Star Studded Testimonials
One name that seems impossible to ignore if you’re looking to learn French is the ubiquitous Michel Thomas. Just one look at the testimonials on his website will have you thinking you’ve landed on the red carpet in Hollywood – from film stars to high flying politicians, they’ve all learned a language with Michel!
However, we don’t all have a gold card which would cover the cost of private tuition for a couple of weeks with this foreign language phenomenon, so just how good are his CD audio courses?
Teacher Power
Michel Thomas’ system relies upon his ability to teach, rather than your ability as a student, and contrary to most methods where the ball is very much in your court when it comes to interacting, the Michel Thomas way requires you simply to relax and take things in!
There seems to be a mysterious aura surrounding this method of learning French. For example, most French learners have at some stage or another tried out language CD’s which require the listener to respond out loud to the recorded conversation, and then followed up with the corresponding written activity in the accompanying book, yet Michel Thomas actually instructs his students not to try to learn or remember anything and not to write things down.
On the CD’s, you hear Michel talking to two of his students in a rhythmical, almost hypnotic voice. It’s amazing how much more relaxing and less annoying this is than the CD’s where you hear snippets of improbable role-plays, and I have to confess that I was quite taken in by the whole process. The CD’s were really enjoyable, so much so that they earned a dedicated 30 minute slot every day for a few weeks.
What’s It Worth?
Michel Thomas is definitely not one for the kinesthetic learners amongst us, but for those for whom the “listen and imbibe” philosophy works, it can be useful. If it all sounds a little too good to be true, you might be better off checking out Fluenz French or Tell Me More. Whether you’re of the opinion that this is some sort of hypnosis mumbo jumbo remains to be seen, and I reckon that if it was good enough for the likes of Grace Kelly and other cinema greats, it’s alright by me
**Update: Based on reader feedback I don’t think I was clear with this review. Michel Thomas is great if you want to brush up on the French you know. But I’m not sure it will teach you much new French. For that, you’ll have to shell out the big bucks and get Michel to teach you in person! That said, I did enjoy the hypnotic approach – it was very relaxing!**
Hi Nic…
I have to say I’m a bit skeptical here… If learning French (or any other languages) were so easy, then why would people spend so much time struggling and literally sweating in language classes?
There is no miracle recipe, I’m afraid… but hey! if being slowly rocked back and forth by the sound of a hypnotic voice… why not? Yet, no one will ever become bilingual this way!
Hi Lyne,
Thanks for dropping by and for the great feedback.
I’ve actually revised the review to make it more clear as to what I think the value of Michel Thomas French is.
Cheers,
Nic
-please use this corrected comment-
I just wanted to chime in about the Michel Thomas tapes to recommend them to anyone who hasn’t tried them. I’m just finishing the”French for Beginners”. An intro is available for free at itunes.
I had taken french lessons from grade 7 to 10 and managed to barely pass them and had tried a cycle of classes at my local Alliance Francais but I never really got a grip on the language.
I didn’t find that the tapes to be hypnotic in the sense that the information was just being “absorbed”. What I like is the fact that he breaks down the language into very small bits of information and challenges you to string these bits into longer sentences (you pause the tape to answer). His technique is to use extremely literal translations and I’ve found that it suits me well because I really get aggravated when somebody is trying to teach me the meaning of a word through pantomime. You can’t continue listening to the tape unless you’re successfully absorbing and reconstituting the information. Looking back, I can remember that I would occasionally misunderstand something in a French classroom and be somewhat lost thereafter. Then I’d just fall farther and farther behind.
I’ve found that his teaching style has really gotten me off the ground and I’m able to have simple conversations (with my bilingual wife) that I never would have been able to attempt before. Also, like you said, I find it enjoyable.
It actually works incredibly. Don’t knock it till you try it. Lyne, Jesus, you show up here just to voice your opinion without even trying to tapes. People like you really drive me up the walls.