Clara’s Verdict
Stephen Fry called Michel Thomas’s method “a unique and perfectly brilliant way of learning languages,” and the endorsement holds up to scrutiny. The Michel Thomas Method is genuinely distinctive in its approach – no books, no homework, no memorisation, no writing, no stress – and the Portuguese intermediate course is a well-constructed example of it in practice. At six hours and nineteen minutes, narrated by Virginia Catmur, this is a language course you can genuinely complete in a matter of weeks without rearranging your life around it. That, in the world of language learning, is not nothing.
About the audiobook
Michel Thomas spent fifty years decoding languages into their essential component parts. His method introduces these “building blocks” sequentially, with the listener prompted to reconstruct the language for themselves – forming their own sentences, responding to questions, building grammatical structures from the bottom up – without the pressure of writing anything down or memorising lists. The underlying theory is that the brain retains information far more effectively when it is invited to construct rather than repeat.
The intermediate Portuguese course assumes some foundational knowledge of the language and builds on it systematically. The course itself runs for approximately five hours of active learning, with an additional one-hour review module for consolidation. The publisher suggests that learners will spend fifteen to twenty hours working through the five-hour course at their own pace – pausing, responding, replaying – before moving on. By the end, students should have a solid working knowledge of Portuguese and the confidence to express themselves across a range of everyday situations.
The accompanying booklet is available as an email attachment upon purchase, or through the Audible library or michelthomas.com. Virginia Catmur leads the instruction; the course was originally developed in 1999 and updated in 2009 and 2019, with the current Audible edition released in March 2026 by Hodder & Stoughton.
The narration
Virginia Catmur presents the material with a clarity and patience that suits the pedagogical purpose well. This is not a performance audiobook – it is an instructional one – and Catmur’s measured delivery gives learners the time they need to construct their responses without feeling hurried. The format requires active participation rather than passive listening, and Catmur’s instruction supports that well.
What readers say
No listener reviews are currently available for this edition. The Michel Thomas Method has, however, built a substantial international following over several decades, and the Portuguese course sits within a broader series that has been consistently well-regarded by language learners. The method’s reputation rests on results, and its graduates’ testimonials are extensive.
Who should listen?
This is best suited to learners who have some basic Portuguese and want to build towards confident intermediate fluency without the discipline of a classroom or the drudgery of vocabulary lists. It is particularly well-suited to busy adults who can integrate language learning into commutes, walks, or household tasks. Those who learn well through listening and speaking – as opposed to reading and writing – will find this method congenial. It is not suitable for complete beginners, who should start with the foundation course. Those who want to prepare for a trip to Portugal or Brazil, or who are engaging with Portuguese-language culture, will find this a practical and efficient investment of their time.
Listen to Intermediate Portuguese (Michel Thomas Method) on Audible UK
