Rating: 
Summary: French for Scientists
Review: A long long time ago I endured 1 year of French at school. It with a French teacher that slapped me round the head with a ruler whenever I got something wrong then strode off, leaving me puzzled and frustrated, and concentrated on all the other kids who were better at learning things parrot fashion. Hence I dropped French as soon as I could and concentrated on subjects that made more sense to me like Physics and Chemistry, and swore I'd never speak of the subject again. I wound up in IT and for nigh on 30 years remained doggedly mono-lingual.Then came these tapes. "I can teach anyone" were the bold claims. Ok, says I, go for it matey. It was a bit of a shock. There was no accompanying text book (not that I would have read it anyway). There was no repetition (not that I would have been bothered to do it, because I want instant gratification or I'm not interested in hard work). He spent 10 minutes at the beginning of tape one saying over and over again in his german accent "unt it diz very important, very important to do diz" and I thought "oh dear, have I just wasted 60 pounds here". However I persevered, mainly because I could listen to the tapes whilst commuting to work and I had nothing better to do. I soon grew to avidly dislike the female student, but also thought it was a little unfair that Michel himself started to ignore her in the last few tapes, after all, she must have paid good money for that lesson. I found when I completed the course that I actually knew very few words, and if asked to write anything down, I couldn't spell any of it and this made me look a bit of a pillock. However! At least he explained to me *why* I was getting slapped round the head with a ruler all these years ago, and now I actually feel more motivated to take my learning a bit further. I think I also know *how* I need to learn now (surprisingly helpful), and how to go about teaching myself further. Treat this as a good introductory course that is infinitely cheaper than the "Pimsleur" courses or "French in Action". Get the 2 hour course to figure out if you like his method, then sell it to a friend and get the £60 version if you can cope. Listen to it all, then consider his Language Builder (no irritating students this time), "French in your car", "501 French Verbs" and a few "Penguin Parallel Text" books to get your word count up. In a month or two you will be understanding ooh ten, fifteen, maybe even twenty whole sentences of your average Gerard Depardieu film (but still take your "Point-at-it" Travel Picture Dictionary to France next holiday and practise your miming).
Rating: 
Summary: You Won't Believe How Easy It Is
Review: I have formally studied German for many years, so I was quite skeptical of learning a language with only a set of CDs. After completing Michel's course, I feel foolish for 'wasting' so many years studying German when it can be done so quickly! He uses knowledge of French that we don't know we already have, and continuously builds on it to form a comprehensive vocabulary (over a thousand words in the first hour), a solid understanding of the language structure and an understanding of how to use the language in social situations. It was all so effortless, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone seeking to learn to speak French. I've now started his Italian program, and will probably use his German one. C'est tres excellent, et je le recommanderais considérablement.
Rating: 
Summary: ?
Review: How anyone thinks one can learn a language with no writing or communication testing whatsoever is beyond comprehension. I listened to the first twenty minutes of this programme - my friend tried to sell it to me - and I refused to take it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but...
Review: The course is good but...
1) I developed very negative feelings towards the female student specially.
2) Could have been better recorded (did you hear those stomach noises?)
3)It'd be good to have only Michel in the recordings.
It is him who's difficult and expensive to find.
(...)
Rating:
Summary: The BEST way to learn French on your own!
Review: I have tried more books, tapes, and combinations thereof to learn French than I can remember. Michel Thomas' CD's are wonderful. Finally, there is a method that even my ten year old son enjoys. When we get in the car he always says, "Turn on the French CD." I am currently enrolled in a continuing education course for French, and I learned more in Michel Thomas' first CD than I have in 6 weeks of class. If you want to learn French on your own, this is the way to do it.
Rating:
Summary: Easy Listening, Effective Method
Review: Michel has an engaging style and method. No books, no rote learning. He starts with French phrases we already know from English and builds from there. I highly recommend this course that will hold your interest and effectively teach you French.
Rating:
Summary: This works and it's fun.
Review: After hours of frustration trying to install The Learning Company software without success, I purchased this set of CD's. French with Michel Thomas is strictly audio, but it is an interesting way to learn. The instructor gives lots of tips on how to remember words & phrases. He interacts with two actual students, a device that works because you can experience the issues that other students have in learning the language. I don't expect to become an expert, but I am enjoying this program immensely.
Rating:
Summary: I'm not great at learning language... but this is working!
Review: I've just completed the first CD of this 8 CD set. I love the teaching method. I'm retaining what I'm learning much more than I have with other audio courses. Glad I got this one!
Rating:
Summary: Finally - A French Language Course That Works!
Review: After attempting to learn French with numerous books and recordings Michel Thomas came to the rescue. This is the most relaxed, enjoyable and effective language method ever created. Michel teaches two students (on the recording) along with you and the results are amazing. You learn to think before you speak and it all makes sense in an amazingly short time. I listen to the CDs every night before I go to sleep. I hope he follows up these excellent CDs with a book to continue the learning experience.
Rating:
Summary: French with Michel Thomas, Deluxe Course
Review: I can only praise this language tape course. Michel Thomas takes a completely simple, logical and gradual building-block approach to teaching the French language. I am an English teacher, fluent in Spanish, and have long believed language learning need not be long and ardous, nor mysterious. Mr. Thomas's method is revolutionary in its simplicity and effectiveness. I had previously made a few false starts in learning French and with this course I have really taken off. So, I can highly recommend this tape course and believe that bien tot, je vais parler tres bien la langue francais (any speling errors are due to the oral-conversational nature of the course).
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