MSI Press Blog

  excerpt from How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately by Boris Shekhtman -  TOOL #5: BREAKAWAY There is a second tool which can enable us to say what we really want to say. To understand the functioning of this tool, we have to understand the dynamics of knowing two languages. There is a very interesting relationship between these two languages, determined by the extent of the foreigner’s knowledge of the second language. In fact, if the foreigner knows the second language as well as he or she knows the first, it is possible there will not be any dependency at all between the two languages. These languages can exist independently of one another. Our foreigner can turn on the first language, or the second one, at will. But the relationship between these two languages can become complicated very quickly if our foreigner does not know second language as well as the first. In this case, the foreigner, as he or she encounters deficiencies in speaking the second language, relies o

Summary of a review by Luca Lampariello, foreign language learning guru and tutor, of How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately by Boris Shekhtman: In a field where most books deal are colorful, well-produced, and full of information on one specific language, Boris Shekhtman’s  How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately  stands out for being almost the complete opposite—short, unassuming, and devoted to teaching the skills of language, rather than one language in itself. This unusual combination of factors leads to a book that is greater than the sum of its parts; a book that I believe every serious language learner should buy, read, and reread regularly. The book’s communicative tools shine as intuitive guidelines for improving language fluency  right now . With the advice in the book, you have everything you need to communicate your “current” level, navigate difficult conversations with natives, and  speak in a more fluid, natural way . Given the book’s short, compact f

  This week's book back story features How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately   by Boris Shekhtman. from the editor -- Boris died several years ago from cancer , but his book lives on because it is unique and useful. Boris himself was unique. He won awards for his teaching; more important, he made lifelong fans from his students for his teaching. As one of the few teachers capable of bringing learners to the near-native level of foreign language proficienc y, he developed a number of techniques -- or tools -- that he found to work with nearly all students quickly and effectively. They worked with his diplomat students, journalist students, students with special needs, and just everyday students. After decades of success with these tools. he elucidated seven of them in a book, How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately, a slim volume with powerful suggestions. RIP, Boris. Purchase the paperback 25% discount with coupon code FF25 at the  MSI Press webstore . For more

  Excerpt from How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately: Foreign Language Communication Tools  Definition of Communication Rules  Yet everything discussed above—the acquisition of the language, the knowledge of the language—have nothing to do with communication tools.  Communication tools are the combination of skills which allow a speaker to use most effectively the level of foreign language in his or her command.  To make this definition more clear, let us imagine two groups of students with the same level of knowledge of foreign language. Let us imagine also that these students have come to the host country and are capable of observing the quality of their communication with native speakers. We do not have to have any great imagination to know that the members of the two groups will be quite different one from another and in striking ways. Everyone has seen representatives of each of these groups. So, let’s see what happens with these two groups when they are “i

  Excerpt from  Think Yourself into Becoming a Language Learning Super Star Tactics and Strategies   Sharpening Your Skills Sharpening your skills means becoming better at reading, writing, listening, and speaking. (For this book, we will leave translation and interpretation out of the equation; those are special skills for individuals who have already gained considerable proficiency in the language, but if your goal is to be a translator or interpreter, yes, indeed, you will have another set of skills to sharpen.) Your strategies for sharpening your skills are going to look differently depending upon your reason for studying your language. Your tactics for reaching your strategic goals, commonly also considered learning strategies, [1] will also differ depending upon your goal.   Strategies Before you can decide how to go about improving your reading, writing, listening, and speaking, you need to identify to what extent you need each of these skills and how well you have to be able t