Wow. As a German learning English, I was interested in how it works the other way round. This video gave me an impression on how hard German must be as a foreign language.
I have an English friend who moved to Germany 2 years ago and he speaks German fluently now, he's almost without accent and even says the words with "ch" properly (and he started learning only after he moved here). My respect for him has just increased. ;)
hahaha this guy is thinking "You simpleton American swine! How dare you! It pleases me to fuck with you. Yes yes you dumb fucks. Now let me have my way with you."
Only problem with MT course was in fact this lady.I know its not her fault-but more often than not she gets it wrong and doesn't seem to learn-it is quite offputting to hear the continual mistakes.The other chap was quite good
Yea, but she's a genius compared to the woman in the Beginner French course--absolutely horrible.
The guy on the Advanced German course is very, very bright. This isn't easy stuff, but almost always he answered quickly and correctly. He did a hell of a lot better than I'm doing, lol.
This is going to sound silly. I love Rammstein and I was listening to them tonight and I understood some of the lyrics! lol I was gleefully yelling out "Ich will! ... Kann man uns am Himmel sehn!" Thanks, Michel Thomas! :P
@pumkin54 You are not silly. I love the way German sounds. The language of great music! The language of anger! I love the way Rammstein rolls the rrrrrrrrrrrrs. Rrrein --- Rrrraus.... In -- Out. Download Rammstein lyrics and sing along! What fun!
For those wondering about his lesson plan, he perfected this method over the course of 40 years. At least that's what I read in his obituary. I'm sure that after all that time, he had not only figured out what worked best but also could probably do it in his sleep.
Studying the German Foundation right now. Just finished CD 4 :D Such a feeling of accomplishment when you finish one. Unlike many other methods, I don't get bored. I play Mahjong and listen to the CD. It's great to see how these lessons were done. Would have been awesome to be one of these lucky students. I get the feeling he did these courses not to make a living, but just to help people. He's amazing and may he rest in peace. <3
I agree with others who have said both the Michel Thomas and the Pimsleur method were useful for them. I think for an absolute beginner, you're better off starting at the absolute beginning with Pimsleur, but then there are a bunch of different things you can use (including Michel Thomas, Rosetta Stone, Busuu, etc.) to keep going. There are many great options out there, this is one of them.
@daisicooper2 - The Chinese course is taught as per his methodology and with his approval by Dr Harold Goodman whom was trained personally by Michel Thomas in his methods. I would wholeheartedly recommend the Michel Thomas (method) Chinese courses. I would also recommend Chinese Pod. I have found that in combination they work very well together although you could probably get by with just the Michel Thomas course. Hope this helps. Good Luck !
Wenn ich mir das anhöre, ist Deutsch ja echt eine Scheisssprache zu lernen. Glücklicherweise bin ich mit 3 Jahren aus der USA nach Deutschland gezogen ;-)
Having bought the (very good) CDs, I am even more impressed that the lessons were recorded live. he does not even use notes! This extract appears on one of the CDs. Without MT, I should not have progressed as well as I have.
Yeah he's pretty good, im a beginner for german because my school doesnt offer it as a choice but ive listened to a couple of his recordings and they really help.
Impossible to do in the classroom. You must have the luxury of sitting down with 2 or 3 and speaking/correcting them when you actually have 20-30 distracted students to deal with. This is a dream, and the reality is harsh.
I would rather translate "I am looking forward to seeing you" as "Ich freue mich darauf, Sie zu sehen". Still "Es wird mich freuen Sie zu sehen" is correct, of course. Most funny thing about this lesson is the sad fact that very few German people use to talk in this accurate way. Even if you say these sentences without accent, you will appear a little strange here.
The cleverest thing about Michel Thomas is that every time you learn a new lesson, you can work backwards with everything that he has already taught. I am about halfway through his German CD's that I hired from the library for £2, and I have found it to be the quickest method of learning German. It's great, I have spent £2 pounds on the CD's, £4 for a German/English dictionary, 3 weeks hard work, and I am optimistic that I will speak the basics in 3 months time. 5*
He's great. I'm already getting confident with Spanish and I always failed in school at language.
He attaches meaning to new words that he teaches you, like he might say "Vender means 'to sell', like a vending machine--Vender, to sell". Now it sounds simple, and it is! For some reason, you pick up on words and grammar quickly when listening to him.
It's like a reasuring language course with your grandpa, if your grandpa was an expert linguist and teacher of course.
Michel Thomas is the best languages teacher in the world. His method really WORKS!
You can get his Spanish Intro (2-CD) course free with the Guardian and Observer this weekend (4/5/ July) RRP: £15 and there is a great HALF PRICE offer on all his products too.
This guy was one of the biggest war heroes of all time. Read his autobiography. He escaped the Nazis by pretending to be a French painter, for example.
That sucks because I've just started listening to the german lessons..... so you're telling me I'd sound like an idiot if I learned from his lessons????
Doch, viele Deutschen sagen mir noch 'Es freut mich' oder 'Freut mich', besonders die Gebildeten; ist das nur weil ich Ausländer bin und sie möchten höflich klingen?
It's an excellent method, I deeply recommend him. I finished my french course with him am I'm able to understand a big part of the grammar of the french language.
This is the first time I've ever seen the man in action. I'm currently listening to his German CDs and always wondered what the lessons looked like. Doesn't he use any notes?
According to Harold Goodman, who was one of the very few people to work with Michel and learn his methods, the man hardly ever wrote anything down. He had a brain the size of Greenland.
Having listened to the CD's I sometimes noticed that Michel seemed to get rather annoyed when the female student mispronounced the u with an umlaut sound eg 3.45
However, having watched this clip I would say he doesn't really look annoyed at all and is putting the students at ease. But thats sometimes how it sounds on the CD when you don't have the benefit of the pictures.
He was 90 when he recorded these lessons, I think, so he's a bit more chilled out. Also, here he's using different students to the Foundation Course -- those students made many more mistakes and got on his nerves, you can tell :-)
"If he would have pulled his pants ten more inces upwards, he would not have been able to see anything." I wonder how long one can possibly talk about nearly the same sentence ;)
I have used his course to learn French and now Spanish. I pretty want to purchase anything he has ever made. Listening to this clip really doesn't do his system justice. The thing to keep in mind is that the students will never have to study this in order to remember it. For anyone learning a language...drop whatever you are doing and get one of his courses...it will be the best thing you have ever done.
It's called explaining it. You know, helping to understand how the language works. It may sound tedious when you already know it, but when you're learning the language, these explanations help enormously.
brilliant video helped me alot in my studies of german
rebelwithakeyboard 1 month ago
you are a german drooling old fart smacking his lips with Hun language
ramesnashat1 2 months ago
Wow. As a German learning English, I was interested in how it works the other way round. This video gave me an impression on how hard German must be as a foreign language.
I have an English friend who moved to Germany 2 years ago and he speaks German fluently now, he's almost without accent and even says the words with "ch" properly (and he started learning only after he moved here). My respect for him has just increased. ;)
yukisan78 2 months ago
@ramesnashat1
Are you a dick sucker, or not?
profd65 2 months ago
Comment removed
profd65 2 months ago
hahaha this guy is thinking "You simpleton American swine! How dare you! It pleases me to fuck with you. Yes yes you dumb fucks. Now let me have my way with you."
zeus7623 3 months ago
Only problem with MT course was in fact this lady.I know its not her fault-but more often than not she gets it wrong and doesn't seem to learn-it is quite offputting to hear the continual mistakes.The other chap was quite good
Dackah 4 months ago
@Dackah
Yea, but she's a genius compared to the woman in the Beginner French course--absolutely horrible.
The guy on the Advanced German course is very, very bright. This isn't easy stuff, but almost always he answered quickly and correctly. He did a hell of a lot better than I'm doing, lol.
profd65 2 months ago
Sie sind nur Anfaenger...was fuer Kindersprache....
gottspieler 6 months ago
This is going to sound silly. I love Rammstein and I was listening to them tonight and I understood some of the lyrics! lol I was gleefully yelling out "Ich will! ... Kann man uns am Himmel sehn!" Thanks, Michel Thomas! :P
pumkin54 6 months ago 2
@pumkin54 You are not silly. I love the way German sounds. The language of great music! The language of anger! I love the way Rammstein rolls the rrrrrrrrrrrrs. Rrrein --- Rrrraus.... In -- Out. Download Rammstein lyrics and sing along! What fun!
jljnbj 3 months ago
For those wondering about his lesson plan, he perfected this method over the course of 40 years. At least that's what I read in his obituary. I'm sure that after all that time, he had not only figured out what worked best but also could probably do it in his sleep.
pumkin54 6 months ago
Studying the German Foundation right now. Just finished CD 4 :D Such a feeling of accomplishment when you finish one. Unlike many other methods, I don't get bored. I play Mahjong and listen to the CD. It's great to see how these lessons were done. Would have been awesome to be one of these lucky students. I get the feeling he did these courses not to make a living, but just to help people. He's amazing and may he rest in peace. <3
pumkin54 6 months ago
@pumkin54
Look up Michel Thomas, The Language Master. It's in the related video field.
(I don't know if it was back when you posted that comment)
It shows just what he was capable of.
h3lblad3 4 months ago
I agree with others who have said both the Michel Thomas and the Pimsleur method were useful for them. I think for an absolute beginner, you're better off starting at the absolute beginning with Pimsleur, but then there are a bunch of different things you can use (including Michel Thomas, Rosetta Stone, Busuu, etc.) to keep going. There are many great options out there, this is one of them.
arclight2012 7 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
+++very good videos. you do inspire me for my german lessons. i d apreciate it if you would check them out. Good one! Cheers : Dennis
OnlineSchoolBerlin 8 months ago
both Pimsleur and Michel Thomas's method are good. why fight each other?
You can use both for achieving great performance
csayumi8 8 months ago 5
I saw he has chinese and japanese and arabic too-besides the main languages.is he the one who teaches them as well?
daisicooper2 1 year ago
@daisicooper2 no he doesn't unfortunately,,,he teaches the german, italian, french and spanish courses.
africaRBG 1 year ago
@daisicooper2 - The Chinese course is taught as per his methodology and with his approval by Dr Harold Goodman whom was trained personally by Michel Thomas in his methods. I would wholeheartedly recommend the Michel Thomas (method) Chinese courses. I would also recommend Chinese Pod. I have found that in combination they work very well together although you could probably get by with just the Michel Thomas course. Hope this helps. Good Luck !
drpoxy 1 year ago
The cds I have are perfectly clear
joojiandmemo 1 year ago
Misunderstanding at the beginning: He: "Es würd[e]" = it would VS She; "Es wird" = it will
gusphraba 1 year ago
Very good method, Im learning french fast with him RIP
MAZBvidz 1 year ago
where can i find more of these videos?
aceroyplatadeluna 1 year ago
This particular course has such a bad sound quality that i had to give it up... it gives me head aches.
De4sher 1 year ago
@De4sher
Um, this video is not meant to function as a course. It's just tan excerpt of a longer course, which has very good quality.
inkstersco 1 year ago
@inkstersco i know
i have that full course. the sound quality is poor for that too.
De4sher 1 year ago
@De4sher
Well maybe, but, I have the full course first-hand and, although it might be old-fashioned, it's as clear as, say, a 1960s LP : Clear enough.
inkstersco 1 year ago
@inkstersco
don't argue with me man! if you can hear it, you must have good ears. i can't, my head hurts after a while.
i'm like "i dont like ice cream" you're like "i disagree". were getting nowhere like this
De4sher 1 year ago
@De4sher
Methinks you got dodgy pirate cassette tape or copy thereof.
inkstersco 1 year ago
@inkstersco
might be :)
De4sher 1 year ago
I please myself, Ich freue mich, na, was teached der denn da???
hahaha, and please get a better camera angle, not very fotogenic, sorry!
Auriclight 1 year ago
Wenn ich mir das anhöre, ist Deutsch ja echt eine Scheisssprache zu lernen. Glücklicherweise bin ich mit 3 Jahren aus der USA nach Deutschland gezogen ;-)
realeques 1 year ago
Michel Thomas is a genius. It's a shame his methods are not more widely known and taught.
ajs41 1 year ago 4
@ajs41 I recently went on a similar course in London by Paul Noble. It was very good. I've also bought a CD course of his too.
Wendybendy100 1 year ago
Americans talking German sound so sexy, no matter what their gender is:D
Nogger86Germany 1 year ago
Having bought the (very good) CDs, I am even more impressed that the lessons were recorded live. he does not even use notes! This extract appears on one of the CDs. Without MT, I should not have progressed as well as I have.
all1rog 1 year ago
@all1rog
I'd be surprised if he had no lesson plan.
inkstersco 1 year ago
I wish he can live this world one more time... :)
MeeBooh 1 year ago
Comment removed
redpaul79 1 year ago
i am a german and i can really say that he speaks fantasticialy german
Well done !!
to all who have to learn german- do not give up !!
it is not so difficult than it heard like
it an question of practise!
but i am sorry for my bad english!!
DanielBuenger93 1 year ago 2
Yeah he's pretty good, im a beginner for german because my school doesnt offer it as a choice but ive listened to a couple of his recordings and they really help.
infernofia 1 year ago
this is "advanced"? the hell?
poleag 1 year ago
Michel Thomas was a genius.
leachben1 1 year ago 10
if they aren't writing down what they go through, they will have the same class over a few times till it sticks
Scarydays 2 years ago
Impossible to do in the classroom. You must have the luxury of sitting down with 2 or 3 and speaking/correcting them when you actually have 20-30 distracted students to deal with. This is a dream, and the reality is harsh.
shootbinary 2 years ago
I'm sure he's a great tutor but he has a very strong accent for a german
ozmonto 2 years ago
@ozmonto he's polish
bigman25plus25 1 year ago
He speak perfect German !
SunMezzoMK 2 years ago 2
The best language teacher! RIP
ricardaomala2000 2 years ago 40
Ich habe den ganzen Kurs angehoert und ich muss sagen dass der Michel mich sehr gut unterrichtet hat.
haggisman1971 2 years ago
look how high that belt is! :D
incidentally, i'm listening to german foundation and it's great. funny to hear the original MT get impatient but also laughing at other times.
and look at those 2 students! she is way older than i thought!
gp4nut 2 years ago 3
I would rather translate "I am looking forward to seeing you" as "Ich freue mich darauf, Sie zu sehen". Still "Es wird mich freuen Sie zu sehen" is correct, of course. Most funny thing about this lesson is the sad fact that very few German people use to talk in this accurate way. Even if you say these sentences without accent, you will appear a little strange here.
derfalschejunge 2 years ago
The cleverest thing about Michel Thomas is that every time you learn a new lesson, you can work backwards with everything that he has already taught. I am about halfway through his German CD's that I hired from the library for £2, and I have found it to be the quickest method of learning German. It's great, I have spent £2 pounds on the CD's, £4 for a German/English dictionary, 3 weeks hard work, and I am optimistic that I will speak the basics in 3 months time. 5*
metters4lyf 2 years ago
man oh man was ein scheiss. .- dont hear that shit
pics333 2 years ago
He's great. I'm already getting confident with Spanish and I always failed in school at language.
He attaches meaning to new words that he teaches you, like he might say "Vender means 'to sell', like a vending machine--Vender, to sell". Now it sounds simple, and it is! For some reason, you pick up on words and grammar quickly when listening to him.
It's like a reasuring language course with your grandpa, if your grandpa was an expert linguist and teacher of course.
Michel Thomas!
Neanderthalcouzin 2 years ago 6
Michel Thomas is the best languages teacher in the world. His method really WORKS!
You can get his Spanish Intro (2-CD) course free with the Guardian and Observer this weekend (4/5/ July) RRP: £15 and there is a great HALF PRICE offer on all his products too.
hamish3011 2 years ago 2
If you missed the offer, you can get all of his products at HALF PRICE at michelthomasoffers . com
hamish3011 2 years ago
Or you can just get them all free on the internet. Whatever is clever.
zocurtis 2 years ago
I'd rather pay for his courses because he deserves respect.
ajs41 2 years ago 7
Whatever man... all I'm saying is they're free.
zocurtis 2 years ago
teutsche sprak, schwerre sprak...
N9155E 2 years ago
mei inglisch is bad tu
lol like the czech vendors at the boarder^^
leemckrims 2 years ago
how does the Michel THOMAS method compare with the Paul PIMSLEUR method, in terms of effectiveness ?
mcgiver02 2 years ago
I prefer MT. I didn't like Pimsleur.
PauloNideck 2 years ago 4
This guy was one of the biggest war heroes of all time. Read his autobiography. He escaped the Nazis by pretending to be a French painter, for example.
ajs41 2 years ago 4
Comment removed
tartansoxdundas 3 years ago
I think you and i need to communicate often. You are the only person that i have seen, to have left an intelligent comment on language.
Get in touch with me soon
TomFrancais 2 years ago
ciekawe
maj444999 3 years ago
He explains the fine points slowly and carefully which is good for the students.
tenya33 3 years ago
So his German is old-fashioned?!!
That sucks because I've just started listening to the german lessons..... so you're telling me I'd sound like an idiot if I learned from his lessons????
ToobYew 3 years ago
no it is not old-fashioned. he merely teaches polite, formal language in this clip. it is not the way kids talk
Polyglot101 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
is this guy a retard. he goes so slow
Fragem420 3 years ago
it would be better if his false teeth fitted him,not my favorite method of Deutschsprechen
joman2299 3 years ago
Comment removed
tartansoxdundas 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
His formulations are very oldfashioned. Nobody in Germany speaks like that.
In addition he explains very ponderously.
Molybdan42 3 years ago
Doch, viele Deutschen sagen mir noch 'Es freut mich' oder 'Freut mich', besonders die Gebildeten; ist das nur weil ich Ausländer bin und sie möchten höflich klingen?
Jamesbharris2 3 years ago 2
Ich sag auch öfters "das freut mich", "das würde mich freuen" oder auch "ich freue mich schon darauf".
SilentAlthena 3 years ago
its not old-fashioned, just formal and polite. dont listen to the uncultured dickhead. MT was a great teacher
Polyglot101 2 years ago
Yeah exactly. My Mitbewohnerin is 20 and she says 'es hat mich gefreut'; not often, but she does say it!
Jamesbharris2 2 years ago
Er ist ein gute Lehrer. Ich habe viel von dieser kleinen Video gelernt! (: Ich liebe Deutsch <3
deutschlandlieben 3 years ago
Ja, ich lerne auch viel mit Michel Thomas
SpongyOLlama 3 years ago
It's an excellent method, I deeply recommend him. I finished my french course with him am I'm able to understand a big part of the grammar of the french language.
krlss26 3 years ago 4
I've been learning from the CDs for a while and they're terrific.
But it never occurred to me that the male student was so darn cute! Now I like them even more. ;)
Ladyrazzle 3 years ago 3
This is the first time I've ever seen the man in action. I'm currently listening to his German CDs and always wondered what the lessons looked like. Doesn't he use any notes?
ic1male 3 years ago
According to Harold Goodman, who was one of the very few people to work with Michel and learn his methods, the man hardly ever wrote anything down. He had a brain the size of Greenland.
asterexcel 3 years ago 3
Having listened to the CD's I sometimes noticed that Michel seemed to get rather annoyed when the female student mispronounced the u with an umlaut sound eg 3.45
However, having watched this clip I would say he doesn't really look annoyed at all and is putting the students at ease. But thats sometimes how it sounds on the CD when you don't have the benefit of the pictures.
akava77 3 years ago
He was 90 when he recorded these lessons, I think, so he's a bit more chilled out. Also, here he's using different students to the Foundation Course -- those students made many more mistakes and got on his nerves, you can tell :-)
asterexcel 3 years ago
"If he would have pulled his pants ten more inces upwards, he would not have been able to see anything." I wonder how long one can possibly talk about nearly the same sentence ;)
mrchecker 3 years ago
LOL
Polyglot101 2 years ago
I have used his course to learn French and now Spanish. I pretty want to purchase anything he has ever made. Listening to this clip really doesn't do his system justice. The thing to keep in mind is that the students will never have to study this in order to remember it. For anyone learning a language...drop whatever you are doing and get one of his courses...it will be the best thing you have ever done.
mwetschler 3 years ago 5
i please myself
tofusauce 3 years ago 2
Male student = yum
rachelb81 4 years ago
I totally agree! LOL.
ic1male 3 years ago
I like his voice and well he doesn't has any accent :o
xamiquai 4 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
wow, he really makes something simple into a long, laboriously and boring thing.
Es freut mich sehr, dich zu sehen. 'nuff said.
zeropeanuts 4 years ago
fuck up you prick.
Unless you're Noam Chomsky, in which case you can diss michel if you like. Otherwise zip it.
h1285306 3 years ago
It's called explaining it. You know, helping to understand how the language works. It may sound tedious when you already know it, but when you're learning the language, these explanations help enormously.
asterexcel 3 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Michel thomas sucks no offense.
Not as good as even a beginner pimsleur course
Fragem420 4 years ago
Pimsleur is good but with Michel Thomas's method I can form my own sentences in my head.
dietrichian 4 years ago 27
@dietrichian I personally found Pimsleur to be an agonising experience.
AtticusStount 1 year ago
you can still buy his cd's for like 50 usd each...
Tempast2003 4 years ago
I'd like to go to one of his sessions to improve my German, or buy some of his audio tapes. He's very good!
MeinBuchVerbrennt 4 years ago 9
He died like 2 years ago.
christoffff 4 years ago