MSI Press Blog

Precerpt (excerpt prior to publication) from My 20th Language by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver --  First Language Literacy: The Lifelong Launchpad A foundational truth in my lifelong language journey is this: literacy in one’s native language shapes the success of all language learning that follows. Literacy builds the internal architecture of language awareness—structure, logic, rhythm, and flexibility. Those who develop high literacy in their first language possess a powerful springboard for mastering others. This difference becomes strikingly clear when comparing institutional outcomes. I served as a leader in both the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) and the Defense Language Institute (DLI), where language instruction is intensive and time-bound. While students at both schools receive nearly the same number of classroom hours, the proficiency expectations differ significantly: FSI graduates are trained to reach professional fluency, while DLI students typically aim for working profi...

Reading is one of the most natural human inclinations. Some children begin sounding out words at two. Some begin at seven. Some leap in on their own; some need gentle instruction. The range is wide, normal, and healthy. But enthusiasm is fragile. My niece wanted to read in preschool. She asked. She was ready. Her teacher told her no — that’s first‑grade work . So she waited. And when first grade finally arrived, she looked around the room, saw the toys, and said, essentially, no thank you . “I wanted to learn last year. Now I want to play.” She did learn to read — and she reads well — but it took longer than it needed to. Not because she lacked ability, but because her spark had been dampened. On Literacy Day, that’s the reminder worth carrying: Read to children. Surround them with books. Encourage curiosity. And when they are ready — not when you are ready, not when the school calendar says it’s time — let them run. Support them, follow their pace, and trust their timing. Literacy g...

  Most language teachers recognize the value of music for beginning and intermediate learners. Songs reinforce vocabulary, improve pronunciation, strengthen listening skills, and make repetition enjoyable. A catchy melody can help learners remember words and structures long after a lesson ends. But what happens once learners have already achieved fluency? Does music still matter when vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation are no longer major obstacles? The answer is yes, perhaps more than ever. Beyond Vocabulary Acquisition At lower proficiency levels, music helps learners acquire language. At near-native levels, music helps learners acquire culture. Songs introduce vocabulary that textbooks often overlook: colloquialisms, regionalisms, slang, historical expressions, wordplay, metaphors, and culturally loaded references. They expose learners to language as it is lived, not merely as it is taught. A learner may understand the dictionary meaning of every word in a song and still miss...

  Excerpt from Achieving Native-Like Second Language Proficiency PREFACE Contrary to popular thought in some quarters, learning languages to very high levels of proficiency, i.e. those very close to those of native speakers, is, indeed, possible. Not only is it possible, it is done on a routine basis by a number of learners, not only in other countries, but in the United States , as well. True, the numbers in the United States are not large, but they are sufficient enough to show that it can be done here, as well as in countries of Europe , Eurasia , Latin America , and elsewhere. Further, there are some very skilled teachers quietly producing these levels of proficiency also on a regular basis.       The problem is not the ability to teach to native-like levels of proficiency in direct instruction programs or the ability to learn to native-like levels of proficiency, given the appropriate help and experience. Rather, the problem lies in the all-too-per...