[23] Why I Would Never Use The Michel Thomas Method

In this episode, I review and analyze the Michel Thomas Method (I focus on Total and Perfect Arabic).

TL;DR: Not impressed with Michel Thomas at all.

Summary:

• Expensive marketing and celebrity endorsements are, in my opinion, the sole reason Michel Thomas became a household name.
• Age + celebrity endorsement are not reliable indicators of course quality.
• The MT classroom is 100% teacher-controlled and full responsibility for the outcome rests on the teacher.
• This goes against research and contemporary teaching methodologies.
• There are constant error corrections – even for minor grammatical mistakes.
• Emphasis on stress reduction has positive and negative effects on student outcome.
• There is way too much English spoken in the courses and the native speaker only plays a complimentary role in the lessons.
• Michel Thomas completely lacks the most important feature of any course – authentic listening comprehension exercises.
• What Michel Thomas gets right is its emphasis on functional building blocks and chunking.

Related review:

Read my Michel Thomas review.

Resources:

For some language course alternatives, take a look at my language tools.