HOW IS THE FOUNDATION (8-hour) COURSE BEST USED? 3
• Relax! Make yourself comfortable before playing the recording and try to let
go of the tensions and anxieties traditionally a**ociated with learning.
• Do not write or take any notes. Remove notebooks, pens, dictionaries
and anything else a**ociated with learning at school.
• Do not try to remember. While participating in the recording and
afterwards, it is important that you do not try to memorize specific words or
expressions. It is a basic principle of the Michel Thomas method that the
responsibility for the student's learning lies with the teacher. With Michel
Thomas as your teacher, your learning will be based on understanding, and
what you understand you don't forget.
• Interact fully with the recordings. Use the pause b***on and respond out
loud (or in a whisper, or in your head, if you are in a public place) before the
students' responses. This is essential. You do not learn by repetition but by
thinking out the answers to each question; it is by your own thought process
that you truly learn.
• Give yourself time to think. The students on the recordings had all the time
they needed to think out their responses. On the recordings their 'thinking time'
has been cut in order to make full use of the recording time and to give you all
the time you may need (by pushing your pause b***on). The pause b***on is the
key to your learning!
• Start at the beginning of the course. Whatever your existing knowledge
of the language you are learning, it is important that you follow the way that
Michel builds up your knowledge of the language.
• Do not get annoyed with yourself if you make a mistake. Mistakes are
part of the learning process; as long as you understand why you made the
mistake and you have the 'ahaa' reaction - 'yes, of course, I understand now' -
you are doing fine. If you made a mistake and you do not understand why, you
may have been daydreaming for a few seconds. The course is structured so that
you cannot go on unless you fully understand everything, so just go back a little
and you will pick up where you left off.
• Stop the recording whenever it suits you. You will notice that this course
is not divided into lessons*; you will always be able to pick up from where you
left off, without the need to review.
• Relax! Make yourself comfortable before playing the recording and try to let
go of the tensions and anxieties traditionally a**ociated with learning.
• Do not write or take any notes. Remove notebooks, pens, dictionaries
and anything else a**ociated with learning at school.
• Do not try to remember. While participating in the recording and
afterwards, it is important that you do not try to memorize specific words or
expressions. It is a basic principle of the Michel Thomas method that the
responsibility for the student's learning lies with the teacher. With Michel
Thomas as your teacher, your learning will be based on understanding, and
what you understand you don't forget.
• Interact fully with the recordings. Use the pause b***on and respond out
loud (or in a whisper, or in your head, if you are in a public place) before the
students' responses. This is essential. You do not learn by repetition but by
thinking out the answers to each question; it is by your own thought process
that you truly learn.
• Give yourself time to think. The students on the recordings had all the time
they needed to think out their responses. On the recordings their 'thinking time'
has been cut in order to make full use of the recording time and to give you all
the time you may need (by pushing your pause b***on). The pause b***on is the
key to your learning!
• Start at the beginning of the course. Whatever your existing knowledge
of the language you are learning, it is important that you follow the way that
Michel builds up your knowledge of the language.
• Do not get annoyed with yourself if you make a mistake. Mistakes are
part of the learning process; as long as you understand why you made the
mistake and you have the 'ahaa' reaction - 'yes, of course, I understand now' -
you are doing fine. If you made a mistake and you do not understand why, you
may have been daydreaming for a few seconds. The course is structured so that
you cannot go on unless you fully understand everything, so just go back a little
and you will pick up where you left off.
• Stop the recording whenever it suits you. You will notice that this course
is not divided into lessons*; you will always be able to pick up from where you
left off, without the need to review.