Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

I came across the Michel Thomas Method[0] on some comments here some time ago, and I've been thoroughly enjoying it!

When I first started learning French I took a "school" approach to it, get a dedicated notebook, buy books, buy cards to make my own flash cards, schedule 1 hour a day... needless to day that I failed, not just that but I hated it all!

So I decided to make it fun (the way I learn programming or other things that I enjoy) and the Michel Thomas was super fun for me :-) It my motivation to mow the lawn since mowing the lawn is my french listening time.

The other day I got a random marketing email with some french in it trying to be fancy, and I was so happy when I could understand everything it said before having to read the english translation!

I'm not affiliated with them in any way, I just really enjoy his approach to teaching languages

[0] https://www.michelthomas.com/



I second this. Michel Thomas french CD's are awesome. I don't like the other languages they offer as much, but the french lessons by Michel himself are the BEST language program I've ever heard.


I'm intrigued! This seems super promising.

How's your conversational French after having listened to the program?


I went through Michel’s French courses before moving to France and I think they helped me greatly.

I won’t say that I could speak fluently from the start, but It gave me a very strong foundation to build on.


The slight challenge for me was seeing the words, because french words don't sound like one would think!

But after getting a few rules in my mind like "oi" sounds like "wah" in english and the ending of the french words are mostly not pronounced, it was easier for me going from the sound and meaning (concept) of the word to the reading part.

But the most important thing is that it is fun, and it's a lot easier to stick to fun things!




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2026 batch! Applications are open till July 27.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: