Michel Thomas.

I am almost finished using Michel Thomas Russian Vocabulary Builder. It helps to develop my knowledge. Now i will continuosly applying to learn more and to engage in real conversation with native speakers.

@Langfocus

4 жыл бұрын

That’s the key!

@zulkiflijamil4033

4 жыл бұрын

@@Langfocus I truly agree with your views about the method. We should not regard it as the only source , however it can be used as a general guide. That is how i view it.

I like the MT method to get 'into the flow of it'. I wonder if there is another method that is a good partner to MT. Something that ticks the boxes that MT method doesn't. I would have said a real physical class you can go along to but my local college really sucks - bad!

Do you know of a good program to learn easy Korean?

you loook better with a moving background :P

Great review! Very informative and honest :)

fanstastic review. honest, direct and helpful. Thank you

@Langfocus

5 жыл бұрын

It's my pleasure!

Can you do a review of the course called, "Learning Spanish Like Crazy"? Also, please do a review of the Assimil language course methodology. Thanks and keep up the good work.

@Langfocus

8 жыл бұрын

+murdoch1717 Hi Murdoch. I might try Learning Like Crazy if I focus on Spanish or Italian in the future. It`s more likely I`ll do an Assimil review sometime since they cover more languages.

@murdoch1717

8 жыл бұрын

Langfocus Ok cool, I will look forward to your review of Assimil. Thanks.

I did the Spanish one and totally agree.

so what is his spanish course for beginners called exactly?

Да! довольно хороший метод, сам недавно пользуюсь его уроками для изучения немецкого, испанского

Great review ... really useful and helpful thanks for posting. I used the MT French course a few years back and found it inspirational and motivational. Don't be deluded though by thinking you can become fluent using this style ... It is a great introduction to the French language that you should use as a springboard to get yourself started. But then you should take lessons, listen to podcasts, go to classes, visit France and use all types of media and every opportunity to immerse yourself in French culture.

I fully agree with your review

anybody got a link where I can order Michel Thomas materials?

@matissparadise5799

7 жыл бұрын

aliexpress :P

@DaveRomeroMaster

7 жыл бұрын

Google has it.

Thank you

This is a good review. I went through Michel Thomas Japanese and I learned a lot but I didn't learn as much as I had hoped. After that I got lazy and stopped learning and I have forgotten some of what I learned.

@diogofarias1822

7 жыл бұрын

Read more. For me, thats the key.

@imirish4702

7 жыл бұрын

Sodapop you should have complimented it with pimsleur, Rosetta Stone...

@sunnybotumanchi

4 жыл бұрын

I learnt French using MT and it was very helpful and fun. Japanese with MT felt good but after studying Japanese full time i understood that MT covered just 20% of N5 the lowest level but MT French felt like B1 French.

To advance you then it isn't good but as a beginner's tool then it's definitely one of the best.

I've just completed Advanced Spanish with Michel Thomas. It's OK - it delves into grammar to advanced level...but please don't think you'll be able to speak and understand Spanish freely after completing the course. You'll still be a beginner in terms of understanding and speaking! Also, it can be very tedious at times, endlessly going through the various grammatical aspects. To be honest, it is good , but I don't think it deserves the hype!

@Langfocus

8 жыл бұрын

+bluegtturbo Yeah, that`s pretty much what I think of it. I think the hype comes from the feeling of euphoria people get from rapid learning, because they *feel* fluent and then run and tell everyone without having tested their ability in a real situation. Even after it hits them that they don`t know as much as they thought, it`s hard for them to contradict what they said earlier about how amazing the course is (ie. they`d feel like a dumbass for backpeddling), so they keep on rationalizing why it`s amazing. It is good, and when I start Spanish I`ll probably use Michel Thomas first so I can get a broad understanding quickly. But after that begins the process of building proficiency, not just awareness.

@bluegtturbo

8 жыл бұрын

+Langfocus Yes! Exactly! I'm not knocking his method - probably it suits a certain type of learning style. I'm just raising the question about whether it lives up to the advertising hype..and in my case it didn't. I can't really see how he felt there was anything so unique about the method that he needed to patent it! I don't buy the idea that it is pain-free learning, with 'no need to remember - all learning is the responsibility of the teacher'. I feel that such advertising can be likened to those 'get rich quick' schemes designed to appeal to lazy and greedy people. It sells the idea that one can learn a language without any effort, in the same way as get rich quick ads sell the idea of making lots of money without effort. I have reservations about learning a language from a non-native speaker of that language, in that it is important to master the accent and tune one's ear to the authentic Spanish accent. He makes no effort to impose a Spanish accent - his Spanish sounds like it is spoken by a German-American...which I think he probably was))). Overall, I'd give his method 3 stars out of 5...

@ranakhoury4229

7 жыл бұрын

I think it just depends on the person then. I agree that the advanced isn't really advanced and it's only meant to encourage you. But, I find this to be the best method for learning languages really. Without any effort at all and in just 5 minutes a day I can understand 50% of Spanish songs already and I haven't finished half of the advanced courses yet. Which is really exciting :) And that's what learning should be about because that's what will keep you wanting to learn more and more.

Sehr gutes Video

Hey thanks. This is a great take. I'm really enjoying the MT Portuguese after starting on Duolingo (I'm native English speaking, just subfluent in Afrikaans, kinda conversational in French). This clarifies what I was thinking about the MT course. I was already thinking of downloading an Anki deck for when I was done with the course, and getting the first Harry Potter book in Portuguese. I think your warning not to let the apparent ease go to my head. On the other hand, I would have loved if high-school French had been taught as well as this MT course * sigh *

I really like your channel!

@Langfocus

8 жыл бұрын

+Nick B Thanks Nick!

Would you ever used "Paul Noble" series?

Hey my friend have you ever tried lingq? I think is one of the best way to learn a new language! Let me know 👍🏼

@Langfocus

8 жыл бұрын

No. I've heard the name but haven't tried it.

@Glassandcandy

5 жыл бұрын

Steve Kaufman back at it again with the sock puppet accounts 🙄 Lol jk

Thank you for the review. It's true that lots of work needs to be done even after the program. I think MT also mentions the talk to a native from Day 1 thing. He provides the structure and we are supposed to add more vocab, test it on natives ( let the ball cross the net) and keep learning. Program is not expected to be all sufficient.

*This Langfocus guy is one of the few people in the world that I trust.* Before this vid, all I have seen about Michel Thomas is how he magically teaches you in just a few hours what you would have taken like a handful of years to learn, which obviously is not true and you should know there's no such a thing. The old fashion way is all there is, hard work and consistency. Just continuous input, understaning the grammar and learning thousands of words and phrases to get some level of fluency. Now I know that, as I should have known, a such a fast method will get you only to beginner level.

I thought you were in Taiwan when making this video, but after googling 日東幼稚園, I found that it was located in Japan.

@twopax17

8 жыл бұрын

+陳天信 Japanese flag in the background!

@oozzziiii

8 жыл бұрын

+twopax17 good eyesight!

04:53 "It makes people delude themselves that they are really good at the language when they are actually really low beginners" In my experience this is true for all "online", "quick" or "accelerated" courses of every kind. Not saying that they are not useful tools in addition to proper language training but I have never met anyone who has learned to speak a language by themselves online (without also having proper training and/or living in a country where the language is spoken). It does however, like you say, make people think they can speak the language. That's the online language course business model: helping people pretend to have learned a language.

@Langfocus

4 жыл бұрын

It’s kind of true for a lot of courses, yeah. I just see more exaggerated self-evaluations from people who’ve just finished a MT course. There are lots of good courses, but people just need to be aware of hype and not take it too seriously.

@panzerkami2381

4 жыл бұрын

@@Langfocus I think that what leads to exaggerated self-evaluation in any learning situation is a lack of practical application. It's easy to imagine being great at anything until you test yourself in a realistic context. That's usually when reality crashes into ego.

@fayebradshaw4221

4 жыл бұрын

To be fair I've met someone who learned German entirely on their own (as a native Spanish speaker) just by using online resources and he had the best pronunciation and understanding of the whole class back in uni lol

Great review!!!

Hello park, Mrs. Chenelle, I have to say I use Michelle Thomas Russian, French, Italian, judge, Egyptian Arabic in Japanese. Also I’m supplement all of these materials with And Of It Of Language Learning.com, SBS radio podcast, KZread and plenty of speaking practice along with listening to tune in radio and other materials in order to successfully learn language but I like the math it. I found Pimsleur to be too slow. I learn Spanish at University 18 years ago and I still can speak it even though it was through the classroom setting. However, I do have to say you’re not going to be fine with using this method and you will have to supplement your materials I also use Memrise as well. But the more you spend in the more you learn by using different materials the more you increase your language learning progress. Thank you for the video.

What’s better pimsleur or michel thomas?

@ib3scope

5 жыл бұрын

Both programs are equally as good, but in different ways. I have found, in my personal experience, using the foundational and level 1 courses from both providers, as a base, introductory method to learn italian and Russian, that the Pimsleur method makes phrase comprehension subconscious, meaning that you are not actively translating the language as you hear it, its there; there's no lag-time due to you're brain's attempting to comprehend and associate new vocabulary with ingrained English and translate at a conversational speed. By comparison, Michel Thomas gives you the grammatical structure of the language, such that you can formulate and craft your own basic sentences very early on. This is in contrast to Pimsleur, which doesn't want you to self-craft, but rather have a heavily rehearsed but instantaneously accessible repertoire of phrases and idioms to employ. Lastly, and by nature of the above listed, Michel Thomas convers considerably more per unit than Pimsleur; Pimsleur espouses a sort of, 'slow and steady wins the race' mentality, implying that drilling a handful of immediately-useful, everyday phrases and furthering linguistic comprehension using those base phrases as a sort of grammatical- 'springboard' is most productive, in the long-term, for making conversational speech second-nature and seemingly more intuitive. Michel Thomas emplores immediate grammatical and sentax grasp as it's fundamentalist modus-operandi, contending that the sooner one can inject their own thoughts into a language and formulate their own sentences, albeit irrespective of how primitive they may be, is the most efficient method by which to incline towards thinking in said language. Succinctly, they both are very good introductory, foundational systems, and the extent to which one finds either-or more effective is dependant upon preference in learning style and course pacing. I highly, highly recommend you do them both. Start with Pimsleur.

👍

Man I really liked this review of the program.

عربي مصرى كمان والله عاااش 💪

Joe! Kung alam mo lng, A2 spanish speaker na ako dahil sa Michelle Thomas. I would like to hear more from you

@Dann-md9eq

8 жыл бұрын

Mabuti. Sample nga pre? Nag.aaral ako ng french.

@kgjt1241

8 жыл бұрын

Dann Dale Lloyd Laurente Michel Thomas din?

@Dann-md9eq

8 жыл бұрын

madami akong references. Apps like Duolingo and LingQ; youtube videos like French in 5 days; and yes, etong Michel Thomas. J'ai commence apprendre du francais hier de Michel Thomas. haha Di ko alam kung tama ba yang french ko.

@kgjt1241

8 жыл бұрын

contact lng kita brad

Very helpful. Thank you.

nice