MSI Press Blog

  Excerpt from  Think Yourself into Becoming a Language Learning Super Star Tactics and Strategies   E When you are struggling to learn on a foreign language, it may feel like you are on a battlefield. You are, in a way. You have an objective. You are out to conquer something: the language. But that is as far as one might be able to stretch the image. We teach language for peace, and some of the best cross-cultural bridge builders are foreign language students who have achieved the capacity to use the language for work and leisure. How most people reach that point is through good language learning tactics and strategies. Tactics refer to ways of accomplishing something in the short term; they are simple and have narrow objectives. They are actions. Strategies are how one goes about accomplishing a goal for the long term: they can have greater breadth and applicability. They are plans. In language learning, strategies and tactics play a role as well. Language learners ...

  Among language learners and would-be language learners, there has always been great interest in how do diplomats learn language since they are often held up as the premier language learners (and users). Well we know that. Among MSI Press authors are individuals who have taught diplomats and who have led language-learning programs for diplomats. Want "recipes" and hacks that teachers of diplomats use that anyone learning a language can benefit from? Well, check out these books. By Dr. Thomas Garza   Practices That Work: Bringing Learners to Professional Proficiency in World Languages By Betty Lou Leaver Achieving Native-Like Second Language Proficiency Individualized Study Plans for Very Advanced Students of Foreign Languages The Invisible Foreign Language Classroom (with Laura Dabbs) Think Yourself into Becoming a Language Learning Super Star By Boris Shekhtman Communicative Focus How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately Working with Advanced Foreign Language Stude...

  Excerpt from  Think Yourself into Becoming a Language Learning Super Star Sensory Preferences   Sensory preferences refer to the ways in which you perceive information, i.e. how you take in new information. While there are tests to figure this out (e.g., Barsch, 1995), you probably already know what your sensory preference works for you; reading, listening, or writing things down. These are considered the three major sensory preferences. [1] The wisdom is that you should use your sensory preference while learning new information. If your sensory preference is not accounted for in the classroom, then it is essential for your success to get the same information in the form that you need it in order to learn it well. Using a non-preferred style for review of material either in class or at home is fine. In fact, it is good. It will stretch you, cause you to develop a set of strategies for another preference, and make you more flexible in the long run. This is important ...

  Imagine you’re at a wedding reception in a country where you’ve only just started learning the language. Someone hands you a glass and smiles expectantly—time for a toast. Your mind goes blank. You know some vocabulary, but forming a proper sentence in real time? That’s a different story. Now imagine instead you’d already memorized a few heartfelt toasts in that language, ready to go. You smile, raise your glass, and say something short but sincere. The people around you laugh or nod appreciatively. Suddenly, you’re not a beginner—you’re someone who belongs. This is the power of language islands , a concept developed by Russian-American language teacher and interpreter (and MSI Press author) Boris Shekhtman. These are memorized chunks of speech—phrases, sentences, or mini-speeches—that you can use in specific, often recurring situations. And for language learners, especially those still gaining confidence, islands can be lifesavers. What Exactly Are Language Islands? Languag...