Effective Method To Improve Your Spanish Speaking Skills

For many students studying Spanish, the ultimate way to test their speaking skills is to become immersed in a culture where it is the primary language. These days, student travel groups may be less inclined to visit Mexico, due to news of attacks on American citizens traveling there. Europe may be overpriced for smaller school trip budgets. Puerto Rico is a great alternative to other destinations. Best of all - no passport is needed, since it is a U.S. Territory.

If the school group leader requests it - this tour is done completely in Spanish. Students are challenged to speak Spanish while they travel. Student travelers will eat locally made Puerto Rican food, learn Salsa dancing from locals, play dominoes and briscas, dine and converse with local guides and residents and swim and lodge where locals enjoy the beach. Student travel groups will tour San Juan and Ponce, two of the largest cities in Puerto Rico, and also have the opportunity to explore rural areas, like the pristine beaches of Boquerón and Luquillo, the fishing village La Parguera, and El Yunque, the only tropical rainforest in the United States.

One of the best ways to improve one's speaking skills in any language is to listen to the native speakers. However, listening alone won't make you a great speaker. If you are looking for an effective method to improve your Spanish speaking skills, you should not only listen to native speakers, but also imitate them. What are the best methods to do it? Here are three of them!

1. Podcasts
There are dozens of podcasts online, just Google "Spanish podcasts". You can learn a lot from all of them. However, if you want to improve your speaking skills, you should look for the conversational ones. Try to find a podcast with a transcription, because it's better to improve speaking skills if you can follow the speaker while reading transcription. You can find a lot of podcasts on iTunes. Make sure that the podcast isn't too difficult for you since it's not effective to listen to something which you can't understand.

2. Lingus.tv
Lingus.tv is a web TV which is devoted to teaching Spanish in a very fun way - by sitcoms. These sitcoms last a few minutes, have a transcription, subtitles, there's a translation and grammar notes. Thanks to this, improving your Spanish is very easy - read a transcription and try to imitate native speakers' pronunciation. If you don't understand something, check the translation. You can improve your accent as well as vocabulary. These videos have three levels of difficulty - beginner, intermediate and advanced so you should find something suitable for you no matter how long have you been learning Spanish.

3. Audiobooks
Buy a regular book and an audiobook with a native Spanish speaker. Firstly, listen to a passage pronounced by a native Spanish speaker, then turn on your microphone and read the same passage aloud. Listen to your pronunciation and compare it to speaker's one. Repeat this process at least a few times to make your pronunciation as close to native speaker's as possible. Then, do the same for the next passage and the next one and so on. You can find a lot of books and audiobooks in Spanish on Amazon or eBay. Maybe your local library have some Spanish books?

Don't be discouraged if progress is slow. You can't improve your Spanish speaking skills overnight. Try methods listed above and I'm sure that after some time you will be speaking a lot better than you do now. Be determined and practice regularly. Good luck!

  

Tips For Effective Public Speaking To Develop Your Skills Right Away

While a picture may be worth a thousand words, those words will no doubt come in handy if the picture is distorted or poorly understood. After all, the best way to communicate is through speech.

The four language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing are all interconnected. Proficiency in each skill is necessary to become a well-rounded communicator, but the ability to speak skillfully provides the speaker with several distinct advantages. The capacity to put words together in a meaningful way to reflect thoughts, opinions, and feelings provides the speaker with these important advantages.

Nothing is worse than standing on stage, your palms sweating, your throat tightening, tension gripping every fiber of your being while the eyes of every person in the room are locked on you. Though some people say that, with practice, public speaking gets easier, that really isn't the case. For most people, the fear and anxiety get worse every time they do it. So simple "practice" isn't enough, if you aren't correcting the other things in your preparation and execution to combat your anxieties. Here are 10 tips for effective public speaking to develop your skills right away.

#1 - KNOW THE MATERIAL: Preparation is the key to mastering public speaking. Don't settle for a few 3x5 note cards, and think that you'll do the actual phrasing on the fly. You will get flustered, your brain will lock up, and you will crash and burn. Try writing out your entire speech or presentation completely and tinker with it to get down the precise phrasing you want, and use this speech to cull a set of useful notes. Bring along a copy of the entire speech if you feel you need it, but remember to know your material thoroughly.

#2 - REHEARSE: Practice your entire speech from beginning to end several times, and include all visual aides or technical supplements you will be using (PowerPoint, slide show, video projector, etc.). By doing this, you will eliminate glitches and find places that need revision. Preparation is an essential public speaking skill to develop.

#3 - MINGLE FIRST: Try to get to know the audience before the speech, if there is any kind of mixer or reception beforehand. It's much easier to speak once you've generated some good will.

#4 - WALK-THROUGH: Get a feel for the auditorium or room where you will be speaking, examine the equipment, stand at the dais and get a feel for all of it.

#5 - RELAX: This tip may seem impossible, but it is absolutely vital to effective public speaking. Through concerted effort, try to channel your nervous energy into the speech.

#6 - IMAGINE SUCCESS: Visualize in your head beforehand what a successful speech will look like, and imagine yourself giving it.

#7 - THE AUDIENCE IS YOUR ALLY: Remember that the audience wants you to succeed. Nothing hits the gut more than watching a public speaker crash and burn, so know that the audience is rooting for you.

#8 - NO APOLOGIES: Begging forgiveness from the audience only draws attention to your failure, and chances are they didn't notice a wrong word choice or quick verbal stumble, so don't feel the need to say sorry.

#9 - FOCUS: A great public speaker is one who delivers the message with little attention drawn to himself. Focus on what you wish to present.

#10 - WATCH THE MASTERS: Try to find great speeches and addresses by great speakers and watch how they do it. Take notes. This is such a great public speaking tip.

Math Hard To Learn But Determined To Conquer

A difficult with math and numbers can be  described as dyscalculia. Dyscalculia is the name given to the learning disability in math. For a lot of children math will always be considered the toughest subject in school. Just the thought of having to remember everything the teacher tells them, all the math signs and processes is hard. And it does not get any easier as your child ages either. If you want your child to start doing better in class then it is time you help them better understand math. So why is math hard to learn
Mathematics is Abstract:
Mathematics is abstract. It does not have a shape. Children cannot see it. They need to visualize properly for solving a mathematical problem. Visualization comes from the everyday experience and relating mathematics with it requires a very strong trainer.
Present Teaching System:
Another major contributor to the difficulty of mathematics is lack of innovation in conventional system of teaching. The conventional system of teaching makes mathematics a dud and boring subject. Students are unable to visualize the concept taught by the teacher. Therefore, their interest level goes down. Hence they start developing a disassociation with the subject. If this disassociation continues for a longer period of time child starts hating mathematics.
This phenomenon of Math fear is growing everyday and now Central board has also recognized this problem. Through their circular they have asked the schools to create an environment where child takes interest in Mathematics.
Problem in converting word problems into mathematical equations:
Converting word problems into mathematical equation requires good understanding of the language and math fundamentals. Fundamentals are still taught in old-fashioned way in the school. Teachers teach fundamental without much of illustration therefore, students are not able to visualize the problem when they face it. They try to learn mathematics much like other subjects where they memorize facts and figures. Mathematics wants a thorough and good understanding.
Poor Command over Tables:
I interact with thousands of children every month. To my dismay I find that a good number of students show poor command over the tables. A few of them have gone to the higher classes say IX and X and still they rely on finger counting. When faced with multiplication like 18 × 7 they follow the complete multiplication steps to get the answer. Due to this Calculation takes more time and even a simple mathematics paper seems difficult to the students.
Here the question arises why do students have poor command over the tables? As far as my understanding goes we are moving towards Public School led education system and as we are anglicizing our education system more and more students are suffering from this syndrome. They have poor command over the tables because tables are not taught in mother tongue.
No system of Logic Development:
Our education system works on rote methodology. It tests you for how much you can cram before the examination day and vomit on the examination day. Mathematics does not work that way. It works on logic. In response to my question posted in a discussion group "Why did you fear Mathematics?" POOJA BHATNAGAR wrote: I dreaded mathematics! Would you believe if I told you that I actually got fever the night before my 10th boards maths exam !! I still managed a decent 83% though but the fear of maths........ Till date the numbers get mixed up in my mind! The fear actually came in pretty late, when we started handling the more complex calculations. Log tables never were any friendly to me. And assuming alphabets to be numbers again confused me to no end.
Poor Trainers:
Most of the time I find that the person teaching mathematics does not enjoy mathematics himself. If a math teacher does not enjoy mathematics then how can he create enjoyment for students?
Take the example of Dhyuti. She is a student of class-1. She is average in mathematics. Her mother was fed up with math teacher's remark on Dhyuti's notebook. She did not know how to improve her daughter's mathematics. One day she went to meet Dhyuti's Math teacher. During the discussion the math teacher revealed that she is a History graduate entrusted with the responsibility of teaching mathematics. She does not like teaching mathematics.
Effectively, in Dhyuti's class children developed a strong dislike for mathematics. Children are pure at their heart. Everything around them affects them. Be it dislike to mathematics shown by parents or teachers.
Calculation Takes Long time:
Samrana (Name changed) a class VI student from Gurgaon narrates his stories. He says that he is never able to understand mathematical concepts. He fears mathematics because of calculation. He hates numbers. It takes him a lot of time to add two numbers. He fears multiplication and division. He finds mathematics boring. It does not excite his imagination. But he enjoys games. He hopes against hope that one day his math learning would be full of fun.
Do not let dyscalculia haunt your child for the rest of their life. If you do not do something about it soon it will stick with them forever. So help your child get over their fear of math today. They will thank you in the future for helping them better understand how math works and how fun it is to solve a equation out

Effective Tips For Online Distance Learning

Online distance learning is gaining in popularity as the education method of choice for many students. However, it is still not as common as education obtained through traditional methods. There are several myths that are associated with obtaining an distance learning education. One of these myths is that online education schools are not as good as traditional schools. Online distance learning education can be as equivalently good as education obtained from a traditional school. The important thing to do is select the right online learning program. There are lots of quality programs that allow students to interact with specialist teachers and professors and learn through high-quality software.

Another common myth is that employers reject degrees from online distance education institutions. This is true for fake schools; however, there are plenty of accredited schools that offer online distance learning education opportunities and education from these accredited schools are accepted by employers. Many traditional colleges that have a distance learning program, and any certification awarded upon completion of such a program will not indicate that the courses were completed online.

Online distance learning education showed much progress in the recent decades. Aside from rapidly increasing online educational institutions, more and more traditional colleges and universities are offering programs to cater to the growing number of students who have realized the convenience, affordability and effectiveness of learning. If you think this method suits you well, there are things to consider before signing up for online learning programs.

First of all, choose an online course appropriately. Determine your goals and how a specific course would help you achieve those objectives. For instance, you could be employed and simply want a refresher course to brush up on the latest in the industry. In that case, a certificate course will suffice. For fresh high school graduates, advanced online learning programs are recommended for in-depth learning.

Keep in mind that the success of your education also depends on your fascination on the subject so make sure you will enroll in a course that you are genuinely interested in. Motivation is an important factor in any online distance learning endeavour since online distance learning programs offer so much flexibility that can easily lead to procrastination. A good tip to stay motivated is to set a study schedule and stick to it.

Having a dedicated study area also helps in learning education. It should be well-lighted with enough space for your computer and study materials. Use a chair you could comfortably sit on for hours. The area should also be away from distractions like television and food. Avoid doing household chores while studying so you can fully concentrate and complete your education on time.

Lastly, get support from instructors, classmates or even friends who share the same interest or are experts in the field. Although it is an education set-up, there is no need to study alone all the time. Make use of social media sites, forums and other venues where you could meet people who share the same interests and goals. In synchronous programs, you can meet and share with people who are taking the same course.

Lastly, get support from instructors, classmates or even friends who share the same interest or are experts in the field. Although it is an education set-up, there is no need to study alone all the time. Make use of social media sites, forums and other venues where you could meet people who share the same interests and goals. In synchronous learning programs, you can meet and share with people who are taking the same course.

In addition, the popularity of distance learning education has made it easy for students to locate a program that has been accredited by the professional industry association. This means, students can expect quality education from distance learning programs. It is not a far-fetched idea that online distance education is the future of learning.