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.

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

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!