Total German Foundation Course: Learn German with the Michel Thomas Method

I want to express my feelings on the Michel Thomas Total German program. First of all, I have been a casual student of German for many, many years, but about seven years ago I bought Rosetta Stone German to begin my study in earnest. I was first interested in German in high school, and I took two years of it while there, then promptly forgot it because I didn't use it much at all after graduation. Fast forward to the time I purchased Rosetta Stone, at which time I jumped right in with great anticipation. I liked the way RS presented everything with pictures and words, matching the two and hearing the native speakers, etc., and not having tried any other courses—other than high school—I had no other program to compare it with. I prodded along with RS, off and on again for several years. I kept hearing the words and phrases in my head, but any time I tried to conceive a thought in my head in German, I often had great difficulty. I knew how to say certain things, those which were presented in the RS materials, but I still found it very hard to come up with my own sentences. I kept struggling with, "Well, how do I say this, or that?" I kept getting frustrated. Basic sentences were not too difficult, but anything the least bit complex was just overwhelming for me. I got up to level 3 in the RS course, at which time the software stopped working on my laptop because I supposedly had an "outdated" version which the company did not care to support unless I paid a "fee" to get a fix. I didn't want to do that since I had paid so much money up front for the course. I don't feel like that is good customer service since at the time I purchased RS, it was twice the cost of what they are now charging for it. I felt I had paid my dues, and that they should have supported my efforts to at least finish the course. Not a good way to treat customers, in my opinion. I no longer recommend Rosetta Stone to anyone wanting to learn another language.Now, fast forward again to when I recently purchased the Michel Thomas Total German CD set. I was intrigued by what I had read in several places online. The cost was reasonable, I thought, so I gave it a whirl. I had to turn to a new source, and this one sounded interesting. Boy, was I impressed! Now, mind you, I have studied German off and on a lot over the years, but almost immediately I felt like I was really learning something! I mean, all of a sudden, here was this man who could actually explain to you in plain English WHY you say something the way you do. All along, Michel stops and clarifies the whys and hows of German, making the grammar very clear, and even easy! All of his lessons build on the prior ones, so that when he asks, "How would you say...?" you immediately begin thinking of the answer right away and you just "know" it. He made learning FUN for me. I couldn't put the CD away. I had to force myself to stop listening the first day I got it because my brain on was overload! Seriously, I had to stop and rest. My brain was trying to process too much.I am now halfway through the course, and I know that by the time I am finished I will have a firm grasp of basic grammar rules and at last, I will be able to ask questions and make up my own sentences with confidence. The course now comes with a booklet containing all of the lessons in print, so that you can do some reading along with the listening. The Total German course also has a CD ROM with condensed versions of each lesson and even some interactive exercises to further reinforce what you've learned in the CD lessons.I have the CDs in my car, so any time I'm driving around I am listening and learning. I don't find it distracting while I'm driving, but some may have to be careful about this. I have German friends who are quite impressed with my progress, and I supplement my learning by listening to German radio and TV stations, and by watching the wonderful Easy German episodes on YouTube. They are just incredible.The teaching method Michel Thomas uses involves two students, so you do have to listen to them trying to pronounce the words and phrases. Sometimes they do well, sometimes not. Mr. Thomas gets a little impatient at times, but not very often. Any time one of them has a problem, he patiently backs up and tries to clear things up for them. Again, let me stress that you are not left guessing at anything like you sometimes have to do with Rosetta Stone. Michel is a TEACHER, and he knows how to teach!I will update and conclude my review when I complete the course. So far though, I am highly impressed with the course, and I would not hesitate to recommend it.

Michel is no longer living, but his language learning method is still very much alive. It is unique in that he teaches the structure of the language without requiring paper work or memorization. It just makes sense. Instead of learning vocabulary, you find you are creating long sentences in the new language in the very lesson. It results in a much more flexible grasp of the language than other methods I have tried. I am not one to sit in from of my computer for hours learning a new language. I simply put the CDs in my car and listen and repeat every time every time I go somewhere. What I am able to learn works very well when I travel. I have used his course for other languages as well as German.

It arrived quickly.

Michel Thomas' method is very good and revolutionary. I'm a teacher and it's surprising to me how much it is organized and not-academic approach at the same time.It's seams to be a not-teacher approach at all but later you realize that he is fully grammatical prepared. I can't give 5 stars just for an annoying thing, his terrible pronunciation in English. I can understand him better in German (despite being still a learner) rather than in English!! That's a pity

I am finding this course to be very helpful. I have been studying German for about a year using a combination of Duo Lingo, Memrise, and some German books. Michele Thomas explains things in a way that really helps me remember, especially when it comes to word choices and sentence structure. I don't expect to be fluent when I finish this course, but it is definitely helping my progress.

This is Michel Thomas's famous method of teaching languages and it does not disappoint. These CDs will have you speaking beginning German VERY quickly and easily. Also - you learn quite a lot with each CD and if you finish the entire set, you will have quite a bit of German to impress your friends, colleagues or fellow travelers. I wish I had these CDs when I was in junior high school because I surely would have been top of the class!

This is the best way to learn a language. He teaches you what you really need to function in the world (nobody else does). It's fun and easy - just play it in your car while driving - no need to do anything else. But play it for any 5 minute drive, don't wait for an Interstate road trip!

Can say enough good things about Michel Thomas. His language teaching style is excellent. He conveys important information about the language is a very effective way but dives straight into the business of speaking without drills or explicit memorization. I've used his audio recordings to learn Italian and French, both of which I feel comfortable speaking now. Highly recommended.