Online Tutoring to Help you to Achieve your Goal

Online Tutoring to Help you to Achieve your Goal 0SHARESShare Online tutoring is extremely simple and easy to take. You need hesitate to learn online and seek academic help to achieve your goals. Every student needs some extra help to perform well than what they do. In the world of strong competition, grades are very important and play major role in determining your future academic and professional career. Online tutoring is the best help to get good grades and thus opening array of exciting opportunities. Extra Tuition: Often student fails to grasp subjects/topics learnt for the first time in the school classroom. They may have doubts, queries or gaps in understanding the concepts. The students can get extra tuition and fulfil their gaps to remain updated with online learning. Help and Support:     School academic gives various types of assignments which students need to complete at home. It includes daily homework to revise the chapters learnt in the classroom same day, assignment work given during the weekend, vacation or midterm, designing projects in each academic term, lab work, etc. Homework help and assistance is wonderful feature offered by online tutors. It takes care about each little aspect like what type of homework is given from the school, whether the student is able to complete homework by own or seek help, give assistance and support in completing the homework, assignments work, project work, etc. Online tutor does not work on behalf of students but give one-to-one individualized support to do homework on their own. Online tutoring gives student confidence in their abilities by fulfilling the gaps in academic learning. It gives back to support at each step that hinders their academic success.   It helps to create interest and passion which further inspire them to put endless efforts getting better grades. [starbox id=admin]

How 4 Guilty Pleasures Can Actually Help You Learn Spanish

How 4 Guilty Pleasures Can Actually Help You Learn Spanish Suzy S. Stuck in another Netflix binge? Instead of feeling guilty, put your time to good use by learning Spanish as you watch! Here are some ideas to try from Carmichael, CA Spanish tutor  Joan B... Do you love to sit on the couch and zone out staring at the television? Or sneak a glance at Twitter in your spare moments? If so, read on to discover how these guilty pleasures are actually the easiest way to learn Spanish. The time that you used to think was wasted can now double as Spanish language practice! Break Out the Popcorn and Watch a Movie If you binge on Netflix regularly and feel tons of guilt, try watching Spanish language films. Not only are they just as entertaining as other films, you will be greatly improving your Spanish by listening to the Spanish spoken in the film and simultaneously reading the subtitles in English. Some suggestions for films to try include Diarios de Motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries), Como Agua Para Chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate), La Misma Luna (Under the Same Moon),  and Maria, Llena Eres de Gracia (Maria Full of Grace). If you have Amazon Prime, you might not have realized that it also comes with a great library of films that you can watch for free; try browsing the foreign section to find some thrilling Spanish films. How to Find Spanish Shows on Netflix For Spanish shows and movies on Netflix in particular, heres a great list. There are also a lot of sites that publish lists of new content added to Netflix each month, including The Next Web  and CNET. Get Social If social media is more your thing, try using it as an opportunity to practice your Spanish skills! Since immersion is the easiest way to learn Spanish, cure your boredom, chat with friends, and catch up on the hottest news of the day all in Spanish. On Twitter, you can follow all sorts of influential Spanish speakers to get news and other tidbits in Spanish. On Facebook, you can join groups about Spanish topics or countries, follow famous Spanish-speaking musicians like Shakira, The Gipsy Kings, Enrique Iglesias, Juanes, and Jennifer Lopez,  and connect with Spanish speakers as friends. When your newsfeed is full of Spanish, youll start to think more naturally and comfortably in Spanish, in addition to expanding your vocabulary. (For even more social media ideas, check out this post by Will over at My Spanish Adventure!) Turn on the Radio Do you also love to sing along to the greats or the opposite in pop? Bad pop music is actually great for your Spanish! The cheesy lyrics are often sung clearly, and the songs that lament lost love, summer romances, and other topics use a simple vocabulary. By listening and even singing along as you get to know the songs, you will refine your accent and imprint the rhythm and syntax of Spanish more deeply in your consciousness. Try a Telenovela The last (and my favorite) way to use your guilty pleasures to learn Spanish is by watching Spanish-language soap operas! The overdone acting and extreme drama will entertain you greatly, and also help your Spanish. You can use the clear facial expressions and tone of speech to gain comprehension; another option is to turn on the closed captioning, so you can view the written Spanish as you listen. With the occasional use of slang, you can also increase your knowledge of casual speech in Spanish. The best part is, once you watch one episode, youll be hooked, which means your Spanish language time is now guaranteed on a weekly basis! So put your guilty pleasures to good use and try out the easiest way to learn Spanish! Opportunities abound to have fun and learn Spanish at the same time, so dont wait to start your Netflix subscription, log into Facebook more often, or sing along to your new favorite Spanish music. Want even more ideas? We love this post from Spanish Obsessed blog, with a whopping 37 ideas for activities to practice your Spanish!   Joan B. lives in  Carmichael, CA  and has been teaching high school Spanish for more than 18 years. A lover of language, she’s studied French, Arabic, and Italian and spent time living in Spain. Joan aims to help students improve on tests and increase their conversational ability when traveling to Spanish-speaking countries.  Learn more about Joan here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photos by  Andrés Nieto Porras,  Brian Wilkins,  Garry Knight,  flash.pro

TakeLessons and Learning Care Group Announce Plans to Open 75 Lesson Centers This Fall

TakeLessons and Learning Care Group Announce Plans to Open 75 Lesson Centers This Fall TakeLessons and Learning Care Group Announce Plans to Open 75 Lesson Centers This Fall ksurmacewicz Exciting things have been happening at TakeLessons for several months now, and yesterday we finally revealed some big news that marks the beginning of a brand new venture for us the expansion of our music lesson programs to designated Lesson Centers! We are pleased to announce that beginning this fall, TakeLessons and Learning Care Group, Inc., the second largest for-profit early education and child care provider in North America, will be partnering together to offer music lessons to children ages 5-12 at select schools within the Learning Care Group umbrella of brands, including The Childrens Courtyard, Childtime Learning Centers, La Petite Academy and Tutor Time Child Care/Learning Centers. With this partnership, TakeLessons will offer private, one-on-one lessons on site at over 75 Learning Care Group schools in major cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle, Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. The program launches on September 1, 2010, with plans to expand to additional markets in the near future. Students will have the option to choose from guitar, piano or voice lessons, which will be conducted in a designated area within each participating Lesson Center location. As an added benefit, students and other family members age 5 â€" adult have the opportunity to take in-home lessons through the program as well. Each lesson is 30 minutes in length and provides the student with one-on-one personalized instruction at a pace that complements their overall learning ability.   All of our Lesson Center teachers are TakeLessons Certifiedâ„¢, and must meet our rigorous hiring standards and pass a background check before they are accepted into the program. Numerous studies have shown the direct correlation between playing music and increased brain development and academic achievement.   Many children experience additional benefits from taking music lessons, such as improved memorization skills, enhanced motor skills, and increased self confidence.   This program will provide Learning Care Group students with the opportunity to start building these valuable skills at a young age, which will continue to impact them throughout their lives. More information about the each schools music program can be found on the following sites: TakeLessons at Childrens Courtyard TakeLessons at Childtime TakeLessons at La Petite Academy TakeLessons at Tutor Time

Pilates Vs Yoga The Differences

Pilates Vs Yoga The Differences Which Is Better For You? Yoga Or Pilates ChaptersHistory Of PilatesHistory Of YogaWhat Are The Principles Of Yoga And Pilates?What To Do Before A Class: Yoga Vs PilatesWhat Are The Main Styles Of Yoga Vs PilatesThe Benefits Of Pilates Vs YogaThe Difference Between Pilates And YogaPilates vs Yoga, people often ask me which is better for the body, for me there is not really an answer to this question. It would be like asking me if I would prefer to eat strawberry cheesecake or mandarin cheesecake. I like cheesecake so to be I honest I would probably want to eat both. Yes, I do believe that you can have your cake and eat it. Like Cheesecake, Pilates and Yoga share a very similar base, but they do have different toppings. Which one is best for you really just depends on what you like best and what results you are looking for.Today, however, I am going to serve you a slice of both Pilates and yoga so that you can decide which you prefer for yourself.Pilates is a kind of resistance training method that unifies body and mind. Phot o Source: UnsplashBhakti yoga is the action of devotion to god and should be practised in the form of prayer or chantingRaja Yoga or Royal yoga is the action of asanas, pranayama and meditationJnana Yoga is the yoga of knowledge and can be practised through study.What Are The Principles Of Yoga And Pilates?Yogic Principles To LifeIn line with Patanjali 8 limbs of yoga, there are 10 yogic principles, 5 internal principles (Niyamas) and 5 external Principles (Yamas).Niyama in Sanskrit can be translated as Observance. The five internal practices of Niyama support the observance of self-discipline, inner-strength and deal with our inner consciousness.The Five Internal Practices Are Known As;Saucha (Purity) â€" is the cleanliness of thought, mind and body. It is believed that through the purity of body and mind, the mind will automatically begin the move away from the physical world and draw closer to the enlightenment.Santosha (Contentment) â€" is the opportunity to seek joy and serenit y in life while uplifting others. Living in constant gratitude for your health, your friends and your belongings will bring you closer to enlightenment.Tapas (Training the senses / Strength of Character) â€" is the practice of giving something up such as fasting, or cherished possessions or time for example. It is thought that this will create a transformation within the mind.Svadhyaya (Self-Study) â€" is the practice of study the sutras or texts to widen your knowledge. This will enlighten the mind.Ishvarapranidhana (Surrender to God) - is the practice of devotion through daily worship and meditation. It is thought that this can clear the channels to god.Yamas in Sanskrit can be translated as a moral discipline. The five practices of the Yamas are based on morality, proper conduct and self-restraint.The 5 restraints listed within Yamas are as follows:Ahimsa is the restraint of non-injury or violence; this involves not injuring another by action, word, thought or deed.Satya is the r estraint of truthfulness; this involves being truthful in your words and actions and not misleading someone including keeping promises.Brahmacharya is the restraint of sexual purity; this involves controlling the lust, celibacy and divine conduct.Asteya is the restraint of non-theft; this involves not stealing, getting into dent of lusting things which are not yoursAparigraha is the restraint of greedlessness; involves the limit of accumulating possessions, greed, the acceptance of gifts and bribes etc.Check here for exceptional yoga classes near me.The Essential Pilates PrinciplesJoseph Pilates invented Pilates to follow a set of principles, these principles are the foundation of Pilates, and when used together in your practise they support you to achieve all of the benefits that Pilates has to offer.Control: This is the primary theory for Pilates; the premise is that is you can control the movements of your muscles and your body as a whole it will lead to a better quality of worko ut. This controlled approach requires you to use your inner energy wisely and ensure that any energy that you use is delivering the maximum benefits.Breath: In Pilates, your breath is the rhythm of your practise. It is the pulse of all movement that you make when in a Pilates training session. Filling the body with oxygen while preparing to make each movement fills each pose with energy. It enriches your limbs and gives you the opportunity to extend your range of motion to your maximum potential.Concentration: Pilates demands all of your attention, it should not practised mindlessly while focusing on other things. If you do that, then this is not Pilates at all, to practise correctly you must give yourself your full attention. This is a form of mindfulness and is another key to support the connection between your body and mind.Flow: All movements in Pilates are graceful, you glide from one pose to the other giving your body a kind of unity of movement. The poses are seamless, and al l movement within the session is a part of the practise which allows you to conserve energy and make every movement count.Centering: The energy for Pilates comes from the centre of the body, the core. In Pilates, this is often called the powerhouse and is the area between your navel and spine and pubic bone. Pilates makes this area the central focus and the point from which all movement flows.Precision: Precisely aligned movement is significant in Pilates. Each posture must be precise to gain the maximum benefit from your practise. Placing your muscles in the right place is not enough you must also be aware of where your limbs are in relation to each other. Precision help with muscle memory and helps to prevent injury.Pilates and Yoga share a very similar base. Photo Source: UnsplashPractice on an empty stomachA non-slip Pilates mat or yoga mat should be used to practiseStudents should not compete and listen to their own bodies throughout the practiseThe student must be mindfulThe s tudent must inform the teacher of any pre-existing medical conditions and perhaps seek medical advice before attending.Pain is not a part of practise so postures should not be strainedWhat Are The Main Styles Of Yoga Vs PilatesThe Main Styles Of YogaThere are numerous forms of yoga, but the most well known is Hatha yoga which originated from the path of Raja yoga and is the primary school of yoga practiced in the west. In Sanskrit Hatha is broken into 2 words; ‘Ha’ which means Sun and ‘that’ which means moon, the yoga of the sun and moon. Many other styles of yoga have been formed from hatha yoga.The Main Styles Of PilatesPilates also has many forms and styles which have developed since its creation. It has 2 main forms Mat Pilates and Equipment-based Pilates. It also has 2 main styles Classical Pilates and contemporary Pilates. Within both methods, there are many forms of Pilates such as Stott Pilates, Polestar Pilates, Clinical Pilates, Reformer Pilates etc.The Benefits Of Pilates Vs YogaThe benefits of Pilates and yoga asanas are quite similar, they both work with the breath, increase flexibility, increase strength and body awareness. The costs of Pilates classes and Yoga classes start at a fairly low rate.Some Of The Benefits Of PilatesThe benefits of practising Pilates are that you will be able to improve your core strength which will encourage great posture, better spinal alignment, strength within your joints and balanced wellness overall. It is a total body workout meaning that all of your body develops and improves together.   It supports lean muscles, weight loss, improved energy and increased strength.Some Of The Benefits Of Yoga Postures (Asanas)The benefits of asana practise are that all of the systems of the body (internal and external) can be moved towards well-being. This happens through stimulation, massage, flexibility, awareness and increased circulation. The systems of the body Improved with yoga asana include the muscles, joints, i nternal organs, skin, brain, nervous system, blood, heart and lungs. In addition to this, the asanas can remove fat, tension and stress from the body which protects from the onset of disease. The asanas promote a healthy well-functioning body and mind.Pilates adds a form of mindfulness to the posture and is another key to support the connection between your body and mind. Photo Source: UnsplashThe Difference Between Pilates And YogaPersonally, I think that the main difference between Yoga and Pilates is that yoga is a lifestyle system and Pilates is an exercise system. Pilates was inspired in part by yoga so naturally there will be some similarities.Pilates focuses on the relaxing and strengthening the muscular body and gives you the benefit of a toned and lean form with strong muscles. It can often use some different kinds of equipment also. Great for people who want to tone their body, especially the abs.Yoga heavily focuses on the mind, body and spirit and uses much more stretchi ng to improve the flexibility of joints. The main aim of yoga is uniting the body and mind to find peace and harmony. You need no equipment to practise yoga only a yoga mat.   You can also lose weight with yoga, but it is not generally the primary focus. Great for people who are looking for more flexibility, spirituality and stress reduction.While Pilates is excellent for toning, it also aids flexibility, and while yoga is excellent for the flexibility, it also tones your body. They really are very interchangeable, and many of the benefits of yoga and Pilates are shared. It just comes down to a personal choice about what you prefer. Why bother to choose? Just practise both and enjoy the fantastic benefits that they will both deliver.Now check out yoga classes near me so you can sample both Pilates and Yoga!

2018 Official Guide to the GMAT Review Series Problem #17 (Direct Calculation)

2018 Official Guide to the GMAT Review Series Problem #17 (Direct Calculation) GMAT MBA Admissions Blog This post is the third in our series on using strategies to answer specific questions from the 2018 Official Guide. Here, one of our most experienced GMAT tutors, John Easter, analyzes a question about direct calculation. 125% of 5 = (A) 5.125 (B) 5.25 (C) 6 (D) 6.125 (E) 6.25 When you're presented with a direct calculation, always start by scanning your answers. Clearly 125% of 5 is more than 5, but that doesn't help in this case. So, we've got two reasonable approaches, both of which rely to some extent on math facts. 1. Standard Operating Procedure: We like fractions better than decimals, and we know our fraction decimal equivalents (right???), so, 125% = 1.25 = 1 1/4 = 5/4. Now we just take the product 5(5/4) = 25/4 = 6 1/4 = 6.25. 2. Powers of 5:Learning your math facts is mostly about making friends. Sometime your friends can help you speed things up, but they can't help you unless you recognize them. This isn't as simple as it sounds because they appear in many contexts. This problem is an example of that. You have to look past the percent and realize that moving the decimal doesn't effect your math fact: 125 = 5^3 and 125(5) = 5^3(5) = 5^4 = 625... 6.25. The correct answer is E. About the Author John Easter is one of MyGuru’s longest tenured and most experiencedGMAT tutors. He is also the founder ofOwl Test Prep, another great source for GMAT advice.

Free Go Fish Card Game

Free Go Fish Card Game Free-go-fish-card-gameDownload Practice yes-no questions with this great card game.     Play this card game in groups of three or four. Shuffle and deal six cards each. Players take turns asking “Do you have any _____?” to complete books of the same rank. The player with the most books at the end of the game is the winner. For complete playing instructions, see How to Play a Card Game below. This serious game promotes accurate pronunciation of plurals, questions with do-fronting, short-answer negation with don’t, and positive affect. Reading the rules of Go Fish is a great reading comprehension activity because it leads to action, not just knowledge. Anyway, learning the game will provide you with an enjoyable social activity for future encounters with English speaking peers outside of the classroom. The target structures are on the back of the card The card back remind students of the question form:  Do you have any?   They also list the target structures for affirmative and negative short answers:  Yes, I do. Here you are. No, I dont. Go fish! How to Play the Go Fish Card Game Three or more players sit in a circle. The dealer shuffles the deck and deals six cards to each player. The remaining cards are placed face down in the middle. Players should pick up their cards and keep them secret from the other players. The player to the dealer’s left starts. A turn consists of asking a specific player for a specific card. That player will either give me the card or tell me, “No, I don’t. Go Fish.” For example, if I am sitting to the left of the dealer, I go first. Imagine that among the cards in my hand, I am holding at least one six, I can turn to another player and say: “Mark, Do you have any sixes?” It is essential that I ask the question using the player’s name. Otherwise, there might be some confusion. If, let’s say, Mark has a six, he must give it to me. If he has two sixes, he must give them both to me. If he has three sixes, he must give all three sixes to me. With my original six, I would then have four sixes. I have made a book of sixes. I must display books face-up in front of me. But let’s say that Mark has only one six. He will give it to me. My turn continues. I can ask another player for the same or another card in my hand. Equally, I can ask Mark for another card in my hand. My turn ends when I ask someone for a card they do not have. To which he or she will respond, “No, I don’t. Go fish.” I finish my turn by taking a card from the pond, the pile in the center of the circle of players. If, however, I pull out the card I was asking for, I have “fished my wish” and my turn continues. (To be fair, I should show everyone the fished wish, otherwise they might doubt that I am telling the truth.) If it is another cardâ€"different from the card I asked for, my turn is over and the player to the left gets a turn. For example, let’s say I ask Mark for sixes, he gives me two. I turn to Christine and ask her if she has any sixes but she replies “No, I don’t. Go fish.” I then pull a card from the pond. It is a jack. I have not fished my wish. It is now Mark’s turn because he is sitting to my left. Christine will go after Mark because she is sitting to his left. The goal of the game is to collect and display the most books. The game continues until all of the cards in the middle have been fished and every player has exhausted all of his or her cards by giving them away or forming books. Sometimes a player will be asked for cards and find himself giving away his last card. There are two ways to handle this situation. The easy rule is to let the player immediately fish for a card in the pile. This keeps him in the game. The hard rule requires the player to wait for his turn to fish for a card. It is called the hard rule because that player’s turn comes to end by fishing. Players should conduct a majority vote to decide which rule to use for the duration of the game. Download the  Go Fish  Card Game here Free-go-fish-card-gameDownload Printing Instructions Print cards using a colour or black and white printer. Do not fit the cards to the pages or you will have more cutting to do. Print two-sided copies. Print one copy for every group of three-four students.   Please follow and like us:

How to Improve Language Listening Skills 5 Secrets for Success

How to Improve Language Listening Skills 5 Secrets for Success How to Improve Language Listening Skills: 5 Secrets for Success Listening  is the mother of all language skills.Okay, so traditionally its been treated more like the under-appreciated younger brother of language skills. But it should be the mother of all language skills.Remember at school, when you were supposed to be listening to the teacher and suddenly you got picked to answer a question and all you could do was muster a guilty “errrrrr”?We humans are generally poor listeners in our own language. While it may be embarrassing to be caught not paying attention to the teacher, listening is normally considered more of a given than something that needs to be focused on and cultivated.Were taught to read  and write. Were even taught to debate and give presentations. But no one really teaches us how to listen.So  mastering the art of listening in another language is bound to be an even bigger challenge! Its tough to figure out how to improve language listening skills to begin with.If we want to achieve fluency, we have to really make an active ef fort when it comes to this dimension of the language learning process. Why Is Listening So Important?First and foremost, one-way communication is just no fun. Its all well and good being able to put together a great phrase, but if youre lost when the reply comes your way, its useless. You have become the proverbial brick wall!And dont think this just applies to beginners. Even the more advanced can get caught out by the huge variety of accents and dialects contained within each language.I remember when I first went to Italy, confident after two years of classes and consistently good grades. As soon as I hopped off the plane in Rome and got to the bus station, I proceeded to spend the next hour sitting on the curb with my head hanging over my knees.The counter clerks fast regional accent had caught me out. I asked her to repeat herself three times, after which she made a heart-sinking I cant take any more stupid foreigners today face and started talking to the person behind me.We s hould always be aware that dialects and accents differ not only from country to country but also within a country. There are regional accents. There are even different accents within the same city, according to neighborhood, class or age.Topping up on listening practice with a wide variety of material gets us used to the differences AND helps us learn all sorts of other skills as well!Wondering what the best kind of material is to use and where to find it? Thats exactly what were going to provide you with here.The Best Resources for Listening PracticeYour experience of language listening may involve textbook dialogues that go something like this:“Hello, my name is Ronny.Oh hello, my name is Fred. Nice to meet you, Ronny.Where is the library?”Makes you want to bang your head on the table in boredom and frustration, right? Who can blame you? As this type of dialogue is clearly scripted, its most definitely not the best example of natural language.What we need is original, native s ources of language.These can include:Movies/TV Series. Check out  this guide to listening practice through movies and TV series  and the great resources included!Podcasts.  Entertainment Weekly offers a  list of recommended podcasts  from 2015 on their site. To find similar lists of recommendations for native podcasts in the language of your choice, try Google searching the phrase best podcasts in that language.Audiobooks. Instead of reading those books youre interested in, why not listen to them?News channels and radio stations often have great websites with plenty of videos and articles to go with them. Searching radio stations online in [country] will give you plenty of options. National Geographic is also a great multilingual resource with a TV channel, subscription magazines and websites in various languages.Talks and interviews. The advantage of listening to talks is that the speakers are generally experienced, speak more clearly and stay on subject. If you havent already hear d about TED Talks, get on the site right now! You can search by subject and language and listen to some of the best public speakers around the world give inspiring speeches on their subjects of expertise, with the advantage of subtitles in many languages and a written transcript if you ever get lost.Songs  (on Vimeo or YouTube, for example), with or without lyrics.People. Go out! Communicate, listen to conversations, etc. If you live in a city, find a language exchange partner who speaks the language you want to learn. You can do this through language exchange groups, such as  Mundo Lingo International, which are often organized through Facebook or on Meetup. Attend cultural events, such as cinema nights, theater or book clubs for countries youre interested in. If you are in a remote location, there is always the option of finding an online language buddy with websites such as  Coeffee,  Easy Language Exchange, italki  and  Babel Village.Finally, you can always find fresh native con tent on  FluentU,  an online immersion platform that takes  real-world videosâ€"like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that natives  speak them. FluentU has a wide variety of videos, including funny commercials and web series, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse Screen.FluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover over or tap on the subtitles to instantly view definitions.FluentU Interactive Transcripts You can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs quiz mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’r e learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.So now we know the why behind listening practice, and weve got the right tools. All thats left is the how. Check out these secrets for further listening success below.How to Improve Language Listening Skills: 5 Secrets for Success1. Make Listening Regular and FocusedLike anything worthwhile in life, theres no quick fix. Anyone telling you its pure talentâ€"or that you can push some buttons and voila!â€"is wrong. For me, language learning follows a simple equation:Interest + Motivation + Effort = Successful learning!Languages are vast and rich. There is no one (or hardly anyone!) whos going to be naturally excellent at all skills required to achieve full fluency. There are always parts that come more easily and others that youll have to work harder at.For some, that might mean grammar is a breeze, but producing the sounds of a language is an uphill battle. For others, underst anding what others say seems to come naturally, but which verb tense is used where is a mystery.No one listens to Russian and just immediately knows whats being said. Improving listening requires repeated exposure. Whether that means watching soap operas, documentaries, talk shows, podcasts, sports radio shows or your favorite bands, the all-important bottom line is that you DO listen, constantly, while paying full attention.For this, you need toRemove DistractionsYou know why.All of a sudden that video your friend posted of a puppy running into a glass window just seems so interesting.Were all prone to distraction.So turn off your email/Facebook/Twitter/WhatsApp/Skype alerts on your computer and phone before you start your listening practice.If you have kids, partners or housemates who love to barge in and start asking for things, let them know you need 15 minutes of alone time or, if that is impossible at home, find a silent workspace in your local cafe, on the train or in a parkâ €"wherever works best for you.In the same vein, try and leave aside your mental to-do list (I know, its hardâ€"theres just so much to do!) that keeps invading your brain space for just a few minutes.Listening with half a brain on what youre doing is only going to give you half the practice you need, and the chances of your brain remembering the material you listen to is minimal.Keep Your Interest Alive!We can learn through memorization, but to remember and internalize we need to puzzle over something that interests us and that we enjoy. So forget textbook boredom. Harness your interest by focusing on subject matter you like.Push Through!We all have good and bad days.The learning curve has a sharp spike at the beginning, where development is rapid (albeit with ups and downs of its own), and then theres a plateau where it gets harder to make progress. It can be a struggle, but getting stuck in is part of the fun and hugely rewarding when you finally do emerge from the tunnel.Proceed i n Small but Regular Bite-sized ChunksThis is the most effective way of  warding off boredom and keeping motivated.15 minutes every day is a hundred times better than a four-hour cram session every two weeks. Id say 45 minutes is the limit before concentration starts lagging. But for those who are time-starved, even a quick five minutes will help rewire your brain to the sounds of the new language.2. Set Listening GoalsSetting goals will help get you on the right track and feel good when you hit your target.Of course, dont get ahead of yourself: Start with small goals, and reward yourself as you go.For example, at first, aim for recognizing words, or even just sounds. Give yourself a point every time you hear a word beginning with the letter p or the sound [d?], for instance.Aim to learn one or a few new words each time you listen to something. Later, move up to bigger goalsâ€"understanding a whole conversation, perhaps, or listening to a song and learning to sing along with the chor us.If you already have a more advanced level, choose more complex material and aim to focus on expressions you havent heard before or perfecting your accent by imitating favorite sections of speech.Were all still learning in our own language, so in a new one there will never be a lack of things to improve on!3. See the Big PictureListen Purely for SoundThis is a good technique at the beginning.  It gets you used to the melody of the language. Staying speechless  and absorbing the sounds, syllables, pauses and rhythm of the language is exactly what babies do in their silent sponge period.Be aware of how language changes when it’s spoken. If you know how the sounds connect, when theyre deleted or inserted, youll need much less time to progress!In English, we dont necessarily pause between each word. In fact, we often link words and sometimes join sounds to make new sounds.For example, What are you going to do? becomes Whaddya gonna do?One of my favorite tricks is to try to separate the ongoing flow of words by pressing my fingers against a table (or engaging in some other physical expression) every time I hear that a word is accented. When I use this trick with Portuguese, I can actually understand much more. Somehow, attaching a physical representation to the mental process helps the brain to separate the sounds.Later, you can move on to trying to understand whole chunks of text.Get Used to Looking for ContextDo you ever find yourself finishing the sentences of someone you have known for a long time, someone with whom you feel very comfortable?Of course you do! You may not even realize youre doing it. We all naturally trail off at the end of sentences, but everyday speech patterns are so common that most of the time we unwittingly fill in the remaining parts in our heads.Well, with a new language, the situation is similar, but we have to get even more creative and imaginative.It takes too long to  translate every word in your head.  Use logic and good old cre ative guesswork to conclude what will follow.  For example, lets say I see a mother looking in a fridge, holding out car keys for her husband, and I hear this:goshopssome things wedinner?I can determine from the intonation that its a question, and from the context of the situation, I can guess the missing words:Can you go to the shops to pick up some things we need for dinner?Even if these arent the exact words, the context is there and I have understood.Use Tools to Get AccurateOnce youve understood the general context, its time to get more accurate.For example, if Im not 100% sure of something Ive heard and want to check, I can  repeat that section as many times as I need to.If Im still not sure, I can  record the section on my phone and download an app such as Audacity  (audio only) or VLC  (audio and video files) to slow down that section for more clarity. If there are still comprehension problems, I can  use a native-speaking friend or find a buddy on a language swap website to ask for help.4. Add in Cross-trainingNone of the skills we need to learn a language can be taken in isolation. Theyre a giant web of interlocking strings.So we must listen in combination with reading and speaking.What does this mean, and how can we do this?Use subtitles. First,  in your native language to gain an idea of whats going on.Then switch to subtitles in the same language as the program youre watching.Use lyrics. For songs, listen once without lyrics to get used to the sounds. You can then listen again with the lyrics. You can look up the words you dont know and repeat sections as many times as you need to recognize the sounds. Then listen all the way through one last time without lyrics, this time trying to recognize all the sounds and words you have just read.Use listening as a way to learn new vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. Aim to find new words or expressions each time you watch or listen to something. Look them up in the dictionary, find them in contextâ€"in ne wspaper articles online, for exampleâ€"and try to make some sentences of your own.Use mimicking to better understand sounds and sound combinations, and to improve pronunciation.Use your inner voice. We all have a voice in our head that provides us with a running commentary of life. Dont forget to use that, too (in the language youre learning).The great challenge is to be able to think in that language. So repeating things youve heard that you liked in your head is practice, too! Chat to yourself about what you just listened toâ€"but try, as much as possible, to think those thoughts IN that language.The wonderful thing is that in your own head, theres no one judging you!5. Crank Up the Difficulty ProgressivelyChoose your material carefully. It needs to be comprehensible. If you understand nothing, you will simply not listen. Generally, a slight step up from your current level will be stimulating enough for you to learn new things but not so hard that you end up confused and dejected. Listen to short sections at first, and repeat many times. Listen to a recording once. First to understand the gist, then again (and again, if necessary) to get the details. Slow the recording down if you need to.You can move on to larger sections of speech once you feel comfortable, repeating the same process. Here are some resources to check out for finding level-appropriate material for yourself:Songs, programs and computer games for kids contain the simplest language and often come with very explicit visuals, making them easy to understand.Documentaries are great as the speakers are often chosen for their slow, clear speech. The narrator is also often describing something that is happening on screen, so you have visuals to provide you with context.Talks, talk shows and interviews can be found on YouTube, TED, online radio channels and podcasts. You can find almost any subject, so you will always be able to listen to something that interests you.TV series provide great entertainme nt and come mostly in nice short episodes that often have a repetitive formula.Finally, we mustnt forget about films. We all love them! There is so much we can learn about other cultures through films, so get curious and get watching!  As a rule of thumb, slapstick comedy tends to be a simpler genre. You can start there and move on to action, and then drama and dark comedy on the more advanced end.Of course, if youre tired of watching strange cultures and unknown actors and just want to relax, you can also always find your favorite Hollywood films dubbed into almost any language out there. Another advantage here is that the speech used for dubbing is often clearer than in original-language films.Keep these five secrets for how to learn language listening skills in mind, and youll be reaping the benefits of awesome language listening skills in no time!

Math Tutor in Athens, GA

Math Tutor in Athens, GA Meet our new Tutor Mr. Will B. He lives in Athens, GA and specializes in math ranging from the common core, to high school calculus, to college courses including linear algebra, graph theory, and vector calculus on manifolds. Will graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelors degree in Mathematics. He was a member of the Math Club as well as volunteering at many organizations in the Athens and Atlanta areas. He began tutoring in August of 2010, after scoring in the mid 700s on the SAT. Ultimately, Will aims to benefit the students. He always encourages feedback and suggestions from both students and parents in order to make himself more effective. Will always tries to present the material in a way that perhaps is different than in the classroom, often times tying in the subject matter to real world applications. He always ensures that there is ample time to work through problems together, reviewing steps along the way. So often Math is a subject area that has a bad association, Wills goal is to make the learning experience as pleasant as possible through a hands on approach. Will has worked with students aging 12-23 over the course of the last six years or so. He has tutored in group settings in the past, but Will found that one-on-one engagements seem to be the most effective. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with Will or other tutors at TutorZ. Will is  almost always available short notice, and will always respond promptly. Please feel free to contact him with any additional questions or to schedule a time to meet. Math Tutor in Athens, GA Meet our new Tutor Mr. Will B. He lives in Athens, GA and specializes in math ranging from the common core, to high school calculus, to college courses including linear algebra, graph theory, and vector calculus on manifolds. Will graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelors degree in Mathematics. He was a member of the Math Club as well as volunteering at many organizations in the Athens and Atlanta areas. He began tutoring in August of 2010, after scoring in the mid 700s on the SAT. Ultimately, Will aims to benefit the students. He always encourages feedback and suggestions from both students and parents in order to make himself more effective. Will always tries to present the material in a way that perhaps is different than in the classroom, often times tying in the subject matter to real world applications. He always ensures that there is ample time to work through problems together, reviewing steps along the way. So often Math is a subject area that has a bad association, Wills goal is to make the learning experience as pleasant as possible through a hands on approach. Will has worked with students aging 12-23 over the course of the last six years or so. He has tutored in group settings in the past, but Will found that one-on-one engagements seem to be the most effective. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with Will or other tutors at TutorZ. Will is  almost always available short notice, and will always respond promptly. Please feel free to contact him with any additional questions or to schedule a time to meet.