Full disclaimer: I haven't fully finished this book yet. I did find it really interesting what I've read so far. If you really want to learn a new language or are teaching a second (or more) language to students I can definitely see this book as something you keep returning to.

The Language Learner Guidebook is an interesting hybrid book/textbook from language educator Shane Dixon. Released 20th Nov 2018 by Wayzgoose press, it's 290 pages and available in ebook and paperback formats. Written as a companion book to Dr. Dixon's online language courses, it provides some insights about language learning which he's gathered during his time as a language instructor.

As a native English speaker, I have lived in a number of not-primarily-English-speaking countries. I've often wondered why my facility (for example) with Korean and Russian lagged significantly behind my facility with Norwegian (and in fact Danish and Swedish for that matter). Despite having lived in both Korea and Norway/Denmark, my Korean fluency never remotely approached my comfort level with Norwegian. This book provided some interesting insights into why (in my case) it happened that way.

This is much less of a book about how to learn a particular foreign language than it is a philosophical and pedagogic guide to why and how we learn and process language; specifically another language from our first.

The book really reads like a road map or atlas. There are way-points listed along with a pithy observation at the end of each section. I found that reading the observations at the end of the sections helped me to more easily identify the ones which were more applicable to my situation. I think this book could be quite useful for a reader troubleshooting his/her own comprehension or language learning process.

There was honestly nothing truly epiphanous for me. There was no moment when a light-bulb went off over my head and I thought 'Wow! THAT'S what I've been missing all along'. There was a slow accumulation of small interesting ideas which will likely be useful to students of foreign language.

What did really interest me very much and for me the most valuable takeaways in the book came from the short exercises at the end of the book. Presented as mini-lessons/stratagems, they provide starting points for developing a plan for increasing specific areas of your language learning. There were several lessons for several different facets of language acquisition: culture, developing a network, preparation, developing an effective strategy for practice and other practical aspects of learning.

It's an interesting book and one I will likely refer to again later.

Three-four stars. It would make a good adjunct textbook or support work to teachers learning *how* to teach language.

The Language Learner Guidebook starts with an anecdotal story about students in Iran. Telling a story about people is always a good way to start any narrative as it immediately captures the reader’s interest. Substantive subject matter soon follows in the book with a recommendation that the reader build an ecosystem or supplemented learning plan.

A language learning ecosystem includes resources such as internet culture exposure, online language learning programs, and blogs in the language being targeted. Written library materials and physical class attendance supplements should also be part of the ecosystem created. Lastly, and most important in my judgment, is the seeking out of opportunities to practice the language by conversing with native speakers. The latter can be done online but is best done in person where you can watch the body language and hand movements of the speaker. Such discourse greatly enhances language comprehension.

The author, Shane Dixon, introduced several learning methods. While he goes through these in detail, they are useful only when coupled with goal establishment. Goals are the drivers that keep a language learner focused on learning progress. Without language learning goals, learning strategies don’t get established and learning methods quickly get abandoned due to interruptions. But learning efforts do prove tedious over time. It is for this reason that Dixon emphasizes the need for language learning enthusiasts to go out of their way to make language learning fun.

Many language teachers and textbook writers over the years have dealt with tenses, verbs, and language structure but few have addressed how to learn a language. Emersion was generally the proposed teaching method but without a foundation in a language, emersion will not work as engaged native speakers have no way of knowing what you are trying to communicate. Dixon’s self-learning language book shows readers how to attain that needed language base.

I've never been in the odd position as a reviewer of a book in which I simultaneously recommend a book and would call most of what's in it to be superfluous. But here we are living that lifestyle.

I've been a student of several languages for years, so I was eager to read this. In this text, Dixon doesn't present a single new idea into the pedagogy of language learning. We've heard it or read about it all before. But what Dixon does well is compile and explain different approaches. Most of what you need to form a game plan to learn a language is here, and so I'd recommend this book.

However, since most of the stories and anecdotes do little to support the methodologies described in the book, here's how I'd recommend that you read it:
・Read the italicized text at the ends of each of the chapters
・If there's something you don't understand in that italicized text, read the chapter that that text follows
・When you get to Part VII, congratulations, you're done. But you can enjoy a summary of the book that Dixon calls a strategy workbook, which isn't at all a workbook.

Dixon buries in the text the most important key to language learning: caring. Do you care enough to learn the language you're trying to learn? If you're not into it, then whatever methodology you employ isn't going to help you; you should just do something else. But if you're into it, then Dixon can give you some good ideas that he has gathered from other people and his own experience.

If you want to click the hyperlinks that Dixon includes in the text, then you might want to invest in an e-book version. I didn't try it out, but I'm pretty sure the links are broken in the paper version.

Reading the blurb about the book I was expecting tips and ideas from Shane Dixon on how to improve my language learning. He does bring new ideas, and mainly discusses what doesn't work: classroom, online programs, etc. Some tips, like reading more and watching more and listening more in everyday settings are good, and I do that now with Spanish, although still feel confused when others speak it around me. Was trying to find tips and advice for a quick fix to improve, and while I didn't find that here, he does give me some thought about trying for more and basically keep practicing. At times he pushes his site too, but I didn't find much there as I didn't want to pay extra for something I may or may not use. Would recommend if you are struggling and feel frustrated about not learning a new language faster. At least he gives food for thought.

I love learning foreign languages, and have done so ever since high school. As such, I was keen to see what advice Shane Dixon had to offer, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I already employ many of his methods in my own style of self-study. Dixon's approach is to mix traditional methods of both form and meaning learning with interactions and cultural pursuits, such as watching films or listening to podcasts. In this book, he blends advice and worksheets with anecdotes about students with whom he's worked, and I found that an engaging and interesting mix. Would all his suggestions be appropriate for everyone? Probably not. One or two things he mentions I know from experience would not be right for me. However, with this type of multi-faceted approach, it is easy to pick and choose which aspects to employ in your own study after trial and error, seeing what best suits your needs and preferences. Overall, I think this is a useful read for anyone keen to study another language, or those current language students who have reached a roadblock and are keen to find new ways to progress. 4.5 stars