MSI Press Blog

  Ever seen those planes in airplane magazines -- learn languages like a diplomat? The implication is that a course being sold teaches you like diplomats are taught. Misleading. I taught diplomats for six years. While the "courses" are generally ripped off, older, public-domain courses that very likely were used at the Foreign Service Institute at some point in time, they actually do not represent how diplomats are taught since diplomats learn language from interactions with skilled teachers, working in highly individualized environments and very small classes. Very little of what they do in their intensive day-long classes can be represented in a textbook, which generally is just a jumping-off point for work on language development.  That said, a few MSI Press books are written or edited by teachers who did teach or supervise teaching programs for diplomats. They wrap the theory in content meant for non-diplomats, self-learners, or specific kinds of language classes in ways

Laura Dabbs works at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she is pursuing her MA-TESOL degree.  Laura teaches Community English Classes at UAB and formerly taught ESL and GED classes in Georgia at Dalton State College.  Working at a diverse university as afforded her the opportunity to see first-hand how personality traits, learning styles and learning strategies play a role in a variety of educational and professional situations.  Laura and her family have enjoyed a multi-cultural household by hosting foreign exchange students from various locations around the world. Her book, co-authored with Betty Lou Leaver,  The Invisible Foreign Language Classroom: Bringing Hidden Dynamics to Light for Individual and Group Harmony and Success . explains why some classrooms become dysfunctional and suggests what to do about them. The Invisible Foreign Language Classroom was released in September 2019. A sequel for teacher education is planned for this year. Read posts on this b