Fills out some gaps once you're more fluent
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I commented on a previous review, then realised I hadn't reviewed this myself, despite giving 5 stars to both the Advanced course and 4 to the Foundation course. The reason I forgot was that I DID look over this BEFORE I used the Advanced course, having bought them together, and this being shorter. Wait, in my opinion. This Language Builder is where Thomas goes over many useful and common words and phrases VERY quickly, so there's a lot in the 2 hours. Using the booklet helps a lot, as you can read what you're hearing and visualise it.
A problem I'm seeing in some reviews is that some seem to have missed the Advanced course, which does cover past and future tenses very well. The lack of emphasis on 'tu' against 'vous' is due to the method here, in that Thomas tries to get you to hear similarities in spoken French for simplicity, and points out how the 'tu' form almost always follows the sound of the third person, so can be quickly deduced for speaking. For better grammar/ written French, you DO need more.
I decided to wait until I finished the Advanced course, then gain more from this once I had more confidence. If you're not confident enough, the speed will overwhelm you, and it needs to be paused and revised well, in sensible chunks. NEVER try it all at one sitting!
5 stars again, since I just think Thomas had the best method for efficiently mastering spoken language. Pity he's no longer with us to further his material! A great man and a genius - I must read the story of his life in the French Resistance. See my other reviews on the other courses.
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Ãa vaut la peine de le faire, mais....
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This language building CD is great as long as you are not under the delusion that you will attain anything other than some very useful expressions. These tools are only effective as an aid to more conventional teaching / speaking environments, they are obviously not sufficient on their own. One problem I have with Michel Thomas is that he only gives you the formal 'Vous' structures, which is fine if you are taking to strangers but less useful when talking in informal contexts - in which case you would have to find out how to conjugate into the second person as it is not given here. I am currently living in France, with my bilingual fiancée, and she has expressed doubt at some of the expressions given which she feels are a little old-fashioned and not idiomatic enough. Therefore you may find in France that although these CDs give you some good structures to start a conversation, you will be baffled by the responses. Thomas touches some of the collocations in speech but nothing will prepare you for the speed of modern spoken French. Absolute immersion is obviously the key but it depends on what level you want to attain. For adding to your repertoire of vocabulary and expressions this is a fantastic tool although I would second a former reviewer's criticism that this doesn't begin to tackle the past tense.
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Michel is Marvellous
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I have just read a review from one of your customers who does not rate the Michel Thomas Language Builder as very good at all. I think it is just the opposite and has helped me enormously. I have lived in France now for just over one year, am in my 60s, and all my French friends tell me that I have improved enormously over the past few months - due, I believe, to the Michel Thomas Language Builder which has built on my previous knowledge of the language. To me he is like Alistair Cooke the "Letter from America" genius explaining everything very slowly and succinctly so that it makes good sense to idiots like me !! Thank you.
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WARNING!!
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Firstly, let me say I am a huge fan of the Michel Thomas method, and found his 8-hr French course an absolute joy. This Language Builder, however, is not what you might be expecting. The 8-hr course is lacking in two basic things - simple vocabulary (bread, apple, up, down, one, two, etc) and the past tense. It is touched on very swiftly towards the end of the final tape, but only with can/could, want/wanted and must/had to. I was hoping that the Language Builder would continue with more of the same teaching method and fill in these two missing areas. Unfortunately not - it is simply Michel reading out a phrase book, and very quickly at that. Without your finger on the pause button, it is very difficult to follow - which makes it impossible to use doing the housework, or driving the car. Michel's method in the 8-hr course is completely ignored, there is no variety of examples, and you need to listen over and over, doing exactly what you are not supposed to - memorising and learning by rote. I'm not saying it's a bad course - but it's nothing like the 8-hr tapes. If you think it's going to be, be prepared for a disappointment.
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worked for me
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The bloke's a genius. This is a fast and furious follow up to the 8 cd course which refreshes and adds to what you've done so far. I then went to france and impressed all my french friends and relatives with my new found language skills!!! Don't hesitate to get this.
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