3 Michel Thomas Spanish Language Builder.pdf

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SPANISH

BUILDER

Hodder Arnold

A MEMBER OF THE HODDER HEADLINE GROUP

LANGUAGE

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Michel Thomas, 1914–2005

Michel Thomas, the internationally renowned

linguist and language teacher, who was awarded the

Silver Star by the US Army for his bravery in the

Second World War, died of heart failure at his home

in New York on 8th January 2005. He was 90.

To find out more, please get in touch with us

For general enquiries and for information about Michel Thomas:

Call: 020 7873 6400 Fax: 020 7873 6325

Email: michelthomas-enquiries@hodder.co.uk

To place an order:

Call: 01235 400414

Fax: 01235 400454

Email: uk.orders@bookpoint.co.uk

You can write to us at:

Hodder Arnold, 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH

www.michelthomas.co.uk

Unauthorized copying of this booklet or the accompanying audio material is

prohibited, and may amount to a criminal offence punishable by a fine and/or

imprisonment.

First published in UK 2001 by Hodder Headline, 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH.

electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without

permission in writing from the publisher or under licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Further

details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency

Limited, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS, UK.

Typeset by Transet Limited, Coventry, England.

Printed in Great Britain

Impression

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Year

2010 2009 2008 2007 2006

ISBN

978 0 340 78971 1

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Introduction

Who was Michel Thomas?

Michel Thomas was head of the Michel Thomas Language Centers and

taught languages for over fifty years, primarily in New York, Beverly Hills,

and London. He was a graduate of the Department of Philology at the

University of Bordeaux, France, and studied psychology at the Sorbonne

(Paris) and at the University of Vienna. However, it was his remarkable life

experiences that fuelled his passion for teaching languages*.

Michel spent most of his childhood in Germany and France. With the rise

of Hitler, he began his years of escape and resistance. He spent two brutal

years in French concentration and slave labour camps, constantly

threatened by deportation to German death camps. He escaped and fought

for the French Resistance, surviving capture, interrogation and torture.

Michel’s wartime experiences, particularly his torture by the Gestapo when he

discovered the ability to block out pain, made him aware of the untapped

potential of the human mind. However, it was his deeply held conviction that

the biggest weapon in maintaining a free society was education that drove

him to devote his life to probing the learning process. Michel moved to Los

Angeles in 1947, and he set up a language institute in Beverly Hills. Over a

period of fifty years, he developed a unique and revolutionary learning

system that made him the world’s leading language teacher.

What is the Michel Thomas method?

Over a period of fifty years, Michel Thomas developed and perfected a

unique method of teaching languages**. In essence, he breaks a language

down to its component parts and enables learners to reconstruct the

language themselves to form their own sentences, to say what they want,

when they want. The experience of learning a language becomes so exciting

and satisfying that it stimulates self-motivation and builds confidence.

*For a full account of his fascinating life, read ‘Michel Thomas: The Test of Courage’ by

Christopher Robbins, published by Hodder and Stoughton

**U.S. patent 6,565,358

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Who is the Spanish Language Builder for?

People who have already learned Spanish with Michel Thomas

The Language Builder does just what its name suggests: it builds on the

language Michel teaches in his Foundation (8-hour) and Advanced courses.

It does this in two important and inseparable ways: by echoing the

Foundation (8-hour) and Advanced courses to review key structures, while

at the same time presenting new idioms (which are heard and used all the

time in everyday Spanish but which are very rarely taught). This dual

approach means that you painlessly review what you have learned as you

simultaneously expand the range of your working and functional knowledge

of the language.

People who have learned Spanish using other methods

You may have learned Spanish before and now want to brush it up for a

holiday or business trip, or perhaps you are looking for a new approach to

help with revision or to re-motivate you: either way, the Language Builder

will give you a real insight into how the language works and will boost your

confidence to speak.

You may find that it takes a while to get used to Michel’s innovative way of

teaching – it is certainly quite unlike any other method you will have come

across – but once you have experienced the excitement of painless learning

you will be hooked!

What does the pack contain?

The pack comprises approximately two hours of recorded material plus a 48-

page booklet. The recordings are available on CD or audio cassette and

feature Michel Thomas alone. To avoid wasting recording time, there are no

pauses on the recordings, but you are strongly recommended to use the

pause button on your player for maximum learning (see below). The booklet

contains the key words and phrases to help you with written Spanish, but you

do not need to use it at all if you just want to concentrate on improving your

speaking and listening skills.

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How do I use the recordings?

Relax!

As far as possible, make yourself comfortable before playing the recordings

and try to let go of the tensions and anxieties traditionally associated with

all learning.

Interact fully with the recordings

Use the pause button to stop the recording so that you have time to think

out your translations. Then say the phrase or sentence out loud (or in a

whisper, or in your head, if you are in a public place), before Michel does.

This is essential. You do not learn by repetition but by thinking out the

sentences yourself; it is by your own thought process that you truly learn.

Stop the recording whenever it suits you

You will notice that the recordings are not divided into lessons*** so it is

easy to stop wherever you want.

What level of language will I achieve?

The recordings will give you a practical and functional use of the spoken

language. Michel Thomas teaches the everyday conversational language that

will allow you to communicate in a wide variety of situations, empowered

by the ability to create your own sentences and use the language naturally.

How can I go on to improve further?

Obviously, nothing compares with first-hand contact with native Spanish

speakers, but if this is not possible for you, and if you have mastered the

language in the Foundation (8-hour) and Advanced courses, Michel

recommends reading Spanish newspapers and magazines as one of the best

ways to keep up and extend your language. Interviews are particularly good,

as they reflect Spanish as it is actually being spoken, rather than the language

taught in schools or textbooks. You could also try the Michel Thomas Method

Vocabulary courses. See the back of the booklet for details.

***Tracking breaks have been inserted on the CDs: you may find it helpful to make a

note of these (or the timings, if you have audio cassettes) in this booklet to help you get

back immediately to where you left off or to review specific points

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