What's Available for Language Learners in Search of the Golden Grail of Near-Native Proficiency


Reaching near-native proficiency in a foreign language is considered the grail by some and impossible by others in the foreign language education field. The bottom line is that regularly, though rarely compared with the total number of individuals studying a foreign language, language learners do reach that level. Consider presidential-level interpreters (from any country), United Nations interpreters and translators, and graduate professors (especially those known as professors of the practice) -- without near-native proficiency, these individuals could not adequately do their jobs on a regular basis.

Very few books have been published on the topic of achieving near native proficiency, labeled distinguished language proficiency by the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages. The majority of them have been published by MSI Press LLC. 

To see posts about these books, click HERE.

The Journal for Distinguished Language Studies, shown here, accepts submissions on a rolling basis and comes out annually. See more copies HERE.

Forthcoming books:







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In Memoriam: Carl Don Leaver

Image
  1948-2021 It is with great sadness that MSI Press notes the death of Carl Leaver, CEO of the Press and typesetter and graphic designer par excellence . Many authors have expressed not only condolences but also a sense of legacy from covers he designed that they love.  Here is his obituary: On August 16, 2021, Carl Don Leaver of San Juan Bautista passed into eternal rest. A forester with the US Forest Service in Idaho and Montana, he turned to nature photography while working in the Bitterroot National Forest. His photographs graced national magazine covers and on a weekly basis the local paper of Hamilton, MT, the Ravalli Republican. He later worked on photography projects for the US Army (AFEES) and taught photography at the New York Institute of Technology in Amman, Jordan. His final career change led him to computer graphics and publishing as co-owner of MSI Press LLC; his many typeset books and book covers have helped MSI Press authors win a large number of awards over the years,
Read more

A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: Book Marketing vs Book Promotion

Image
It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's post looks at the difference between book marketing and book promotion, two terms that are frequently confused. Leading to the confusion is that some of the same activities are needed for both. In fact, good marketing is dependent upon good promotion. Perhaps the essential difference is that marketing focuses on sales, and promotion focuses on awareness --  noting that without awareness, sales generally do not happen. Book Marketing Book marketing includes promotion, sales, and increasing awareness of the availability of the book. It generally starts with a marketing plan that identifies the target audiences and selects marketing t
Read more