Michel Thomas Method French Advanced

Rating: 8/10
Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Pros
Easy to follow and progress through material without effort.
Great system for easily remembering grammar and structures.
Thomas emphasizes correct pronunciation but with colloquial flavour.
Targeted on speech: Focus on listening, thinking out the answer and proper expression.

Cons
Not extensive vocabulary. Would need additional vocabulary practice to advance
English is used fairly extensively.
Intermediate rather than actually advanced.
Need another system for learning how to read and write.

Conclusion
I love the conversational style and system of Michel Thomas. He works with a couple of students who are learning along the way, too, so they make mistakes and have to repeat correctly. This allows the listener to reinforce their own learning.

The system he develops is a great way to learn structures and grammar of the French language. He uses images and memory aids for remembering 'keys to unlock the boxes if they become stuck'. This is a very easy way into a language and seems to work well. You can progress very quickly through the grammar of the language, and feel competent in constructing sentences with a wide range of verbs in each tense.

Vocabulary lists would be a useful addition to this series, in order to broaden the topics and conversations that you could engage in. Overall, a very enjoyable experience.

Have you tried Michel Thomas Method French Advanced?
What did you think?



You can purchase Michel Thomas Method French Advanced at Amazon.

Further Comments

He states that his system is about 'not trying' and concentrates on just responding to the teacher. This is a very attractive method of learning. I'm looking forward to trying out other languages using his method. It is not really an advanced course, even though they claim it is. It is more an intermediate stage, integrating the grammar and structures thoroughly, before the student moves to an advanced level where more extensive vocabulary can create conversational fluency and competent engagement with almost any speaker.

What I really like about Michel Thomas is his style of teaching. He is very relaxed, easy-going and positive, building up knowledge from small chunks, repeating previous information to improve retention. He works his way systematically through the material, providing 'keys' to learning, visual images and phrases to allow instant recall. Very clever indeed. I really enjoyed working through the series. It's very easy to follow and you work through quite a substantial amount of grammar by the end. Highly recommended, but you will need other resources to help with vocabulary, reading etc.

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