Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Teaching Method
Review: The Michel Thomas method of foreign language instruction is the best method I have encountered. In my youth I was taught by native instructors in Arabic, French and Spanish. All of these instructors were also exceptionaly fluent in English. However, they lacked the proper technique to impart their knowledge. Michel Tomas gives you the building blocks you need to create sentences. He imparts grammer within his instruction in manageable doses and with a technique that is easily assimilated. The key is that he makes you think. This thinking is done in a relaxed atmosphere, conducive to learning. I sincerely hope that Michel Thomas's methods are eventually employed extensively.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't bother with these CD's
Review: There are lots of things wrong with these CD's. The method is infantile and superficial. The accent of the teacher is horrible; one wonders whether he ever set foot in Italy. The price is expensive for what you get. It's hard to find a reason to buy these.
Rating:
Summary: I agree with the Reader from Scottsdale
Review: There is nothing much more to say, other than that the anonymous reader who gave it only one star has a basic misconception of how children (babies) learn languages. How many parents drill their native language into their young children? It does not happen. Also, there are no "tricks" in this course. If anon had actually listened to what Thomas had explained, which is that german and english have similar roots... and that vowels in some words in one language change into different vowels in those same words in another language, if that makes sense. What this course teaches is understanding, which one does not come about by learning rote. Honestly, there are some ignorant people on this planet, mostly idiots.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Awful
Review: This course is simply a recording of a class with Michel Thomas including real student responses that are often incorrect and badly pronounced. I cannot believe that they left these students on the program! There are many problems with this course. The responses are given by non-native speakers so you do not get a good model of pronunciation. The responses are often wrong, leaving you with an incorrect model ringing in your ears. A lot of time is wasted waiting for a student to correct themselves or realize their own mistake. This time could better have been spent giving a correct response using a native speaker and presenting additional material. On recording three, in particular, things get quite confused with "won't" and "want" and "will," partially do to Mr. Thomas's accent making "won't" sound like "want." The students get confused here, as will anyone listening to this program. The female student on the tape is simply annoying. Mr. Thomas contradicts himself several times. He emphasizes how often Italian uses the present tense when English uses the future, then spends a long time drilling on the Italian future tense, completely confusing the issue. The best beginner course is Accelerated Italian by Colin Rose, which I believe is only distributed by Nightingale Connant. It is more expensive, but well worth it. Next would be the Pimlseur series, and then the Living Language series. You should look at these alternatives and stay way from Michel Thomas.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Awful
Review: This course is simply a recording of a class with Michel Thomas including real student responses that are often incorrect and badly pronounced. I cannot believe that they left these students on the program! There are many problems with this course. The responses are given by non-native speakers so you do not get a good model of pronunciation. The responses are often wrong, leaving you with an incorrect model ringing in your ears. A lot of time is wasted waiting for a student to correct themselves or realize their own mistake. This time could better have been spent giving a correct response using a native speaker and presenting additional material. On recording three, in particular, things get quite confused with "won't" and "want" and "will," partially do to Mr. Thomas's accent making "won't" sound like "want." The students get confused here, as will anyone listening to this program. The female student on the tape is simply annoying. Mr. Thomas contradicts himself several times. He emphasizes how often Italian uses the present tense when English uses the future, then spends a long time drilling on the Italian future tense, completely confusing the issue. The best beginner course is Accelerated Italian by Colin Rose, which I believe is only distributed by Nightingale Connant. It is more expensive, but well worth it. Next would be the Pimlseur series, and then the Living Language series. You should look at these alternatives and stay way from Michel Thomas.
Rating: 
Summary: easy to use
Review: This is a good collection to help you learn German. It is very easy to use and it works! It uses a much different approach to language learning that I had never seen, but it's very easy to catch on. It's big on not pushing the knowledge but rather letting it flow very easy. And I think that is the best way to learn!
Rating:
Summary: A good start
Review: This is a good way to begin learning you will learn some phrases and be forced to think in Italian. It is an easy way to pick up the language. The problem in my opinion is that you don,t really learn enough grammar, and by the time you've finished the 8 cd set you still feel you have a lot to learn. Having said that I'm glad I bought this set. I still listen to it when I want to take a break from the more challenging ultimate Italian by living language.
Rating: 
Summary: Verb structure is all very well, but how about the basics?
Review: This isn't a bad adjunct to another learning course (I would highly recommend the Pimsleur Method), but although you are certainly drilled in elaborate verb structures, you can finish the eight-disc course without even finding out the Italian for "yes" and "no," how to order a meal, or how to ask for the bathroom. (Oddly enough, for all the insistance on the correct form of the verbs, Michel Thomas allows his two-person class to say "Yes" instead of "Si" as they struggle to respond. And, frankly, his own accent does get irritating. It is sometimes a strain to understand his English (at one point, the female student apologizes for misunderstanding him; well, so did I), which makes you wonder about his Italian pronunciation, as he is not a native speaker. If you already know some Italian, or intend to supplement this with a LOT of other studying, this is probably a good buy, but if you simply want to function while traveling, knowing a few more Italian pleasantries and everyday words will get you farther than verb tenses you will probably never be called upon to use, unless you want to live there - in which case, you will still need a lot more study.
Rating:
Summary: Save your money!
Review: This set is grossly overrated! I speak several languages and am interested in sound teaching methods. When I heard all the hype about Michel Thomas I wanted to check it out. I was very disappointed in this product. One of Michel Thomas' favorite gimmicks is to emphasize the similarities between German and English as a means of giving the student a "trick" way of remembering, rather than drilling (which Thomas specifically avoids). This is not the way to go if you want achieve the end product of speaking effortlessly. The way babies learn to speak their native language IS by drilling - they are repeating things over and over until they become automatic. You can even hear on the tape how Thomas' students are efforting to mentally "shift gears" rather than just speak easily. Thomas' voice has a rather drone-like quality that is not very pleasing to listen to for any extended amount of time. The only thing positive I can say is that Thomas doesn't try to teach a lot of grammar. I would much rather study with the Pimsleur tapes that teach the way people really learn - naturally, without these phony memory hints. Another very good set for beginning German is "Take Off In German" by Oxford University Press. Please note also that bookstores do not want to return tape sets that have been opened, so you should be pretty certain you want a particular set before investing in it.
Rating:
Summary: Oversimplification
Review: Three points: 1. A beginning student absolutely should take a formal course in introductory Italian BEFORE buying this set of CD's. Otherwise the student will founder badly as the CD's progress! 2. The female student on the CD's is a HUGE aggravation for the listener. She consistently fails to "think" before speaking; she steps on the instructions of the tutor; she consistently offers so many multiple guesses to questions that the listener quickly forgets the original question. 3. The final two tapes deteriorate quickly in terms of the quality of teaching. They are hasty and offer incomplete explanations, almost as if the tutor has grown weary of the task.
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