MSI Press Blog

Not much time available today. We are all sick here with something we are calling simply "the crud." It is definitely unpleasant -- and tenacious. But I can take a couple of minutes to answer a couple of questions that have come my way this week about the JDLS: Yes, it is on the shelves of the Library of Congress. Yes, the articles are available online (see information below). Currently, the latest issue is the only one where all articles are available, but we are working to make all articles in all issues downloadable at very lost cost. Yes, we are still reviewing submissions for Volume/Issue 9. Yes, it is possible for an institution to subscribe to the journal. Contact orders@msipress.com. (See information below.) --- We now have available for individual purchase each of the feature articles from issue 8 of the journal at a very accessible price and will make the feature articles available from other issues as time goes on. Check our  webstore  to see what we have at any gi...

      Available for download, article from JDLS 8: " On the Cusp:  Zone of Proximal Development Tables to Guide Formative Assessment "  (Dr. Betty Lou Leaver, MSI Press LLC) Abstract: The chasm between the successive proficiency levels (ILR 1, 2, 3, 4/ACTFL Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Distinguished) is large. The Cusp Tables, developed with the support of the National Foreign Language Center, with input from large numbers of Level-4 language users and informed by proficiency testing instruments in use at the time, articulate proficiency elements believed to be most critical for passing from one level to the next. They suggest how to use this knowledge, along with formative assessment, to determine best next steps for individual learners based on their zones of proximal development (Vygotsky). The tables provided in this article for English, Russian, and Heritage Spanish can be used to guide the development of similar tables for other languages. Order HERE . ...

      Available for download, article from JDLS 8:  " Beyond the Language: Debating as High-Intensity Cultural Engagement & Leadership" (Emilie Cleret, French War College) Abstract: This article discusses the use of debating in senior professional military education (PME) at the French War College in Paris to help officers reach native-like English language competence.  In France, senior Professional Military Education (PME) is delivered by two schools – Ecole de Guerre (French War College) and Centre des hautes études militaires, (Centre for Higher Military Studies). This article explores the use of debating by the English Studies Department to support the officers’ effort to achieve a native-like level of second language (L2) competence during their one-year course in the French War College. The author’s perspective is that of a practitioner who heads this department, designs the courses, and manages the faculty that delivers them. All the members of the ...

      Available for download, article from JDLS 8: "Helping Learners Achieve the Distinguished Level of Proficiency" (Dr. James Bernhardt, Foreign Service Institute): Abstract: This article proposes that a task all learners who have attained superior levels of proficiency and who wish to achieve the distinguished level have in common is the need to double the size of their vocabulary. The article suggests that instructional designs for distinguished level training should include massive amounts of input: reading, listening, and watching. It also proposes a number of ways, all vocabulary based, to evaluate whether materials are at-level for learners and advocates for materials that are appropriate to the individual learners’ needs, objectives and interests.  The article takes a close look at the goals of higher-level programs and notes that not all learners working towards distinguished levels of proficiency have the same end goals in mind. Their objectives, at this ...

    We now have available for individual purchase each of the feature articles from issue 8 of the journal at a very accessible price and will make the feature articles available from other issues as time goes on. Check our webstore to see what we have at any given time. We will announce and link each of these individually in upcoming blog posts. The Journal for Distinguished Language Studies is available by subscription. JDLS is a biennial journal, and it is easy for time to slip by and miss the next issue. Subscription will take care of that. Subscribe  HERE  and never miss a copy. (Publishes typically in December of even-numbered years.) Also, don't believe Amazon's listing of previous issues of  The Journal for Distinguished Language Studies  as out of print. It is very much in print and available at the  MSI Press webstore . Subscription service available as noted above, and issues 1-6 are on sale for $5 each! Amazon is selling  issues 7 and...

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 basi...