|
 |
Michel Thomas | ||
Share with:
| ||
 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 281 of 405 01 December 2009 at 12:39am | IP Logged | ||
|
Hi, Fictitius
I first heard about Michel Thomas in 1995 when I read an article in The Jerusalem Report entitled The language master. This article described a method whereby one could learn to speak proficiently in a language with just a few days instruction. It also mentioned that Mr. Thomas refused to allow an recordings of his work or to teach others how he did it. This sounded too good to be true so I telephoned two of the students mentioned as having studied with Mr. Thomas. There was a lady in Washington, DC, mentioned in the article as affiliated with the European Institute, if memory serves me correctly, who had studied French and German with him. She told me that following the course she was able to go to Europe and conduct television interviews in these languages without much problem. I spent ten years with him. During this time I finally got him to create the recordings which are now commercially available and also to agree to work with me to learn how to replicate what he did. The recordings we have of him teaching French, Spanish, German and Italian are the real deal. Since he personally taught me French, I can attest that the recordings are pretty faithful to the way he taught one-on-one. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| hobbitofny Senior Member United States Joined 6234 days ago 280 posts - 408 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Russian | Message 282 of 405 01 December 2009 at 7:03am | IP Logged | ||
I have all the MT Russian courses. The total of all the courses will not bring you up to the lowest level of Test of Russian as a Foreign Language (TORFL). TORFL is the Russian Federation's testing scale. It has six levels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_of_Russian_as_a_Foreign_La nguage http://www.rlcentre.com/course_e.shtml If you complete the full MT Russian, you have a good starting base to learn Russian, but it is a base. I would not use the word fluency with the MT Russian. I am not trying to be negative. MT will get your feet wet in Russian. You will have some limited functional level during a visit to RF. (My dislike is the way they promote the MT Russian. Their numbers refer to words and phrases. This creates the impression you will have a much larger vocabulary.) I recommend the MT Russian, but understand the limits of where the course will take you. You have a foundation to begin learning Russian. Dale 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| zorglub Pentaglot Senior Member France Joined 7001 days ago 441 posts - 504 votes 1 sounds Speaks: French*, English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: German, Arabic (Written), Turkish, Mandarin | Message 283 of 405 01 December 2009 at 10:30am | IP Logged | ||
Indeed, it does not take you fzar in fluency , and what you're able to say is very very limited. Too few words. I comment upon Arabic and Mandarin. But you say properly what you can say. You have a grasp of how the language works. AND IT IS PAINLESS. BUT, there's a big but: I proves to you that uyou have the abiuloities to learn the language. I used the Mandarin foundation and advanced, and realised that learning chinese is doable. I don't have enough time and need to learn Chinese, but now I knoiw I can. I would certainly use PImsleur and then Assimil (I would not learn the writing) I used the Arabic (Egyptian) after I had been primed to Eastern Arabic with Pismleur's 1 and 2 levels. It helped me understand some grammatical keys I had not inferred from Pimalseur (that explains almost nothing). I suppose it's a very good primer. The problem is you have to follow with something richer in vocabulary and in Egyptian ressources are scarce. I personally used Pimsleur (I'm in level 3) and then back to Linguaphone's MSA. Differences in dialects are not too much of a problem IMO as long as you speak to not uneducated persons. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cainntear Pentaglot Senior Member Scotland linguafrankly.blogsp Joined 6012 days ago 4399 posts - 7687 votes Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*, French, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic Studies: Catalan, Italian, German, Irish, Welsh | Message 284 of 405 01 December 2009 at 3:02pm | IP Logged | ||
With the greatest of respect, I personally think you paid to much attention to what Michel said rather than what he did. I've only ever done about a CD's worth of your course and I stopped because I was bored, which is something I never experienced with Thomas's own courses. In fact, having previously had no real interest in German, I did half the German Foundation course in one morning just because I wanted to do more MT. , but the plain fact is that people in most professional or amateur fields just do what they do, and they have very little idea of what that is. Ask them what they do and you'll get a response that matches what they do loosely. If you were to ask me two months ago how I steer my push-bike, I'd have said that I turn the handlebars, because for a long time I simply wasn't aware that I was leaning into the corners and using tyre geometry to turn. Now when I'm turning I'm rarely sure whether I'm turning the handlebars or not, and I could never tell you how much I'm leaning, but an outside observer with a well set-up camera could see exactly what I'm doing. Talking to Thomas wasn't necessary in order to understand him -- you're better off objectively analysing his recorded courses. (Which of course I can only do because you convinced him to release them.) Edited by Cainntear on 01 December 2009 at 10:59pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Hashimi Senior Member Oman Joined 6260 days ago 362 posts - 529 votes Speaks: Arabic (Written)* Studies: English, Japanese | Message 285 of 405 01 December 2009 at 10:32pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Cainntear, yes, there is a difference between the Doctor of Medicine and the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, but in the US, holders of the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree are trained much in the same way as M.D.s, with the addition of osteopathic manipulative medicine techniques. Osteopaths who have trained outside the US are not eligible for medical licensure in the United States, but US-trained DOs are currently able to practice in 45 countries with full medical rights and in several others with restricted rights. Countries where US-trained DOs are able to practice with full medical rights include Germany, Austria, Finland, and most Canadian provinces. Even in the UK, US-trained DOs are eligible for full medical practice rights. Applicants must pass the PLAB examination and work for one year in the National Health Service. Anyway, whether he can accurately be described as "physician and surgeon" or not, and regardless of his political views (he is sentimentally pro-Zionist, vitriolically anti-Semite) this does not matter us as language learners. We must admit that Mr. Goddman gave language learners invaluable aid by convincing Moshe Kroskof, the greatest language guru in the 20th century, to record his courses and make the fastest method to build a solid foundation in languages available worldwide. *** zorglub, before posting, please use the preview button :) Do you really write like this in French? "....uyou have the abiuloities..." "...I knoiw.." even Pimsleur you spelt it wrong many times although it's French! Sorry, but I ask you because your English is excellent. I think you mispell these words deliberately for some reason. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Hashimi Senior Member Oman Joined 6260 days ago 362 posts - 529 votes Speaks: Arabic (Written)* Studies: English, Japanese | Message 286 of 405 01 December 2009 at 10:35pm | IP Logged | ||
|
hobbifny, if one do MT Russian + Assimil + Linguaphone + Teach Yourself, how do you estimate it will bring him up to in the TORFL scale? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Cainntear Pentaglot Senior Member Scotland linguafrankly.blogsp Joined 6012 days ago 4399 posts - 7687 votes Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*, French, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic Studies: Catalan, Italian, German, Irish, Welsh | Message 287 of 405 01 December 2009 at 10:58pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Hashimi,
Your correction is noted and appreciated, and I have retracted my comment. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| hobbitofny Senior Member United States Joined 6234 days ago 280 posts - 408 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Russian | Message 288 of 405 02 January 2010 at 9:28pm | IP Logged | ||
|
[QUOTE=Hashimi]
hobbifny, if one do MT Russian + Assimil + Linguaphone + Teach Yourself, how do you estimate it will bring him up to in the TORFL scale? DIV] I am sorry for delay in rely. I missed your question. TORFL - 1 is at that level. Linguaphone Complete Russian is a little short of the level. It covers the needed information but is a little short of the vocabulary. The test assumes about 2000-2400 word vocabulary. The Linguaphone is about 2000 words. You should be able to pass the test by mastering the courses you list. Edited by hobbitofny on 02 January 2010 at 9:38pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
