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Product Description
Review
"Ideal for any business traveller who needs to be able to get around confidently." (Sunday Business )
"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 )
"Hugely inspiring" (Red )
"Michel's methods will teach you effectively and easily" (Daily Star )
"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 )
"Hugely inspiring" (Red )
"Michel's methods will teach you effectively and easily" (Daily Star )
Sunday Times
"Thomas makes it simple"
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
63 of 63 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I've tried language courses on CD before. Usually they start off with `Hello, my name is James and I am from London', that sort of thing. Actually, the sort of things you never say to anybody when you go to another country. And you get those ridiculous conversations in shops, or at the railway station... they don't help at all do they?
It would be better to have somebody who knows what they are doing to teach you how to speak a language, and this is what Michel Thomas does. You become part of his little class, along with the two students.
Michel Thomas famously says on here that if you can handle verbs, you can handle the language - everything else is just vocabulary. So he doesn't waste any time teaching you vocabulary, though you will pick up the odd word here and there. He teaches you how to make sentences, how to use verbs, how to communicate. You may wish to pick up a book on vocabulary to help with `everything else'.
I found the method very exciting because it is immediately different from other methods. He explains everything with a new clarity so you grasp it straightaway, more or less. You need to listen more than once. After four or five listens to each disc, I found I didn't need to listen again, and each disc builds on the previous one.
It seemed to me that people travelling on business would find this particularly useful because the kind of things you'll be saying are to do with doing, possibilities, time, direction, requests. There's never anything about asking for an ice cream or buying stamps. You will, on the other hand, be able to ask why somebody hasn't done something yet, and when they are going to do it. It's more like real language.
The two students are a learning device. I think they help greatly and don't find them annoying. Often you'll be cleverer than they are, but spotting when they're wrong is part of the learning process. There are times when Michel Thomas seems dismayed at their inability to grasp a concept or a pronunciation, and you may end up shouting `Stupid!' at them, but it does help you learn. It really does.
In any case, the last two discs are sans students (or should that be 'ohne'). It's just Michel firing a stream of questions at you. At this stage you will know if you picked it up or not. Can you say: I can't tell you if I will do it today but I will tell you tomorrow? Yes, you should be able to say things like this.
Michel Thomas himself I find very entertaining to listen to, with his aides memoire like the handles and vile (weil) situations. His reputation as a teacher is entirely deserved. It's just a shame there aren't more CDs to go onto when you finish these.
The highest recommendation I can give is that I got truly excited at the thought of starting the next disc. Language courses are usually a chore. This one is just the opposite.
It would be better to have somebody who knows what they are doing to teach you how to speak a language, and this is what Michel Thomas does. You become part of his little class, along with the two students.
Michel Thomas famously says on here that if you can handle verbs, you can handle the language - everything else is just vocabulary. So he doesn't waste any time teaching you vocabulary, though you will pick up the odd word here and there. He teaches you how to make sentences, how to use verbs, how to communicate. You may wish to pick up a book on vocabulary to help with `everything else'.
I found the method very exciting because it is immediately different from other methods. He explains everything with a new clarity so you grasp it straightaway, more or less. You need to listen more than once. After four or five listens to each disc, I found I didn't need to listen again, and each disc builds on the previous one.
It seemed to me that people travelling on business would find this particularly useful because the kind of things you'll be saying are to do with doing, possibilities, time, direction, requests. There's never anything about asking for an ice cream or buying stamps. You will, on the other hand, be able to ask why somebody hasn't done something yet, and when they are going to do it. It's more like real language.
The two students are a learning device. I think they help greatly and don't find them annoying. Often you'll be cleverer than they are, but spotting when they're wrong is part of the learning process. There are times when Michel Thomas seems dismayed at their inability to grasp a concept or a pronunciation, and you may end up shouting `Stupid!' at them, but it does help you learn. It really does.
In any case, the last two discs are sans students (or should that be 'ohne'). It's just Michel firing a stream of questions at you. At this stage you will know if you picked it up or not. Can you say: I can't tell you if I will do it today but I will tell you tomorrow? Yes, you should be able to say things like this.
Michel Thomas himself I find very entertaining to listen to, with his aides memoire like the handles and vile (weil) situations. His reputation as a teacher is entirely deserved. It's just a shame there aren't more CDs to go onto when you finish these.
The highest recommendation I can give is that I got truly excited at the thought of starting the next disc. Language courses are usually a chore. This one is just the opposite.
80 of 81 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Quite simply, buy it! With almost minimal effort (Ok, you have to put some effort in, but it really isn't too much) you can learn enough German to be able to communicate effectively in simple situations. It gives you the confidence to speak to others in German and gives you a great grounding in the language, which will help you to learn more once you have finished the course.
I listened to this CD in the car, travelling to and from work. This was after moving to Germany, not being able to speak a single word. Within weeks I was able to start asking for things and holding very basic conversations in German. More surprisingly, I was also able to read a lot of German (surprising because there are no reading or writing exercises in the course). Better still, once you have started you will find it easier to pick up new words and sometimes to work out what words mean (Michel teaches you that many English words come from German origins).
I would absolutely recommend this course to anyone who wishes to speak German, for whatever reason. This is even if you have never spoken the language before.
The best part has to be the fact that there is so little theory involved - if you are like me and prefer to just get stuck in, then this is perfect for your needs. Also, the fact that Michel does not start with the usual phrases such as 'What is your name?' and 'How old are you?' is a big bonus. He starts straight away with questions that you will actually need in every day situations...
Seriously, buy it - you won't be disappointed!
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I think this is a brilliant CD if all you want to concentrate on is oral German rather than written. Michel Thomas explains the grammar really well and in a logical way, much better than a text book I had used previously. He also tells you how everything relates to English so that you learn grammatical structures more easily (I also found this very interesting from a history of language point of view). He makes you learn by thinking rather then memorising, which I think is the best feature of this German course - Michel does this by slowly building up your vocabulary and sentence length, so you start off by saying "I play tennis" and gradually move on to saying "I play tennis with my sister on Mondays in Berlin". There are two students recorded on the CD, and this gives you a brilliant opportunity to correct their mistakes - it certainly did NOT make me learn their mistakes, as a previous reviewer wrote; instead, it gave me the chance to first think about how I would say the sentence myself and then to correct the student, and finally to see if I was right by listening to Michel. The only disadvantage is that you won't be able to write much German while using this set of CDs alone. Michel himself stresses the importance of learning in your mind as you listen, rather than writing things down and learning them off by heart for hours. Not being able to see the German as it is written down could be a big disadvantage if you need it for something other than verbal communication, and I solved this problem by buying the German Experience text book, so that I get some reading and writing practise of German too. I find that using these two courses works really well, and I am very happy with the progress I've made over the last 3 months. Obviously you have to stick to the CDs - I know people who listen to the CD once a month and then are surprised that they don't remember anything. I use the CDs 5 times a week for 20 minutes at least, and after 3 months I can definitely say that they do work! Try it for yourself!!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Es kommt nicht ! (It came not - or it never came)
It was lost in the Royal Mail, but the even-handed Amazon third-party vendor returned my £129. 99, plus £2. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mr. G. George
Excellent
I am thoroughly enjoying learning German this way and am already feeling more confident with my pronunciation. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Chloe
Good for revision, bad for learning
I decided to learn German so I found this and thought it would be cost effective and ideal way to get going. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mr. C. J. Parker
Great way to teach a language!
This is a great way to teach a foreign language! Michel Thomas breaks down the language, teaches you words then teaches you how to build them in a sentence. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Brian Mcgaulley
As others have said...
This is quite a good introduction to German, but does have its problems. Other reviewers find the mistakes of the students useful in a way as you correct them yourself. Read more
Published 13 months ago by A.N.Other
The best available option
If you believe you have the discipline to stick to schedules for studying, this is perfect for you.
I found out about this course from someone else's review on another website... Read more
I found out about this course from someone else's review on another website... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Da_HP
A very good listen
I have played the CD's in the car and have learnt a lot about the language which has helped me understand not just the vocabluary but also how to convert from English to German. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mr Ascott
German language course (foundation)
This is a good way to start learning a new language (in my case German) as it is vital to hear the correct pronunciation. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mr Ceroc
Learning German
Already own the MT range in both French and Italian and his German version is every bit as good. Definitely recommend. Many Thanks.
Published 19 months ago by Tig
Not a bad investment of time or money
Not being in a position to afford a German tutor for my 12 year old who has just taken up the subject at school, I opted for this course to help him learn to speak with confidence. Read more
Published 20 months ago by B. Khan
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