Linguaguide Manifesto Report: This Is A Free Manifesto - Forward To Your Friends!

LinguaGuide Manifesto Report
By Ray Vetne, 2008
THIS IS A FREE MANIFESTO - FORWARD TO YOUR FRIENDS!

If you found this manifesto report useful, feel free to share it with your friends, readers or customers. Let’s get
the word out - we’re tired of language courses that don’t work, and well-meaning but misguided language teachers
who waste their student’s time. It’s about time that we all know and follow proven principles.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2008 Ray Vetne and LinguaGuide.com. All rights reserved. This PDF-document has to be
distributed as is - no changes of any sort without expressed written permission from Ray Vetne. If you would like
to include one of the chapters as an article in your ezine, ebook or website, please contact me to see if we can
work something out: ray@linguaguide.com.
DISCLAIMER
While attempts have been made to verify information contained in this publication, neither the author nor the
publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, ommissions, interpretation or usage of the subject matter herein.
This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author and is intended for informational purposes only.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Why you should learn a foreign language now . . . . . . . . page 2
Chapter 2: What’s wrong with so many language courses . . . . . . . . . page 4
Chapter 3: Eight dangerous myths about language learning . . . . . . . page 7
Chapter 4: Some quick and powerful tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 10
Chapter 5: How much do you have to know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 12
Epilogue: Join the Revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 14
www.LinguaGuide.com - page 1
Chapter 1:
Why You Should Learn a Foreign Language Now
#1 Language learning sharpens your mind
You’re not getting any younger, you know. Your brain is slowly aging. Getting rusty.
Stimulating your mind now is the best thing you can do to keep the brain fast and furious in many years
to come. Use it or lose it.
Picking up a foreign language is a fantastic way of stimulating and sharpening your mind. With modern
language learning methods it is also easier than you think.
#2 Boost your self-confidence
So you’re high school teacher said you were no good at languages? Well, go prove her wrong! Actually, it was
most likely your teacher who didn’t have a clue how to teach a language effectively (that’s a fact - language
learning stinks... in too many school). With correct methods and tools you can learn a lot of a language all
by yourself if you want to.
Didn’t have any French teacher in school? Well, who else could you impress? Maybe your friends think you’re
plain vanilla. Average Joe. Boring Jane.
Why don’t you show them they have no clue about your true you. ‘Cause you’re exotic, you’re fresh, you’re
kicking it - you expand your powers and are learning a new foreign language.
I guess their jaws will drop next time you order Italian or Chinese food as it’s supposed to be ordered!
The most important person to impress, of course, is yourself. Knowing that you’re making steady progress
towards a language you never dreamt you could learn, is exhilarating and liberating. Show yourself that you
can do it!
#3 Earn more money
Sadly the US and world economy is slowing (as of 2008). But as they say - when the going gets tough, the
tough gets going. And you’re tough.
Next time someone has to go from your shrinking company, who do you think that will be? We know who it’s not.
Anyone with some foreign language skills have an unfair advantage in the job market these days.
More and more business is conducted globally. More and more customers and vendors internationally. Any of the
big world business languages - for instance French, German, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese - is becoming extremely
profitable these days.
Don’t believe me? Just tell your boss that they better let you with your Chinese skills handle the important Asian
accounts. And pay you the big mullah your deserve.
#4 Get to travel for free
Did we forget to mention that your company won’t only pay you more with some language skills. You get to
do the fun travelling!
We can admit it – travelling to US airports and hotels is stressful and boring. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen
them all. Domestic travel is a dread.
Travelling abroad and meeting new places and cultures however, is fascinating and fun. By learning a foreign
language, which is easier today than you think with the right methods and tools, your boss will send you abroad
to handle foreign business.
#5 It’s the ultimate lifestyle
Are you bored and over-entertained?
Remember when movies there the coolest - you couldn’t get enough. Or computer games. Or dressing up and
going out to dine and wine.
What happened? Doesn’t everything seem so mundane these days? The problem is that we are simply over-
entertained and under-challenged. No, not challenged by being busy, challenged to set a goal and work towards
it and then reaping the reward.
I tell you, the first time you are able to follow along on a foreign movie without subtitles, or reading a magazine or
book in your new language, it’s a kick you’ve never had before.
Language learning is the ultimate lifestyle today. It opens up new cultures, new sense impressions, new ways of
thinking, and different experiences when you travel and talk with the locals.
Chapter 2:
What’s Wrong with So Many Language Courses &
How to Really Learn Effectively
You know what I’m talking about. Too many language courses - both the classroom-ones and those for self-study -
don’t seem to work. You study and sweat as the teacher suggests, but never seem to acquire the language.
On a trip to the foreign country, you are not even able to order a glass of orange juice without reverting to
English. You feel your language skills are still crawling on all four when it should (after such a long time with hard
work) be walking or running. Does language learning have to be next to impossible?
Since knowing a language is so fun and useful, it should be a crime to waste language learners’ time on methods
that don’t work.
Of course, most language teachers in schools are good and well-meaning people, they just don’t know how true
language learning works. They inherited some foolish methods and stuck with it, not knowing any better.
You’re about to learn what scientists and results-oriented language teachers have discovered does work.
The point of this chapter is that one method (the traditional or popular one in schools) is wrong and ineffective;
another method works like gangbusters for anybody.
The wrong method has created tons of disillusioned students who could never use the language. The right method
makes everybody succeed - ‘school smart’ or not.
Here is the crucial difference between the two methods (drum roll please): Learning about a language is not the
same as learning to use it. Studying a grammar book will never make you able to use the language fluently.
Here’s a summary for you:
Analytical Intuitive
You know the language theoretically You know the language practically
When you stop and think you can You can understand speech, read text,
recall what a word means, how a talk and write in real time
word is parsed, which grammatical
rule that applies
It’s like learning how to drive a car. Taking the theoretical driving class and knowing analytically how to work
the pedals, turn the steering wheel, push the gearstick and look out different windows and mirrors is not the
same as actually being able to drive. All of us who have been driving for a while know that we do our driving
quite automatically and intuitively. The head, hands and feet make a lot of movements that you don’t consciously
plan or think through.
This is also how language learning works. The goal is to be able to use the language “unconsciously”,
“automatically”, “intuitively”, without having to think about every word, case and grammar rule all the time.
We want to train our language intuition.
So to learn facts about a language - like memorizing grammar rules - does not help you much in your practical
use of the language.
When you hear someone speak French and you want to understand what the person says, it helps you surprisingly
little how much vocab or verb declension lists you have tried to cram in - you simply don’t have the time to ‘look
up’ all that information in your mental ‘dictionary’.
How can you know that the above is true? Well, ask yourself - do you think anyone is fast enough to think about
and remember a dozen grammar rules he has learnt in those grammar books for every sentence he is going to
speak or read? Of course not. We don’t talk or read by mentally ‘looking up’ grammar rules.
NOBODY who reads a French newspaper article thinks about gender this and verb tense that for each sentence.
Learning grammar and rules is close to useless in day to day reading and speaking.
Why do we spend so much time on verb tenses and grammar rules in school, then? Beats me. It’s simply crazy
and ineffective.
“Language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious

grammatical rules, and does not require tedious drill.”
- Prof. Stephen Krashen, University of Southern California
A little bit of analytical grammar knowledge is ok, but don’t spend more than - say - 10% of your time studying
that. Spend most of your time USING the language - reading and listening to French at your level, with some
translation or other visual aid so you understand the French (or whatever language you’re learning). And go light
on books in English about how French functions.
This language intuition approach, often called the “immersion method”, works for absolutely everyone who
simply puts the time in. By simply exposing yourself a lot to the language being used, by massive amounts of
listening and reading, you brain will absorb the language. It is most effective if you understand most of what
is being said or written (but with some unknown and uncomprehensible material in between so your level of
comprehension can grow).
¤ You can listen to simplified language, which lets the language intuition interpret easier what it
receives and give you the meaning more quickly
¤ You can get an introduction to the language and the grammar by training the analytical part of
the mind, so that you can get going and understand the language in “slow motion” - that is by
interpreting speech and text word by word (but this has to be a supplement to and not replace
the training of the language intuition)
The weakness of many language courses is that they stick to this “slow motion” technique and spend most of
the time on memorizing the language word by word and grammar rule by grammar rule. Too little time is spent
feeding the brain with real, actual language usage - reading and listening to real language. So the students remain
cripples and never get to see the day when they are able to walk and run.
Summary
Analytical (slow, Intuitive (fast,

mostly useless) use all the time)
Traditional emphasis in school is here (ouch!) Where you should put your emphasis
You learn about your language theoretically You can use your language practically
When you stop and think you can remember what you’ve You can listen, read, talk and write in real time
learnt (only useful when you have lots of time, for instance
looking over your own writing for mistakes) Is trained by reading or listening to the
language - with some translations or visual
Is trained by reading books in English about
aids so you understand it
your language
Chapter 3:
Eight dangerous myths about language learning
The myths about foreign language learning are many. If you believe them, they might cripple and hinder your
language learning. So let’s investigate some of them.
Myth: Children are better at learning languages than adults
Truth: Children are good at absorbing a language over a long time in informal settings (which trains the language
intuition), while adults often don’t have the patience to listen to such large amounts of advanced speech. But if
adults do the same thing, they’ll learn the language just as fast.
Children are less settled and more flexible in their pronunciation. Adults easier get an accent - a pronunciation
that is a mixture of the phonology of their mother tongue and that of the new foreign language.
When it comes to studying a language analytically - like understanding and memorizing grammatical rules -
adults are actually better than children.
What can we learn from this? Absorb the language intuitively as kids do, beat the kids at analytical understanding
of the language, but get used to the idea that they might be better than you at pronunciation.
Myth: I don’t have a talent for language learning
Truth: Some people do seem to be better at learning foreign languages than others. Some are more enthusiastic
and motivated about the task (which is quite important) and have better skills. But nobody is completely bereaved
of abilities. We all have a “language processor” that managed the task of acquiring our mother tongue fairly well,
and this engine can also be used at acquiring a new language.
And you are never too old for language learning. With a poorer memory it may take you a longer time to get new
information on board. Progress might be slower and the level of mastery you aim at might have to be lower than
for a younger person, but a lot of fun and learning is possible for everyone.
Myth: Everybody has the same possibilities for foreign language mastery
This is going to the other false extreme. It is possible for anyone to learn a new language, but it is still a fact
that some learn languages faster and to a higher level of fluency than others - with the same amount of work
and effort spent.
Just a simple factor like self-esteem can make a difference. I have a friend who was unlucky with a teacher in
primary school, who made fun of his skills and accents in front of the class. He has never completely recovered
his faith in his own language learning abilities, even though he has over the years worked with five different
foreign languages.
Man is a complex being, and we carry with us a lots of baggage from the past that we have
little immediate control of.
Myth: Language learning has to be blood, sweat and tears
Truth: All of us can experience times when the fun is gone and learning has to take place by the exercise of the
will, but language learning methodology today has come a long way since the reign of terror some experienced
back in school-days.
If you haven’t studied a language for decades, and you were unfortunate with your teachers and the teaching
methodology used when you were young, you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise. Today we are much more aware
that people learn in very different ways, that training the language intuition is as important (or more) as rote
memorization of systematic descriptions of the language, and that the former is often a lot more fun than
the latter.
Computer technology has also come a long way, and exciting programs for learning languages (both analytically
and intuitively) are available today that just didn’t exist a decade ago.
Unfortunately, many language teachers in the school system still live in the bad old days...
Myth: To understand a text or an utterance you first have to translate it in your mind to your
native language
Truth: A language is not a translation of another language, but a translation of life and the world.
Each language has its own way of categorizing and labeling the world. A word in one language has no one-to-one
correspondance with a word in another language. One language might have several words for a certain object
or concept, while another language might have only one. Prepositions are famous for their “randomness” when
compared one-to-one with prepositions in another language.
So forget thinking in terms of “translation” when you want to understand something in your new
language. Try to understand the phrase in the new language directly. Let the mind associate the word
or phrase with the thing in reality that it refers to rather than to a word in another language.
Myth: It is important not to do any mistake (when you talk or write), for then the mistake is
settled as correct in your mind and is difficult to get rid of later
Truth: All beginners make mistakes. If you are afraid of making a mistake, you will only inhibit yourself and
express yourself less in the language. So, jump into it and start talking. You’re a beginner and people around you
expect you to do some mistakes, but you don’t want to stay like a beginner forever. Just remember that over time
you want to get rid of the mistakes and improve your profiency.
Another matter is that researchers are divided over the value of talking and writing early on in the learning
process. Many believe that beginners should be allowed their “silent period” where they don’t have to talk or write
while they train their language intuition, just like children who begin in a day care center or school in a new
country are silent their first months suddenly to start talking with almost fluency.
These researchers do not believe it is bad to talk early on (that mistakes made somehow are settled and can’t
be fixed later), only that the time spent talking and writing early on is not as beneficial as spending that time
reading or listening.
Myth: When you move to another country, you will automatically absorbe the language there
Truth: Lots of people have lived for years in another country and never learnt more than a few words and
phrases.
This is particularly dangerous if you speak English well (which you do, since you can read this). Lots of people
all over the world speak your language well, or would like to practise it on you. If you don’t consciously listen
to the language of the country, and drop your English when talking to its people, you will manage to learn
little or nothing of their language.
So the factors that work against you in your new country is bilingualism among the inhabitants (how fluent and
eager they are to speak in a language you know, like English), if the inhabitants are sceptical or reserved towards
foreigners (giving you a difficult time becoming “one of them” and getting extensive language practice), and a
strong cultural difference (making it hard to understand someone even when you have learned what the words
themselves mean). The higher these social barriers are, the harder you will have to work to become a part of the
community and practise their language.
Myth: You have to learn a language completely (to fluency), otherwise you will lose it again
Truth: It is a wise thing to spend time keeping up what you have already learnt, but if you should let a language
slide and rust, then know that it comes much more easily back when you work on it again than if you should
start from scratch.
During the last ten years I have let my ancient Greek knowledge slide many times, and just as many times I
have re-studied the language. And every time it has been easier and easier, and the language now sticks better
and better.
Do you have an old language lying around unused? Pick it up and revive it. You will experience that you quickly
remember much more of the language than you thought was possible. The language was never completely gone.
Chapter 4:
Some quick and powerful tips
Train your language intuition
If your longterm goal is to be able to use the language actively and not just throw out some standard phrases you
have memorized, then your intuition or language processor has to be taught the language sooner or later. And this
is done only by large amounts of reading and listening.
You should begin with simplified language so you understand most of what you read or hear. Here are some
suggestions:
- Easy Reader books (short stories with a simple vocabulary)
- Audio-tape/CD courses with simplified dialogues
- Computer-software with interactive explanations
- Computer-software with pictures that help you understand
- Children’s books with drawings or pictures and written descriptions accompanying the illustrations
- Written stories you already know well (well-known fairy tales or Bible stories)
- English movie dubbed into the foreign language (many DVDs let you watch the original with English
speech first, then watch it in the other language)
Stick to one language at a time
This one is not important for everybody, but if you are a beginner at foreign language learning and haven’t got to
know yourself well enough yet, this is a good rule of thumb. Many learn a language most effectively by studying
one language at a time, rather than studying many in parallell, if for no other reason than that you faster reach a
level of the language where it gets more fun to use it.
Invest as much time in the language as is needed to be able to read simple short stories, weekly magazines and
watch television programs and understand most of what is said. You have to reach a certain level where you can
use the language regularly without feeling that reading and listening are “chores”.
From there you can keep the language up and develop it further to any level you want while you take up another
foreign language (if you want to learn several).
Review, review, review
Remember to review many times over the material you have worked so hard to learn. Many people skip this part,
and always run ahead to new and more advanced material. Begin your session every day with some minutes of
reviewing the last couple of lessons, then the knowledge will stay in your mind longer. A good rule of thumb is
to review today what you did yesterday, review this week what you did last week, and this month what you did
last month. Review all the material three times in this manner (after a day, a week and a month), and it will for
most people transfer to your long term memory.
Be realistic
Making specific goals is important for motivation and planning. Choose realistic goals for the short term and
long term.
Decide on how much time you want to spend every week (preferrably half an hour or more daily) and how far you
believe you will come after this week and in three months. Such goals can help your will-power to stick to the plan
when the pleasure and joy from studying temporarily go away.
And when you gradually see yourself attaining your goals, it will increase your motivation to keep on studying.
Success - reaching your goals - is a very important motivator for many of us.
Have fun - choose learning activities that you like
During the last couple of decades language teachers have become much more aware that the best way of learning
varies from person to person.
Some people are primarily visual and learn by watching - reading, looking at the teacher writing on the board,
watching educational movies etc. Others are auditive and like to listen - at the teacher lecturing, talking with
natives, listening to radio and movies. And a final group is kinetic and prefer doing things and moving around -
like performing actions while repeating what the action is called in the new language.
Some people prefer to study quietly on their own while others prefer lectures, colloquia and discussions.
If you don’t know yourself well enough yet, then try out different methods and try to feel which
ones you are drawn towards and can easily spend a long time doing. Most likely these are also your
most efficient learning activities. Knowing yourself is very useful before you do any major investments
- like going to a language course abroad if you actually prefer to study on your own in your home.
It is better with many short sessions than a few long ones
Experts agree that its best to study half an hour or more every day than one long session during the weekend.
The most important reason for this is the need for reviewing. The things you learn must be reviewed a couple of
times before it moves from your shortterm memory to longterm. By working a bit on your language every day,
you get to review the material from the previous days.
Chapter 5:
How Much Do You Have to Learn to Enjoy Your Language
A little bit of language skills is a lot better than nothing. You don’t have to know a language fluently before
it’s fun. It all depends on your goals and aspirations. If you want to exchange some simple phrases with your
Spanish-speaking neighbours, you don’t need to know as much as if you want to talk easily with Spanish-speakers
or pick up a Spanish magazine. And if you want to work or study in a Spanish-speaking country you need a
higher level of mastery still.
How much do I have to know
Gethin and Gunnemark (“The art and science of learning languages”, 1996) have given the following simple
but useful summary.
Survival level: 400-500 words and 150 phrases.

You can make yourself understood and understand easy and slow speech.
Mini level: 800-1000 words and 300 phrases.

Now you can talk with ease, and read books and newspapers with the aid of a dictionary.
Midi level: 1500-2000 words and more than 300 phrases.

All you need for everyday conversations. During one day you use approximately these many words, you can take
part in more serious discussions and understand what is being said at normal speed.
3000-4000 words: Enough to read newspapers and books fluently.
8000 words: All du need. More words than this is not necessary in order to communicate freely and read all
sorts of literature.
10.000-20.000: The active vocabulary for a cultivated European.
50.000-100.000: The passive vocabulary (words you understand but don’t use yourself ) for a cultivated person.
How much do I need to study?
What is the best way of organizing my study time? Should I concentrate it to one or two power-sessions per week,
or is it better with smaller and more frequent sessions throughout the week?
Most experts agree that its best to study half an hour or more every day, preferrably an hour or more. So half an
hour every day is much better than one long session during the weekend.
The most important reason for this is the need for reviewing. The things you learn must be reviewed a couple of
times before it moves from your shortterm memory to longterm. By working a bit on your language every day,
you get to review the material from the previous days.
Gethin and Gunnemark (page 185) made the following definition of intensity:
Intensive courses: full-time study, 25 hours a week or more
Concentrated studies: minimum 12 hours or more a week
Hobby level: minimum three hours a week (half an hour daily), preferably 6 hours
If you attend a course taught in a class-room, Gethin and Gunnemark suggest that you spend at least twice (or
if possible as much as four times) as much time studying on your own as you spend in the classroom. So if
you attend a three hour one evening a week course, you should spend a least six hours a week in front of your
books, tapes and language software.
Manifesto Epilogue:
What’s the Next Step? Join the Revolution!
This final chapter is going to be painful. There is no easy way of saying this...:
If research has been available for a long time telling us that language learners should spend less
time on grammar rules and analyzing a language, and more time on listening, reading and absorbing
the language with real but easy-to-understand language - training the language intuition...
...then why are language teachers still spending so much time in class on analyzing and explaining grammar?
How come it’s taking so long for language teachers to catch on?
Not all teachers use old-fashioned, ineffective methods of course, but too many do!
It’s time for a Lingua revolution.
Out with the bad teachers and the bad and boring books.
& In with cutting-edge teachers!
& In with fun books that let you absorb the language!
& In with the supertools on our computers and iPods!
Knowing a new language is so fun and exciting, that we simply have to make an end to all the suffering. We have
to put ourselves and other language students out of our miseries and into effective learning. Let’s make the proven
principles of language learning common knowledge everywhere.
How can you join the movement?
Here’s what I need you to do:
Step 1
Forward this LinguaGuide Manifesto to everyone you know who are
interested in foreign languages. Your language teacher... your friends ...
your work colleagues ... your mom and dad, son or daughter.
You can simply email this PDF-file to your friends, or tell them to go to
www.LinguaGuide.com/report to get it themselves.
Step 2
Sign up for the LinguaGuide email newsletter and free podcast at
www.LinguaGuide.com/podcast
Then we’ll keep you up to date with all the latest learning tips, reviews of the good and the bad books and courses,
and interviews with the leading experts.
All the best in your language learning.
Ray Vetne,
Editor LinguaGuide.com and Manifesto Author
PS! I’d appreciate your feedback on this Manifesto report. How did you enjoy it? And what’s your own story - success
or frustration - with language learning? Send me an email to ray@linguaguide.com and let me know (yes, I do read
these emails myself ).

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LinguaGuide Manifesto Report

By Ray Vetne, 2008

THIS IS A FREE MANIFESTO - FORWARD TO YOUR FRIENDS!

#1 Language learning sharpens your mind

#2 Boost your self-confidence

#4 Get to travel for free

#5 It’s the ultimate lifestyle

Are you bored and over-entertained?

Here’s a summary for you:

“Language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious

Analytical (slow, Intuitive (fast,

Myth: Children are better at learning languages than adults

Myth: I don’t have a talent for language learning

Myth: Language learning has to be blood, sweat and tears

Train your language intuition

Stick to one language at a time

Review, review, review

Have fun - choose learning activities that you like

It is better with many short sessions than a few long ones

How much do I have to know

Survival level: 400-500 words and 150 phrases.

Mini level: 800-1000 words and 300 phrases.

Midi level: 1500-2000 words and more than 300 phrases.

3000-4000 words: Enough to read newspapers and books fluently.

10.000-20.000: The active vocabulary for a cultivated European.

Intensive courses: full-time study, 25 hours a week or more

Concentrated studies: minimum 12 hours or more a week

It’s time for a Lingua revolution.

& In with cutting-edge teachers!

& In with the supertools on our computers and iPods!

How can you join the movement?

All the best in your language learning.

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