Product Description

Michel Thomas materials have been phenomenally successful since they were first published some six years ago.
The brand new Review courses are a major new offering. For the first time, the student can quickly and easily review the entire teaching contents of the main course, to establish which areas need to be revisited or to consolidate learning. The Reviews can be used in many ways: when the student reaches the end of the main course to check or consolidate learning; as a quick refresher when the student returns to the main course after a lapse of time; for the newcomer to Michel Thomas looking for an overview of what the main courses contain.
All the main teaching points have been lifted from the corresponding Advanced course and are contained on just 1 CD. The student at home hears Michel teaching a specific point, there is a pause which allows time for the student to give his/her response to Michel’s prompt, followed by Michel giving the correct response. If the student has struggled or given an incorrect answer, s/he can use the index in the accompanying booklet to locate the area of the main course where the specific language point was being taught in depth and can return to the main course to work through the relevant section again, quickly and efficiently. Only Michel’s words and phrases are on the new CD, so the course is summarised succinctly and with a new, snappy pace.

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #232728 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-29
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Binding: Audio CD

Review
"Ideal for any business traveller who needs to be able to get around confidently." (Sunday Business )

"A great way to learn; it's fast and it lasts". (The Daily Telegraph )

"Five minutes into the first CD, you already feel like you're winning." (Time Out )

"Michel Thomas is a precious find indeed." (The Guardian )

"Thomas makes it simple" (Sunday Times )

"Michel's methods will teach you effectively and easily" (Daily Star )

"Hugely inspiring" (Red )

"Remarkably effective, addictive even"

(London Evening Standard )

 "Excellent for learning ... This entirely audio course is easy to use and quickly results in some useful ability in the new language. Great for the car."

(Adventure Travel )

"Moving along at a relaxed, slow pace, punctuated by amusing anecdotes and jokes from the teacher, the new words, phrases and language rules are gently introduced and reinforced through subtle repetition without ever being tedious. In fact, despite a distinct emphasis on non-work, the course proves very effective and enjoyable, and its format is ideal for learning anywhere you like. So, if you only want to learn to speak the language, this course is highly recommended."

(Top Real Travel Product, Real Travel )

About the Author
Michel Thomas had an amazing life. Born in Poland, he spent his early years in Germany and then in France, where he studied psychology at the Sorbonne in Paris. When war broke out, he fought with the Resistance and suffered imprisonment in slave labour camps. At the end of the war he joined the US liberation army and later settled in the US where he established his world-famous language school. For more than 50 years he taught languages to the rich and famous and became the world's most sought-after language teacher.

---

Customer Reviews

Just Michel and you!
This programme is a one CD distillation of the 5 hour advanced course (see my review below this paragraph, as it covers the same material). The advanced course covers all of the tenses in the French language and gives you the opportunity to practise. It is fantastic! However, there was always a problem that when you came to review the material you had to listen to the two students thinking out their answer (as the tapes were recorded real-time and not scripted). The editing process has removed the two students and just leaves Michel asking a question in English and then giving the answer in French. It is a fantastic resource for really over learning this material so that it becomes second nature and will improve your fluency. A recommendation to buy.

I read in the accompanying booklet that there will be a Vocabulary course introduced in March 2007, 3 CD's providing over a 1000 words with Native speakers. This will be a very welcome addition.


Advanced Course Review:-

This follow-on from the 8 hour course and two hour language builder course has lived up to expectations, it is excellent!

As the name of the course suggests it is designed for students that have either completed the first courses or acquired a grounding in French through other means. If you are an absolute beginner you should come back and purchase this course when you have picked up the basics, its not for you yet.

Michel uses the same technique as the 8 hour course, two students (one male and one female) and himself. The students (you will no doubt be relieved to hear) are different from the 8 hour course, they make very few mistakes. The benefit is that when listening to the course again you will not continually have to wait for the mistakes of others to be corrected. This was a problem in the preceding 8 hour course.

There isn't much new vocabulary in the course but what you do get is a thorough analysis and chance to practice quite advanced French grammar . He spends a long time going over the past tenses in French which were only lightly touched on in the first course. In addition, every students dread, the subjunctive, is covered in a way that I can only describe as brilliant. My fear of the subjunctive has now gone!

There is a small booklet that accompanies the course but there is no more than a summary of the course content on each disc so if you are looking for a written explanation of the grammar you would be better buying Madrigals Magic Key to French by Margarita Madrigal (OUT OF PRINT but worth it if you can find it!). To be honest I think this is a good companion for anyone listening to these discs as all of the tenses described by Michel are included in here along with more written practice exercises. In fact the method used in both Michel Thomas and Margarita Madrigal is very similar.

A word of warning for those looking for advanced vocabulary, there is not much in here. If you are familar with French grammar then you should buy other materials to improve your vocabulary but for intermediate learners this course is definitely good value for money and should be high on your list of French materials to buy!

Great for listening in your car
Just a note to say don't be put off by the introductory message. It comes on and says that this is a review for the 8-hour Foundation - not advanced, course. This seems to be just an error in the recording as the material is correct.

As for the CD itself I find it useful to have in the car for short trips to give me a quick reminder. It's no substitute for the full course.

No better way to learn a language
I've used the full (French) series and I can honestly say that learning a language this way is far simpler than anything I've ever done before.

At school I was dropped to the lowest group in French and failed to get any formal qualification in any language other than English. 20 years on, and with the assistance of M Thomas, I even feel fairly confident engaging in conversation over the telephone.