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The Michel Thomas Method

Senlando :lta, 8. huhtikuuta 2008

Viestejä: 12

Kieli: English

Senlando (Näytä profiilli) 8. huhtikuuta 2008 15.49.48

hi, recently i'v come across a new language learning method called the Michel Thomas Method. this method suposidly requires that the student be completly relaxed (no writing notes, no trying to memoriz), that the responsibility of the students progres is with the teacher.

well heres a wiki link for yous
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Thomas_Method

it doesn't clame to give you a huge vocabulary, but it does give you the ability to grasp the grammer and speak in complex sentinces.

so i was just wondering has anyone taken one of his courses? and what to you think about it?

Miland (Näytä profiilli) 8. huhtikuuta 2008 16.16.53

I learned basic French using Michel Thomas CDs, and for what it's worth, I think he gives a very user-friendly introduction to a language that one can build on. But it is necessary to have written texts at some point to know how words look in print, and the basic course I used didn't have this.

erinja (Näytä profiilli) 8. huhtikuuta 2008 18.08.01

Are these courses similar to Pimsleur? I have never heard of them before, except for a few brief mentions in this forum. I don't think they are found in the US (or else, they are rare). I almost always make a stop at the language section of a bookstore whenever I go in, and I feel I would have seen them by now if their availability was widespread!

I did Pimsleur French, all three levels, and still didn't really coming out feeling like I spoke French at all. I doubt that I could hold a conversation in French.

Incidentally, has anyone used the US Foreign Service courses that are available for free online? I downloaded a couple, texts and mp3's, but currently they are sitting untouched on my hard drive.

Miland (Näytä profiilli) 8. huhtikuuta 2008 21.08.11

Michel Thomas' courses in the major European languages are available in abundance from amazon.com - just put his name in 'author'. There are also Arabic and Russian courses by teachers trained by M.T. using his method.
I found the French and German ones in major booksellers in Birmingham. I imagine that larger branches of Barnes & Noble or Borders might have them in the U.S. I can't compare them to Pimsleur, however, not having tried that method.

awake (Näytä profiilli) 8. huhtikuuta 2008 22.36.16

The Michel Thomas method is considered by many to be an excellent introduction to a language, but it doesnt take you very far (especially in terms of vocabulary acquisition). It's a "learn along with students" approach, which some people find wasteful and annoying.

The main problem that I have with the European languages, is that Thomas is not a native speaker of many of the languages that he teaches, and his accent gives a fairly bad pronunciation model for new learners. This is not true of the newer courses that were developed by people that Thomas trained before he died.

The chinese course, in particular, is supposed to have a very clever and effective way of teaching tones (anchoring different tones to different physical movements of your hands). Chinese is pretty far down on my list of languages to learn, but if I ever get there I'd probably consider using MT's method as a start. ridulo.gif

Miland:Michel Thomas' courses in the major European languages are available in abundance from amazon.com - just put his name in 'author'. There are also Arabic and Russian courses by teachers trained by M.T. using his method.
I found the French and German ones in major booksellers in Birmingham. I imagine that larger branches of Barnes & Noble or Borders might have them in the U.S. I can't compare them to Pimsleur, however, not having tried that method.

Miland (Näytä profiilli) 8. huhtikuuta 2008 23.51.50

awake:Thomas trained before he died.
That was a bit of a shock. I had no idea that he had passed on. (early 2005, according to wiki). I had used his courses mainly in 2002 and 2003. I can recommend the biography by Christopher Robbins The Test of Courage - fascinating and worthwhile reading.

Gatton (Näytä profiilli) 9. huhtikuuta 2008 0.34.50

erinja:Incidentally, has anyone used the US Foreign Service courses that are available for free online? I downloaded a couple, texts and mp3's, but currently they are sitting untouched on my hard drive.
I wasn't aware these were available online erinja. Thanks for pointing this out. I know Audio Forum and Barron's sell some of those old courses repackaged. Nice to know they are available online. It looks like they can be found here:

http://www.fsi-language-courses.com/

I'll definitely check it out.

My apologies if I'm de-railing your thread a bit Senlando ridulo.gif. I've not yet tried Michel Thomas but his French course is on my list of materials to try.

awake (Näytä profiilli) 9. huhtikuuta 2008 11.38.20

erinja:
Incidentally, has anyone used the US Foreign Service courses that are available for free online? I downloaded a couple, texts and mp3's, but currently they are sitting untouched on my hard drive.
The courses are very comprehensive and very effective, but they require a tremendous amount of self discipline to get through as they are very boring. There's tons of drilling and a LOT of repetition. Also, most of those courses are from the 60's, and so there are some things in them that are quite outdated. Also, the courses were designed for the training of diplomats, so the language tends to be very formal. Nonetheless, if you have the discipline to work through these courses, they will take you to a very good level in the language.

In my view, the absolute best courses available for learning a language are the Assimil courses. These courses work on the principle of the natural assimilation of a language through learning dialogues. They're available on Amazon. NPR did a nice story on them available here

NPR

They only come with 4 CD's (8 for the courses that contain 2 levels), but the CD's are 100 % in the target language (no english explanations or prompting like "How do you say 'My cat is tired,' in Spanish?"). So the actual Spanish (french, german, etc...) content is comparable to courses with 10 or 15 CD's and a lot of English on them).

While Assimil can be very effective if used properly, because it is an assimilation approach, you don't feel like you're making progress for quite awhile. So it requires a lot of patience, and trust that the method works. Also, some courses are much better than others (Assimil's Arabic is considered by many to be worthless).

Finally, an honorable mention should be made for the course "French in Action" which is universally lauded for its efficacy. It's a series of videos/CD's/Workbooks. The videos are available for free online, and even without the CD's/Workbooks they make a remarkable resource to supplement other methods.

Miland (Näytä profiilli) 9. huhtikuuta 2008 13.22.15

It may be worth mentioning three more alternatives:
(a) The BBC has developed language courses since the 1960s. Putting 'BBC' plus the language in the 'title' box in amazon will bring up alternatives. They may be one of the best cheaper options.
(b) Linguaphone complete courses (also at advanced level for certain languages) when brand new cost a few hundred pounds/dollars/euros. I was lucky to find very cheap used older copies in an Oxfam shop, but thanks to other things (like E-o!) haven't had the time to use them so far. They appear to be good judging by internet reviews, but require determination and effort to complete. They are based on dialogues covering common situations and a story line.
(c) The most effective method may be 'total immersion' - often in the country which uses the language, involving full time personal tuition or in groups. For that reason, it is also the most expensive, and only celebrities or high-flying executives are likely to use commercial versions. But there are cheaper alternatives, like NASK for E-o, courses run by universities (possibly Lasalle University in Canada for French), and 'ulpan' Hebrew programs run in Israel for immigrants. The Goethe Institut does intensive German courses, Alliance Francaise French ones, and the British Council, uh, oni ne devas kuraĝigi krokodiladon, ĉu ne?

awake (Näytä profiilli) 9. huhtikuuta 2008 21.32.36

Miland:
(b) Linguaphone complete courses (also at advanced level for certain languages) when brand new cost a few hundred pounds/dollars/euros. I was lucky to find very cheap used older copies in an Oxfam shop, but thanks to other things (like E-o!) haven't had the time to use them so far. They appear to be good judging by internet reviews, but require determination and effort to complete. They are based on dialogues covering common situations and a story line.
Indeed, Linguaphone is very similar to the Assimil method I mentioned above, and many of their programs are excellent. They tend to be considerably more pricey than Assimil, but but are definitely a viable choice.

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