10 Study Habits That Actually Make a Difference

10 Study Habits That Actually Make a Difference Suzy S. The middle and high school years are the best time for you to form study habits that will guide you through a great academic career! Your parents and teachers might be able to encourage and push you further, but staying on top of things ultimately falls on you. If you start practicing effective study habits now, you will discover later that it was well worth the effort. Here are some tips to keep in mind: Set up a schedule. One of the most effective study habits is to make sure you do your homework at a specific time every day. Allow for a few hours when there is nothing else you need to do, so nothing is stressing you out or keeping your mind off of the work. Decide how much time you’re going to give to each class, and put aside more time for harder classes. Create a workspace. Set up your study space so that it caters to your individual learning style, whether thats completely quiet, or perhaps with a bit a background music. Also, keep everything organized and clean, as well; if your workspace is pleasant, this will make studying a lot easier! Avoid distractions. Don’t fall into the trap of leaving the TV on while working or being constantly interrupted by Facebook notifications. Switch everything off and only use the Internet for research. These kinds of seemingly harmless disturbances can end up taking hours from your work without you even realizing it, so remain focused and stay on schedule. Use a planner. For most students, this is the best way to keep track of tasks, manage your time, and remember important dates for upcoming tests and assignments. Not the planner type? Find another method that works for you whatever helps you keep everything organized! Take breaks. Always take breaks when doing your homework. Although you may be in a hurry and desperate to finish, the truth is that the more you cram, the less you really learn. Try splitting the work into manageable parts and take regular breaks after you finish a task. This way, you’ll stay rested, you’ll remember everything you read, and you won’t get burned out. Reward yourself. When you finish a difficult or time-consuming project, reward yourself! If you have a huge test coming up, plan to go to a movie with your friends that night. Do something that allows you to unwind and have fun so that you have the motivation to get started on something new again soon. Determine your learning style. If you’re finding it difficult to remember things, then perhaps you are not making the most of your particular learning style. Some students learn more effectively through visual aids, while others learn by hearing someone explain it to them. Some need to write the information in order to memorize it, while others feel the need to physically engage in a project and learn through experience. Determine your style, and make the most of your strengths. Take care of yourself. Just because you’re busy and have a test coming up doesn’t mean that you should forget about what comes first â€" which is you being well-rested, healthy, and happy. Take care of your body and mind by sleeping well, eating healthy, and exercising the rest will follow. Take advantage of resources.Use the local library. Dont forget youre not expected to know all of the answers right away! Take advantage of the resources at your fingertips, such as your local library. Incorporating outside resources like images and documentaries can add life to your school projects. Ask for support. If you feel that a particular topic is too difficult for you or your teacher at school is not explaining it well, dont be afraid to ask for extra help. Private tutors  are a great option for support; not only will he or she help you understand the material, but they can help you develop good study habits and stay organized. Study groups with friends in your classes can also work as long as you stay on task! Establishing solid study habits now will prove to be a great asset in your life. So stay concentrated and motivated; invest some time and effort now and you will be glad you did! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo  by Steven S.

A Day in the Life at The University of Chicago

A Day in the Life at The University of Chicago The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach theyre sharing their college experiences as well. Jonathan is a Los Angeles tutor specializing in SAT prep tutoring, History tutoring, AP English tutoring, and more. He is a 2013 graduate of The University of Chicago with a Bachelors degree in Political Science. Check out his review of his alma mater: VT: Describe the campus setting and transportation options.How urban or safe is the campus?Are there buses or do you need a car/bike? Jonathan: The University of Chicago is located in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the South Side of the city of Chicago, about a 10-minute walk away from Lake Michigan. Hyde Park has a sleepy college town vibe with lots of old houses and large trees. The campus itself is rather compact with the medical school, the business school, the law school, and all other academics all within a five minute walk of each other. Because of this, you dont need buses or a bike to get between classes. However, dormitories and off-campus housing are more spread out in the neighborhood, such that the school does provide a comprehensive shuttle system that runs throughout Hyde Park. Enough valuable amenities such as drug stores, grocery stores, and fun restaurants are far enough away that if you dont want to have to rely on the shuttle schedule, it is very convenient to have a bike, and cars provide the luxury of easily accessing downtown at a moments notice since we are remarkably close to Lake Shore Driv e. The campus is very secure considering its location, but nonetheless, there is some local urban crime that does occur on campus and in the neighborhood. VT: How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Jonathan: Instructor and adviser availability depends on the class and the department. Generally speaking, almost everyone is available and wants to help. However, there are some high profile professors who teach large classes who are much less available. Luckily, they almost always come with TAs who do their best to be there for every student. I never had a class where I felt I did not receive support that I was asking for. VT: How would you describe the dorm life rooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Jonathan: Dorm life at Chicago depends greatly on where you end up housing. There are a lot of different dorms on campus in very different locations and with very different cultures. Some of them are apartment-style, some of them exclusively doubles, some of them tiny singles, some of them very close to campus, others rather far. Generally speaking, there is a dorm for everyone on campus, whether you are looking for a wide social circle, night-life, a quiet study space, or an intimate residential community. The dorms are varied enough that if you read the materials provided by the school during the housing process, you should easily be able to determine which dorm is right for you. The dining halls are not great. Food is all you can eat and is not very high quality. However, the food is consistent and amenities like the salad bar, a sandwich station, and a cereal bar are always present and very nice. Students generally lament the meal plans and try to get off them as soon as they are allowed. Food on campus other than dining halls is generally good; there are a lot of nice student-run coffee shops that have prepared meals from local restaurants, as well as one nice food court that has multiple good options. VT: Which majors/programs are best represented and supported?What did you study and why? Did the university do a good job supporting your particular area of study? Jonathan: Economics, Political Science, English, Math, and Physics are all programs with a lot of support and representation on campus, Economics being the most popular major. However, almost every area of study has a variety of course listings and programs on campus. I did not encounter anyone at Chicago that felt like their major was neglected. If anything most people found their programs to be rather demanding and to have a variety of options to the point that it could be difficult to know which of a host of good professors one should take a certain class in. I studied Political Science at Chicago because the variety and depth of courses offered let me craft a program of study that was suited directly to my interests. Chicago was very supportive of my desire to take a wide variety of classes and their graduation requirements were designed to allow me to do so. VT: How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Jonathan: Chicago gets hard for many people as early as their first midterms in their first quarter. Because of this, making friends is easy, but keeping friends is harder as peoples schedules swell up with classes, work, clubs, and internships. Luckily, the student body is diverse enough that it is not hard to find a community that shares your interests. The main thing is to be willing to get involved. Many people at Chicago dont leave much time free to do nothing, so the easiest way to meet people and make friends is to become active in a variety of activities and find the culture that best includes you. VT: How helpful is the Career Centerand other student support services?Do many reputable companies recruit on campus? Jonathan: There is a lot of recruiting on campus. Every kind of company you can think of recruits during our career fairs and through the school. However, full-time employment does not seem to be the focus of the Career Center; instead, they primarily focus on getting people summer internships, so if you want to get a great job, your best bet is to watch those internship job boards closely and apply to a lot of them. They are all decently competitive but there are so many that you will likely find one you like, and it is those experiences and connections that will give you a better picture of how to get employed. VT: How are the various study areas such aslibraries, the student union, and dorm lounges? Are they over-crowded, easily available, spacious? Jonathan: The libraries and dorm lounges are almost universally comfortable, spacious, and easily available. There are tons of students who need to study, but also two giant libraries on campus where they can do so, as well as multiple other lounges and reading rooms on campus and in dorms. Chicago has spent a lot of time and money making sure people are able to study comfortably, and it shows. VT: Describe the surrounding town. What kinds of outside establishments / things to do are there that make it fun, boring, or somewhere in between?To what extent do students go to the downtown area of the city versus staying near campus? Jonathan: The local town is pretty basic. There are some nice sandwich shops, some pharmacies, some takeout places, a couple of nice dinner restaurants, etc. Generally, Hyde Park has a lot of basic amenities but it is not very exciting. However, we are on a bus line that connects to the L-train system and the other buses, both of which are easy methods to get to downtown Chicago in about half an hour to 45 minutes. Between the hip North Side neighborhoods and the beautiful and well developed downtown, if there is something you want to do, you can find it in Chicago. You just need to make the time while doing lots of schoolwork, something the majority of Chicago students rarely do. VT: How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Jonathan: The student body is around 5,000 undergraduates, which is enough that there are always new people to meet, but not so many people that services are clogged up and it is impossible to distinguish yourself. Class sizes are usually less than 20 people, even if they are science or math classes, such that it is possible to get personal attention from incredible and famous professors. VT: Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Jonathan: I took an English class with 40 other people in which we close-read Lolita for an entire quarter. Our professor, Malynne Sternstein, was incredibly passionate and funny for the duration, and the class developed in to an exciting free-form discussion with an immense amount of participation. There were moments in that class when Malynne really gave her all, emotionally and intellectually, and made us think in ways we never had before. That class singularly validated the rest of my experience at Chicago. Check out Jonathans tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

GET YOUR CHILD ON TRACK FOR READING SUCCESS

GET YOUR CHILD ON TRACK FOR READING SUCCESS Fortunately, many schools are now emphasizing phonemic awareness in their reading instruction, particularly for young children. Yet parents should still be highly alert for signs that their children are struggling. As noted in Why Kids Can't Read: Challenging the Status Quo in Education, by Phyllis Blaunstein and Reid Lyon, here are some signs that a child may be in trouble: Great difficulty in understanding that words are made up of individual sounds that can be pulled apart and combined to make words: for example, that batboy can be pulled apart into bat and boy and that the word bat can be broken down still further and sounded out as: b aaaa t; Struggling to read and sound-out common, one-syllable words, such as dog, cat, hop, nap. Frequently mispronouncing complicated words, leaving out parts of words or confusing the order of the parts of words, saying amulium instead of aluminum, for example; Stumbling when reading multi-syllable words, without coming close when trying to sound out the full word; Omitting parts of words when reading, so that it sounds as if there's a hole in the word, reading convertible as conible, for example; Poor performance on multiple choice tests, and an inability to finish tests on time; Disastrous spelling skills. Signs of Effective Reading Instruction If your child is experiencing these problems, it's important to look closely at the reading instruction he or she is receiving. Here are the qualities of sound, proven instruction for phonemic awareness: Children are learning the sounds of language, and teachers are helping them practice with sounds that make up words. Children are learning how to put sounds together to make up words, and how to break words apart into separate sounds. Children are learning the letters of the alphabet, and can recognize the names and shapes of letters. Children's teachers are reading to the class and talking about what the students are reading. Children are learning phonics - how sounds and letters are related - and practicing phonics by reading books that focus on the letter-sound relationships they're learning. Children are being asked questions to help them think about the meaning of what they're reading, and are learning the meanings of new words. Children are learning to expand their vocabulary by using the dictionary, using known words and word parts to figure out words, and using clues from the rest of a sentence to better understand the meaning of words. Teachers are checking to see if students understand what they're reading by asking questions about the story or the material.

Critical Reasoning Question 12-Newspaper Articles - Private Tutoring

Critical Reasoning Question 12-Newspaper Articles BobbiM Feb 15, 2014 The increase in the number of newspaper articles exposed as fabrications serves to bolster the contention that publishers are more interested in boosting circulation than in printing the truth.  Even minor publications have staffs to check such obvious fraud. The argument above assumes that A.  Newspaper stories exposed as fabrications are a recent phenomenon. B.  Everything a newspaper prints must be factually verifiable. C.  Fact checking is more comprehensive for minor publications than for major ones. D.  Only recently have newspapers admitted to publishing intentionally fraudulent stories. E.  The publishers of newspapers are he people who decide what to print in their newspapers. Think you know the correct answer? The correct answer is E.  Evidence: more newspaper articles exposed as fabrications. Conclusion:  Publishers want to increase circulation, not print the truth.  This makes sense only if we assume (E), that publishers decide what to print.  If (E) werent true and this decision were up to someone else, the argument would fall apart. Since the argument claims only and increase in made-up articles exposed, its not necessary that they be a recent phenomenon, so (A)s not assumed.  (B) goes too far-its not necessary that every article be factually verifiable in order for there to have been an increase in fabrications.  As for (C), the authors claim that even minor publications have fact checkers is meant to emphasize that the publications know theyre not printing the truth, not that minor ones are better at fact checking than major ones.  And (D) brings up admission of guilt, which the author never mentions-the articles in question were exposed as frauds, not admitted to be frauds.

Language Learning Gamification Why It Works, How to Use It and 5 Games to Play

Language Learning Gamification Why It Works, How to Use It and 5 Games to Play Language Learning Gamification: Why It Works, How to Use It and 5 Games to Play “Quit playing that game and do your homework!” your mother would always say.But what if I told you that you really don’t need to turn your games off?What if I told you that you can actually play more games to learn a language?Sound tantalizingly fun?Welcome to the world of language learning gamification, where new words and grammar rules meet points, quests and trophies.If youre looking for new motivation to learn a languageâ€"or you just want to shake up your study routineâ€"weve got five recommendations for game-based tools thatll get you racing to fluency.But firstâ€"what the heck is gamification, exactly, and how does it work? Language Learning Gamification: Why It Works, How to Use It and 5 Games to PlayWhat Is Gamification?First off, let’s clarify the term “gamification.” It simply means to make a game out of something.Let’s say you’re on a camping trip with your family. And you’re now gathering wood for the night. A run-of-the-mill chore, right?That is, unt il one of your cool uncles says, “I’ll give $10 to the person who gathers the most firewood in 30 minutes.”That instantly perks you up, right? And not just youâ€"your siblings and cousins are getting into it, too. And now grandma has a glisten in her eye.You start moving faster, the promise of a prize echoing in your head. Just to make things even more exciting, your uncle adds, “And I’ll give a $5 bonus to the person who gathers the most maple and oak. They’re the best for campfires.” So you scurry back to the forest with even more enthusiasm. The stakes just got higher and you want to win it all.That’s how you make gathering woodâ€"or any other taskâ€"exciting. You make a game out of it. You “gamify” it. You add game elements like prizes, missions, points and rankings. And you could apply that to any human activity from washing dishes to coding computer programs to, of course, language learning.Note:  Gamification is a little bit different from Game-based Learn ing (GBL). While gamification involves applying the rules of a game to a task or lesson, GBL involves using an actual game to teach something (like this board game that teaches middle schoolers about math).Both gamification and GBL can incentivize learning with competition and fun. Here, well point you to language resources that make use of both techniques.But first, an important question: Do they actually work?Do Gamification and Game-based Learning Work?What do the experiments and examinations into gamification say? Heres a look at some recent research.Gamification ResearchA New York University journalism professor injected his 14-week course with gamification. He took the class to Wall Street for some journalistic sleuthing and turned information gathering into a healthy class competition.When tested on the material a week later, students recalled more of their gamified scavenger hunt than information they read just a few minutes earlier!This aligns with a 2006 report from the Su mmit on Educational Games by the Federation of American Scientists that claims students recall only 10 percent of the things they read and 20 percent of the material they hear. But when experiencing the material themselves, even if it’s just in a simulation or a game, recall can climb as high as 90 percent.Gamification has also been adopted by corporations in the hopes of boosting customer engagement and increasing bottom lines.For example, even Domino’s Pizza is getting in on the action, gamifying the ordering process through their app. Gamification has also been tapped to influence health and lifestyle choices, from Nike’s FuelBand, which gamifies feedback about physical activities, to Piano Stairs, which saw a 66 percent increase in people’s use of stairs.So whats this all mean for language learners? Gamification has been shown to increase peoples interest in and engagement with even boring tasks like ordering pizza or taking the stairs. That makes it a great resource for shaking up your study regimen and practicing grammar, vocabulary and more.Still don’t believe that gamification can work? Here’s a list of 90 gamification applications and some stats on how successful they’ve been.Game-based Learning ResearchA University of Florida study reported higher math achievement by students who played math computer games.Students said that the game was fun and challenging, while teachers concurred with the quantitative results, noting that said students did indeed have improved understanding of the subjectâ€"and added that the game overcame their math phobias and made them want to learn.Well, thats all well and good. But how about games applied to language learning?Researchers from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have examined the effectiveness of todays gamified second language learning apps. They found that these apps have benefits for efficient learning and that the way information builds on itself (like in-game levels) can reinforce previously learned lessons.They also found strong initial motivation for these apps, but it should be noted that dropout rates are also high. Researchers emphasize that gamification can be an effective learning tool but should probably not be anyones sole study method.That said, there are some exciting gamified and game-based tools out there for language learners (well point you to some great ones later in this post) and with some smart strategies, you can get the most out of them based on your learning style and goals.How to Make Language Learning Gamification and GBL Work for YouOverlearn the levels. Repeat the whole game if you have to.  Your ultimate goal is to learn the language. Remember that. It’s not to beat the game or rack up as many points as possible. The game and the different gamified elements are just vehicles to a more important goalâ€"learning the language.So if you’ve passed a level, or even finished the game, don’t think yourself too cool to go over the whol e thing again. Going back to corners you’ve gone before not only cements what you’ve already learned, it serves to remind you why you’re doing it in the first place.Practice in a non-game environment.  Maximize those gamification and GBL apps by bringing their lessons outside the game environment. That is, try to actually use the skills that youve learned in real life. For example, look for native speakers to try new vocabulary out on. Apps like Bilingua and HelloTalk can help you find language exchange partners.You can also integrate the vocabulary words into your day. Use sticky notes to label objects around the house as constant reminders. Or work the vocabulary into a deck of flashcards and start flipping.Track your progress and mark your language weak spots.  Gamified resources are famous for giving you this type of data before you even ask for it. Built-in progress tracking tools help you pinpoint areas of the language that you need to work on. If you heed the data, youl l get insights that ensure every minute in the game is time well spent.If need be, get a journal and write down some notes. Are there specific words you have trouble with? Are there specific rules of grammar that always trip you up? Being honest with yourself and consciously getting a picture of your present language skills puts you in a better position to consistently improve.Cross train by having multiple games targeting different language skills.  Theres no one game, no silver bullet so perfectly fashioned that it delivers language fluency. So you’ll have to play many games and repeat them several times.Different games focus on different language skills and have different learning approaches, as youll see below. Even if you start encountering the same words or concepts, the different environments, graphics and audio will help cement them in your memory.Connect with other language learners.  A sense of community is very important for language learning. You cannot be an island un to yourself.The names on those leaderboards arent merely a set of letters. There’s a breathing human being behind those names. And while you may not be able to get in touch with them directly, you can definitely meet kindred souls in language forums or language exchange sites and apps.Dont give in to the temptation that says, “I’ll just keep to myself for a few months. When I’m ready, I’ll engage.” No, engage now. Find somebody. Don’t hide behind the games.Try to create your own gamified learning experience! You dont need to be an app developer. You just need pen and paper. Make rules. Make it fun for you.It can be a series of tasks in the tradition of “Mission Impossible” for example, where you give yourself different tasks for a whole weekâ€"like collecting things in your house that start with the letter s in French.Youll quickly see that even before you start playing your game, the mere act of gamificationâ€"thinking about key concepts, words and goals in your t arget languageâ€"will get you engaged and motivated to learn. Creating this type of game will make you a winner in more ways than one.Get Fluent with Games: 5 Addictive Language Learning Gamification OptionsMindSnacksMindSnacks, “games for your brain,” is one of the App Store’s 2011 winners of the “Best Education Apps of the Year.”It’s really an awesome collection of games that you can use to learn Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Chinese and Japanese. There are around nine games for each of the offered languages, and about 1,000 vocabulary words up for mastery.For example, MindSnacks offers a game called “Swell” that’ll really keep you on your toes. Imagine this: You’re staring at your screen, which features a lone fish peacefully swimming about when suddenly the water level starts dropping.Youre then presented with a vocabulary word and given two choices for its translation. Choose the correct one and the water level pops up a bit (before beginning to drop again as you’re presented with a new vocabulary word). Pick the wrong translation and your poor fish instantly dies and goes to heaven.What happens is, as you get more questions right, the water level drops faster and faster and you have less and less time to think about your answer before the water reaches the bottom, killing your fish. You’re given three live fishes before the game is over.Then there’s “Belly,” a picture recognition game where you help feed a hungry frog by pairing a word or phrase with its corresponding picture. The little frog then unleashes his sticky tongue to snatch the picture from the screen and into his belly.As a player, you have an avatar, which levels up the more you play the games. MindSnacks keeps you interested because it’s like youre taking care of an evolving avatarâ€"which starts from being a harmless egg to an increasingly awesome creature. You get the feeling that you’re raising a pet while learning the target language.The MindSnacks graphics may look all cute and cuddly, but this is one seriously useful app that’s great for all language learners.LanguagenutLanguagenut is a complete language learning platform containing stories, songs, tests and games. It was originally designed to be seamlessly integrated into classroom instruction. But that doesn’t mean individual language learners can’t take advantage!Of interest for us here are the games and the gamified language learning elements. With Languagenut, you don’t just win points and gold medals. You actually see how well you’re doing compared to other learners on a leaderboard. It’ll give you the spark, that inner motivation to work on the program moreâ€"if only to see your name on a higher rank.Speaking of games, there are over a dozen here, some of them involving an educational twist to a classic game.For example, in Tic-Tac-Toe you still get the traditional nine-square playing board. But this time, there’s a picture or image behind e ach of the square. You can only mark that spot with your “X” or circle if you can give its name in the target language. So for maximum chances of winning, youve got to learn the previous vocabulary lessons really well.In their version of Hangman, the stakes are even higher. You don’t just gradually see a human figure about to get the noose. This one has an environmental spin to it. To begin, you see a picturesque backdrop on your screen. Youre still given blanks corresponding to every letter of the answer, but every time you guess a letter wrong, something happens in the picture that turns it into something awful.Maybe your grassland turns into a toxic dumpsite. Then your waters become polluted and animals start dying. Every wrong turn is bad for nature, so you have to know the answer early to avoid the total destruction of your scenery.A lesson in nature preservation embedded in a language learning game? Sounds awesome to me!FluentUTo truly get fluent, youll need to hear your target language the way native speakers really use it. FluentU is a unique tool that manages to combine the fun and motivation of a game with authentic target language resources.With FluentU, you get to watch diverse video clips including real-world interviews, movie trailers, YouTube clips and much more.  The magic starts to happen as you watch and explore the interactive subtitles. Click any word you’re interested in and youll get a definition, translation, pronunciation and usage. You can even cross reference the word and see other videos that contain it, so you can have more contexts for its use.After youve watched a video, the game elements kick in. Youll get quizzed on the new words you learned with fun exercises and visual learning tools. Youll be given performance indicators so you can track your accuracy as well as the percentage of the video that you mastered or learned.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that real people speak them. FluentU has a wide variety of videos, like movie trailers, funny commercials and web series, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse ScreenFluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover over or tap on the subtitles to instantly view definitions.FluentU Interactive TranscriptsYou can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs quiz mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.Each day as you watch and complete exercises, youll earn virtual currency and build up learning streaks. Plus, FluentU remembers what youve studied and suggests new content based o n that info, so you get a truly personalized game-learning experience.All while absorbing your target language the way it really sounds!The Language GameThe Language Game is a fun tool composed of mini-games. It’s something you can play with another language learner, perhaps a friend, a family member or relative. You don’t need an internet connection to play this one since you’ll download it to your computer.The unique thing about the Language Game is that it can create competition even when two people are studying different languages. So if you’re studying Spanish and your friend is learning French, you can still go head to head because the game will adjust to your target languages when it’s your turn to play.If you know  â€œBlockbusters,” the game operates along the same lines. Youll see a screen that’s populated with hexagonal tiles. Each tile represents a task: answering a multiple choice question; pairing a picture with its translation; etc.The mission is to get t o the other side of the board by strategically choosing hexagonal tiles. One player will go from left to right, and the other will go from right to left. The player who gets to the other side of the board using continuous tiles wins. (The twist is that when you’re able to “sandwich” your opponent’s tiles, that tile becomes yours and is flipped to your color.)Whats especially motivating is that instead of some anonymous learner on the other side of the world, the person you’re playing with is someone you know. You can trash talk and tease each other, in real time. It makes language learning not only fun but also very competitive and challenging.DuolingoWith over 100 million downloads, you know this app is doing something right.Duolingo gets you to do a series of gamified language learning tasks, such as translating words and phrases back and forth, listening to a phrase and typing what you hear, pronouncing target language words into your phone’s mic or building sentences in your target language.These tasks are delivered through micro-lessons arranged by theme. Each question that you answer correctly slowly fills up your progress bar.  When you successfully complete a lesson, youre rewarded with virtual currency, which you can use to buy yourself prizes (everything from extra lessons and bonus skills to cool outfits for the Duolingo mascot, Duo the owl).And then there’s the “Double or Nothing” wager, where you bet your currency as a wager. And the deal is that if you’re able to go on Duolingo every day, for a full week, youll earn another five.If these points and prizes arent enough motivation, Duolingo also peppers highlights of your achievements throughout its lessons. For example, there’s the “Sharpshooter” badge given to somebody who completes a new lesson without getting anything wrong. There’s also the “Triple Digits,” given to the user who earns 100 points in one day.With Duolingo, you feel you’re constantly progressing toward something, and every minute feels like you’re winning. It’s very difficult to let go of that feeling. You always want to keep playing, keep winning (and keep learning)!So, there you go!You now know what gamification and game-based learning are all about. You have the resources you can tap and some tips on how to make them work double-time for you.Can you imagine how easy learning a language can be if it’s mostly fun and games?What are you waiting for?Let gamification lead the way. Make a game out of your language journey.

Education Is The Key

Education Is The Key Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom. ~George Washington Carver (1860-1943) George Washington Carver was an American botanist and inventor. Carvers reputation is based on his research into and promotion of alternative crops to cotton, such as peanuts, soybeans, and sweet potatoes, which also aided nutrition for farm families. He wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops both as a source of their own food and as a source of other products to improve their quality of life. He developed and promoted about 100 products made from peanuts that were useful for the house and farm, including cosmetics, dyes, paints, plastics, gasoline, and nitroglycerin. He received numerous honors for his work, including the Spingarn Medal of the NAACP. He was recognized for his many achievements and talents. In 1941, Time magazine dubbed Carver a Black Leonardo. Need help for your next biology exam? Find a biology tutor on TutorZ.com!

October italki Language Challenge Marketas update

October italki Language Challenge Marketas update Marketa is getting her #online #languagelessons in for the October #italki #languagechallenge! Challengers, how are you doing? A photo posted by Italki (@italki) on Oct 20, 2015 at 1:16am PDT When I was asked to join the italki October 2015 Language Challenge, I was a little hesitant. Not that I did not want to participate, but I felt a little intimidated â€" as an introverted person the idea of shooting a video pledge simply scared me. However, the more I thought about it, the more excited I became about the whole concept of sharing my progress and inspiring other people to take the challenge with me. How am I doing? First of all, let me tell you that on its own, 6 hours is not that much time to make huge progress, especially when I work and also have several essays to write for university back in the Czech Republic at the same time. Right now it is almost the end of week 1 of the challenge and so far I have only finished 2 sessions out of 6. I decided to stick to having sessions with only one teacher throughout the challenge as I seriously need to work on my sentence structure and I feel I would lose too much time explaining what my weak points in Chinese are before each and every session. Anna, my Chinese teacher, tailored the sessions to suit my needs. During the first half an hour we usually go through a written dialogue from a textbook, reading it out loud, explaining grammar points, new words and structures. The second half an hour is focused on speaking. I summarize the dialogue using given vocabulary, answer various questions about it and then we just have     a random chat about ourselves, our plans or other current topics like Chinese holidays or food. I particularly like this part of our class because not only do I learn about the Chinese language, but Anna also explains a lot about the Chinese culture which is very helpful in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the Chinese mentality and lifestyle. Finding the right strategy Revising what I have learned during my italki sessions is a crucial part of learning. Honestly, at first I had not been doing very well. I was lucky enough to realize this at the very beginning though. From then I started adding all of my new vocabulary into Anki, a spaced repetition flashcard program that I highly recommend. Also, using new structures in sentences and rewriting them over and over again turned out to be helpful. Above all, I found that the most important aspect of the revision process is reading out loud! I cannot stress enough how immensely it helps me. As for me, speaking is essentially the hardest thing to master when it comes to learning a new language. Having adopted this strategy, I believe my progress will be more evident and I will eventually reach my goal of being able to hold a 5-minute conversation about myself with one of my Chinese colleagues. October italki Language Challenge Marketas update Marketa is getting her #online #languagelessons in for the October #italki #languagechallenge! Challengers, how are you doing? A photo posted by Italki (@italki) on Oct 20, 2015 at 1:16am PDT When I was asked to join the italki October 2015 Language Challenge, I was a little hesitant. Not that I did not want to participate, but I felt a little intimidated â€" as an introverted person the idea of shooting a video pledge simply scared me. However, the more I thought about it, the more excited I became about the whole concept of sharing my progress and inspiring other people to take the challenge with me. How am I doing? First of all, let me tell you that on its own, 6 hours is not that much time to make huge progress, especially when I work and also have several essays to write for university back in the Czech Republic at the same time. Right now it is almost the end of week 1 of the challenge and so far I have only finished 2 sessions out of 6. I decided to stick to having sessions with only one teacher throughout the challenge as I seriously need to work on my sentence structure and I feel I would lose too much time explaining what my weak points in Chinese are before each and every session. Anna, my Chinese teacher, tailored the sessions to suit my needs. During the first half an hour we usually go through a written dialogue from a textbook, reading it out loud, explaining grammar points, new words and structures. The second half an hour is focused on speaking. I summarize the dialogue using given vocabulary, answer various questions about it and then we just have     a random chat about ourselves, our plans or other current topics like Chinese holidays or food. I particularly like this part of our class because not only do I learn about the Chinese language, but Anna also explains a lot about the Chinese culture which is very helpful in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the Chinese mentality and lifestyle. Finding the right strategy Revising what I have learned during my italki sessions is a crucial part of learning. Honestly, at first I had not been doing very well. I was lucky enough to realize this at the very beginning though. From then I started adding all of my new vocabulary into Anki, a spaced repetition flashcard program that I highly recommend. Also, using new structures in sentences and rewriting them over and over again turned out to be helpful. Above all, I found that the most important aspect of the revision process is reading out loud! I cannot stress enough how immensely it helps me. As for me, speaking is essentially the hardest thing to master when it comes to learning a new language. Having adopted this strategy, I believe my progress will be more evident and I will eventually reach my goal of being able to hold a 5-minute conversation about myself with one of my Chinese colleagues. October italki Language Challenge Marketas update Marketa is getting her #online #languagelessons in for the October #italki #languagechallenge! Challengers, how are you doing? A photo posted by Italki (@italki) on Oct 20, 2015 at 1:16am PDT When I was asked to join the italki October 2015 Language Challenge, I was a little hesitant. Not that I did not want to participate, but I felt a little intimidated â€" as an introverted person the idea of shooting a video pledge simply scared me. However, the more I thought about it, the more excited I became about the whole concept of sharing my progress and inspiring other people to take the challenge with me. How am I doing? First of all, let me tell you that on its own, 6 hours is not that much time to make huge progress, especially when I work and also have several essays to write for university back in the Czech Republic at the same time. Right now it is almost the end of week 1 of the challenge and so far I have only finished 2 sessions out of 6. I decided to stick to having sessions with only one teacher throughout the challenge as I seriously need to work on my sentence structure and I feel I would lose too much time explaining what my weak points in Chinese are before each and every session. Anna, my Chinese teacher, tailored the sessions to suit my needs. During the first half an hour we usually go through a written dialogue from a textbook, reading it out loud, explaining grammar points, new words and structures. The second half an hour is focused on speaking. I summarize the dialogue using given vocabulary, answer various questions about it and then we just have     a random chat about ourselves, our plans or other current topics like Chinese holidays or food. I particularly like this part of our class because not only do I learn about the Chinese language, but Anna also explains a lot about the Chinese culture which is very helpful in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the Chinese mentality and lifestyle. Finding the right strategy Revising what I have learned during my italki sessions is a crucial part of learning. Honestly, at first I had not been doing very well. I was lucky enough to realize this at the very beginning though. From then I started adding all of my new vocabulary into Anki, a spaced repetition flashcard program that I highly recommend. Also, using new structures in sentences and rewriting them over and over again turned out to be helpful. Above all, I found that the most important aspect of the revision process is reading out loud! I cannot stress enough how immensely it helps me. As for me, speaking is essentially the hardest thing to master when it comes to learning a new language. Having adopted this strategy, I believe my progress will be more evident and I will eventually reach my goal of being able to hold a 5-minute conversation about myself with one of my Chinese colleagues.