Insider's German Intermediate Conversation Course (Learn German with the Michel Thomas Method): Book, Audio and Interactive Practice Audio CD – MP3 Audio, 10 Mar. 2016

I've tried this on a Kindle, on a PC running Windows 10 and on two Android devices. On all four there are notices saying that the video and audio are not supported on your device. What on earth are they supported on. This was sold as incorporating both video and audio which is why I bought it but it doesn't seem to function.

We bought this item for £202 expecting a substantial course in return. In the event we receivedx a small p[aoer back with two CDs neither of which worked. This is quite disgraceful. No once should ever purchase this product

First and foremost, this is not a set for novice speakers of the language. If you are wanting to learn German from scratch you will need to undertake a suitable beginner's German course before undertaking this.I tackled it as someone who never learned a word of German from a textbook, but learned it from watching TV programmes, speaking to my German friends and interacting with members of the local communities I lived amongst during my time in Germany.I lived in Westfalen and Niedersachsen, where the German was clear and easily understood, but I also lived in Nordrhein, where the speech patterns tended to be quite slurred with some Dutch influence, maybe. The German used here is very standard, like that I used in Westfalen's Sauerland.For those who want to refresh skills learned amongst natives, this course is ideal as it teaches and refreshes colloquial language and idiom.For those who never gained idiomatic skills and have only learned their German in textbooks and language labs this book is also ideal as it has the content to change competence in grammar into true fluency.The natural conversations that take place within the book and on the accompanying mp3 brought so much back to me, words I had quite forgotten I knew popped back in to memory right from the first conversation - 'strahlend' from weather forecasts on the TV for example, meaning glorious and bright. The voices are very clear but the dialogue still sounds reasonably natural too with appropriate inflexions. The 'tutor' on the audio CDs gives you questions beforehand that make you listen to the content to check your own understanding, which is very helpful. This is a very natural way to learn, having the text to read through and the translations on the CD content really reinforces the learning for those who learn from reading as well as speaking and listening.Installation of the files from the two CDs in the pack is relatively straightforward if you have a Windows CD. It all takes about 20 minutes on a basic PC or laptop - mine runs Windows 10. Just follow the on screen prompts and you should have no issues.Summary: Not for beginners but a great way of bringing good GCSE German up to the level of a reasonably competent natural speaker.

As teach yourself books go and CDs go, this has some real flow. I had slightly overestimated my abilities in German, I should have started with one of the easier ones as I seem to have forgotten much of what I learned in my GCSEs back in 1998, but I could follow and learn from much of it. The CD does need to be played from either a MP3 compatible player or copied using a computer onto an MP3 player like an iPod. The book is not the finest quality printing and is really a little small and grey and a bit grim, but it's something you're only likely to read once or twice so it'll do.I found this really quite good, it does take a few rounds to get the best of it and this level does assume a reasonable amount of prior understanding, of which I don't have quite enough of, so I'll be trying one of the lower end ones next. Then coming back to this one to pick up the bits I missed.

Quite a large box contains two CDs and a rather slim paperback.(and for what it's worth, the paper isn't particularly good quality). The course seems to solve quite a major problem for adult learners: facilitating learning with material that is sufficiently interesting to be engaging, without the language being so complex that it's all too difficult. I have fond memories of two "soaps" in French: one about a young engineer, his crush on his boss, and by the time she reciprocates, he's decided to go to Mexico.Great production values, e.g., sound effects to help with context clues) Nothing was in English, but the narrator/guide and supporting material enabled one to get on with the next episode. "Le francais au roulant", it was a joy to learn and I think this material comes close being a series of short dialogues on topics you might actually care about.I'm not convinced that beyond hard work and practice there's any "method" that's superior to any other (excepting rubbish ones of course) but the Michael Thomas one has got reputation. I'm more impressed by the content, probably around A2 level "learnt a bit, now want to go on and be able to use it"

This is a useful follow-on for learners with a reasonable grasp of German; for example a GCSE pass in the language, or having worked through Michel Thomas' Total and Perfect German along with some other practice. The 'intermediate' description should be taken literally - you need a fairly decent existing grasp of German to make any sensible use of the course.There are 10 half-hour lessons, provided as MP3 audio on a data CD (I had to burn them to audio CD in order to listen easily in my car). Each lesson focuses on a different topic and works through two conversations, provides (rather quickly) some key vocabulary, and does a little teaching in the style of earlier Michel Thomas courses. Some of the topics are, well, topical - giving the necessary vocabulary to discuss items of current interest.An installable CD-ROM provides digital text of the whole course as well as some text-based interactive activities, and is a useful addition (though I'd have preferred a more smartphone friendly format, it worked fine on Windows 10).I haven't found the overall usefulness of this as high as with the other Michel Thomas courses, but it is a useful addition to bridge the gap in confidence between introductory courses and 'real' conversations.