Product Description

Michel Thomas took the language-learning world by storm.
With no books, no memorising and no homework, Michel teaches the basic grammar of the language painlessly. Using the method he perfected over 50 years, he shares his secret with the world - and 'makes it simple' (Sunday Times).
In only a matter of hours, he gives you a comprehensive grasp of the structure of the language, enabling you to communicate with confidence. The present, future, conditional and past tenses are covered, and you are taught to think about the ideas that you are trying to communicate, rather than to translate words slavishly.
He points out the similarities of the vocabulary in English and Spanish and gives you the tools to guess the words you do not know, or think you do not know.
Join two students as they learn in real time. Become the third member of the class and experience the excitement of learning a language as if by magic!

This new edition has one, very significant, new feature – an additional ‘Review’ CD. All the main teaching points have been lifted from the Foundation (8-hour) course and are contained on just 2 CDs. The student 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. It can also be used very successfully by those coming back to the course after a lapse of time, either to check how much they have retained or as a quick revision tool. Only Michel’s words and phrases are on the new CD, so the course is summarised succinctly and with a new, snappy pace.
Finally, the new edition is repackaged, with an up-to-the minute cover treatment and robust DVD-type cases inside a rigid card slip case, to ensure that the CDs remain damage-free and are easy to access and use.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3712 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-29
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Number of items: 1
• 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 )

"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.

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Customer Reviews

muy bien!
By the end of the first CD I had completely thrown of my cynicism! I have tried a number of spanish courses, and books etc. but whilst retaining a few cod phrases and a limited ability to communicate in an emergency situation, I never before managed to get a grip or an understanding of the language and it's formations.... until I discovered this course. It's easy to look at the reviews on the back and think "no course could be that good" but unbelievably the method that Michel Thomas uses works! Thousands of spanish teachers in GCSE classes must be fearing for their jobs... learning a language shouldn't be this easy, and if it can be then why did I go through such torture at school?

Admittedly the 8 CDs can not teach you everything, and you will only become fluent in spanish through years of practice and immersion, but the confidence and understanding, combined with the ability to construct sentences and deconstruct what you hear is a better start than you will get anywhere else. I have since bought some spanish audio books and a couple of novels in spanish and, though the going is quite slow, the progression is SO satisfying!

Spanish with Michel Thomas
I would not hesitate to recommend this course wholeheartedly to any beginner wishing to learn Spanish. From the very first CD you are taught to construct sentences, not merely learn parrot fashion, you can participate and formulate your replies before listening to the student's reply. This gives you immense confidence and satisfaction, as from the very first stages you feel you are achieving something. Michel is also very particular about correct pronunciation which is very important and something not easily gained from a book. It covers a great deal of information in a very short space of time. After eight hours you have covered the present, past and future tenses, of course you will not be fluent - you wouldn't expect to be after 8 hours! (see one reviewer's comments) but you have the basics of construction and grammar and it is then up to the individual to learn more vocabulary. The only downside I would mention (and this has also been mentioned in other reviews) is the male student who seems unnecessarily dim. I realise that having a slightly slower student is psychologically encouraging for anyone learning as they feel they are doing much better, but after a while his hesitation and mispronunciations become extremely irritating. Apart from this I would give it full marks.

Michel Thomas - Learning Through Understanding.
Spanish with Michel Thomas - 8 hour Course

Bad points - The description of this course as a 'complete course' can be misleading. The course itself makes no such claim. Michel Thomas himself refers to the course as 'an introductory course to the language'. Don't expect to cover everything in 8 hours, e.g., the subjunctive, compound tenses (apart from the perfect tense), active and passive voice, and comparatives are not covered. However, this 8 hour course does pack in a great deal and hopefully a further course covering the above will be available in the future.

Good points - Michel Thomas focuses on the importance of structure, phonetics and stress in communicating in the Spanish language.

Learning by this method is relaxing and enjoyable. It's true - no notes, memorising or homework are necessary. His method pursues learning through understanding and Michael Thomas is excellent at conveying understanding. Patient yet persistent, he conveys his knowledge, stimulating memory through a series of word chains that structure the language, and memory hooks, which make retrieval easy for those of us with even the most fog bound of memories.

I have learned a great deal more in 8 hours, than in almost a year's study in various language schools. This course is able to convey learning without pain. If you have ever been intimidated by the large number of seemingly irregular Spanish verbs try this course. Michel explains the reasons for the irregular verbs; be it their roots or simple phonetics, once you understand they no longer seem so irregular.

If you are about to embark on a Spanish course this is a very good foundation to build on. It will prevent you from picking up bad habits!

If you are at an intermediate level this course will provide good revision, deeper understanding and make you aware of the bad habits you have picked up!

This course was enjoyable, I covered the 8 hour course within 4 days. I have studied French for years but have ordered the 8 hour French course too (it's sold out at the the moment - a good sign).

G. Burrough.