MSI Press Blog

  Many language learners plateau at Level 3—Professional Proficiency—not because they lack motivation or exposure, but because they’ve unknowingly become trapped in a phenomenon known as linguistic fossilization. Fossilization refers to deeply ingrained errors in grammar (morphology and syntax), vocabulary, intonation, and pronunciation. These errors persist despite continued use of the language, often because they’ve been repeated so frequently that they become automatic. And here’s the catch: Level 4 proficiency demands not just fluency, but accuracy—a level of precision that fossilized habits simply can’t support. The late Boris Shekhtman, a revered Foreign Service Institute instructor and author of How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately , was a master at helping learners break free from this linguistic quicksand. He coined the term “self-drilling” to describe how learners inadvertently reinforce errors through repetition. His solution? Drill correct forms two to thr...

    Achieving Native-Like Second Language Proficiency  (Speaking) by Betty Lou Leaver is a research-based catalogue of factors that would seem to predict ability to reach the highest level of foreign language proficiency and is based on common characteristics shared by more than 200 near-native speakers, identified by self-report, survey, and interviews by master testers. One of those common characteristics turned out to be the importance of acquiring native-like pronunciation. That is not easy, especially for adult learners. It takes a lot of work in phonetics. Some have accomplished the goal with the help of a speech therapist (when they are living in the country where the "foreign" [second] is spoken). Most have accomplished it through repetitive work with a native speaker in a language lab or the equivalent, using exercises like tongue-twisters, which are remarkably effective at forcing the oral apparati into the correct positions, producing correct pronunciation. (We...

  Currently, I am in Indonesia, working with advanced language students. Here, I have noticed as elsewhere, whether in one of 25 countries where I have assisted with language education or in the USA, working with hundreds of very advanced students, that what holds them back, more than morphology, syntax, or lexicon, is pronunciation -- both sounds and intonation. Phonemic differences are not realized, let alone allophonic differences. Most adults do not have an "ear" for foreign sounds and intonation. They need to be taught -- and old-fashioned language labs, yes, believe it or not, with a skilled teacher or often the very best resources for correcting pronunciation. Short of that...come close with whatever resources you do have! --- Have you published a book recently (2022-2023) on a topic related to achieving near-native foreign language proficiency? Send it to the  Journal for Distinguished Language Proficiency . JDLS is looking for books to review in JLDS 9 (2023-2024). -...