Michel Thomas Foundation Course: Italian (Michel Thomas Series)

The first thing to say is that the Michel Thomas way is perfect for me. I did his Spanish course and it gave me the motivation to take conversation lessons. The big problem is not the saying or reading of a language, it is the listening to others and understanding what they are saying that is difficult. So, having completed the Italian course I feel very confident with the structure and cognate vocabulary, and I just need to practice. Having followed Michel Thomas's Spanish course in the past I have to say that I found the Italian version less comprehensive than the Spanish. There seems to be a lot of time spent on the will and would, and the stressed 'r' on the word endings. As with the Spanish course you have to get past the students mistakes, but I think that it is because the students make so many mistakes in the will and would tenses that they seem to take up so much time. The situation is remedied somewhat in the advanced course, but I still don't think you get as much as with the Spanish course. Again the Michel Thomas way is perfect for me and aside from the comparative lack of depth to the Spanish course it is well worth your time and money. I am so happy with the courses that I can't wait for the French course to arrive, and find an italian to speak to.

Establishing basic groundwork painlessly (0/0 people found this helpful)

I have the set of 8 CDs & listened to them in my car. This has proved the easiest method I have tried & certainly provides an excellent starting point. I agree, vocabulary is not extensive but I now feel confident enough to develop this with further textbooks and reading.
Thanks to Mr. Thomas - a great help.

Could do with some judicious editing! (1/1 people found this helpful)

Others had recommended this course to me so perhaps my expectations were a little higher. On the negative side, it was a bit of a culture shock when compared to other audio language courses. First the sound quality is a bit odd and gets a bit of time to get used to - it certainly isn't as clear or as produced as other language recordings. Michel is clearly quite elderly so his voice is not always that clear. The format of the course is essentially listening in on a lesson where Michel is teaching a male and female student. Like other reviewers I did find the students extremely irritating, mainly when they kept getting things wrong. This slowed things up considerably as all the awkward silences where Michel is waiting for them to get it right are included!. Also, to go back to the elderly Michel again, the word combinations he introduces came across as a bit random and made me wonder how thought out the course structure was.

On the plus side I was surprised how much I could remember afterwards and many words did sink themselves into my head - possibly because the recording is extremely repetitious. Again, like other reviewers I would consider the course unsuitable if you are planning to go on holiday as typical language learned is along the lines of "I cannot do it just now, I am busy..." It is designed for someone, like me, who is studying the language at night school and wants a better understanding of sentence structure - which it has done.

I'll persevere with it but I can really only listen to around half an hour at the time - as it is very repetitious and a bit one note in its approach.

Brilliant - but perhaps don't begin here! (7/7 people found this helpful)

Michel Thomas has a relaxed teaching style which leads you gently but comprehensively through the basic structure of the Italian language. However, if you haven't started to learn any Italian yet then my advice would be to begin elsewhere, perhaps with an audio introduction to some basic words and phrases, then move up to this one next. I found myself able to focus on the listening, speaking and learning rather than worrying about the other 'students'. They are simply there to allow you thinking time and to help Michel point out the potential pitfalls in how to understand and be understood.

Painful (1/10 people found this helpful)

I agree with other reviewers. Michel's accent is apalling in English and his structures are so stiff in English that I wonder how the Italian is as well. Statements like "It is not possible for me that way", "What sort of reservation do you have for me?" These are examples of his English whih are not how any normal speaker of English talks.I also found the students incredibly annoying. The woman in particular- the giggling, and rushing in without thinking first annoyed me, as did Michel's constant interruption of them when they were answering.

Michel Thomas Foundation Course: Italian (Michel Thomas Series)

Michel Thomas

Reader Reviews:

Good but not as good as the Spanish course. (0/0 people found this helpful)

Establishing basic groundwork painlessly (0/0 people found this helpful)

Could do with some judicious editing! (1/1 people found this helpful)

Brilliant - but perhaps don't begin here! (7/7 people found this helpful)

Painful (1/10 people found this helpful)

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