volapuk49 Tetraglot Groupie United States Joined 6265 days ago 73 posts - 86 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Yiddish, Modern Hebrew Studies: Esperanto
| Message 233 of 405 17 January 2008 at 2:53pm | IP Logged |
Kugel
Your questions are fine.
His patent ( cf. USPatent and Trademark Office search for Michel Thomas and you will see all the stuff he claims)
basically says that teaching live students and having the third student ( the one who is listening) use a recorded
medium with which to interact with the group and teacher and thus create a feedback loop is his unique claim.
My take is that the recorded audio approach, the low-stress setting he helps to create and foster, the feedback
loops established and the thinking through and provision of an answer by the student are, as a specific whole,
essential to his success.
I have yet to find an approach that get such quick and lasting approaches as the one he developed. That was
what caught my interest in this method when I first encountered it in 1994.
Harold
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ficticius Pro Member United States Joined 6105 days ago 23 posts - 24 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German Personal Language Map
| Message 234 of 405 26 January 2009 at 9:23am | IP Logged |
After many failed attempts to study German and French through High School, University, FSI, Pimsleur and Assimil, I decided to give Michel Thomas a try.
I'm on lesson 6 and already have increased my knowledge from previous years of studying.
I'm curious on any and all information anyone may have on Foundation German, Michel Thomas and the German course, how much fluency can be expected by the end of the course? how much time a day should I study? and any and all suggestions on making the most out of the program.
Once I'm finished with the three components of the German course, can anyone recommend a tutor in New York City that uses the method beyond what the courses teach?
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Rollo the Cat Groupie United States Joined 6032 days ago 77 posts - 90 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Russian, Ancient Greek
| Message 235 of 405 26 January 2009 at 9:38am | IP Logged |
ficticius wrote:
After many failed attempts to study German and French through High School, University, FSI,
Pimsleur and Assimil, I decided to give Michel Thomas a try.
I'm on lesson 6 and already have increased my knowledge from previous years of studying.
I'm curious on any and all information anyone may have on Foundation German, Michel Thomas and the German
course, how much fluency can be expected by the end of the course? how much time a day should I study? and
any and all suggestions on making the most out of the program.
Once I'm finished with the three components of the German course, can anyone recommend a tutor in New York
City that uses the method beyond what the courses teach? |
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Once you are finished with the michel Thomas courses, it is time to start reading and speaking. Don't get all
caught up in the learning stage and start actively looking for real life materials to read and listen to. This is
basically what Michel himself recomended.
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Cainntear Pentaglot Senior Member Scotland linguafrankly.blogsp Joined 6009 days ago 4399 posts - 7687 votes Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*, French, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic Studies: Catalan, Italian, German, Irish, Welsh
| Message 236 of 405 27 January 2009 at 5:21am | IP Logged |
ficticius wrote:
Once I'm finished with the three components of the German course, can anyone recommend a tutor in New York City that uses the method beyond what the courses teach? |
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You.
Seriously -- as Rollo says, you've got to get out and use it. But when you do, pay attention to what you find yourself unable to say, but want to say, then look it up.
It might be that you like to talk about doing things "as soon as possible", "as quickly as possible", "as easily as possible" -- so look it up, use it, get comfortable with it. Once you can get a basic conversation going, it's easy to roll new features into it, one by one.
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ficticius Pro Member United States Joined 6105 days ago 23 posts - 24 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German Personal Language Map
| Message 237 of 405 30 January 2009 at 9:10am | IP Logged |
Thanks for the advice. I've tried so many methods and always thought Michele Thomas was too good to be true. I've learned more with the German Series one than anything else combined!
What's next after Michele Thomas? I'd love to hear some Michele Thomas success stories.
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redhair Newbie United Kingdom learn-spanish-with-e Joined 5771 days ago 5 posts - 5 votes Speaks: English*
| Message 238 of 405 13 February 2009 at 3:44am | IP Logged |
I begain with the Michl Thomas course and foundthat I got to grips with basic Spanish fairly quickly. When I say basic I mean basic conveersational which then enabled me to look at more complex structure. There is a site called audibles where it is possible to buy his stuff on mp3 format for under £/$10, Eleanor
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Cainntear Pentaglot Senior Member Scotland linguafrankly.blogsp Joined 6009 days ago 4399 posts - 7687 votes Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*, French, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic Studies: Catalan, Italian, German, Irish, Welsh
| Message 239 of 405 13 February 2009 at 8:42am | IP Logged |
redhair wrote:
There is a site called audibles where it is possible to buy his stuff on mp3 format for under £/$10, Eleanor |
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That'll just be the introductory course, which is a waste of money. It's the first two CDs of the 8CD Foundation. You can get half of that for free at michelthomas.co.uk/soundclips.htm
If you like the first hour, then get the 8 hour. If you don't like the first hour, then you won't like the second hour.
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Juan M. Senior Member Colombia Joined 5897 days ago 460 posts - 597 votes
| Message 240 of 405 13 February 2009 at 11:41am | IP Logged |
I'm about finished with the German introductory course, and I think it's excellent. It helped me clarify several important grammar points. I see the Michel Thomas courses as a series of lectures on the language, not the source from which to learn it from the start. As such, it is an invaluable complement to master what you have learnt in your main course. I will definitely use it for all the other languages I plan on learning. It is not only very useful, but unlike other such programs, it is decently priced too.
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