Miscellany Central: Glossika Learning Guide (from PDF)

How You Can

Achieve

Fluency

like Polyglots

Most people start learning foreign languages by learning to read the alphabet first. Some of the world's greatest polyglots rarely do this because they know there is a be<er way. The reason for this is because there is a big disconnect between the spoken word and the wri<en word. Experienced language learners understand this.

You may be thinking, "I'm not a polyglot." If I don't learn the alphabet then how am I supposed to pronounce this language?

I'll show you how. Anybody can become an accomplished language learner, in much less Fme than you think. But you do need to adjust your approach.

Cool

Fact

1. Less than half the people who have learned to speak Mandarin Chinese fluently have learned the wriFng system. They can hold a conversaFon with friends and family in Chinese even without knowing how to read and write. This is possible for any language you'd like to learn.

2. There are 6900 languages in the world, of which only

200 or so naFonal languages have standard wriFng systems. All other languages are never wri<en; only spoken.

WriFng systems are more Fed to culture than to the actual languages they represent. In other words, if we represent the sounds of the language accurately, we can save you a lot of Fme trying to figure out a new wriFng system.

If so much of the world speaks languages that are not wri<en, and yet interact with their neighbors in another unwri<en language, and they manage this without textbooks, vocabulary lists, tests, then how do they do it?

Think about your own community. How about the children who haven't started going to school yet. Do they speak your language fluently? Have they learned how to read and write yet? Do they know anything about grammar and spelling? Probably not. Are they able to express themselves and create new sentences anyFme they want? Probably yes! How can they be fluent without knowing these things?

We can learn like children. Exposure develops familiarity. Learning like children doesn't mean abandoning textbooks enFrely. So let me show you what you need to break through to fluency.

How to Measure Progress with Reps

Learning a language like a polyglot means that you spend very li<le Fme on basic things: what is a noun, what is a verb, what is an adjecFve, and so on. Nouns are things. Verbs are acFons. AdjecFves describe things. And these parts of speech change in most languages. Polyglots know this and they don't worry about it. They just start pracFcing.

Let's visit a gym. What are you most likely to see people doing there? Besides jogging, probably li[ing weights. All those machines laying around look a bit confusing and inFmidaFng. But for those working out, there's an order in which they use them, there's a specific number of li[s they do, and there's a specific amount of rest Fme between each exercise.

The weightli[er knows there are machines for the arms, the legs, the back and so on. Much like the polyglot, they don't really worry about the details, they just start working out.

The typical weightli[er at the gym will do several sets, with each set made up of repeFFons, or "reps". Each rep has a specific amount of weight.

Fluency Requires This Many Reps

Think about this scenario: if I were to give you a daily workout schedule on these machines every day for the next few months, and you were to do a total of 60,000 reps, what do you think you'd look like at the end of that training? You'd probably look like a completely diﬀerent person. You'll be

in shape, you'll be fit, and you'll both look and feel great. If I were to challenge you to any athleFc endeavour, you'd be very confident and handle it without a problem.

We've found that the same holds true with language: you need to do lots of reps. Those reps need to be done in a specific order for best results. You'll get be<er results spending your Fme on reps rather than on memorizaFon.

You'll start to feel the eﬀects of fluency coming on when you hit 30,000 reps. You'll be confidently using the language at around 60,000 reps. And we recommend to keep pushing unFl you've done 90,000 reps.

Using an easy-to-follow system, it's not hard to go through 500 sentences per day. At that rate, you'll get through 60,000 reps in 120 days, which is 4 months. That's about a semester in university. And most students coming out of language classes have barely done 5000 reps, less than 10% of your progress. It's no wonder they won't feel fluent and they'll certainly be wondering how you did it. Yet, you’ll know the secret to success.

What about Grammar and Pronunciation?

All of this will fall in place as long as you focus on your full sentence reps. For one thing, grammar is already built into place in full sentences. You'll be learning the most frequent grammar forms as naFve speakers speak. And that's the exposure we give you.

PronunciaFon is very much like a muscle. The more you pracFce and use it, the be<er it gets. Don't expect results in one day. It takes Fme. Learn to hear what you sound like and adjust the way you sound.

It's be<er not to worry about mistakes in grammar or pronunciaFon and just to keep pracFcing. The more pracFce you do, the less you'll have to worry about.

What We Know from Polyglots

Polyglots approach language learning knowing they can acquire a language in a short period of Fme. So they tend to seek out the most eﬀecFve methodologies to help them achieve this. There's no need to waste Fme on ineﬀecFve textbooks, rote memorizaFon, or language classes that focus on grammar. Polyglots know that the wriFng system can both be an asset and a liability, and in the beginning, it's be<er to get speaking quickly, then later couple those skills with the wriFng system to acquire vocabulary at a much quicker rate. Learning the wriFng system in this way saves lots of Fme and prevents major pronunciaFon errors.

The founder of Glossika, Michael Campbell, is a polyglot. But he's unlike most polyglots you may have heard of such as: Richard Simco<, Vladimir Skultety, Luca Lampariello, Benny Lewis, Steve Kaufmann, Olly Richards. What makes Michael diﬀerent from them?

Not only has Michael acquired many unwri<en languages, he's also acquired languages from a half dozen language families. He's much more similar to polyglot Stuart Jay Raj in this respect.

In a video produced by accomplished polyglot, Vladimir, he stated that Chinese was the hardest language he had ever learned, a statement he made clear that has nothing to do with the wriFng whatsoever. This was because all of his European languages felt like variaFons or dialects of each other. He hadn't been truly challenged with a real "foreign" language unFl he learned Chinese. Michael Campbell, on the other hand, feels that Chinese was one of the easiest languages to learn and now speaks four Chinese languages and another handful of aboriginal Austronesian languages. But his reasons are slightly diﬀerent than Vladimir’s.

Michael Campbell has been invited to speak at conferences, has appeared on television and radio, and has done many press interviews in Chinese.

Between 2001 and 2010, Michael Campbell tested and developed his methods while he lead the way for more than 10,000 students to fluency: average language learners like yourself. He now welcomes you to join the hundreds of thousands of people he has had the pleasure to influence and guide since then.

Today, the Glossika method is known worldwide and ranks among the highest performing programs and hailed by many as "Pimsleur on Steroids”. John McWhorter, professor of linguisFcs at Columbia University, recommended Glossika in his TED talk “4 Reasons to Learn a New Language”. Glossika is now used in universiFes worldwide in the USA, UK, Russia, Japan, Taiwan, China, New Zealand, including members of staﬀ at MIT. It is used by government oﬃcials and those training for diplomaFc roles.

Comparisons with Leading Products

1. Hours of Audio

In a single package, Glossika provides you with over 120 hours of audio spoken by naFve speakers. Compare this with Assimil's 3.3 hours, Living Languages 6 hours, Pimsleur's 75 hours (for its few largest courses).

Hours of Audio

120

Assimil Pimsleur Glossika

2. Vocabulary

Glossika builds a vocabulary of 3500 words, approximately the same as Assimil and 5x more than Pimsleur.

3. Content

Glossika contains 3000 conversaFonal sentences, many of which are quesFon & answer mini-dialogues. Far more than any other course on the market.

4. Writing Systems

Glossika handles hard wriFng systems with ease: naFve script plus full transcripFons plus pronunciaFon guide for every single sentence (with an easy-to-follow series of YouTube Glossika Phonics videos to learn from). Pimsleur, on the other hand, does not provide any text.

5. Unwritten Languages / Regional Dialects

Glossika handles unwri<en languages and regional dialects with ease: we transcribe everything so you can both see it and hear it. And again, the phonics are there for every sentence.

Because Glossika solved the problem of unwri<en languages, we also deliver languages as they're actually spoken. Most courses on the market

teach literary Persian, literary Armenian, literary Finnish, and many others. Glossika delivers how the language is actually spoken on the streets, diﬀering greatly from the wri<en word and how most textbooks teach language. Be confident that the language you learn from Glossika will be engaging and easy to communicate with naFve speakers.

6. Spaced Repetition

Glossika Spaced RepeFFon (GSR) audio is unlike any other program. Unlike Memrise, Pimsleur, Anki, Duolingo, GSR doesn't just remind you of informaFon when you're about to forget it, which isn't all that great for long-term memories. Instead, GSR is built to work with your sleep pa<erns and the building of long-term memories. GSR doesn't remind you

-- it builds habits. A[er using GSR, there is no issue of remembering or forgetng, but rather speaking in a way that just feels right, because you do it out of habit. Just like a naFve speaker.

“exactly the language product t h a t y o u ’ r e l o o k i n g f o r … reasonable and humble approach to language learning… ability to be realis:c and honest about the language learning process…”

Brian Powers

Language Around the Globe

“… highly eﬀec:ve, research g r o u n d e d m e t h o d … i t ’s a treasure trove of high quality dialogue material that you won’t find anywhere else.”

Donovan Nagel

The Mezzofan:

“We highly recommend Glossika for those who want to become beEer (and faster) at making sentences.”

“Glossika audio content tested every corner of my brain... and it reminded me of scores of small things I had learned but forgoEen about t h e I t a l i a n l a n g u a g e . . .

G l o s s i k a c o u l d r e a l l y transform your speaking a b i l i t y i n y o u r t a r g e t language.”

Ellen Jovin Words & Worlds of New York

“ I ’ v e a l w ay s a d v o c a t e d learning vocabulary purely in contextual sentences instead of from lists, and Glossika is the perfect resource for doing just that."

Israel Lai

Rhapsody in Lingo

“. . . y o u a r e a b s o l u t e l y rewarded with a rich body of knowledge, not only about your new language, but about the process of language acquisi:on.”

“Every language has certain grammar paEerns... learn these common grammar paEerns, you have a good grounding in t h e l a n g u a g e . O n c e y o u re co g n i s e t h e s e co m m o n phrases... you can cope easily with many familiar situa:ons you’ll find yourself in. In a nutshell, Glossika gives you all this founda:onal stuﬀ on a plate… which is awesome!”

Olly Richards I'll Teach You a Language

“A course I really like for i n t u i : v e l y i m p r o v i n g my knowledge of the gramma:cal structures and vocabulary of a new language… ”

Conor Clyne

Language Tsar

“So if Pimsleur is the alpha of the audio courses then Glossika is definitely the omega... Never has there been such a direct path to fluency than there is with Glossika.”

Jan van der Aa	Lorenzo Swank
LanguageBoost	Language Learning Library	Best Way to Learn German

“ C o m p r e h e n s i b l e i n p u t method... you will get the feel of how to say something correctly.”

Teddy Nee Nee's Language Blog

“Comprehensive and eﬀec:ve system that delivers speaking a n d l i ste n i n g t ra i n i n g t o fluency.”

David Hagstrom

Talk with my Neighbor

“This method is actually a ninja. It will teach you grammar without teaching you grammar and you won’t even know it’s doing that.”

Polyglod

“… a very solid language learning method that should be in every serious language learner’s toolbox.”

Lingholic

“... your brain can recognise it automa:cally...you will be able to keep up with na:ve speakers when the :me comes... What’s Glossika? In 3 words: scien:fic language learning.”

Dave Hale

Find Fluency

“Throughout the course are the sorts of sentences that you actually need to use in d a i l y l i fe … I fe e l m o r e confident”

Wannabe Polyglot

“Glossika speeds up this natural	“I highly recommend (the	“I love it! … seriously. What I
process of exposure and allows	lesser known) Glossika.”	love about Glossika is that you
our ears and our ‘mouths’ to		have put into a concentrated
become accustomed to the		pill what I would have done
language… We can now hear		with hundreds of books
the words, recognize paEerns		myself.”
and naturally pick up the
rhythm of the language.”

Simon	John McWhorter	Stuart Jay Raj
Dawn of Truth	TED Talk (4 Reasons to Learn	hyperpolyglot
	a Language)

Join the Global Community of Glossika Users Today!

Below we include a step-by-step guide to selecFng your language, and how much Fme it's going to take you to reach fluency. We can measure the results, and we can deliver those results to you with certainty.

If you're looking for a boost in your career, or a promoFon, or a new job in another country, or the opportunity to do business with another country, then where will your fluency be in 3 months from now? 6 months from now?

Do you know for sure? How can you measure your results and how much fluency you have a<ained?

We've figured this out for you ahead of Fme here at Glossika, and we're here to help you reach your goal.

The Hardest Language in the World

We believe that all languages are the same. They all have diﬃcult or challenging aspects, but they also have easier aspects.

The hardest language in the world is your first foreign language. Your second and third foreign language won't be as hard anymore. And your success rate will increase. But you can always come back and give your first language a second shot and break through to fluency.

Choose a Language

If your naFve language is English, and you want to choose the easiest and fastest route to fluency, I recommend any Germanic or Romance language. Some of the easiest languages include Swedish, Norwegian, Afrikaans, Italian, or Spanish. Languages that are a bit more complex include Dutch, German, Danish, French, and Portuguese.

If you'd like a challenge, then start with a language outside of your language family. Later if you learn more languages, they appear so much easier. If English is your naFve language, this would be a non Indo-European language. In Europe and the Middle East there are several you could choose: Finnish, Hungarian, Turkish, Arabic, and Hebrew. And this would include all languages in East and Southeast Asia and Africa and the Americas.

Choose a Schedule

This largely depends on how much Fme you have every day and for how many months you can stay dedicated to your goal. Once you order a course, we will deliver you a detailed schedule to follow.