Total German Course: Learn German with the Michel Thomas Method): Beginner German Audio Course

I dropped my foreign language lessons like a hot potato in year 9, as I found my school lessons tedious.First recommendation, there is an app with the first 2 CDs of Michel's course. This app is the first 2 CDs from this Total German AND the introductory/taster German 2 CD course. Well, I loved the app. I didn't upgrade the app as it was very expensive. Instead I have bought this CD course.I am pleasantly surprised that I am enjoying learning German. I have learnt so easily with the Michel Thomas method. I have been able to string together grammatically correct basic sentences from CD 1. I also really appreciate the explanations Michel provided in his recordings as it makes it easier to understand the language. There is a booklet to support the course. If you lose/damage the booklet, you can download them from the Michel Thomas website.There is also a CD-rom and booklet for this course, and this condenses the learning down to just hearing Michel, rather than listening to the complete lessons.Some reviewers have criticised the students. I feel that I am the third student in this exclusive class. In the recordings, when Michel corrects the students, he pronounces the words and corrects errors. I must be a little bossy as I find myself correcting the students too!I left school at 16 in 1980. At that time, foreign languages were not for me. I HATED having to memorise verbs and words for the sake of it. The knowledge was quickly lost and I had no understanding of grammar. I was unable to string together a sentence. The only French I have retained is phrases that could be used on holiday. The phrases were more meaningful and memorable. This is the strength of Michel Thomas' method as you learn how to construct sentences that will be useful on holiday or, perhaps, as part of your employment.I am learning to put together grammatically correct sentences. I am only halfway through CD 3 and am delighted with my progress.So far, the Total German course has focused on constructing sentences but we have not touched on nouns. This is not a criticism, I would far rather learn grammar and slowly add to my vocabulary as I go along. Believe me, I am SO glad not to have to memorise long texts, or lists of verbs and nouns.To supplement Michel's fabulous course, I have bought German Grammar You Really Need To Know: Teach Yourself by Jenny Russ. This is a useful little resource and will enable me to check any facts. In addition, I'm using the free app 'Learn German with Ania' which is factual yet fun, and modern in its presentation - this is also available at You Tube.I am delighted with my progress and planning to improve my schoolgirl French next.PS My only criticism is that when 'ripping' so I could upload the CDs to my android, I had to edit details for all CDS and this was time consuming.

Michel Thomas master teacher of languages. Highly recommend.

Hopefully this review will be useful to someone as I thought it might be worthwhile comparing this course to Paul Nobel 'Learn German' set of CDs also available on Amazon.If you're like me with no German knowledge and looking to learn the basics quickly these are both sets of 10 (or 12) CDs that are designed to get you up and running (or at least walking) in a reasonably quick time. Both these sets cost about £50 and are based on the student friendly idea that learning shouldn't be painful or forced, but given logical a logical structure and interactive methodology you can pick up the verbal language reasonably quickly. They are ideal for car based learning.One of the main differences is that the Michel Thomas approach is set in a 'classroom' where the teacher talks through concepts with the students and listens to their efforts, as you're likely to repeat listening to the CDs often this can get tedious. With Paul Nobel approach the fourth wall is broken and he talks to you directly, the German speaking is done by a German 'actor', this actually makes for a greater clarity and more confidence that the accent is correct. One issue though is that MT clearly states the pronunciation or each word, how it is built up, shape of mouth and tongue when saying it and often what English words sound like it, with PN you have to listen very carefully to pick up the correct working and can be confused between 'b' and 'v's etc. For example how exactly you say I 'ich' (is it 'ick' 'ish' icksh' etc.) is covered much more clearly with MT.One of the big issues I have with MT though is that an awful lot of material is covered very quickly, this means for a slow person like me, lots of repeats of the CDs. WIth PN you're taken at a much lower pace, basics are covered well and longer more complicated sentences built at a good speed. Overall this means that there is is less content in the PN course overall, but you are taken at a better pace, and I certainly had more confidence with it.Also PN goes through numbers, letters etc. in the last CDs in a learning-by-rote way. This is actually very useful and backs up the earlier leaning.Overall, IMHO both courses are excellent and worth the money (especially if you shop around). I would say the Paul Nobel course is much better for a complete newbie or someone who'd like a language refresh, Michel Thomas is great for more complicated German. My advice would be to start with Paul Nobel, and once mastered move on to Michel Thomas.Hope that helps! :)

An excellent way to learn Deutsch.I bought all the complete box sets (April 2016) & am giving myself one year to get 'Up to speed' with German. I'm almost there already.(I even banned myself from playing music for one year, lol).Be patient & 'You Will' learn German with these discs.I use these Michel Thomas discs along with other styles of teachings I get from my local library. The Michel Thomas method is a 'Must Have' (I think) as it is good at teaching grammar & properly structuring your sentences. Perhaps it's far too repetitive In places, I do think, but you 'Will Learn German'. You must be patience and listen to the tracks over and over & over again until you know each CD by heart in this the 'Total German Course' before going onto the next CD in the box set then onto the next course 'Perfect German' and so on.I agree that If you can Concentrate on how the protocol of the Verbs work (which is not hard at all, honestly!) then the rest is just about learning the Vocabulary to use with your verbs.If you want to learn the words of all the songs in one of your favourite music albums how would You go about it?You would play the tracks over & over and read the words from the booklet to memorise the material.Same here! It's that simple.

The media could not be loaded. Amazing method. He is genius!

Despite many detractors that can be found on the internet, I'm a fan of the Michel Thomas method. I have a number of their courses and use them to launch myself into a new language quickly. You will not be fully bilingual at the end of this course! That appears to be one of the main concerns of the detractors of this method. You most certainly WILL be able to communicate. Further practice in listening comprehension will always be needed due to variations in the speed the other person speaks, their accents etc. Excellent way to get into any of the languages they provide courses for.

Ich habe diesen Kurs meinem Verlobten aus Kanada geschenkt, damit er die wichtigsten Wörter, Sätze schon mal lernt, bevor er einen Deutschkurs startet. Es ist wirklich ein tolles Konzept und eine tolle Art eine Sprache zu lernen.

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.

You will not find a better way to learn German. 5 stars to Amazon and Michel Thomas.Unique way of learning German.Within a few hours you will start forming sentences on your own without remembering.The process is so interesting and effortless that you will be totally engrossed into learning German using this method.This product also has an added CD through which you can test your German skill to track your improvement.