Majestic

A.L.L.

A.L.L. is an intrinsic part of the Majestic Religion. Communication is an essential part of our human experience and our members must continue to learn languages to a proficiency of at least level 3*.
All members are to learn ASL (to level 3*+) as a mandatory language since Silent Service is in ASL, and communication within areas of excess noise can be attained.

^{*Proficiency levels as set by the Foreign Service Institute}

FAQ

Frequently Asked

Why ASL?

We promote developing an appreciation and acceptance for the culture of each language we learn. Each Majestic member is to promote awareness and sensitivity to the deaf and hard of hearing community.

I already know two languages do I still need to learn more?

Good for you, and yes. The more languages you learn the better you can communicate with people of the world.

Is there an instructor on site?

Currently, we do not have any language instructors. Since we are not trying to peddle our religion across the globe, there is no need to hire dedicated instructors.

How do i get language learning materials?

Make a donation to The Majestic Church, and we will procure learning materials for you to use.

Can I just learn dialects?

Yes. It is important to know the subtleties, just remember why you are doing it.

Aren't all romance languages the same?

Yes and no. Many modern languages have cognates, and this may make learning romance languages in succession a more successful endeavor.

Can i learn two languages at the same time?

Sure, but you might not learn either very well. We recommend learning your ASL until you can sign a conversation, and then beginning your next language.

How often do I need to work on my language?

If you aren’t excited enough about your language to want to work on it daily, you may need to choose a different language.

Why are some parts of the website in different languages?

While we like to have information available, some of it should remain unknown from people who are unwilling to put forth effort.

Proficiency Levels*

0 - No Proficiency

At this lowest level, there is basically no knowledge of the language. The person may know a few words, but can’t form sentences or carry on any type of conversation.

1 - Elementary Proficiency

At this language proficiency level, a person can form basic sentences, including asking and answering simple questions. This is essentially the starting point of the language proficiency levels. This level reflects someone who is traveling to a new country and who has just begun to study a language.

2 - Limited Working Proficiency

Someone at this level can handle basic work commands and social phrases. They can carry on limited casual conversations at the office and discuss their personal life. Someone at this level still needs help with more extensive conversations in the language. They can only operate independently in basic conversations.

3 - Professional Working Proficiency

Someone at this language proficiency level can make contributions to office meetings, have conversations with clients, and carry out most work functions requested of them. A person at level 3 can speak at a normal speed in the language and has a fairly extensive vocabulary. They likely still have an accent at this level and probably require help understanding subtle and nuanced phrasing. Some employers consider this level or above as basically acceptable, depending on the specific job.

4 - Full Professional Proficiency

Full professional fluency is desired by most employers. Someone at this level can have advanced discussions on a wide range of topics about personal life, current events, and technical topics such as business and finance. People at this level may still have a minor accent and may occasionally misspeak or make minor mistakes. Their vocabulary is extensive and they can carry on conversations with ease. Most employers consider level 4 or above acceptable.

5 - Native/ Bilingual Proficiency

Someone at this language proficiency level was either raised speaking the language as their native tongue or has been speaking it so long that they are completely fluent. They have little or no accent.

Use this chart of Proficiency Levels as a guide.
At The Majestic Church, we recommend a level of at least 3 in any language you are learning. Since our Silent Ceremony is conducted in ASL, a level three is considered adequate for entry to that ceremony.

Below is a list of languages with estimated times to learn for native English speakers. Within this list, we have bolded those we deemed best for members.

This is only our recommendation. If the language you wish to work on is something else, by all means, do that. A.L.L. is “Always Learning Languages”, not about doing only the language we deem somehow worthy of your time.

Start with your interest, and build from there. With the relationships between certain languages, some are best learned one-after-another.

Difficulty/ Time to Professional working proficiency

Information from the FSI website.

FSI’s Experience with Language Learning
The following language learning timelines reflect 70 years of experience in teaching languages to U.S. diplomats, and illustrate the time usually required for a student to reach “Professional Working Proficiency” in the language, or a score of “Speaking-3/Reading-3” on the Interagency Language Roundtable scale. These timelines are based on what FSI has observed as the average length of time for a student to achieve proficiency, though the actual time can vary based on a number of factors, including the language learner’s natural ability, prior linguistic experience, and time spent in the classroom.

Category I Languages: 24-30 weeks (600-750 class hours)

Languages more similar to English.

Danish (24 weeks)	Dutch (24 weeks)	French (30 weeks)
Italian (24 weeks)	Norwegian (24 weeks)	Portuguese (24 weeks)
Romanian (24 weeks)	Spanish (24 weeks)	Swedish (24 weeks)

Category II Languages: Approximately 36 weeks (900 class hours)

German	Haitian Creole	Indonesian
Malay	Swahili

Category III Languages: Approximately 44 weeks (1100 class hours)

“Hard languages” – Languages with significant linguistic and/or cultural differences from English. This list is not exhaustive.

Albanian	Amharic	Armenian
Azerbaijani	Bengali	Bulgarian
Burmese	Czech	Dari
Estonian	Farsi	Finnish
Georgian	Greek	Hebrew
Hindi	Hungarian	Icelandic
Kazakh	Khmer	Kurdish
Kyrgyz	Lao	Latvian
Lithuanian	Macedonian	Mongolian
Nepali	Polish	Russian
Serbo-Croatian	Sinhala	Slovak
Slovenian	Somali	Tagalog
Tajiki	Tamil	Telugu
Thai	Tibetan	Turkish
Turkmen	Ukrainian	Urdu
Uzbek	Vietnamese

Category IV Languages: 88 weeks (2200 class hours)

“Super-hard languages” – Languages which are exceptionally difficult for native English speakers.

Arabic	Chinese – Cantonese	Chinese – Mandarin
Japanese	Korean

Email

themajesticchurchinfo@gmail.com

Our social media is kept sparse.
This is a deliberate action.