Foundation French (Learn French with the Michel Thomas Method)

I love Michel Thomas' method. I've tried every other course out there and this gives you a feeling of instant gratification. The focus is on speaking. You don't need to read or write anything, just follow along on the audio recordings responding where indicated. Within the first hour and a half you are saying things like "I would like to know what you think of the economic and political situation in France right now." The learners in the recording laugh because it seems ludicrous that they can say these types of things so early in the learning process, but they do.By drawing parallels to the English language and strategic structuring (or scaffolding), along with some cleaver word associations, he has you effectively producing advanced sentences. You'll learn a great deal of vocabulary and walk away with a systematic way of using it. Highly recommended.Don't buy "Start French" if you are buying this package. The audio lessons from his "Start French" program are included in this "Total French" program. I bought both without realizing it.

I've tried to learn French over the years - French 101 in grad school, French 1 at community college, Rosetta Stone, course at local Alliance Francaise, so I'm what you would call a false beginner. However it all needed a dedicated time commitment and was hard to fit into daily life. Enter audio CDs. In audio CDs again there are a few options. I picked this one based on reviews and I haven't regretted it. You can listen while doing anything else (like other CDs), but I also like the way it's taught and the pace at which it progresses. Each lesson has Michel Thomas and 2 students of varying learning abilities, so you really feel you're in class with them. The material and the way Michel Thomas explains it is very engaging. I finished these 7 discs and have now bought the next level. I highly recommend it. Je suis très satisfait.

This is one of the best ways to learn French - although it works well in conjunction with others like Pimsleur and Memrise. This is probably the best, but the emphasis is different. In this system, you learn a lot quickly but there is not a lot of review. Its maybe 6-7 hours total for everything in this "course" where as each of the 5 levels of Pimsleur are 30 lessons at 30 minutes each with a lot of review. So the value of these CD's is a little questionable. Also, its clear that these are very old recordings. The addition of other "students" making dumb responses is debatable. You hear their mistakes, and I am not sure if that is good or not. Thomas's explanations for the meanings of words and the history of how things came about is unique and great.

Learning to speak French seemed very complicated to me until I tried the Michel Thomas method, which is different. He teaches vocabulary, pronunciation, and sentence structure in a fast and easy way. I'm learning at my own pace, and feel that I have found the right method for me. I recommend it.

Exactly what I was looking for. I had a long commute to a new job and wanted to find a French program where I can just pop in a CD and listen on my ride. It took me 5 months to go through all 7 discs (waiting until I felt comfortable with each disc before moving on). Bottom line this was exactly what I was looking. Mr Thomas does an amazing job of not only teaching the language, but also explaining the "why" behind verb use and structure in an easy to follow way. Better then Rosetta Stone or 4 years of HS French!

I have used Rosetta Stone, Pimsleurs, Fluenz, and several others, but none of them are as effective as Michel Thomas. I was taught French in school, but never really paid attention--although I might have if my teachers had been as effective as Mr. Thomas. I own a home in a tiny French village (Saint-Germain-Beaupré) where no one speaks English, so I HAVE TO speak French. A British expat who also lives in France turned me onto Michel Thomas and it has made all the difference in the world. I still have a lot to learn and even though the locals often speak far too fast for me, but I can always make myself understood and have gone from trepidation about the slightest interaction, to having confidence in my ability to speak the French language.

The best educational technique I’ve ever used. I prefer over Pimseleur and Rosetta Stone. I acknowledge that is quite a comment based on the $900 difference in price, but I am comfortable with the comparison.I have the French and Spanish Total Foundation Courses. I have also given them as gifts to clients who agree with me.I am not a paid or bogus reviewer.I have zero problem recommending both language courses

I did study French in high school and a semester in college and I think I learned more in the seven hour course then I did in the years that I studied before. It’s amazing. I highly recommend it. I’ve tried other language learning programs and in my opinion this is the best.

Makes learning a new language a lot easier than some of the other methods.If you're completely new to the language, this course is a great place to start.

I liked it, very clear and easy. However, if you are spanish speaking i do not recommended because it is from English to french, for spanish speakers should be spanish to french. It would be easier.

French

I am so impressed by Michel Thomas. He was a truly inspired teacher. I live in France surrounded by English people who speak not a word of French ( pas un mot ) If they bought this they would be much more integrated.There have been some very silly comments about the female student.She is there for a purpose, to allow you time to answer the question and to feel superior !When she is allowed to get the answer right, listen to her accent, it is very very good.I have transferred the disks to iTunes and work through the tracks. Each day I do some. anything between 2 and 9 tracksEach day I review the last lesson before starting the new one.I also wear headphones which enable me to concentrate on the sounds without distraction.I find this works well for me but each to his own.Je vous souhaite bon courage et bonne chance M Bollides

This is a VERY easy way to learn conversational French. You simply listen to the CDs and practice with the 'team'. Perfect for in the car and other listening opportunities. The CDs are for adults by my daughter (age 9) easily learnt from the CDs without much pre-existing vocabulary. I find the sentences learnt useful but the main thing is you learn how to make your own (by the end of CD 4).Two things make this method shine from the rest... First, its starts from scratch and quickly builds your vocabulary and understanding of the grammar - you'll feel successful by the end of the first CD (just keep going back over each track until you're 100% confident). Secondly, the pronunciation is very clear. You'll soon get the knack, roll your eyes at the other people in the team and correct them (I never thought I'd be able to that!).All in all a great product which I would recommend wholeheartedly.