Texas State German Tutoring - What You Need to Know

Texas State German Tutoring - What You Need to KnowIt is impossible to overstate the importance of Texas State German tutoring for students interested in a college education. While this type of tuition based German language instruction may not be as extensive as a student taking college level courses in English, it can be just as useful.You may not believe it, but you have probably already thought about going to college with the Texas State German immersion program. It can get really boring without a solid understanding of the language. And not everyone can be good at the German language, and quite frankly, that's a great way to get in trouble if you don't get good grades.It is important to know that you will be spending your entire college career at a university that has an interest in helping you learn the German language. If you do a lot of research and you are considered to be a language challenge, then you will need to speak German while you are a college student. What this mean s is that you should be prepared to go through German lessons during the course of your college experience.You can find out a lot of different things about a college before you commit to it, and if you go with the Texas State German school, you will want to do some research on the German program. This will help you get the information you need to make a well informed decision.The Texas State German school is well known for offering this type of tuition based class for students who cannot afford to pay the costs of college. This program can help you get the credit you need to finish your studies, and at the same time get you through college in a reasonable amount of time.Now a word of caution, be sure to take some German classes before enrolling in an English language class. Otherwise, it can get confusing when you are trying to learn something in German that you don't understand.There are many other advantages to Texas State German tutoring, and it is definitely a program worth chec king out. This is a program that can help you make a difference in your life, and you should make it a priority.

How the NACE Defines Career Readiness

How the NACE Defines Career Readiness Theres so much for teens to do to get ready for collegeboth academically and otherwise. Youve probably heard that college is more challenging than high school and you certainly know, maybe from personal experience, that college professors expect that students are intrinsically motivated. At Huntington Learning Center, we believe there are several traits that make a student college ready: Independent Adaptable Resourceful Skilled at studying/planning to study Analytical Skilled at prioritizing time and multiple responsibilities At this stage of your childs life, youre focused on helping him or her become college ready. The goal of college, of course, is to prepare your child to enter the real world and succeed there. Yet, what exactly is career readiness? And are the skills and aptitudes that students need for college similar to those that are essential for success in the real world? The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)* defines career readiness as the attainment and demonstration of requisite competencies that broadly prepare college graduates for a successful transition into the workplace. Based on research among employers, they defined these eight competencies as being associated with career readiness: Critical thinking/problem solving: Just like in college, where college professors invite students to express their ideas, analyze information and make connections, the workplace requires that people exercise sound reasoning to analyze issues, make decisions, and overcome problems. NACE explains that career-ready professionals are able to obtain, interpret, and use knowledge, facts, and data in this critical thinking/problem solving process. Oral/written communications: The ability to communicate is critical in every professional setting. NACE shares that those who are capable of articulating their thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively in written and oral forms are ready for the real world. People need to be able to write and edit, speak to others and express themselves. Teamwork/collaboration: In just about every workplace, people must be able to work with others. NACE says collaborative relationships with colleagues and customers are important, and people need to be able to work within a team structure and manage conflicts. Digital technology: Todays workforce operates in a fast-paced, data-driven world. To be ready for that environment, people need to demonstrate effective adaptability to new and emerging technologies. Leadership: Whether people become CEOs or nurses, teachers or doctors, abilities such as leveraging the strengths of others to achieve common goals and using interpersonal skills to coach and develop others are very valuable. People with common leadership skillsusing empathy to motivate others and delegating properlytend to thrive. Professionalism/work ethic: Every industry, every job and every workplace benefits from employees who take accountability and have effective work habits. NACE explains the importance of punctuality and time management, as well as the impact of integrity and ethical behavior. Career management: To truly succeed in a career, people must be able to identify and articulate their strengths, knowledge and experiences. Its also important that people know where they could grow professionally. Career-ready people are skilled at pursuing the steps necessary to advance their careers and self-advocating for opportunities in their workplaces. Global/Intercultural Fluency: The world is global. Todays professionals should be respectful and appreciative of those coming from cultures, races and backgrounds different than their own. In life, people need to be able to demonstrate inclusiveness and sensitivity. Being ready for college is the first step toward career readiness, and the two stages go hand in hand. If your teen is approaching college and youd like to ensure he or she is prepared, contact Huntington at 1-800 CAN LEARN. * NACE is the leading source of information on the employment of the college educated. The association forecasts hiring and trends in the job market, tracks starting salaries, recruiting and hiring practices, and student attitudes and outcomes, and more.

8 Questions to Ask When Considering a Private Tutor

8 Questions to Ask When Considering a Private Tutor GMAT MBA Admissions Blog Whether you’re in high school, college, or graduate school (or you are a working professional preparing for a standardized test like the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, or MCAT, etc.) hiring a private tutor can be a very good idea and investment. Through customized instruction focused on an individual’s unique strengths, weaknesses, and learning style, the decision to hire a private tutor can result in better grades or test scores, more efficient use of study time, and ultimately, a faster route to however you’re defining success. However, it can also be very costly, both in terms of the cost per hour itself, and the investment of time and attention you must put into finding and hiring the right tutor and making the experience successful. In the past three years of operating MyGuru, which we believe is a premier destination for individuals considering private tutoring, we’ve identified 8 key questions one should ask before hiring a tutor. You’ll notice that some of these questions should be posed to the tutor, but others are questions you need to ask yourself (or your child). Here are the questions we discuss in the white paper. Question #1: Have you exhausted all available free resources? Question #2: Do you have the time to do the research to find the right tutor? Question #3: What is your specific goal in hiring a tutor? Question #4: What is the academic background AND tutoring/teaching background AND track record of the tutor? Hint â€" as these questions together, as a group. Question #6: How much are you willing to spend? Question #7: Is the first session risk free? Question #8: What are your expectations for the first session (i.e. objectives, location, etc.)? To download our white paper that covers how to use these 8 questions as you’re considering a private tutor, please click below. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(215486, '6baac2ae-05a3-4610-9d1f-265c8cbd809f', {});

The Power of Owning Your ADHD

The Power of Owning Your ADHD When hackers sought to discredit US Olympians by releasing their medical records, it was revealed that Simone Biles had sought and obtained an exemption for the use of a therapeutic medication.The medication, as it turns out, was prescribed to treat her ADHD. While some athletes have yet to comment on their released information, Simone was quick to address the topic. Rather than retreating, she responded proudly and in a way that not only acknowledged her diagnosis but also showed the world that she owns her ADHD. The publics response to her statement has been overwhelmingly positive. (As of this writing her tweet has received 51,000 likes and 12,000 shares, and has been discussed in countless articles and media segments.) Simone Biles is a shining example of how when you own your ADHD you can not only succeed, but succeed at the highest levels. So, what does it mean to own your ADHD? It means acknowledging and accepting that ADHD is a part of who you are, taking action to treat your symptoms, and advocating for yourself so that you can receive the help that you need. But how can kids learn to own their ADHD, especially in a world that isnt always supportive? Its a process and a journey that parents can help guide and champion. Acknowledge and Accept. Coming to terms with an ADHD diagnosis can be challenging. Feelings of denial, anger and depression are not unusual. But to be honest, these feeling are far more common among parents of children with ADHD than among the kids themselves. Kids are often relieved to learn that there is a reason why they have been struggling, feeling out of place, or thinking that they are different. As parents you can help your child accept his or her ADHD diagnosis by teaching him or her that ADHD is not something to be ashamed of. It is not a personal weakness or failure. Instead, its something that people are usually born with. Its something that they have inherited just like other characteristics, like their height. Having ADHD just means that they have some specific challenges, and these challenges can be managed and overcome with treatment and support. Share Simone Biles tweet with your child. Talk about how she didnt let ADHD get in her way, and how when she publicly ackno wledged her ADHD diagnosis she received 50,000 likes from people who support her! Take Action. Once you and your child acknowledge and accept his or her ADHD, create an action plan and share it with your child. Let your child know that doctors, scientists, and educators have been studying ADHD for decades, and there are treatments that work. When you make a plan, remember that it doesnt need to be perfect. At the beginning, it may only include one or two action items, and thats okay! For your child, simply knowing that you have a plan will help put him or her at ease. It clearly shows your child that taking action is what you need to do if you want to succeed with ADHD. Also talk to your child about the actions that he or she will need to take to help himself or herself, like attending appointments and committing to trying out new strategies at school and at home. Advocate. People with ADHD need a network of support in order to thrive. They need this as kids, and they will continue to need this as adults. So, talk to your child about the people you will be reaching out to for help. Your childs support team can include doctors who will provide medication and/or behavioral treatments, teachers who will provide extra support in the classroom, yourself as a parent who will learn strategies to support your child at home, relatives who you will call on for extra help, coaches and mentors who will teach your child skills through sports or the arts, and tutors who will help your child succeed in school. When you feel your child is ready and when it is appropriate, include your child in meetings at school when ADHD-related accommodations or the need for additional services are being discussed. Allow your child to participate by sharing what it is that he or she needs help with, and include your child in conversations about possible solutions. At 19 years old Simone Biles is able to own her ADHD because the adults in her life taught her how to accept her diagnosis, take action to get treatment, and advocate for herself to receive support from teachers, coaches, teammates, and friends. As parents, the steps you take now to help your child own his or her ADHD will enable your child to strive to reach his or her full potential without letting ADHD get in the way. ABOUT DR. MARY ROONEY Mary Rooney, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco. Dr Rooney is a researcher and clinician specializing in the evaluation and treatment of ADHD and co-occurring behavioral, anxiety, and mood disorders. A strong advocate for those with attention and behavior problems, Dr. Rooney is committed to developing and providing comprehensive, cutting edge treatments tailored to meet the unique needs of each child and adolescent. Dr. Rooney's clinical interventions and research avenues emphasize working closely with parents and teachers to create supportive, structured home and school environments that enable children and adolescents to reach their full potential. In addition, Dr. Rooney serves as a consultant and ADHD expert to Huntington Learning Centers. ABOUT HUNTINGTON Huntington Learning Center is the tutoring and test prep leader. Its certified tutors provide individualized instruction in reading, phonics, writing, study skills, elementary and middle school math, Algebra through Calculus, Chemistry, and other sciences. It preps for the SAT and ACT, as well as state and standardized exams. Huntington programs develop the skills, confidence, and motivation to help students of all levels succeed and meet the needs of Common Core State Standards. Founded in 1977, Huntington's mission is to give every student the best education possible. Call us today at 1.800.CAN LEARN to discuss how Huntington can help your child. For franchise opportunities please visit www.huntingtonfranchise.com. This website does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The material on this site is provided for educational purposes only.

Mathematics is an art - ALOHA Mind Math

Mathematics is an art G.H. Hardy’s excellent description: A mathematician, like a painter or poet, is a maker of patterns. If his patterns are more permanent than theirs, it is because they are made with ideas. Mathematics is rarely seen as a form of art but I strongly believe and classify it as an form of art . It is all about imaginations, possibilities and playing with numbers to get a desired result just like any artist does if he is a painter with his canvas or if he is musician with his notes. You can improve a child’s mathematical understanding by using an artists’ work. Children will be able to gain a greater understanding about the meaning of key vocabulary used in shape and space. Math’s can be made very interesting for kids if we imagine it being an art. Kids love drawing, painting and playing games and you could always involve numbers, shapes and spaces in their games which in turn will teach them basic concepts of mathematics. Once their foundation is built you never know they can become the next Einstein I would like to share with you a few ideas which you can use to get your kids to have fun with mathematics. Create art projects with the objective of a math lesson, in addition to learning a math concept they would be more motivated to work hard and less motivated to misbehave. A picture is worth a thousand words a visual representations of math concepts. This will surely improve achilds retention power of the concepts that are being taught. Teaching kids math’s as an form of art will surely help parents and teachers introduce, reinforce, or expand upon math topics and generate excitement within kids about various math topics.

Learn a Language in 10 Days Challenge Two Approaches

Learn a Language in 10 Days Challenge Two Approaches Learn a Language in 10 Days Challenge: Two Approaches Challenges are fun.There are a lot of people out there who enjoy doing  language learning challenges.Doing things fast is also fun.And trying to accomplish the great mental feat of  learning a language as fast as possible is tempting for many.One famous language learning challenge is the Add1Challenge, which lasts 90 days. Another is the 6 Week Challenge.As a language enthusiast, Ill freely admit that I daydream about being able to learn a language at lightning speed.But have you ever heard of someone learning a language in 10 days?Sounds impossible, right?Well, like with so many things, it all depends on how you look at it. Speed Learning vs. Deliberate Learning: What Does It Mean to Learn a Language in 10 Days?We can look at that figure, 10 days, in two very different ways.Most people would probably think of that as 10 calendar days, one right after the otherâ€"one weeks Tuesday to next weeks Friday.Learning a languageâ€"in any senseâ€"within that time span is obviously really to ugh, if not impossible, so youd have to pick and choose what to focus on in order to make as much progress as possible. Theres simply too much to manage. Youd have to cut corners in your learning, so if a situation came up that you didnt drill for, youd probably be stuck.Also, fast learning usually means fast forgetting. Unless you continue to work almost as hard to maintain your level after your 10 days pass, youre not likely to retain much in the long term.Theres another possible interpretation of that figure, though.We can take the number of total waking hours in 10 days (160 hours) and spread those study hours out over a longer period of time.This type of deliberate learning is going to be way more effective in the long run. Were talking a night and day difference with exactly the same number of hours in both situations.If you spread this out to five hours a week for eight months, youll see huge gains in ability. Suppose were talking about a language closely related to English l ike Spanish or Frenchâ€"dont be surprised if you find yourself reading newspapers and having conversations before those 10 days are up.Still, we thought it might be fun to consider potential plans for both options. Were not suggesting its possible to actually completely learn a language to fluency in 10 days either way, but considering how you would go about it if that was your intention could be a great way to kickstart learning a new language. Depending on which approach you use and how exactly you go about it, you might be surprised how much you end up learning in a 10-day period.Whichever route you takeâ€"even if you do both!â€"youve got to go at it with a plan.Learn a Language in 10 Days Challenge: Two ApproachesFor either of these plans, youll want to use at least one beginner resource that allows you to work on the specifics laid out below. There are plenty of affordable options for this, and youll want to choose something thats suitable for your own goals.However, we would r ecommend using FluentU  regardless of your goals, as its easily adaptable to either approach. FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language lessons.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 Fluent U’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 more 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.Approach #1: Learn a Language in 10 Days FastDecide Whats Important to You and Make a PlanThe first step with the fast approach is to decide where you want to cheat. Unfortunately, you cant have it all.The guide below is going to focus on the goal of having a short conversation at the end of 10 days with a native speaker. If you have different goals, you can draw up your own plan or tweak this one to suit your needs.Keeping that goal in mind, you dont want to spend much too time on writing exercises or an ything that isnt speaking and listening.For 10 days, youre going to have to devote just about every waking hour to this if you want to do well.And since youre doing so much cramming, its important that you review your material over and over to really get as much as possible into your long-term memory.Acquire the Basic Structure in the First Few DaysWith such a short time to learn, almost everything that you do learn is going to need to be pretty straightforward.Dont spend too much time thinking about how the grammar really works or why this preposition goes with that case. You probably dont even need to talk much about he, she and they. A short conversation is mostly going to be about I.Learn phrasebook-style sentence patterns that you can reconfigure and drop new vocabulary into at the drop of a hat.For instance, you could learn My name is X. From that pattern, you can quickly learn My name is Y, My name isnt X, its Y, His name is Z and so on.The main grammatical points you should focus on in the first few days are:How to negate sentences.How to switch pronouns out.How to turn sentences into questions (and vice versa).These are extremely useful and extremely common grammar things in any language. Theyll come up in even the simplest of spoken interactions.Heavily Drill Set Phrases and Simple VariationsWhether youre in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam or Moscow, Russia, people always ask the same things:Where are you from?How long have you been traveling?How long have you been learning this language?Why are you learning this language?Where are you going next?If you can give answers to those five questions, youll sound like an expert in whatever language youre speaking.Think about some of the most common questionsâ€"just like thoseâ€"that youll be asked when you first tell someone that youre learning their language.Use those questions and their answers as a framework for learning vocabulary and grammarâ€"for everything you learn, think about how and when it might appea r in your conversation.Focus on Structure and Vocabulary over AccentNormally, I would advise spending a lot of time on getting your accent as close to perfect as possible, right from the beginning.But that takes time, which is a luxury you dont have. Youre going to have to do your best to match your voice to whatever you can hear.If you have an ear for accents or can at least get the rhythm of native speech down, youll impress whoever you’re speaking with anyway.For the first five or six days, really drill those set phrases and structures while imagining yourself using them in conversation.Use any extra time you have to increase your vocabulary. The more words you can find to express yourself, the better it’s going to feel when you actually start speaking in 10 days.When you do, you should be able to perform surprisingly well in conversation as long as you stick to your patterns and phrases.10 days of practice is certainly enough time to build up a respectable repertoire of memo rized phrases, plus the grammar and vocabulary necessary to build off of them spontaneously.Approach #2: Learn a Language in 10 Days SlowChances are, if you follow the plan above, youll be amazed at your progress after 10 days.But after 30, 40 days? Not so much. Youll retain a handful of words and phrases, but most of that knowledge is going to disappear fast.However, this next approach will show you how to use your time in a way that gets you permanent results.Spread Your 160 Hours over a Longer Period of TimeBy carefully spreading out your time, youll simply remember much more from every study session.The natural cycles of waking and sleeping are closely linked with memory and learning. Spreading out your studying over days and weeks really does have a strong impact on how much you retain.Youll also build a habit.In fact, you may want to take advantage of spaced  repetition technology (which is proven to enhance ones ability to remember information in the long-term), using apps or software.No, 160 hours still isnt enough to master a language. But sticking to a regular schedule for that time  is enough to build a strong habit of studying your language, even well after youve passed that 160 mark. When spread out, its also enough time to build up a good base of permanent knowledge that you can continue to add to.By contrast, if you try the 10 days of full-time learning, it may still be fun and rewarding, but youll more than likely be burned out, and have little to no long-term vocabulary retention.So lets see how to do this the smart way.Specifically, Spread Your Hours over 4-8 Months at 5-10 Hours a Week5-10 hours a week is within reach for most people, even those busy with everyday obligations.A regular 45 minutes a day puts you just over five hours a week, so youll hit your 160 hours in about six months.45 minutes a day sounds like a lot for busy people, sure. But three 15-minute sessions, or a 30-minute session and a 15-minute review? Those are perfect leng ths of time for study.Lay Out Your GoalsA course can let someone else do the thinking to set your goals for you, section by section. However, youll still want to have some goals of your own in the back of your mindâ€"the course writers werent necessarily expecting people to be on a tight schedule.To get the maximum benefit out of your 160 hours, youve got to be realistic with yourself about what youd like to achieve.At a minimum, you can and should be able to describe yourself and people you know. What they do, what they like and dislike, and where they live.You should be able to ask for the prices of things and know the general vocabulary youre likely to come across when you visit or travel in a place where the language is spoken.These are achievable goals, and holding on to these abilities over time will make you proud of what youve accomplished.Benefit from Short Study SessionsFind a solid course that keeps you moving at a good pace. Floundering around looking for ways to learn i snt going to be helpful, especially not when youre trying to make the best of the limited time youve got.Youll want to set things up so that you can simply log into your app or flip to the next chapter in your textbook for a couple of short chunks a day. Dont want to look at a screen? Put on your headphones and cue up an audio lesson.These little bite-size sessions are short enough to keep you focused (no nodding off in front of a long lecture) and yet long enough that youll find yourself getting into a groove and internalizing the language.Language learning is work for a lot of people.But its fun for a lot of us, too.Personally, I enjoy a time-limited challenge like the ones here.It doesnt necessarily matter if one way happens to be more efficient than the other. Opening your mind to new things in new ways is what learning is all about.

The 11 Easiest Languages to Learn Depending on Your Native Language and Learning Style

The 11 Easiest Languages to Learn Depending on Your Native Language and Learning Style You Cant Argue with Science: The 11 Easiest Languages to Learn Two roads diverged in a wood, and Iâ€"I took the one that I didnt have to hike, struggle and bushwhack through.When it comes to learning a language to fluency, that could make all the difference.Lets face it, weve all got stuff to do.Theres no shame in hitting that easy button sometimes.We get itâ€"youve got a life.Were all parents, friends, neighbors, small business owners, full-time travelers or artists.But far too  many people never know the joys of a second language because they think they dont have time to learn, that learning is too hard or that they just cant do it.Were here to tell you definitively, thats just not the case.Now, if youre a native speaker of a European language and want to devote yourself to learning the intricacies of a language like  Pirahã, we support you wholeheartedly. But if youre looking for a language thats not gonna require 3-hour evening classes Monday through Friday for the next 10  years, well, we support you just a little more wholeheartedly.And t hats what were here to help with! What Makes a Language Easy to Learn?Theres no such thing as one language thats just plain easier than all the others, but there are a lot of languages that are way easier for you personally to learn.I travel all over the world and one thing Ive noticed is that all 7  billion of us seem to have strong opinions on our native languages.Two people in the same country (even the same city!) will tell you with equal  degrees of confidence that their language is super hard and super easy, that youll never learn it or that its a piece of cake. Theyll swear to you that English was a breeze to learn, or that its the hardest thing theyve ever done.What accounts for these huge differences in opinion? Two things:1. Theres no such thing as a universally easy language.2. The ease of a language depends on the learner.There are generally three major things that make a language easy or hard for any given learner:1. How closely its related to the languages you alread y know.2. How complex its system of sounds is.3. How complicated its grammar is.Some learners struggle more to understand the strange sounds they hear coming out of noses and throats and rounded lips, and others would take a good French nasal vowel over German noun declensions any day of the week. Whatever your learning style is, here are 3  kinds of  easy languages for you to get started with.Keep in mind that the more commonly studied languages on this list are available to learn with fun videos on FluentU, which is designed to make language acquisition as easy and intuitive as possible! FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like news, music videos, movie trailers and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language lessons.You Cant Argue with Science: The 11 Easiest Languages to LearnLinguistic Neighbors: Languages Related to Your Native LanguageWanna see something cool?That  is my house. Dat  is mijn huis. Das ist mein Haus. Dit is my huis.It doesnt take long to crack the code and figure out that these four  lines say the same thing in closely related West Germanic languages  (English, Dutch, German, and Afrikaans, from top to bottom). Maybe some of the words for that are a bit more of a stretch, but how quickly do all the others fall into place when you look at them?This is what its like when you start learning a language related to your own. Youll see cognates, or words that have a common origin and similar meanings, like little hints buried in a foreign language sentence.Learning the languages most closely related to your own is like learning with linguistic training wheels. Here are a few examples of languages that are childs play for certain learners, depending on what languages they already know:1. DutchEnglishs first cousin, the only language more closely related to either one is Frisian. Dutch is full of English cognatesâ€"drinken (to drink), kat (cat), week (week), licht (light) and hundreds more. Once youve got the most basic fundamentals down, you  should be more than ready for basic conversations and childrens books.2. Haitian CreoleAre you a native French speaker, or have you held on to some high school French? Haitian Creole, one of the largest French creoles, is made up of a mostly French vocabulary mixed with indigenous flavors of the new world.3. TagalogThe Philippines is not only one of the fastest-growing destinations for young expatsâ€"its also a country where Spanish-speakers can learn the local tongue with ease. Everyday items are usually similar or exactly the same as the Spanish name.Dont see anything familiar here? Its okay. You dont have to already know a big world language like English, French or Spanish to get started on some easy language learning. Unless you only speak a language isolate like Korean or Basque, there are plenty of long lost linguistic cousins waiting for you to look them up and get in touch!Check resources like the Ethnologue to learn about your languages family tree and what other tongues are most closely related to it.Effortless Phonology: Languages with Painless PronunciationHave you ever overheard a foreign language like Arabic or Cantonese and wondered how all those sounds even make up a  real  language? To some extent, this is just because the speech sounds of unfamiliar languages often sound garbled and meaningless to foreigners.But in terms of phonology (the system of speech sounds in a language), not all languages are made equal: Some have dozens of different consonants and vowels, and some have only a few.Do French nasals or Arabic pharyngeals sound like linguistic nightmares? Dont panic.If learning all the new sounds of a foreign language is your biggest challenge, you should consider starting with a language like one of these:4. SpanishYou saw this one coming, right? Spanish is often the go-to language for Western  learners  because of its small inventory of speech sounds and user-friendly phonetic spelling system. In Spanish, a always sounds more or less like a (even with an accent mark), which we as learners really appreciate. Thanks, Spanish.5. JapaneseJapanese has historically gotten bad PR among language learners, but its pronunciation is actually remarkably simple. Of its 19 consonants, only a couple are rare among world languages, and its five vowels are remarkably similar to those in Spanish.6. ItalianIts got a few more vowels than its cousin down in Spain, but Italians big advantage is that most of its consonants and vowels are among the most common sounds found in world languages. That means most learners wont find many words they cant get their mouth around!To see whats out there for you beyond these three, you could start with this list of world languages ordered by number of phonemes (distinct speech sounds) to get an idea of which languages are more phonologically difficult than others.Keep in mind that most of the extremes (languages with very many or very few phonemes) are very old, very isolated languages th at might not be easy or practical to learn, but you can still use the tool to compare whether Greek or Russian is your best choice.Goodbye Grammar Book: Languages with Simple StructuresJust like some languages love to play with  diverse  and complicated sounds, some seem to have an endless love affair with rules and grammar.Ive always shied away from German for this reason.  Its four noun cases,  infinite list of adjective declensions and word order rules are enough to send me running to the nearest biergarten.Other languages, thankfully, arent quite so strict and demanding. You learn some vocabulary and a few basic usage rules, and youre good to go. Here are some of those languages:7. Mandarin ChineseThis is probably the first time youve seen Chinese on a list of easy languages, right? Thats a shame, because structurally speaking, its a cinch. Almost every word of Mandarin has one and just one meaning. It also  generally follows a subject-verb-object word order, common to most of t he worlds larger languages,  so no new tricky syntax for most learners.8. AfrikaansWe mentioned Dutch above, but Afrikaans is like a grammatically boiled-down version of its parent language. Whereas Dutch demands verb conjugations like those in Englishâ€"for instance, I am, you are, it isâ€"Afrikaans doesnt bother you with the details. In South Africa its ek  is  (I am), jy is  (you are),  sy  is  (she is). What could be easier?9. MalayThe language known regionally as Indonesian or Malaysian totals around 270 million total speakers, making it both one of the largest and fastest-growing world languages. Even better, it has no grammatical categories for gender, number or tense. Basically, you learn one form of a word, and you can use it just about whenever you want.10. EsperantoThis language was invented by some linguists who were also great global citizens, and even though its made up, its 2 million speakers, several hundred thousand Wikipedia articles, and organizations worldwide wo uld argue that it still counts.  Esperanto  was designed with you in mind: Minimal grammar, easy rules and as a bonus, lots of things that resemble many other world languages.I confess: I hate learning grammar. Its not just me, right? If youre a free-spirited language learner who cant be bothered with the details, then go for one of these simply structured languages.11. Bonus Easy Language: EnglishLearners across the globe seem to have extreme feelings towards Englishâ€"its the hardest or the easiest language theyve ever learned, they love it or they hate it. But as weve referenced here and there throughout this post, linguistically speaking, it falls somewhere around the fiftieth percentile.My mother tongue has some difficult sounds like interdental th, some phrasal verbs that admittedly make no sense  and a spelling system that makes even less sense. But in general, English doesnt have a lot of inflections, so theres no messy grammar and most, though not all, of its sounds  will b e familiar to speakers of other languages. But theres one other factor that makes English in many ways the easiest language of them all.Its absolutely everywhere. You cant avoid it. Open up your browser, turn on the television, travel to any major city across the globe, and youd need heavy duty earplugs to avoid hearing the Anglo takeover.Its often difficult to learn less widely-spoken languages like Danish, Turkish or Thai, but English decided a while back that its kind of done with national borders, which is good news for language learners. With the wealth of English language media on just YouTube and Wikipedia alone, you hardly need to look anywhere else.Even better: English speakers are absolutely everywhere, which means youve always got a conversation partner! You cant reasonably hope to bump into Hungarian speakers often enough to keep up your language skills outside Hungary, but with English, opportunities to practice are nearly infinite.So Whats the  Easiest Language to Lear n?By now, you can probably guess that theres no such thing.Some of the languages with the fewest speech sounds are the most remote and grammatically complex. Others entirely lack tenses or cases or inflections of any kind and are riddled with guttural sounds nearly impossible for speakers of most languages to pronounce.More than anything, it depends on your mother tongue and the languages you already know. And you also must take into account the sociological and international significance of a language: How much media is available in the language, and how many other speakers are there for you to reasonably practice with?The easiest language for a native Spanish speaker to learn will be totally different than the easiest language for a native Vietnamese speaker, and it can even differ vastly between two native English speakers from the same region but who have different learning styles.With the resources and some of the examples given in this post, you should be able to get started i dentifying your low-hanging linguistic fruits. No matter how busy you are or how difficult you think itll be, theres a language out there for everyone!What do you find challenging about learning a language? Is it the new sounds, the grammar rules, finding chances to practice or something else?Jakob is a full-time traveler, obsessive language learner, and dedicated language teacher. He writes about language, travel and the many places they meet on the road at his blog Globalect.

English Excel School of English

English Excel School of English English Excel School of English Now in our 18th year, English Excel is a group of 13 British owned extra-curricular English Schools, (the only such group in Hong Kong) all located in central areas of Hong Kong. We focus on providing a high-quality, interactive, and encouraging learning environment for students between the ages of 3 and 16. Teachers are recruited to work in one of the 13 schools as part of a team of native English speaking teachers. Classes are strongly geared towards oral interaction as well as reading and writing. Classes are limited to a maximum of 4 students per class and so offer an ideal learning and teaching environment. We believe full immersion is an important method of language learning, and we encourage students to switch to full English mode when they attend lessons. We focus on confidence-building and learning in a natural and positive way, suitable to the students capabilities and levels. The small class sizes allow teachers to get to know their students and their abilities really well, which enables us to tailor lessons to meet the individual needs of the students.Students are therefore placed according to their English level rather than their age. We dont follow a set textbook and instead give teachers the flexibility to plan and prepare their own lessons, targeted to their students specific areas for improvement. To facilitate this tailored approach, teachers are provided with a huge variety of resources divided into different levels and skill areas. We aim to strike a balance, teaching engaging and interactive English lessons which can include crafts, outings and even simple cooking! View our Brochure

Learn Mandarin in Just a Few Minutes With Chinese Language Tutor DC

Learn Mandarin in Just a Few Minutes With Chinese Language Tutor DCChinese Language Tutor DC is a licensed tutor that offers basic and advanced lessons on the Chinese language. This online language tutoring service has been providing this service for more than a decade. The tutors are fully certified and licensed by the Chinese Education Commission to teach and study in China.In this way, it is very important to the future of the Chinese language. Today's Chinese people are growing up with Chinese language. Many have married to Chinese people and many others have come to learn Chinese at home or in another country. The country is becoming more dynamic and multicultural.The country has seen an explosion of ethnic Chinese who wish to continue to speak their native language. Some prefer to learn the spoken Chinese and some learn the written version. Yet some choose to do both. Chinese Language Tutor DC is all about giving an advantage to the people by providing them with two language me thods that can be easily learned and used.The tutor at this service does all the necessary researches and gives the needed tips on how to master the spoken language. There are different types of instruction that they provide to the learners at their Beijing Mandarin lesson center. It can be individual or group lessons where each individual is taught on one type of method. They also offer in class classes where there are more than one student taught in class. The tutor can also organize private language tutoring sessions where only the tutor and the learner attend together.At the Beijing Mandarin center, they offer different styles of Chinese language learning to the learners. There are classroom classes where the students learn how to read and write the written Chinese. Then there are computer courses where the students use the computer program to learn the spoken Chinese. They can also do both the language courses through reading and writing.For those learners who prefer a little m ore help in Chinese language, there are courses in which the tutor speaks and answers the questions the students ask. They provide the students with both verbal and written instruction. With the right guidance from the tutor, you can be sure that your learning will be effective and fast. The tutors are not only conversational but they also provide the learners with enough instructions on how to get from point A to point B. The tutor guides the learners through the Chinese grammar.Tutors at the service provide the best services to the learners. The tutor does not only give you the language lessons, but he also provides other learning tools like how to draw the simplified characters, how to count in Chinese, how to play the game 'Chinese Bingo' etc. Tutors are usually very enthusiastic in teaching, and they love the language as well. Thus you will find them very caring towards the learners.