Customer Reviews

Michel Thomas Speak German Advanced: 5-CD Advanced Program (Michel Thomas Series)

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If you've read my other reviews, I've used both the Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur language programs (both of which I highly recommend) to learn Japanese, German, and Korean. After completing both of those, I stumbled on the Michel Thomas Programs.

If you've ever used the two aforementioned programs, the Michel Thomas system is both unique and refreshing. While the Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone teach by rote, in the Michel Thomas program it is a conversation between Michel Thomas and 2 students about the use of verbs-past, present,and future conjugation. In Thomas's view, this should be the crux of any language program-as he says, "everything else is just vocabulary."

If you are serious about learning German and will be self taught, I highly recommend this course. Of the three mentioned (Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, Michel Thomas) Thomas probably comes the closest to being a stand alone program on learning conversational German-the focus almost exclusively on the proper use of verbs.

Highly recommended.

Michel Thomas' style apparently turns some people off, so if you have the opportunity to try before you buy, then do so. Different strokes for different folks.

But for me and my family, he is an extremely *effective* teacher. He makes short work of making you an effective communicator. I used his method with good success for both French and Spanish. It is my son who has used his CDs to learn German. Working alone with nothing but these CDs he learned German and enjoyed every minute of it.

Some say there was nothing new on these CDs, but my son wound up repeating the first of these CDs a couple of times, so I think that there must have been some new stuff.

Anyway, I would go directly to Michel Thomas if I wanted to learn a new language. The other approaches I've tried are mostly rote, and poorly recorded examples.

We have many German materials in our home, from books to CDs, to wall charts. No one program has worked perfectly. Our family has found Mr. Thomas to be very helpful in learning to work the German language properly. (We were moved to Germany for my husband's job and needed to know how to get along with the locals.) We've wasted too much money on "conversational courses" that teach only how to order in a restaurant, or tourist-based topics. Michel Thomas really gives the learner a handle on how to speak German, not just regurgitate a few pat phrases. He has helped me to understand a little more about how a German thinks, which was a big help in deciphering sentence structures. This program has augmented what we are learning from the other programs that we have. Yes, he is very stern, but, hey, that's just who he is. We use these CDs WITH everything else that we have and are very, very pleased. I am glad we found this course. Happy learning!

I have never learned a new language before and I thought now is the best time. I chose German. So, I went to the library and the Michel Thomas Speak German Beginner's series was recommended to me. I found out how effective Michel Thomas is so I decided to continue my learning by buying the advanced series from Amazon. Michel Thomas continues to be the number one teacher in those series because he never fails to explain how and why a sentence is structured. He also has a special way of making his listeners remember what's been taught without having to go through many exercises. His method has helped me a lot in building the foundation of learning the language enough to continue to pursue it by watching German movies or reading German. I just wish there is more scope in his series enough to even understand many other vocabulary. But then again this is where his Vocabulary CD series come in.

The item is just as it states on the label. I am not sure how I would feel if I had not done some German self study beforehand.

Michel Thomas does not have the most pleasing of voices and can be at times quite stern. However, it is for us to learn and somehow the cds make you feel the pressure of doing well eventhough there is no around.

I am a non-native speaker that teaches German at the High School level. I wanted a program to use in the car to increase my fluency and vocabulary, and pronunciation. I found this very disappointing. I would be really upset if I had paid full-price, which I almost did in a local store. There is nothing new - certainly nothing worthy of the patent they say he was given. For most of the program, he is instructing two non-native speakers, correcting their mistakes. So you don't even hear good models of the spoken language. The only think I found of value was the review CD, where he goes over most of the information.

I don't like this format at all. He gives the English statement, and then the German. His voice is rough and hard to understand. I like other programs better, where an English speaker gives the English and a nice, clear native speaker gives the German.

Also, in parts of the CD, he spells out words. What's the value of a listening program that is spelling out words? That's like getting a DVD that shows someone writing on a tablet with a felt-tip pen. It's a waste of the medium - give us more to listen to.

I will only use this on long trips to pass the time. I have other audio programs that I find much more valuable.

I had purchased and listened to almost all of Thomas's "Beginner's" series, and although I got virtually NOTHING out of them, I decided to take a chance on this "advanced" (ahem...) program...big mistake.

As the other reviewer clearly stated, there is NOTHING new here. NOTHING. And, in my opinion, the whole course (and ALL of Thomas' OTHER CDs) is worthless. I really have NO idea how or why this man was EVER given a "series". He is hard to listen to, and the format is completely unrehearsed, candid, and without focus. The "students" are often annoying and waste a LOT of time. You will have to UNLEARN much of what is "taught" (and I use that term loosely) in these CDs.

Save your money. Buy the Pimsleur "advanced" (Vol. 4) if you really need an "advanced beginner" course if you want "only audio", or better yet, get "Teach Yourself German Conversation", or even better both together, plus or minus Living Language's "German Beyond the Basics", which is best as a "study". No matter what anyone would have you think (read: marketing departments...), there is virtually NO WAY one can become very good at ANY language by ONLY listening to any of the currently available "audio only" CDs. One must supplement the audio only courses with some sort of grammar and reader, OR to live with native speakers for a time.

Don't waste your money. On this, or ANY of Thomas' ill-begotten "courses".