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Michel Thomas | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| volapuk49 Tetraglot Groupie United States Joined 6268 days ago 73 posts - 86 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish, Yiddish, Modern Hebrew Studies: Esperanto | Message 193 of 405 21 November 2007 at 6:48am | IP Logged |
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I am the author and co-teacher of the Michel Thomas Mandarin course.
From 1995 to shortly before his death in January, 2005 Michel Thomas worked with me so that I could better understand his approach to teaching and learning. I have recently come across this thread and am happy to answer questions regarding this topic. You will also find some postings by me on similar topics on the Michel Thomas Mandarin Foundation Course thread. Take care. Harold Goodman Edited by volapuk49 on 21 November 2007 at 9:25pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Kugel Senior Member United States Joined 6539 days ago 497 posts - 555 votes Speaks: English* | Message 194 of 405 21 November 2007 at 1:59pm | IP Logged |
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Some questions:
I would like to know how many man-hours are put into a 8 hour course. How do you authors know what parts of the grammar to include in the course and what parts to leave out? Surely you can't include the entire grammar. In theory, how many CDs(lessons) would you need to cover the entire grammar of say Mandarin or Hebrew? 1 person has voted this message useful | |
 jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6910 days ago 4250 posts - 5711 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 195 of 405 21 November 2007 at 3:08pm | IP Logged |
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Are there samples anywhere? I didn't find any on the web site. Wouldn't that be a good thing? I know that you can listen to a streamed version of the first Pimsleur lesson (in just about any language) to get an idea of how it works, but I suppose a couple of minutes from MT would do. Any thoughts?
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| volapuk49 Tetraglot Groupie United States Joined 6268 days ago 73 posts - 86 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Yiddish, Modern Hebrew Studies: Esperanto | Message 196 of 405 21 November 2007 at 9:09pm | IP Logged |
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Kugel,
I will tell you what I know from my personal experience with Chinese and what Michel Thomas told me. I spent a bit less than a year preparing the course. I went through quite a few other courses, books, CDs, etc. I wanted to find out what others were doing. Then I did the opposite. Why? Because most of these courses ( I am tempted to write all of them) don't deliver on what they promise. They try to cram in tons of grammar, vocabulary, tones and in some cases, even characters. This is the standard approach. I have tried it for many languages. It never really got me to be up and conversing with native speakers with confidence. I want to stress that word: confidence. All of these courses involve prodigious amounts of memorization, doing exercises, homework and dogged discipline. Very few people no matter how motivated finish the courses, books, etc. and run out speaking Chinese with ease. With confidence. With ease ( to quote Assimil - sans peine). So I had to figure out what the essential material for conversing in this language was and then the most stress free way for an English learner to get it down to a degree so that they no longer even had to think about it. I had to dissect the language in to tiny bits and reassemble it so that it would naturally flow for an English speaker. We are adults. We are not kids. Kids may benefit from immersion. According to learning theory that I respect, after age seven our brains change so that immersion just doesn't work like it did when we were younger. We are no longer sponges like the little kids. So we need to use an adult approach. But not the crap that we have on our shelves and closets. I mean something that actually delivers on what it promises. Chinese expresses things quite differently than we do. It is not enough to just translate from English to Chinese. The language, like every language, has its own rhythm, its own flow, its own patterns. Chinese speakers actually process reality differently than English speakers. I recently read an article regarding how their brains process mathematics differently by virtue of their language. There are probably many other examples but you get the point. None of this is ever taught, in my experience, in any of the courses. So it really takes some time. I don't include the entire grammar. I include a lot less vocabulary than most of the courses out there. I want you to learn the language, the flow, the essential patterns that drive the mentality and perception of the native speaker. Once you get this the rest is a cake walk. Why? Because you are actually making your own sentences, expressing yourself in a few hours without any study or memorization in Chinese. This would inspire anyone. It certainly got me excited and totally hooked. You have the foundation that supports you the rest of the way. Most importantly, you totally know with ever fiber of your being ( as the 16 year old on the CDs put it after his first session), Chinese is easy. Michel Thomas told me that it took him about three months to do all the above and create a course. He told me that he knew twelve languages. The guy was brilliant and super-creative. I had a good teacher. I am not Michel Thomas. However, I believe that he would be impressed with this course. As far as Ivrit ( Modern Hebrew) I would do the same thing I did with Chinese. Let me tell you something very revealing. I spent years going to Hebrew school ( courtesy of my parents). I did my undergraduate degree (BA) in Hebraic Studies, Rutgers University, New Jersey. I was a grad student in the early 70's at Hebrew University, Jerusalem. And I still felt totally inadequate in the language! I found it hard to relax when conversing because I was so uptight about all of my mistakes. Plus, with my screwy, neurotic Hebrew many Israelis would switch into English rather than watch me twist in the wind. I welcomed this since it helped decrease my anxiety. I now speak, read and write pretty decent Hebrew. I have taken my own medicine. Take care. Harold Goodman 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| volapuk49 Tetraglot Groupie United States Joined 6268 days ago 73 posts - 86 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Yiddish, Modern Hebrew Studies: Esperanto | Message 197 of 405 21 November 2007 at 9:17pm | IP Logged |
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Jeff
The publisher, Hodder, told me that this will be available via audible.com in the near future. I just checked and found nothing. I wanted to start a site and post some clips but they say that audible will do it for them. If I had my way you could go to a website and download a ton of stuff. Why not? Apparently there is some youtube related stuff for the Michel Thomas course but nothing on Mandarin. They told me that they want to make a video of us teaching and post it on youtube. When it happens I'll let everyone know. Harold 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| volapuk49 Tetraglot Groupie United States Joined 6268 days ago 73 posts - 86 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Yiddish, Modern Hebrew Studies: Esperanto | Message 198 of 405 21 November 2007 at 9:35pm | IP Logged |
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Kugel
I forgot one thing. You asked about an eight hour course. This course is ten hours in length. It is on eight CDs. The Advanced will be a bit more than five hours and on four CDs. Expect to spend a lot more than ten hours actively participating in the ten hour Foundation course. You will spend more than five hours for the Advanced. If I told you that you could be speaking basic Chinese, making your way on your own confidently, with less than a few days of study, would you believe me? I wouldn't . And yet that is what happens here. It is a totally different approach. You will be the third student in the class. You will get everything that they get. You will answer every question. How do I know that you will answer every question? If they can, total beginners fresh off the boat from wherever beginners come from, so will you.You will hear all of the feedback. They will receive feedback on their answers. You will benefit from this. You will take all the time that you wish. You will be fed Chinese in teeny-tiny bite size chunks. We make the bar so low that everyone gets over it with ease. Minute by minute you realize, for yourself, that it is happening. You are really getting this! You end up speaking Chinese. Take care. Harold Goodman Edited by volapuk49 on 21 November 2007 at 9:38pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| volapuk49 Tetraglot Groupie United States Joined 6268 days ago 73 posts - 86 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Yiddish, Modern Hebrew Studies: Esperanto | Message 199 of 405 22 November 2007 at 9:23am | IP Logged |
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Here is an up-date on some questions:
There is absolutely no difference in content between the UK and US editions. They both also contain the same amount of CDs. A free hour sample of the Mandarin is available at: http://www.michelthomas.co.uk/ Click on 'free trial' at the bottom of the page and you will be directed to fill in a form to have the CD sent to you. They also have free downloads of some material from the original Michel Thomas courses. You can also currently order the UK edition from Amazon.co.uk. It is discounted in price and the service is fast. The American edition from McGraw-Hill won't be available until early next year. Take care. Harold I shall be away until Sunday, 25 November. Post any questions you wish and I shall answer them upon my return. Happy Thanksgiving. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| LilleOSC Senior Member United States lille.theoffside.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6692 days ago 545 posts - 546 votes 4 sounds Speaks: English* Studies: French, Arabic (Written) | Message 200 of 405 22 November 2007 at 10:09am | IP Logged |
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volapuk49 is it true that the new Arabic, and Russian courses also have native speakers?
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