Find an Online Tutor.How Online Tutors Spark Innovation In Students.

Find an Online Tutor.How Online Tutors Spark Innovation In Students. Just like different digitized aspects of our lives, education is not staying behind, find an online tutor for your needs. The classroom has now turned digitalized which has helped the teachers in a great way, but this process has become costly for the parents to admit their students in such high standard schools. Besides this, students are hooked more into tablets and smartphones to gain know-how regarding their studies. Thus, to lessen the tension, parents can take the opportunity of online tutors who are experts in various subjects. Online training is extremely significant for the understudies, and its only a tick away. The understudies need to sign onto the best online classes accessible in their locale. Online guides for different subjects are there at your administration day in and day out; so the understudies simply need to ping them online where theyre prepared to offer their best help up close and personal. Guides can share their aptitude with the understudies in a simple strategy that will help in comprehension and actualizing them further. Online coaches can unquestionably touch off creativity in them which will assist the understudies with scoring high. We should get the opportunity to find out about this more. The mission of Online Tutors to carve Creativity in their Students When a student tries to find an online tutor, they would not only try to grab knowledge but also boost their skills in unique thinking. The students gain the space they require for their growth. From being average students, they turn into creative thinkers. Let’s discover this concept that after hiring a brilliant online tutor, what the students execute differently! Under the guidance of best online English tutor, the students can effortlessly express their ideas related to the subjects they’re taking tuitions. After the online class gets wrapped, they have their own set of questions to ask the tutors. Different off-the-topic questions may come to their minds too which assists them in understanding the subject in-depth. They not only talk about facts, but are also enthusiastic to discuss fresh ideas! The students are thrilled to work on the open-ended projects. They even express freely their perceptive of the subject matter and also like the flexibility. They don’t feel the pressure in their studies. How to Boost the Growth in the Students of the above-mentioned Characteristics? Presentation of relevant materials Being an online guide, you may help the understudies to grasp writing, science, math, or some other subject, however, you should display them how theyre progressively important! For instance, you have to include a bonus, aside from based on what is as of now written in the coursebook. You can incorporate another point of view to enhance the ideas of history by indicating models. You can investigate mechanics, style, and the manners in which prior individuals were voyaging path back through perceptions. Understudies can, in this way, recall these visuals and remember their responses to unmistakable inquiries. They can even take a shot at their imaginative contemplations and offer an incredible response to the inquiries posed by their guide. Assigning open-ended projects. Tutors should avoid ‘task-to-be-completed under guidelines’ procedure. In fact, they should offer open-ended projects that allow them to select the type of assignment they are interested in and express their skills and knowledge that works great for the students. Ensure that the traditional paper writing should be for classroom only. Tutors need to make their students get accustomed to the open-ended projects as they work with them. This kind of training can only be acquired from the online tutor. They should also make them understand the academic writing in a better way. Have a reward system Tutors aren’t keen on their students running after higher grades. Rather they encourage them to be more ingenious, so creativity stands as a reward. Their projects won’t include grades and points. The online tutors can publish the student’s project online with a huge audience in the form of a reward. The tutors can even offer coupons to those students who perform excellently in the online courses. When a student is performing superbly in his/her studies, they can present them the choice to select their next assignment. Hence, take your time in finding an online tutor that can spark creativity in the student, which is the core responsibility of an expert tutor. Hope the above tips will be beneficial in making a wonderful start and boost the students to explore new learning and also recognize their actual potential.

Building Sentences in Russian

Building Sentences in Russian Fundamentals of Russian Grammar: Russian Sentence Structure ChaptersBasic Russian Sentence StructureModifying Nouns and Verbs in RussianHow to Place Emphasis in a Russian SentenceAsking Questions in RussianTaking Russian language course London  or trying to learn Russian on your own? Then you know that when you learn a new language, it involves more than simply thumbing through a Russian dictionary or memorizing the Russian numbers and days of the week. You need to learn Russian grammar rules in order to build understandable sentences.Of course, you can learn some Russian words and phrases from your textbooks or phrase book, but at some point you will want to go beyond saying hello, pleased to meet you, giving a rote compliment and asking “Do you speak English?” If you want to speak Russian halfway fluently, Russian vocabulary is not the only aspect you need to work on: you will also need to study pronunciation, reading the Cyrillic alphabet and, of course, sentence structure.So here is a small guide on how to properly structure Russian p hrases, so that the next time you travel to St. Petersburg, Moscow or elsewhere in the former USSR you will be understood. LavaRussian Teacher 5.00 (8) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LarisaRussian Teacher 5.00 (2) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors InaRussian Teacher 4.88 (8) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors IrynaRussian Teacher 5.00 (8) £12/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EvgeniaRussian Teacher £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AnastassiaRussian Teacher 5.00 (2) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NikolaRussian Teacher 5.00 (4) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MargaritaRussian Teacher 5.00 (3) £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsBasic Russian Sentence StructureIn English, the basic sentence structure is:Subject + Verb + ObjectThis is true in Russian grammar as well. Whether you are taking   Russian lessons online or in a classroom, most phrases you learn will be set up this way:? ??? ? ???????? I have a cold.The subject is in the nominative case (the form of the noun you will find first in a dictionary) whereas the direct object is in the accusative.  You will need to conjugate Russian verbs in the proper tense, of course.Knowing grammar rules can help you translate full Russian sentences. Photo credit: quinn.anya on Visualhunt.comIntroducing indirect objectsIndirect objects (in English, they are introduced by “to” or “by”) usually come after the verb, but whereas in English they come:After the direct object if a preposition (”to”, “for”, “by”) is used (I gave a book to Sanya.)Before the direct object if none is used (I gave Sanya a book.)Russian words - in this case, the nouns - are declined. We have seen that subjects are in the nominative case and direct objects in the accusative case. This means that the indirect object can be placed either before or after the direct object without anyone becoming confused, as it will be in the dative cas e.You can say:?? ????? ?????? ?????????. He wrote a letter to his parents.Or:?? ????? ?????? ????????? He wrote his parents a letter.Here is a table with the dative declension for the most common noun endings in Russian:GenderEndingDative singularDative pluralMasculineconsonantadd -yadd -??Masculine-?replace -? with -?replace -? with -??Masculine-?replace -? with -?replace -? with -??Feminine-?replace -? with -?replace -? with -??Feminine-? (except for -??)replace -? with -?replace -? with -??Feminine-??replace -?? with -?replace -? with -?? (keep the ?)Feminine-?replace -? with -?replace -? with -??Neuter-?replace -? with -yreplace -? with -??Neuter-? (except for examples below)replace -? with -?replace -? with -??Neuter-??, -??, -??, -??replace -? with -yreplace -? with -??Pronouns in Russian word orderWhile generally, objects come after the verb, when an object is a pronoun they always come before the verb.? ??? ???? I know him.There are all sorts of Russian sentences - each with their own rules. Photo credit: strogoscope on VisualhuntModifying Nouns and Verbs in RussianAdjectives and other noun modifiersAdjectives come before the noun they modify:??????? ?????? A red flower??????? ??? A big houseGenitives and other noun modifiers usually only come after the noun.Adverbs and adverbial phrasesAdverbial phrases indicating time, place, mode etc. are generally at the end of the sentence.? ??? ? ????? I am going to school.Make learning Russian fun with Russian language games to practise sentence structure.How to Place Emphasis in a Russian SentenceNow that we have talked about the order of Russian words in a sentence, here’s something you need to know: the subject+verb+objects order is optional.Because Russian has cases, word order is not quite as important for determining the role of each noun in the sentence. This means that nouns can be moved around for emphasis.New information tends to come at the end of a sentence. For example, in English we might differe ntiate between:My sister is an architect. The important information is not the sister, but the fact that she’s an architect.My sister is the architect. The sister is the more important information here. There was talk of architects and the sister is named as one.When you speak Russian, you can do this by reversing the word order.??? ?????? ?????????? corresponds to “my sister is an architect.”?????????? ??? ?????? is the equivalent of “my sister is the architect.”This means that everything we said before is only one way of learning basic Russian sentence structure. It is the most usual way, and it’s good to remember these tips as they will help you focus on what you want to say without worrying about emphasis.Expressing yourself in Russian means understanding grammar rules. Photo credit: RSNY on Visual HuntHowever, as you progress from beginner to intermediate level or even advanced levels and learn to read Russian literature in the original rather than translations, you will notice that many authors such as Pushkin or Tolstoy will switch around words in a sentence. That’s why it’s so important to gain proficiency in the declensions of Russian nouns, so you always know what function a word has in a sentence.If you travel to Russia and your listening comprehension increases, you will also notice people doing it in common speech and as you gain fluency, you can try it out as well as you figure out what works and what doesn’t. This is something you can practise in Russian lessons with your teacher.Asking Questions in RussianThere are two types of questions:Questions that can be answered by either yes or noQuestions that need a more comprehensive answer and generally need question wordsAsking yes or no questions in RussianSimple questions in the Russian language course are just that: simple. You don’t need to change anything about the word order, simply add a question mark when writing or raise your voice at the end when speaking.?? ????? ????? ? He is writing a letter?? ????? ??????? Is he writing a letter?Asking questions in Russian is an important part of learning the language. Photo credit: hehheh78 on VisualHuntAsking questions using question wordsCommon question words in English are:Who?What?When?Where?Why?How?But there are many more, compound question tags that also have Russian counterparts, such as:Whose?How many?How much?What kind/ what sort?Also, Russian uses its own question words for “where to” (????) and where from (??????).Here are some of the most frequently used question words in Russian:EnglishRussianWho???What??????When?????Where???Why???How???How much/how many???????You can pair them with common Russian verbs to form useful questions.Though most aspects of Russian sentences are permutable, question words are always at the beginning of a sentence.??? ??? What is this???? ??? Who is it???? ??? Where is it?Now, some of these need to be declined to suit their grammatical role in the sentence. For exampl e, both ??? (what?) and ??? (who?) are declined:NominativeAccusative DativeGenitiveInstrumentalPrepositional?????????????????????????????????????????Also, whose? (???) needs to agree in number, case and gender to the object or the person it refers to.

How 1% improvement can turn an F into an A

How 1% improvement can turn an F into an A Improving Academic Performance Most students don’t realize how small, incremental improvements can accumulate over time to create significant jumps in skill level or academic performance. Let’s begin by exploring some theories about performance and success that have a lot to do with becoming comfortable struggling and striving to make small improvements. Later, we’ll show how a seemingly small improvement of just 1% a week can turn an F into an A. One of the most important things for students to realize is that intelligence is something you build over time. It's not something you are born with. Just like working out helps your muscles grow, reading, writing, studying, preparing for and being tested, etc., helps your intelligence grow. The theory that your intelligence is like a muscle that can grow over time is called the “growth mindset” and has been studied and espoused by Carol Dweck, a professor of Psychology at Stanford, for over a decade. It is related to the research done by Angela Duckworth at the University of Pennsylvania, which shows that “grit” and the ability to persevere are a better predictor of academic performance over time than a student’s initial IQ score. The opposite of the “growth” mindset is the “fixed” mindset, which is where you fundamentally believe that your intelligence is static. It’s driven by your IQ, which you believe can’t be improved, and in any given area of your life, you either have an inborn talent for something, or you don’t. Most people, of course, are more growth mindset-oriented about some things and more fixed mindset-oriented about others. The more you adopt a “growth mindset” the harder you’ll try to solve problems and keep going at a task until you figure it out, and this process builds intelligence. A character trait called “grit” is what leads to sustained effort in the face of multiple failures or obstacles. So, having a growth mindset and being “gritty” are highly related. I like to argue that there are three dimensions to the “growth in your intelligence” that occurs over time when you keep trying to learn something in a sustained, deep, and focused way. First, you become “smarter” simply because you remember more facts and concepts. But, second, you also build new learnable skills related to math, reading, and writing that go beyond just remembering facts. And finally, you become “smarter” as your brain builds new neural connections, and in some small but meaningful way, becomes more efficient and effective at solving problems. Now, let’s take a turn with this article and explore the concepts above in the context of an interesting “performance rule” I was recently exposed to when listening to a presentation by a business consultant named David Nour â€" the 1% rule. Imagine that you get just 1% better at something every week. In about a year, you will be almost twice as good at it. It didn’t seem quite right to me when I initially heard it, so I decided to create a scenario for this article and work out the math behind the 1% rule to test it. Imagine that you or your child is in a math class Calculus 1. On the first quiz of the year, he or she received an F, having earned only 55 of the 100 points on that exam. What would happen if you adopt a growth mindset, and commit yourself to studying hard and improving slowly over time. You set a goal of improving by just 1% every week. Grade scale At or above A 90 B 80 C 70 D 60 F 50 Week Test points % improvement Amount of improvement Grade 1 55.00 1.00% 0.55 F 2 55.55 1.00% 0.56 F 3 56.11 1.00% 0.56 F 4 56.67 1.00% 0.57 F 5 57.23 1.00% 0.57 F 6 57.81 1.00% 0.58 F 7 58.38 1.00% 0.58 F 8 58.97 1.00% 0.59 F 9 59.56 1.00% 0.60 F 10 60.15 1.00% 0.60 D 11 60.75 1.00% 0.61 D 12 61.36 1.00% 0.61 D 13 61.98 1.00% 0.62 D 14 62.60 1.00% 0.63 D 15 63.22 1.00% 0.63 D 16 63.85 1.00% 0.64 D 17 64.49 1.00% 0.64 D 18 65.14 1.00% 0.65 D 19 65.79 1.00% 0.66 D 20 66.45 1.00% 0.66 D 21 67.11 1.00% 0.67 D 22 67.78 1.00% 0.68 D 23 68.46 1.00% 0.68 D 24 69.14 1.00% 0.69 D 25 69.84 1.00% 0.70 D 26 70.53 1.00% 0.71 C 27 71.24 1.00% 0.71 C 28 71.95 1.00% 0.72 C 29 72.67 1.00% 0.73 C 30 73.40 1.00% 0.73 C 31 74.13 1.00% 0.74 C 32 74.87 1.00% 0.75 C 33 75.62 1.00% 0.76 C 34 76.38 1.00% 0.76 C 35 77.14 1.00% 0.77 C 36 77.91 1.00% 0.78 C 37 78.69 1.00% 0.79 C 38 79.48 1.00% 0.79 C 39 80.27 1.00% 0.80 B 40 81.08 1.00% 0.81 B 41 81.89 1.00% 0.82 B 42 82.71 1.00% 0.83 B 43 83.53 1.00% 0.84 B 44 84.37 1.00% 0.84 B 45 85.21 1.00% 0.85 B 46 86.06 1.00% 0.86 B 47 86.93 1.00% 0.87 B 48 87.79 1.00% 0.88 B 49 88.67 1.00% 0.89 B 50 89.56 1.00% 0.90 B 51 90.45 1.00% 0.90 A 52 91.36 1.00% 0.91 A It turns out that 1 %improvement per week is enough to go from getting 55 out of 100 points (an F) to 92 out of 100 points (an A) by the end of the year. Nour’s 1% rule was right. But let's say your class is semester-based, and you don’t have a whole year. Well, if you can improve by just 2% a week, you’ll get to an A by the end of the semester. Grade scale At or above A 90 B 80 C 70 D 60 F 50 Week Test points % improvement Amount of improvement Grade 1 55.00 2.00% 1.10 F 2 56.10 2.00% 1.12 F 3 57.22 2.00% 1.14 F 4 58.37 2.00% 1.17 F 5 59.53 2.00% 1.19 F 6 60.72 2.00% 1.21 D 7 61.94 2.00% 1.24 D 8 63.18 2.00% 1.26 D 9 64.44 2.00% 1.29 D 10 65.73 2.00% 1.31 D 11 67.04 2.00% 1.34 D 12 68.39 2.00% 1.37 D 13 69.75 2.00% 1.40 D 14 71.15 2.00% 1.42 C 15 72.57 2.00% 1.45 C 16 74.02 2.00% 1.48 C 17 75.50 2.00% 1.51 C 18 77.01 2.00% 1.54 C 19 78.55 2.00% 1.57 C 20 80.12 2.00% 1.60 B 21 81.73 2.00% 1.63 B 22 83.36 2.00% 1.67 B 23 85.03 2.00% 1.70 B 24 86.73 2.00% 1.73 B 25 88.46 2.00% 1.77 B 26 90.23 2.00% 1.80 A 27 92.04 2.00% 1.84 A Many people struggle with believing that getting an A in a math class, particularly a class as complex as calculus, is fully under their control, as the above tables would suggest. They just tend to have trouble getting out of the fixed mindset, which suggests that there are “math people” with a talent for math for whom math classes are just far easier to comprehend. But Angela Duckworth, who I referenced earlier, offers up a nice “performance formula” to address this concern, which I initially was exposed to in the Psychology Podcast by Scott Barry Kaufman. I wrote about it in an earlier blog article, but I’ll recreate it here because I just find it so powerful and important for students to digest, internalize, and believe. PERFORMANCE = SKILL X EFFORT. This means that how well you do is a function of how much skill you have AND how much effort you apply. I find this intuitively true. But now, let’s explore what skill is really all about. SKILL = TALENT x EFFORT. Skill is a function of two things. First, it has something to do with talent, which Duckworth describes as the factor that is driven by genetic makeup and natural ability. However, skills are also a function of how much effort you put into building skills. Practice builds skills, and practice requires effort. By doing a little algebra, we get to â€" Performance = [TALENT x EFFORT] x EFFORT, which reduces to â€" Performance = TALENT x EFFORT2 What this means is that effort is twice as important as talent when it comes to explaining success. So, if you want to earn that A in a complex math class, rest assured that your commitment to working hard is going to be more important than your “natural” math ability. I cannot underestimate the importance of believing deeply in the power of making small, incremental improvements. These improvements can and do accumulate over time. Before too long, you can become and expert at academic subjects you had previously considered extremely confusing and frustrating to understand.

The Funniest, Saddest Robin Williams Video Youll See

The Funniest, Saddest Robin Williams Video Youll See Oh, it is so sad. It seems like comedians always have such a dark side. We will miss this great comedian and actor. His stand-up and his movies are a really great way to practice your English because he changes dialects and he speaks really, really fast! Also, I always say if you understand comedy in a different language youve gotten that language.This video featuring Robin Williams is a clip from the U.S. comedy Louie. Its not well known outside of the U.S. Its incredibly poignant, as it deals with death. Ita a little long, but worth watching. I think its probably one of the funniest, saddest things thats been on television here in some time.iframe width=560 height=315 src=//www.youtube.com/embed/0asL5VaWzM0 frameborder=0 allowfullscreen/iframe1. Why did they go to the funeral? Why didnt anyone else go? 2. Why did they go to the strip club? 3. What happened there? 4. What do they agree to do for each other at the end?There are also a lot of good ways we can use the 3rd conditional a bout this video. Form three 3rd conditional sentences about the video.Example: If I had woken up on time I wouldnt have been late for work.Need help with the 3rd Conditional? Watch this grammar video:iframe width=560 height=315 src=//www.youtube.com/embed/P-6mfvZQ44s?rel=0 frameborder=0 allowfullscreen/iframeWriting: Why do you think so many comedians die from drug overdoses or suicide? Does this happen to comedians in your country as well?Finally, try our 3rd conditional quiz a href=/?p=16643here/a.

Subsidized Vs. Unsubsidized Loans

Subsidized Vs. Unsubsidized Loans Photo Credit: gotcredit.com With rising college tuition costs, students are looking for ways to fund the investment. Firstly, students seek out scholarships to fund their endeavor. The best part about scholarships is that they are essentially free money and they can be awarded for any reason be it ethnic, academic, or something else. There are scholarships for being a woman in engineering. There are scholarship for being the first person in your family to go to college. There are scholarships for being a certain ethnicity. There are even scholarships for people with red hair. With all this money floating around, you’d think that no one would have trouble paying for school. But it’s a bit more complicated than that. Most scholarship recipients receive one or two scholarships worth a fraction of their tuition. So without the rest paid for, students need to seek alternative means of paying for school and many choose to join the military. Military service has been seen by some as an alternative to college education for a while now. However, the US military has taken it upon themselves to change that idea. They offer thousands of dollars in service loans. Service loans are essentially an agreement by the loan recipient to serve for a certain number of years in the military and sometimes to graduate with a certain degree that the military could find useful, like in a foreign language or computer science. These loans are usually pretty generous and are paid off with a corresponding number of years of service. However, if the student drops out without a degree, they are still responsible for repaying that loan. Some majors will not have a specific scholarship and others won’t be paid for by the military, so inevitably, some will be left out in the cold. Those people are now left with two options: pay for school out of pocket or take out loans. It’s actually not as drastic as it sounds, but those are the next two basic options. With the mention of loans, some students shake with fright. The looming burden of debt hanging over them like the Sword of Damocles is enough to make everyone hesitate to sign away their soul to college loan sharks. Before anyone takes on any loan, they should understand it and what it means for them down the road. Right now, student loan debt in the US is estimated to be between $900 billion and $1 trillion with an average student debt of $28,400. (image via www.nerdwallet.com) There are two basic kinds of loans: unsubsidized and subsidized. Subsidized loans are the lesser of two evils because while you’re in school, the loans arent going to be accruing interest. Why? Well, that’s because the US government is paying the interest while you’re in school and for six months afterwards. Wait, what? The US government is loaning you money, paying the interest on it for 4 years and 6 months, and then asking for money in return? Well essentially, yes, they are. This is better explained by saying that the US government is not going to charge the interest and will pretend you never had a loan until six months after you leave school. Because of this, subsidized loans are almost exclusively government loans. The second kind of loan is an unsubsidized loan. These can be extremely dangerous loans to get since they accrue interest from day one of you signing the agreement. These interest rates are usually dangerous because they can quickly gain thousands of dollars of debt beyond what the original amount was. However, these unsubsidized loans are freely available from banks, loan agencies, and even the government. They do usually have lower interest rates than subsidized loans, except for the federal version of these. The federal subsidized and unsubsidized loans have equal interest rates right now and consequently it would behoove students to take out as much money in subsidized loans from the government as possible while taking out as little as possible in unsubsidized loans. This way you can maintain as little debt as possible for as long as possible. With the debt crisis in Greece making headlines and concerns about national debt being brought back up in the US, one has to wonder about the state of affairs when student loan debt in the US is higher than most countries GDP. For now, you can arm yourself with knowledge on what loan is best for you and use that to help decrease your personal debt.

How One Girls Love for Reading Led Her to Become the Scripps National Spelling Bee Winner

How One Girl’s Love for Reading Led Her to Become the Scripps National Spelling Bee Winner How One Girl’s Love for Reading Led Her to Become the Scripps National Spelling Bee Winner “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.”â€"Emilie Buchwald Anupama began reading to her daughter, Ananya, as a baby. She would take her to the public library every week to pick out books to take home. Reading became a special bonding moment between the mother and daughter. Little did Anupama know, she was helping Ananya develop a love for reading that would eventually play a role in her becoming the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee Winner. Ananya, now 12 years old, credits her interest in spelling to her love for reading. Through books she discovered many genres, which opened her eyes to the world around her at a very young age. She really enjoys reading Greek myths. The stories help her find an interesting way to remember a lot of different words. She particularly likes the word ‘mnemonic.’ It comes from the Greek Goddess Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory, and refers to any learning technique that aids information retention in human memory. It’s safe to say that Ananya has a pretty good memory herself. We had the unique opportunity to talk with her about her whirlwind national spelling bee experience. What was it like to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee? It was a culmination of all of my hard work. My dream came true and I was really happy when it happened. When I heard the final word, I immediately knew I was going to win. It just took me a little bit to process the fact that I had actually won. What did you do to prepare for the competition? There are published lists online that are good resources, so I started studying those words to get the experience that I needed. I studied for about two to three hours every day. At first, I read the words from the list and then read and listened to the pronunciation. As I improved, I changed my method to something that would help increase my retention of the words. I would type up the words from the dictionary into a document, listen to the pronunciation, read over the information to understand the language of origin and how that or the root of the word affected the spelling. Were you able to pull upon your experience in Kumon throughout the process? Kumon taught me a lot of words, but that was just one aspect. The daily discipline I learned in Kumon really helped me in my training. The repetition and the process you take for each task translated into how I prepared for the spelling bee. What did you enjoy most about Kumon? Because of my love for reading, the Kumon Reading Program was definitely my favorite. It really intrigued my initial interest in books and helped develop my passion for reading even further. I really liked all of the reading excerpts that were included in the program because it was a great way to introduce me to even more words and new books. I’ve pretty much read all of the books on the Kumon Recommended Reading List. How did Kumon’s advance study help you in school? I started doing Level J in the 5th grade. Doing high school math at that time was really challenging, but it helped me in school because I had already seen all of the concepts. The practice just reinforced them. I was already used to thinking critically when it came time to do certain critical thinking and analysis in school. Because of that, it wasn’t hard for me to think deeper about text or language. Because I was so advanced in Kumon, I was able to do a lot of my homework at school, which freed up a lot of my time to study for the spelling bee when I got home. Ananya said that spelling to her is like an adventure sport. There’s fun, exhilaration and tension at the same time. Now that she’s won the Scripps National Spelling Bee, she wants to start focusing on her next adventureâ€"math and science competitions. We look forward to following her continued success. “I know it’s only a small victory in the grand scheme of the things and I may not save the world, but I would like to take this as a new beginning.”â€"Ananya You might also be interested in: This Regional Spelling Bee Winner is Motivated by Success This Young Reading Program Completer Developed a Love for Literature in Kumon Happy Read Across America Day! Kick-off National Reading Month by Celebrating Dr. Seuss’ Birthday With These Fun Activities Three-Time Spelling Bee Champion Always Welcomes a Challenge How One Girl’s Love for Reading Led Her to Become the Scripps National Spelling Bee Winner How One Girl’s Love for Reading Led Her to Become the Scripps National Spelling Bee Winner “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.”â€"Emilie Buchwald Anupama began reading to her daughter, Ananya, as a baby. She would take her to the public library every week to pick out books to take home. Reading became a special bonding moment between the mother and daughter. Little did Anupama know, she was helping Ananya develop a love for reading that would eventually play a role in her becoming the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee Winner. Ananya, now 12 years old, credits her interest in spelling to her love for reading. Through books she discovered many genres, which opened her eyes to the world around her at a very young age. She really enjoys reading Greek myths. The stories help her find an interesting way to remember a lot of different words. She particularly likes the word ‘mnemonic.’ It comes from the Greek Goddess Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory, and refers to any learning technique that aids information retention in human memory. It’s safe to say that Ananya has a pretty good memory herself. We had the unique opportunity to talk with her about her whirlwind national spelling bee experience. What was it like to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee? It was a culmination of all of my hard work. My dream came true and I was really happy when it happened. When I heard the final word, I immediately knew I was going to win. It just took me a little bit to process the fact that I had actually won. What did you do to prepare for the competition? There are published lists online that are good resources, so I started studying those words to get the experience that I needed. I studied for about two to three hours every day. At first, I read the words from the list and then read and listened to the pronunciation. As I improved, I changed my method to something that would help increase my retention of the words. I would type up the words from the dictionary into a document, listen to the pronunciation, read over the information to understand the language of origin and how that or the root of the word affected the spelling. Were you able to pull upon your experience in Kumon throughout the process? Kumon taught me a lot of words, but that was just one aspect. The daily discipline I learned in Kumon really helped me in my training. The repetition and the process you take for each task translated into how I prepared for the spelling bee. What did you enjoy most about Kumon? Because of my love for reading, the Kumon Reading Program was definitely my favorite. It really intrigued my initial interest in books and helped develop my passion for reading even further. I really liked all of the reading excerpts that were included in the program because it was a great way to introduce me to even more words and new books. I’ve pretty much read all of the books on the Kumon Recommended Reading List. How did Kumon’s advance study help you in school? I started doing Level J in the 5th grade. Doing high school math at that time was really challenging, but it helped me in school because I had already seen all of the concepts. The practice just reinforced them. I was already used to thinking critically when it came time to do certain critical thinking and analysis in school. Because of that, it wasn’t hard for me to think deeper about text or language. Because I was so advanced in Kumon, I was able to do a lot of my homework at school, which freed up a lot of my time to study for the spelling bee when I got home. Ananya said that spelling to her is like an adventure sport. There’s fun, exhilaration and tension at the same time. Now that she’s won the Scripps National Spelling Bee, she wants to start focusing on her next adventureâ€"math and science competitions. We look forward to following her continued success. “I know it’s only a small victory in the grand scheme of the things and I may not save the world, but I would like to take this as a new beginning.”â€"Ananya You might also be interested in: This Regional Spelling Bee Winner is Motivated by Success This Young Reading Program Completer Developed a Love for Literature in Kumon Happy Read Across America Day! Kick-off National Reading Month by Celebrating Dr. Seuss’ Birthday With These Fun Activities Three-Time Spelling Bee Champion Always Welcomes a Challenge

7 Strategies to Make Reading in a Foreign Language the Easiest Thing You Ever Learn

7 Strategies to Make Reading in a Foreign Language the Easiest Thing You Ever Learn If youre reading this, congratulations!English is one of the most difficult languages to learn to read. From word to word, the same sounds in English are often spelled differently, or the same spellings are pronounced differently. Research has shown that English-speaking children take more than twice as long to learn to read as children who speak most other European languages.But youre not reading this article because you want to bask in the glory of being able to read English; you want to learn to read a whole other language!The good news is that reading in whatever foreign language youre interested in is probably easier than reading in English. The even better news is that reading in a foreign language can actually be the easiest thing you ever learn. With the right strategies, itll come much more naturally than getting down all that vocabulary or sharpening up your listening comprehension skills.With the right techniques, language learning can usually be fun, but this is even more true of learning to read in a foreign language: basically all you have to do is read whatever you want, and youll get better at reading.Of course, there are a few tricks you want to use along the way to make your “reading whatever you want” as efficient, effective and painless as possible. Here they are. 7 Strategies to Make Reading in a Foreign Language the Easiest Thing You Ever Learn1. Transfer Your Reading Skills from Your Native LanguageIf you can read one language, you can read them allâ€"sort of. Studies (like this one) have suggested that to an extent, reading skills transfer from one language to another.In other words, learning to read in a foreign language is partly just a matter of learning to read in your native language, learning to speak the foreign language and then putting the two together. However, the catch is that your reading skills only start to transfer in a serious way once you reach a basic level of proficiency in your new language.Therefore, backloadi ng your reading work is the way to go. In the early stages of your language learning, focus on becoming familiar with the language, expanding your vocab and getting a feel for the grammar.Once you have the fundamentals down, start practicing reading more intensively. With a solid grasp on the basics of the language and reading muscles already toned from a lifetime of putting up with written English, youll find its not too hard to put two and two together.2. Split Your Time Between Focused Reading and Relaxed ReadingYou might think the fastest way to learn to read in a foreign language would be to always choose the hardest texts you can find and power through them with a dictionary. It turns out, though, that one of the most important factors in how well you learn to read is simply how much you read. And if youre always trying 110%, youre not going to have the stamina to do the kind of voracious book-guzzling that you need to polish your reading skills.Learning to read in a foreign l anguage is definitely a task where the golden rule of language learning applies: Laziness is the mother of all effective language learning strategies. If youre working too hard, youre just not going to make it through an entire language.So the trick is to divide your time between the kind of intensive, grinding-your-teeth-and-clutching-a-dictionary reading that pushes the limits of your abilities and the kind of Sunday-afternoon-lounging-in-an-armchair-enjoying-a-nice-book reading that lets you put in foreign language reading hours while having a good time.For the focused reading, pick material that will give you a good challenge, and take the time to untangle the bits you dont understand. For the relaxed reading, the point is just to read as much as possible, so go for texts that are easier to get through and that are about topics youre interested in.You can do both on FluentU in bite-sized chunks thanks to authentic videos at many different difficulty levels.FluentU makes it possi ble to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, news, inspiring talks and more.With FluentU, you hear languages in real-world contextsâ€"the way that native speakers actually use them. Just a quick look will give you an idea of the variety of FluentU videos on offer:FluentU really takes the grunt work out of learning languages, leaving you with nothing but engaging, effective and efficient learning. It’s already hand-picked the best videos for you and organized them by level and topic. All you have to do is choose any video that strikes your fancy to get started!Each word in the interactive captions comes with a definition, audio, image, example sentences and more.Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab, and easily review words and phrases from the video under Vocab.You can use FluentU’s unique adaptive quizzes to learn the vocabulary and phrases from the video through fun questions and exercises. Just swipe left or right to see mor e examples of the word youre studying.The program even keeps track of what you’re learning and tells you exactly when it’s time for review, giving you a 100% personalized experience.Start using FluentU on the website  with your computer or tablet  or, better yet,  download the FluentU app from  the  iTunes store  or  Google Play store.You might want to plan out in advance how youre going to split youre time between focused reading and relaxed reading. For example, you might chill with some no-big-deal reading 80% of the time and going full-blown-language-learner-wielding-flashcards-and-not-afraid-to-use-them with a copy of War and Peace the other 20% of the time.3. Do Group ReadingReading is fun, but it can get lonely. After all, a recent study showed that librarians are twice as likely as people with any other occupation to list life-size blow-up dolls as their primary emergency contacts. (Just kidding.)Doing group readings is a great way to make burying your face in a book a s ocial activity. Just get a group of like-minded (or at least like-languaged) language learners together, and take turns reading aloud while everyone follows along the written text.There are two big advantages you get from group reading. First, hearing someone read the words and following along visually at the same time connects your aural memory of how words sound with your visual impression of how they look on the page. Second, you can pause every few pages or so and do a group recap or discussion (in the language youre learning!) covering what youve read so far.If you want to emphasize the discussion part of things, another variant on this strategy is to have  a book club. And if you dont know anyone learning your language, dont let that deter you from forming a reading groupâ€"this is the Internet age! Go looking on social media and places where language learners gather online, and theres a good chance youll find people interested in either a real-life or virtual reading group.4. Re-re-re-readIve already talked about splitting your time between focused reading and relaxed reading, but the question remains: What exactly do you do when youre doing focused reading?One of my favorite strategies for parsing texts that stretch the boundaries of my reading comprehension is re-re-re-reading, which involves reading a text through four times, concentrating on different things each time through. The basic idea is to start off reading for the big picture, then work down to the details, then move back up to the big picture. Heres how it goes:Round 1: Get the gist of the passageOn the first pass through, read for the gist. Just get a sense of what the text is about and a general feel for whats happening. Dont get too hung up on words you dont know. However,  depending on how opaque the passage is, you might have to look up words here and there even to get at the overall meaning.Round 2: Go over in more detail, looking up words you dont knowPass two is the bring-out-the-t oolbox-and-take-this-thing-apart round. This is when you do want to get hung up on the details, looking up all words you dont know and making sure you understand how the grammatical structure of the text is working. This is when you break the thing down into its parts and figure out how each of those parts works.Round 3: Put together all the new details you understandAfter breaking the passage down into its details, you now want to put those details back together into a unified whole. This pass through the text is about synthesizing everything you learned in pass two about what individual words mean and how the grammar fits together.You can think of this stage as reading for the gist, like in step one, while incorporating all the new information from step two. You want to read quickly enough to get a birds eye view of the whole passage, but do take enough time to integrate most of the new knowledge you gleaned form step two.Round 4: Do a final recap, aiming for speedIn the fourth an d final run through of the text, speed is the name of the game. Now that youve broken down the text and put it back together, the idea is to go through grasping the meaning as quickly as possible. Try to push yourself on this one, both in terms of holding onto the things you learned in step 2 and getting through the passage faster than you thought you could.5. Read AloudWhen working on reading, its helpful to keep in mind that reading is really just an extension of speaking and listening. This fact is key to making reading the easiest thing you do in your foreign language studies.One way to take advantage of the link between spoken and written language is to actually speak and listen while you read. Just speak whatever youre reading out loud to yourself as you read it. When you make connections between listening, reading and speaking, all three will improve.6. Do Less Slow ReadingIf you want to keep yourself on your toes and challenge your brain to parse the words youre reading a li ttle more quickly, try some timed reading activities. Speed reading doesnt need to be your goal, just reading less slowly than you used to and setting new personal bests is the most important thing.You can do timed reading either by setting a timer while you read so you can see how long it takes you to get through a given text and calculate your reading speed in words-per-minute, or by giving yourself a predetermined amount of time to complete a passage.Besides pushing your brain to process the text youre looking at a little faster, “less slow” reading will add a little excitement to your reading practiceâ€"which is never a bad idea, since boredom is the death of language learning.7. Use ContextContext is the best language teacher youll ever have. Think about it: You learned your native language entirely from context.When youre reading, always try to take advantage of context as much as possible. Whenever you reach a word you arent familiar with, force yourself to guess its mean ing before reaching for the dictionary, then look it up to see if you were right.This is actually a good tip for all aspects of language learning, but its especially important for reading exercises, where you can find yourself reaching instinctively for the dictionary over and over. Forcing yourself to guess things from context turns language learning into a puzzle of sorts, and youll have a stronger memory for the words you can guess correctly from context than the ones you have to type into Google Translate to understand.It can seem intimidating to be confronted with a wall of text in a language you still have a tenuous grasp on, but if you use strategies like transferring your foreign language speaking and native reading skills, balancing relaxed and focused reading, starting a reading group, reading out loud, re-re-re-reading and taking advantage of context, youll see that reading in a foreign language is a skill that just naturally gets better with time if you let it.And if you ever find yourself getting frustrated, just rememberâ€"youve already learned to read English, you can do anything!