MSI Press Blog

  Cambridge University Press has made the introduction to Transformative Language Learning and Teaching free to access until 31 May -  https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/transformative-language-learning-and-teaching/introduction/52FA1941150765CB5D292294338651AC   This book is considered ground-breaking in the foreign language field and written by 30 leading L2 educators, three of whom are pictured here. Left to right: Betty Lou Leaver (Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, USA), Emilie Cleret (French War College, Paris), Jerome Collin (French War College, Paris). About the book: Transformative learning has been widely used in the field of adult education for over twenty years, but until recently has received little attention in the field of world languages. Drawing on best practices and the research of distinguished international world language experts, this volume provides theoretical and classroom-tested models of transformative education in world langua...

  3 “Tell me you’ll love me for a million years. Then you can tell me we tried.” (The Casinos) For most people, this may be the most important topic in this book. “There are no atheists in a foxhole.” In other words, people often look to God and religion in times of crisis; in times when they recognize and acknowledge their own fragility and ultimate helplessness. As the Danish existentialist Soren Kierkegaard describes it, these are the times Of Fear and Trembling (1843). Yes, a crisis is not necessarily a bad thing. A crisis can be a wake-up call—the understanding, finally, that everything is not all right just as it is and that change, sometimes radical change, is necessary. But a crisis can also lead to terror, the terror of a past that is no longer viable and a future that is most uncertain, and terror can lead to paralysis and paralysis can lead to despair. The benefits of theology in such times have not been historically all that clear. In fact, the Deism of the 17th a...

  photo by Frank Perez Because we work with first-time authors, we often receive book submissions that are clear they would have benefitted from a professional edit. Yes, we edit, but when it is clear that the task will be immense, we are not interested in taking on the book. You may not need to hire an editor if: You have professional writing experience. You have a friend or acquaintance who is an English teacher, editor, or something similar. You were the star in your college English class in short story writing, advanced composition, or the like. Most new authors can benefit from a professional editor if they can afford one. (If not, then find a friend to help.) A professional editor can give your manuscript the edge among the vast number of manuscripts received.  An editor can, of course, find your typos and grammatical errors, but so can a good computer program. If you are writing a book not because you are a writer but because you are a content specialist and want to sha...

  Muna Imady: February 18, 1962- April 23, 2016 ABOUT THE AUTHOR My daughter, Muna Imady, was born in Damascus and grew up in an American-Syrian bi-lingual family. She began writing at a very young age. As a little girl, Muna would say, “I am Muna Imady, a writer and a poet." When she first uttered these words, she was perhaps seven years old, and we would laugh. But as soon as she could write, a pen and pad were seldom out of her hand, and she filled page after page with her poems and stories. After graduation from Damascus University, Muna worked for several years for an oil company, then married Nizar Zikar who was studying for a PhD in France. The first years of her marriage were spent in France, in which time she got a Master’s from the Paris Sorbonne and her daughter Nour and her son Sammy were born. When Muna and Nizar came back to Damascus, Muna began writing Arabic stories for several popular children's magazines, and dozens of these stories were published. A...

  This is the fourth edition of a popular book that provides a unique set of tools designed to enhance an individual's success in communicati0n in a foreign language environment. The devices presented allow the speaker of a foreign language to demonstrate the level of his/her language more impressively, so impressively, in fact, that it appears that the speaker's language itself has improved overnight. These techniques were developed and tested by the author with adult professionals in such varied fields as journalism, diplomacy, government, and international business. Many of these professionals have attested to the efficacy of these tools in their own columns. For more posts about Boris and his books, click HERE .

  Just sharing some thoughts, for Caturday, on our experiences with rescuing street cats and integrating them into our cat family. Food  Most street cats (all of them, in our experience) are not fussy eaters (unlike some domestic cats). Generally, once they are inside and have food at the ready, they don't really trust that will always be the case. We had one cat, who really was close to death from starvation, who did not leave the food bowl for two weeks, except to use the litter box. He would eat from it, sit beside, view the world from it, and sleep beside it. Eventually, he got the idea that the bowl would always be there, and he started exploring his environment. Litter Box Most street cats have little trouble adjusting to a litter box since they look for dirt outside for doing their business. We have seeded a little box with the litter of another cat if we are going to keep a newly rescued cat separated from the other cats for a while. Once our family of cats got big eno...

  From Readers' Favorite -- C amping is where you spend a small fortune to live like the homeless.” Larry MacDonald is direct and cleverly witty in his detailed writing of what life can be like living in a recreational vehicle, especially during quarantine.  Diary of an RVer During Quarantine is a short book that you will find entertaining and informative. For the full review, click HERE For more posts on Larry MacDonald and his books, click HERE .