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Michel Thomas | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| 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 297 of 405 20 August 2010 at 3:29pm | IP Logged | ||
The 2 CD course is not the Foundation course. It is the so-called "Introductory Course" and is just the first 2 CDs of the 8 CD foundation course. You will not be able to do the Advanced course after finishing this -- you need to do the full 8 CDs first. Check your local library -- they might have it in stock. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| maydayayday Pentaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5220 days ago 564 posts - 839 votes Speaks: English*, German, Italian, SpanishB2, FrenchB2 Studies: Arabic (Egyptian), Russian, Swedish, Turkish, Polish, Persian, Vietnamese Studies: Urdu | Message 298 of 405 20 August 2010 at 6:08pm | IP Logged | ||
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Sorry Cainntear, I wasnt clear. I didnt mean to imply that I was jumping from the 2CD Introductory to the Advanced just that the methodology worked for my partner.
I have already done GCE Spanish via self study and a few 1 TO 1 lessons with native Spanish speakers - the local library has Pimsleur but not the MT. I am investigating others in case I find the leap too great, though I do follow the general gist of radio and tv programmes and can easily read a newspaper/magazine. I have also completed the UK Govt 'hard language' course in Arabic and Russian though many years ago which allegedly put us at C1 level .... so I remember the techniques that worked for me then. My brain is now older alas but I am trying to get from what I believe is a B1 up to a B2 level ..... Hope that makes a bit more sense. Cheers Adrian 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| divexo Groupie Australia Joined 5192 days ago 70 posts - 74 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Latin | Message 299 of 405 11 September 2010 at 5:11pm | IP Logged | ||
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Question about using Michel Thomas:
I've noticed that the Review courses are basically the same as their original just with the students cut out as well as some of the random gaps, so it is just a shortened version. Could i use the review course to learn instead of the original going from Foundation to end of Advanced? I would probably listen to his English, read the Italian translation try to pronounce, and then listen to his response in Italian, then rewind and listen a few times, doing it for each sentence until the end of the each track, and then repeating this without the written notes to say allowed from memory until i get it all correct. Is this going to make learning Italian from scratch harder? Does he explain rules and tricks in the other parts that have been cut out, or not and this way is possible? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Elexi Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5566 days ago 938 posts - 1840 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 300 of 405 11 September 2010 at 9:19pm | IP Logged | ||
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You are correct - the review course is the Foundation or Advanced course with MT's student's and his explanations cut out. It is not a stand alone course (which is why it is bundled (at least in the UK) with the Foundation or Advanced course) and is designed to allow you to revise, review or test yourself based on what you have already learned in the main course. There is no grammar teaching (which is what MT is all about) just an English sentence - a pause - the L2 sentence.
You can't self teach with the review CDs because there is no teaching. Edited by Elexi on 12 September 2010 at 11:44am 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 301 of 405 11 September 2010 at 11:36pm | IP Logged | ||
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No, it's not just a shortened version.
It is a representative sample of the language covered in the course, the idea being that if you have problems with particular parts, you know what to restudy in the main course. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| divexo Groupie Australia Joined 5192 days ago 70 posts - 74 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Latin | Message 302 of 405 12 September 2010 at 4:50am | IP Logged | ||
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^ I see, thank you, luckily you told me this. Shall just stick with the original then!
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| arturs Triglot Senior Member Latvia Joined 5272 days ago 278 posts - 408 votes Speaks: Latvian*, Russian, English | Message 303 of 405 12 September 2010 at 7:30am | IP Logged | ||
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I'm going through the Arabic, Japanese, Spanish, Italian and Dutch foundation courses. I have nothing bad to say about them. The accent in Spanish and Italian courses was a bit irritating at the first moment, but now I'm used to it. I also listen sometimes the Chinese foundation, just for fun, since I'm not actively studying Chinese. I also listen to the French vocabulary course, it's very good too.
I think that too much people think of MT courses as a way to learn completely a language, but fail, since it doesn't. But the main point of MT is to give some pronunciation, simple grammar, talking and listening and vocabulary bits, to get you a bit familiar with the language, like giving you the idea, that "Yes, you can". 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5376 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 304 of 405 14 September 2010 at 1:55am | IP Logged | ||
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The Michel Thomas Spanish Foundations course has been the most valuable eight hours of Spanish study I have ever had.
The amount of knowledge, confidence and insight I learned in those eight hours far and away exceeds the amount of knowledge I have obtained from eight hours with any other source. I have completed (or am almost done with) the following: Pimsleur I, II, III; Assimil Spanish With Ease; Madrigal's Magic Key; and Destinos. I have also done Assimil-like lessons with two books of a bilingual Bible and the corresponding 2-3 hours of audio. The only "problem" with the Michel Thomas program is that it is very short. The way he teaches simply does not lend itself to productive learning for too much more than the basic "structure" of the language. There is nothing really wrong with that if that is what you want. Overall, Assimil will take you much further, but there is no question that I got way more from my eight hours with Michel Thomas than anything else could ever give me in eight hours. I just got the advanced course and I am hoping it is as good as the foundations course. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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