MSI Press Blog

  Paradigm shifts in language teaching rarely arrive with fanfare. They unfold slowly, unevenly, and often invisibly, as teachers and researchers begin to sense that the explanations they have relied on no longer account for what they see in their classrooms. The movement from communicative and transactional approaches to Transformative Language Learning and Teaching (TLLT) has followed this same long arc. In fact, the profession has passed through six distinct stages on its way to recognizing transformation as a legitimate, even necessary, framework for language education. The first stage is the stage of discomfort. Communicative Language Teaching had been enormously successful in its time, liberating classrooms from grammar‑translation and audiolingual drills and giving learners the freedom to speak, interact, and negotiate meaning. Yet over time, teachers began noticing that something was not quite right. Students plateaued at intermediate levels. They could perform tasks but no...

Open Architecture Curricular Design (OACD) doesn’t just empower teachers — it liberates them. It frees educators from the endless grind of worksheets, pacing guides, and textbook dependency, giving them back what matters most: time, creativity, and connection. 1. Freedom from the Factory Model Traditional curriculum design often feels like assembly-line teaching — standardized materials, fixed topics, and repetitive activity sheets. OACD dismantles that model. Instead of spending hours manufacturing lessons that fit someone else’s template, teachers guide students in discovering authentic materials — real texts, conversations, and cultural artifacts. The classroom becomes a living lab, not a production line. 2. Students as Co‑Researchers In OACD classrooms, learners help find the materials that shape their learning. They bring in articles, videos, menus, social posts, and stories that reflect their world. This collaboration shifts the teacher’s role from content provider to learning ...

Reissued -- two beloved oldies in the language teaching world. These books have been published continuously since we first published them years back. We transferred them shortly after publication to Villa Magna LLC. Recently, Villa Magna made the decision to focus on the works of Omar Imady (also one of our authors, whose works we will eventually be transferring to Villa Magna) and recently transferred their language books to us. Both books are unique -- and likely foretell the future of language teaching though the focus they suggest is only slowly starting to become part of the profession, on the periphery. We are confident, however, that, in time, they will represent the mainstream of teaching approaches. Communicative Focus   describes in detail the theory and nature of the principles and practices used in his approach to language teaching. He is not afraid to talk about some aspects of language learning and teaching, such as the development of lexical and grammatical accuracy,...

Exceptional teachers Cindy McKinley and Patti Trombly have put together a book that can help any parent through this extended period of sheltering in place. Packed with home activities for learning, readers can pick any number that appeal to them or fit their personal family circumstances. Here is one example that is bound to make the time spent in lockdown more fun: #144 Steal the Beat From a very young age, parents and teachers use song and rhyme to teach children information. From teaching the different sounds animals make in “Old McDonald” to learning the letters of the alphabet in the “Alphabet Song,” children grasp concepts and information easier when it’s presented in rhyme or song or both! Keep that in mind when you see your child struggling with a difficult task or concept. Try brainstorming with your child a rhyme that might help her spell a certain word or remember a definition.  It is usually easiest to utilize a song that everyone is familiar with. Song...

  When Transformative Language Learning and Teaching first appeared, the United States was still firmly anchored in the communicative paradigm. The profession’s energy was directed toward measurable outcomes, performance standards, and accountability frameworks that reflected the broader educational climate of the time. Language learning was defined by what could be observed and assessed: tasks completed, functions performed, proficiency levels achieved. Within that environment, a paradigm that treated language learning as identity transformation seemed almost subversive. It asked questions the system was not prepared to ask—about meaning, selfhood, and the learner’s interior life. The early articulation of TLLT, including your and Neil Granoien’s first publication in Russian, emerged in a context that valued philosophical depth and cognitive development. Russian pedagogy had long treated language as a vehicle for consciousness and worldview, not merely communication. In contrast, ...