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Fifty Years of Teaching Excellence

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Whom has Michel Thomas taught?
People come from all over the world to learn a foreign language with Michel Thomas, because his method works. His students, now numbering in the thousands, have included well-known people from the arts and from the corporate, political, and academic worlds. For example, he taught French to film star Grace Kelly prior to her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco.

Michel's list of clients include

  • Celebrities: Emma Thompson, Woody Allen, Barbra Streisand, Warren Beatty, Melanie Griffith, Bob Dylan, Donald Sutherland, Bill Murray, Anne Bancroft, Mel Brooks, Natasha Kinski, Carl Reiner, Raquel Welch, Johnny Carson, Julie Andrews, Isabelle Adjani, Candice Bergen, Laurence Fishburne, Barbara Hershey, Priscilla Presley, Kelly Preston, Loretta Swit, Tony Curtis, Diana Ross, Herb Alpert, Angie Dickinson, Lucille Ball, Doris Day, Janet Leigh, Natalie Wood, Jayne Mansfield, Ann-Margaret, Yves Montand, Kim Novak, Otto Preminger, Max Von Sydow, Peter Sellers, Francois Truffaut.

  • Diplomats, dignitaries, and academics: Former U.S. Ambassador to France, Walter Curley; U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Joseph V. Reed; Cardinal John O'Connor, Archbishop of New York; Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, Archbishop of Philadelphia; Armand Hammer; Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York; Professor Herbert Morris, Dean of Humanities at UCLA; Warren Keegan, Professor of Business at Pace University in New York; Professor Wesley Posvar, former President of the University of Pittsburgh.

  • Executives from the following corporations: AT&T International, Coca Cola, Proctor & Gamble, Chase Manhattan Bank, American Express, Merrill Lynch, New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Boeing Aircraft, General Electric, Westinghouse Electric, Bank of America, Max Factor, Rand Corporation, Bertlesmann Music Group-RCA, Veuve Cliquot Inc., McDonald's Corporation.

Testimonials
Emma Thompson, Academy award-winning actress and director, (as quoted in The Guardian): "The excitement of learning something new was overwhelming. Michel not only taught me Spanish, he opened my eyes to the possibilities of a completely different kind of learning. Michel forbids his students to practice, or to try to remember. Michel takes the burden off the student and upon himself.... Learning Spanish with Michel was the most extraordinary learning experience of my life-it was unforgettable."

Woody Allen, New York filmmaker, (as quoted in USA Today and Business Life): "I am a poor student, particularly with languages. I had years of Spanish in school and could never speak a word (but) learning with Michel: it's like a kid who loves baseball and who just knows every ball player, every batting average, and every statistic about the game. They've learned it all effortlessly. It's the same with Michel. You learn a language effortlessly. It is amazing. (He)... had me speaking French and I learned it in a way I've never forgotten, and it was painless. A tremendous experience."

Ann-Margaret, actress (as quoted in People Magazine): "At the end of my last session with Michel, I went out of there just staggering from all the words and rules going through my head. But you don't forget the way your forgot what you learned in regular school. If you don't remember something, he puts the blame on himself. You relax and soak it up like a sponge."

Yue-Sai Kan, New York TV Producer in New York (as quoted in Business Life): "Fabulous. Michel is a brilliant teacher...I had never studied French before. I came out after 10 days with enough of it to move around in Paris. He has a way of helping you to remember things based on what you already know in your conscious and unconscious minds... He's like a Zen master; you never feel pressurized. And he makes you feel smart. I don't think anyone else teaches that way."

Joan Sherman, Monaco Business Consultant, (as quoted in Business Life): "His technique is unique in that he manages to zero in on those things that inhibit you - on the blocks - and figure them into his method...He makes it so simple. The key to retention is understanding. Michel kept reminding me not to memorize. Which is hard to do. But once I let go of that, I found that weeks...months later, things were popping out of my mouth that I was not actually memorizing. I was going to say almost hypnotic, subliminal."

Donald Beldock, Chairman of Fundamental Properties, Inc., of New York, (as quoted in the Herald Tribune): "What Michel pushes is the idea (that) you must speak the language, which was very effective for me. He deals with those anxieties that seem to prevent most Americans (from) speaking another language. I manage business effectively in French. In Italian, I can carry on a conversation with some ease."

Dr. Herbert Morris, UCLA Dean of Humanities and Professor of Philosophy and Law, (as quoted in USA Today): "I had the sense of having somehow or other cracked the language open and having gotten to its very essence. And (Michel Thomas teaches) in the most direct, simple and organized way, leading you into the heart of the language."

Warren Keegan, Professor of Business at Pace University in New York (as quoted in The Herald Tribune): "He... gets you into a language ...in the way you learn it as a child. I created my own schedule over a 12-day period of 50, 60 hours...Afterwards I was interviewed (in French) ...on a TV program and did just fine. It is for real; I checked it out. It worked for me."

Janis Kelly, Medical Journalist (as quoted in The New York Post): "After years and years of French in U.S. universities, I could read quite well, but couldn't speak worth a damn. But after two solid weeks with Michel, I was in Stockholm covering the AIDS meeting and was perfectly able to talk to delegates in French. The method is so simple and logical, it organizes your brain; you can reach words and find them...."

William Sadler, Former Administrative Vice-President of Air Canada (as quoted in the Calgary Herald):
"The Thomas system gives you tremendous confidence, and you want to learn the language. His system is designed to stimulate a person. There isn't a better method in existence."