2007-12-11 Fills out some gaps once you're more fluent

I commented on a previous review, then realised I hadn't reviewed this myself, despite giving 5 stars to both the Advanced course and 4 to the Foundation course. The reason I forgot was that I DID look over this BEFORE I used the Advanced course, having bought them together, and this being shorter. Wait, in my opinion. This Language Builder is where Thomas goes over many useful and common words and phrases VERY quickly, so there's a lot in the 2 hours. Using the booklet helps a lot, as you can read what you're hearing and visualise it.

A problem I'm seeing in some reviews is that some seem to have missed the Advanced course, which does cover past and future tenses very well. The lack of emphasis on 'tu' against 'vous' is due to the method here, in that Thomas tries to get you to hear similarities in spoken French for simplicity, and points out how the 'tu' form almost always follows the sound of the third person, so can be quickly deduced for speaking. For better grammar/ written French, you DO need more.

I decided to wait until I finished the Advanced course, then gain more from this once I had more confidence. If you're not confident enough, the speed will overwhelm you, and it needs to be paused and revised well, in sensible chunks. NEVER try it all at one sitting!

5 stars again, since I just think Thomas had the best method for efficiently mastering spoken language. Pity he's no longer with us to further his material! A great man and a genius - I must read the story of his life in the French Resistance. See my other reviews on the other courses.