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Michel Thomas | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| CarlKenner Newbie Australia Joined 5970 days ago 2 posts - 3 votes Speaks: English* | Message 89 of 185 22 July 2008 at 10:59pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Michel Thomas DOES teach both kinds of "this" in Spanish. And Michel Thomas does spend a lot of time teaching correct pronounciation. The difference is he TEACHES pronounciation rather than just having a native speaker say the pronounciation at full speed. So students understand the crucial aspects of pronounciation like stress.
He doesn't teach listening, reading, or writing. But he does teach spelling, so after doing the course you can read and write (except in the Chinese and Arabic courses). He teaches generic nouns like "thing", nouns that you can construct yourself, and a few important nouns. That is a good thing, since you learn the structure of the language a lot better. But you need to learn noun vocabulary from somewhere else afterwards, or stick to calling everything "this thing" and "that thing". 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6152 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 90 of 185 24 July 2008 at 10:47am | IP Logged | |||||
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Having completed a couple of the original MT courses, Spanish and French, and dabbled in the others, Italian, German, and Russian, I thought I should share some advice, on when I think you should use Michel Thomas, and when you shouldn't.
Use Michel Thomas
Don't use Michel Thomas
Edited by DaraghM on 24 July 2008 at 10:48am 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Kugel Senior Member United States Joined 6539 days ago 497 posts - 555 votes Speaks: English* | Message 91 of 185 24 July 2008 at 11:09am | IP Logged | |||||
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I've yet to get a good answer as to why the MT courses aren't developed beyond simple verb placement/logic with a smattering of pronouns. All I've been told are marketing/financial reasons, not pedagogical/scientific reasons.
I'm glad that H&S developed these courses, yet I'm disappointed that they don't use the method to its full potential. As far as I'm concerned, if the courses can't go beyond a 1st year college text, then why even bother. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| TheElvenLord Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 6081 days ago 915 posts - 927 votes 1 sounds Speaks: Cornish, English* Studies: Spanish, French, German Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin | Message 92 of 185 24 July 2008 at 12:24pm | IP Logged | |||||
A first years text book is covered in 1 year. If Michel DOES cover that, it is done in 8 hours!! TEL 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Kugel Senior Member United States Joined 6539 days ago 497 posts - 555 votes Speaks: English* | Message 93 of 185 24 July 2008 at 1:38pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Most 1st year college texts go beyond what MT does, especially in classical languages. You could condense the foundation and "advanced" courses into a few chapters, then provide a long list of pattern drills(use technology that provides immediate answers - Audio). What MT does is still revolutionary, but you can't ignore how little the program actually teaches. Now, if the MT courses were 10-15X longer, then I could see them surpassing a 1st year textbook.
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| Rollo the Cat Groupie United States Joined 6035 days ago 77 posts - 90 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Russian, Ancient Greek | Message 94 of 185 24 July 2008 at 2:58pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Many first year textbooks don't even touch on the subjunctive.
Michel Thomas courses take about 18-20 hours to complete. Once you finish with the MT course, he gives some brief instructions on how to continue. It isn't necessary to continue with more and more artificial learning materials when you can read something really interesting. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| draoicht Groupie Ireland Joined 6314 days ago 89 posts - 146 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 95 of 185 24 July 2008 at 5:48pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I think the Michel Thomas courses are great in what they do and that is to provide a solid foundation to the language you wish to learn.
Most people who frequent this forum would realise that 18 to 20 hours of study in any language is not going to make you fluent but the beauty of Michel Thomas method is that in those 18 to 20 hours he strips a language down to its bare essentials. I cant remember the exact quote but MT compares grammar to being like a house and vocabulary the furnishings and that after doing his course it is up to you to furnish the house i.e. vocabulary acquisition. This seems to me to be a totally different way to acquire a language compared to my schooldays in which I failed dismally to learn Irish and French. Im currently working my way through the Advanced Spanish course and using M.T. is certainly boosting my motivation levels as I feel like I am making fast progress. 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 96 of 185 25 July 2008 at 5:33am | IP Logged | |||||
The Michel Thomas Method as we know it is Michel's beginner courses. The vocabulary courses are phase 2. Us common people have no way of knowing what phase 3 was, but I'm sure I've read that he moved on to immersive classes. Anyway, there's a very good reason that the MT method can't go much further than it does in the available courses: exponential growth. With every pattern you add to the language, you double the possible things you can say. You cannot cover additional concepts with anything near the completeness of these courses without a phenomenal amount of time -- something's got to give. Other people have mentioned Michel's analogy of a house and decoration, and he's bang on with this. Structure is something that is very difficult to just pick up as you go, and his courses cover an incredible amount of structure. By using "a smattering of pronouns" (a bit nearer "all" than "a smattering of" -- no language has that many pronouns!) he teaches structure without getting slowed down by having to learn vocabulary. Words are very easy to learn as you go -- as long as you know how to use them
Well I'm studying Spanish at second year university level, and Michel Thomas and we've only just done the present subjunctive. Thanks to Michel, I know this already. I even know the past subjunctive, which we've yet to do. And I don't think I was even expected to know all those pronouns last year, but I did. Of course there were very many things it didn't cover that I needed to know at first year, but these were all phrases and vocabulary items, and I picked them up without needing to try. So it goes beyond 1st year in some respects, but doesn't go to the same level in others. That is to say it is a different course. Edited by Cainntear on 25 July 2008 at 5:42am 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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