Tara Sonenshine
Contributing Editor for Newsweek Magazine,
Former Assistant National Security Adviser in the White House

"The list of the people who have trained at Shekhtman's Center reads like a "Who's Who" of American journalism and politics... Boris Shekhtman is a language czar."

"To understand the "Shekhtman Methodology", you have to set aside traditional ideas about learning a foreign language. Most conventional foreign language teaching is built around rules of grammar, which are drilled into the student's head in a tedious and time-consuming way. In the equivalent of a Russian revolution in language approach, Shekhtman discarded the old system of old grammar rules, replacing it with his own new system based on "rules of communication".

"Shekhtman's "rules of communication" are designed to build a relationship between a foreigner, who is learning a new language, and the native speaker who is already in command of that language. Recognizing the inequality in such a relationship, Shekhtman works to close the gap, to level the playing field so that communication can flow more naturally."

"The strength and science of your methodology are uniquely effective, and I plan to tell the world."

"I have studied numerous languages (French, Spanish, and German) and this was by far the most effective language training that I have ever undertaken."

"The current Moscow bureau, all taught by Boris, agree he is a genius at plunging a student up to his soft palate in the viscera of the language... [Boris and his staff are gifted, relentless tutors]."

"When graduates of Boris's tutorials meet - and there's currently a dozen or so alumni in Moscow's diplomacy, journalism and business circles - they invariably glory in the words and music not so much of the Russian language as of Boris and his methodology."

"The attention to grammatical models and rules of communication was rigorous. The program, however, was unique in developing communicative skills and preparing me for the actual give and take of verbal interactions. In many teaching programs, the teacher does most of the talking. At SLTC, the student does the talking."

Alessandra Stanley
The New York Times
Correspondent

" This method has helped countless foreign correspondents, including many of our predecessors at the New York Times. It proved invaluable to us."

"Boris Shekhtman is the world's best Russian teacher."

"Through the use of this methodology, SLTC students are able to gain proficiency at a faster rate than those who participate in other, more traditional programs, as well as to learn the skills which will serve their on-going education for years to come."

"He analyzed my brain, made a template of the portion of my brain that learns language, and figured out what I could learn. And it was all custom-made to my needs."

"Pedagogical theories are wonderful things. But the bottom line is: after nine months, I speak Russian far better than I spoke Spanish after thirteen years of instruction in elementary, high school and university classes. And I wasn't a bad Spanish student."
"The genius of your method is that it teaches the art of communication before it moves on to grammar - the exact opposite of many language courses."

"Neither of us has ever had a better language teacher… After just two months of studying with you, we found that our Russian was already better than that of graduate students at John Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies who had studied the language for years."