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

In How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately , Shekhtman suggests 7 tools that can take your language today to a much higher level tomorrow and the day after, without learning any new words or grammar. These tools teach you to make the most of what you have -- immediately. Here are the 7 tools: Show your stuff. Build your islands. Shift gears. Simplify. Embellish.  Break awar. Say what? Thousands of students around the world have proved that these tools work. Just Google them and see where all they have been used. (And Google contains only the tip of the iceberg.) Luca Lompiero says that this is a little book with a big bang. Are you learning a language? Try this book, recommended by leaders in the field, and see your language improve overnight -- then share your experiences with us! For more posts about Boris and his books, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter.

  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

  Boris Shekhtman has been considered a national authority on teaching students to use foreign languages effectively in communication with native speakers. He has developed a unique set of tools designed to enhance an individual’s communication in a foreign language environment, which he describes in  How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately . Boris Shekhtman presented his communication rules at numerous seminars for a number of U.S. Government agencies including the Library of Congress, the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Agriculture and Air Force. His clients included correspondents of major news organizations such as ABC News, CBS News, BBC, NBC News, New York Times , Washington Post , Los Angeles Times , Chicago Tribune , Time Magazine , and Associated Press. The content of the seminars is well described in his books. The most popular of them are:  Developing

  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

Quotes from Luca Lampariello 's review of How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately by Boris Shekhtman: "will immediately supercharge your speaking skills in a foreign language" "I highly recommend this book to any learner of any language at any level of skill" "In terms of actionable skills, this book provides the most bang for the buck of any language learning training book on the market." LISTEN TO THE EXCELLENT YOUTUBE VIDEO HERE . For more posts about Boris Shekhtman and his books, click HERE . 25% discount available on this book at www.msipress.con/shop with code FF25.

  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

  Boris Shekhtman's thousands of fans will be delighted to know that their clamoring for an e-version of his popular book, How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately , has resulted in a Kindle book becoming available. Description of the book: This is the fifth edition of a popular book that provides a unique and extremely powerful 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 works, click

  Continuing in what seems to be coming a trend -- we keep coming across videos of readers -- teachers and language learners -- who have fallen in love with     How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately  by  Boris Shekhtman . The falling in love is not surprising; this book is the darling of diplomats and international journalists, both groups of individuals that Boris spent his life teaching. What is a little more surprising is the number of people who have quietly made videos about the book and its contents -- and which we stumble across upon occasion, such as today. Here is one such video: How to Use Language Islands to Reach Fluency Faster - YouTube The book contains seven tools, one of which is "islands." While the assumption may be -- and often is -- that these tools can help improve language proficiency at intermediate and advanced levels, it can also improve proficiency at the very lowest and very highest levels. With islands (which are essentially completely i

  To the Reader from the Author The book which you, dear reader, have picked up was written approximately twenty years ago. However, the reasons that brought it to the light of day then remain as important today as ever. The first of these reasons is the survival of foreigners who are living entirely surrounded by native speakers of the foreign language. I came to the United States with a decent level of English, but, naturally, I did not feel myself to be on a par with Americans. I am certain that a great many people are suffering and have suffered from this feeling of “linguistic inferiority.” Some people come to accept this feeling. Others try to improve their foreign language. Still others--and I belong to this group--try to find a set of strategies to help them to use the language that they have acquired more effectively. Back then I had already begun to realize the strategic significance of simplifying thoughts in order to be understood; after all, it is better to expr

  Communicative Focus  was written through collaboration of Boris Shekhtman, who had left the Foreign Service Institute to open his own highly successful private school, using language teaching techniques that were quite unique but extremely effective, and Dina Kupchanka, a young teacher who taught for him.  The realization of the principles introduced in  Communicative Focus  had appeared earlier as actual classroom exercises in several publications, a book published by Cambridge University Press ( Developing Professional-Level Foreign Language Proficiency ),  How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately  (an immensely popular book published by MSI Press), and articles in the Journal for Distinguished Language Studies. The theory behind these activities had never been spelled quite so explicitly before (lack of room in the previous publications to include theory). Further, it took some time before the profession was ready to move on from teaching language as linguistics and teachi

    CALL FOR PAPERS Journal for Distinguished Language Studies Volume 9, 2023-2024 A refereed journal Overview The Journal for Distinguished Language Studies (JDLS), founded by the Coalition of Distinguished Language Centers under the direction of Dr. Betty Lou Leaver and Boris Shekhtman in 2002 is a refereed volume and the only journal to focus exclusively on the highest levels of language achievement, that is, native-like or near-native. This level is labeled Distinguished by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), Level 4/Advanced Professional Proficiency by the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR), and also Level 4 as part of the Standardized Agreement (STANAG) 6001 of NATO’s Bureau of International Language Co-ordination (BILC). Descriptions can be found at the ACTFL, ILR, and BILC websites. The purpose of this journal is to create a robust international movement to promote and support language learning to the near-native level of profici