MSI Press Blog

  Once learners master clarity and accuracy, it’s time to add color . The Embellish It tool, outlined by Boris Shekhtman in How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately , helps advanced speakers level up their discourse by adding complexity— with control . It’s not about sounding academic—it’s about painting fuller pictures and extending conversations. When done well, embellishment transforms speech from transactional to expressive. 🧵 What Does Embellishment Look Like? Take a simple sentence: “My brother John lives in Hollister.” Now, add relative clauses, descriptive phrases, comparisons, and additional details: “My brother John, with whom I’ve unfortunately lost touch over the years, lives in Hollister, which lies just south of San Jose and not far from San Francisco. Hollister, like its more famous neighbor, is cradled by mountain views, but unlike San Francisco, it sits inland, a short drive from the Pacific without touching it directly.” Suddenly, your speech h...

  One of the biggest barriers to fluency isn’t vocabulary—it’s translation thinking . Learners try to fit the foreign language into the mold of their native tongue, resulting in awkward syntax, unnatural phrasing, and constant hesitation. Breakaway says: Stop translating. Start living in the language. 🧨 Why Breakaway Matters This tool invites learners to: 🚫 Quit cross-language comparisons 🧠 Engage directly with native grammar structures 🗣️ Speak using patterns they've internalized, not constructed 🔄 Loop fluency and grammar acquisition together Translation is useful in early comprehension—but in speech, it’s a bottleneck. The faster you drop it, the sooner fluency flows. 📐 The Three Rules of Breakaway Only Use Target-Language Grammar Don’t mimic native-language phrasing Let the structure of the foreign language guide you Use Grammar You Know Automatically No guessing, no improvising Build speech from patterns you’ve mastered Know As Many Structures As P...

  When speaking a foreign language, there’s nothing more grounding than a place you can stand with confidence. That’s the magic of speech islands —memorized monologues or well-rehearsed chunks of speech that learners can deliver fluidly, like a native. This tool, popularized by Boris Shekhtman in How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately , invites learners to develop short verbal “islands” on topics they know well. Whether it’s your hometown, your favorite hobby, or your professional background, these rehearsed segments become linguistic safe zones. 🧭 Why Speech Islands Matter Speech islands give learners: A break from on-the-fly construction A chance to showcase fluency and pronunciation A moment to regroup and breathe A way to guide the conversation toward familiar ground They’re especially useful in spontaneous or high-stakes situations—think interviews, panel discussions, or networking events—where preparation meets performance. 🗣️ How to Create and Use Sp...

  Many language learners strive for brevity, believing short answers signal confidence and control. But when you’re speaking with native speakers, brevity can backfire—turning dynamic conversation into a rigid Q&A exchange. And once the learner starts playing ping-pong with questions and answers, the conversation loses flow, and fluency begins to fray. That’s where Show Your Stuff comes in—a powerful tool introduced by Boris Shekhtman in How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately . It flips the script by encouraging learners to give expansive, intentional responses. Not rambling—but rich. Not performative—but personal. ⚙️ Why Verbose Responses Matter Imagine this: a native speaker asks, “Do you like Italian food?” A short answer—“Yes, very much”—shuts the door. The next question might follow, but the learner remains passive, reactive. A fuller answer opens the door wide: “Oh, absolutely. I first discovered real Italian food when I traveled to Milan during my final year o...