Do You Need A Computer Tutor Online?

Do You Need A Computer Tutor Online?There are many who consider the idea of taking computer tutoring online as just a fairy tale. But in reality, it's not so farfetched to think that a lot of people are searching for computer tutors in order to be able to earn some extra money. This is because when it comes to taking an online course, it is possible to make significant amounts of money.In fact, there are several ways that a person can use this skill in order to earn cash by taking courses online. One of these ways is by using it to do it yourself. And of course, you should know that this does not come cheap, and you need to have the right knowledge about how to use it.If you're still not convinced of the fact that it is possible to use this method to get yourself a computer tutor, then think of the fact that the cost is minimal, which is an added bonus to you. Other than that, there are various benefits that you can get when using a computer tutor online. One of them is to enhance yo ur level of knowledge and understanding. Through this, you can surely build up a strong foundation in a matter of weeks, and you can actually take things one step further in the next few months.For the serious business people, there are times when they find it hard to be on their own, especially in terms of studying. Of course, there are situations wherein you can't study on your own, but there are also those situations where you can't turn to a tutor at all. So if you're trying to avoid these situations, then it is best to consider an online course.You can even take advantage of your computer tutor's skills and use them to your benefit. There are several computer tutors that are used by many companies and institutions, and some of them are even available for free. As long as you have the right combination of abilities, you will be able to work to your own benefit, even if you're still not comfortable with the idea of actually talking to people face to face.Another way to find a com puter tutor online is through a referral. Most people today depend on their friends or colleagues to help them out with assignments and tests. If they have some recommendations for good tutors, you may consider the same in order to make sure that you are on the right track.There are many things that the online computer tutors can help you with. Besides being able to teach you the basics of mathematics, English and other subjects, you'll also be able to show you how to use the programs that are necessary for each subject. Thus, you can finally understand that it's not something that is just a myth, but rather a real possibility.

How To Become a Drama Teacher and Teach A Drama Class

How To Become a Drama Teacher and Teach A Drama Class Teaching Drama At Private And Public School ChaptersAbout Teaching DramaWays To Teach A Drama Classteaching (even at elementary level) is extremely hard!Yet, despite how tiring, emotional, challenging and sometimes draining the instructional job is day in, day out, most teachers will still love their job and wouldn't change their teaching career for the world, so why is that? And wouldn't you love to be in a profession that you love to hate that much?!So, why is pedagogy  such a rewarding profession to be in and what can you expect from being a newly-qualified drama teacher at an educational institution?What Do You Need To Be A Drama Teacher?If you've not yet completed your certification to become a teacher, then your goal first and foremost should be completing your accreditation to obtain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Ideally, you should be educated to at least A Level in the principal content area you wish to teach, as a passion for the subject is key. Not only that, it will also make your own learning curve that bit easi er if you already know about your subject. All of this will help facilitate your professional development and make you better equipped to earn more too.You could enroll for an undergraduate degree (offered by numerous universities) like a BA in Education, which automatically makes you QTS accredited, or you can return as a learner to study for a teaching qualification after your first Bachelor's degree. When postgrads train via a teacher education program teacher, this  is called a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).Join the conversation: why would anyone choose to be a drama teacher?You can take many different paths to become a teacher, depending on your age and level of education. Photo on Visual HuntIf, like many, you have aspirations to find employment in schools in other countries, you may find that your PGCE is not classed as a valid teaching qualification. International teachers should consider the 'on the job' Graduate Training Programme (GTP) if they want to teach abroad, which is recognised internationally.Different establishments may have their own prerequisites (like certification requirements and guidelines on the amount of experience you must have) to qualify for a particular teacher job or other vacancies, so be sure to check your eligibility for the opportunity.What To Expect As A New Drama Teacher?If you are new to the world of teaching, you might have already learned that you pretty much have barely a minute to yourself anymore. You are probably  spending hours preparing lessons and strategies  each semester in line with the national curriculum, but the good news is that this will only get easier as you relax into your role and have previous lesson plans to work from. If you are a teaching assistant, you may still have to participate in some extra curricula activities too but you will likely have less to prepare than a certified teacher.Similarly, a special education teacher will have to come up with comprehensive and specialist sub ject matter to meet the needs of their pupils, who may have a range of disabilities to keep into consideration.A big positive for drama as a subject, as opposed to some other more academic subjects, is that drama lesson planning will allow you to use creativity and come up with innovative ways to teach your lessons, which can be challenging and satisfying to explore. You can, for example, use games, storytelling or role-play to make classes interactive and fun.Your role as a drama teacher, however, isn't just about organising the end of term plays or teaching Shakespeare's plays. Drama, very much like English Literature (in fact, many schools will teach drama to younger pupils as part of the English curriculum), requires a lot of research, analysis and writing work  to submit which you will be responsible for setting and marking.But you must be subtle with your comments, remaining only  constructive and encouraging with feedback offered. On the one side, reading homework or course w ork produced by students can be a big revelation and highly rewarding, whilst on the other, it can be incredibly frustrating and time-consuming.In addition to the above, you will be responsible for helping your class to prepare for exams, both written and performed, so you must know your curriculum's requirements inside out. You may also be charged with organising theatre trips, cultural outings and you will have to participate in  parent-teacher evenings, discussing pathways and scholarships with the parents of a student.You can free yourself somewhat from the curriculum by giving private lessons as a tutor rather than in a classroom. Find tutor jobs  as a drama teacher here on Superprof.A job in childhood education can be quite lonely, especially if you have exams coming up or you have just had coursework completed, but rest assured that you do get to spend your time with more than just a group of children or teens. You will be asked to attend various formal  departmental meetings and therefore get the chance to meet other teaching staff, attend training days and often build up a good rapport with colleagues, going out on staff socials from time to time.As an instructor in the Drama department, your work may cross over with a range of other education courses and qualifications, like Humanities, English Literature, Languages, Psychology and Philosophy, for example. This is because Drama teaches pupils a variety of basic skills that can be applied across the curriculum.Find drama classes near me.Teaching can feel a little isolating at times, but you do build up a great rapport with colleagues. Photo on Visualhunt.comWays To Teach A Drama ClassThe Overall Planning Of LessonsReading, writing and analysing texts will almost always come into play at some point during the term for a drama class. But that doesn't mean to say that 50% of your lessons need to be boring and uninspiring, you can still make research and analysis work fun  and uplifting for all and encour age your class to be an aspiring school year.Remember to make use of all of the facilities at your disposal on campus. So, for example, if your head teacher has a budget for drama trips, use it (albeit wisely). If there is an assembly hall on the premises, book it out for relevant practical lessons. Keeping your lessons varied throughout the term will definitely work in your favour.Many employed teachers are forced to prepare lessons within the confines of a classroom space week after week whereas, as a drama teacher, you should have a number of tools and spaces to work with, including costumes, puppets, picture books, art supplies, props and stages.If you have come to a dead end and are feeling a little uninspired by your instructional material, here is some information on teaching a class about drama and tips on what to prepare.Find out more ways you can make teaching drama exciting and fun!Delivering Drama Lessons  One of the most important lessons you will learn about being a dr ama teacher is that you have to be able to adapt. So, if something happens that means that you need alter the way your planned class was due to run, you need to accept it and move forward.In some ways, it can be very hard to plan a drama lesson, because of how free the lessons are designed to be. For instance, how can you predict how a class will respond to an activity? If they are absolutely loving an exercise and really getting stuck in, then you might want to let them carry on and the lesson could take an entirely different turn to what you had expected and planned for.Yet, that can be one of the best things about teaching drama!  No two lessons are the same, because no two years are the same in secondary school or elementary education. You can go from one lesson laughing at and being entertained by an enthusiastic eleven-year-old to the next, being moved almost to tears by a performance from a gifted fifteen-year-old.Discover which schools you might teach drama in!It is so rewar ding when one of your pupils moves you to tears with a performance. Photo credit: ulisse albiati on VisualhuntOne of the biggest challenges in the everyday life of a drama teacher is keeping each and every activity linked to theatre and the national board curriculum. As such, it is important for a drama teacher to keep up to date with what is happening in the industry, what plays are out, what films are being shown, etc... Without this knowledge, it can be hard to really convey a true passion and commitment to your craft to your pupils.While it can be easy to over-plan for a lesson and pack too much into it, making you seem like a bit of a try-hard, the fact is that you only get back what you put in, so it's best to be prepared with more than you need, and play it by ear on the day. With any luck, if you deliver your lesson just right with enough serious content balanced nicely with a fun activity or two, then you will come out of the lesson feeling confident and happy and your pupi ls will gain a lot more from the experience too.Now discover more ways to become a drama teacher...

How Beatboxing Can Help Your Child Become a Better Musician

How Beatboxing Can Help Your Child Become a Better Musician Suzy S. Want to help your child become a better singer or musician? Beatboxing may not be the first thing that comes to mind, but youd be surprised at how learning this skill can supplement your childs music lessons. Learn more in this guest post Musicianship is a funny thing. Whether trained in jazz, opera, classical, or soul, you can bet your bottom dollar that there are a range of techniques and tricks you would have never expected to be of help in boosting your child’s budding musical skill.  One of these techniques is beatboxing. Yes, beatboxing: an a cappella style of music-making via vocal percussion. Beatboxing not only teaches your child a greater sense of timing and rhythm, it also improves listening skills and can actually work to strengthen and protect his or her vocal cords. Whats more, it will widen your childs musical scope, which will improve creativity and overall musicianship. Here’s a quick breakdown of why learning to beatbox can help young musicians get on top of their musical game: Aural Skills and Improvising You can’t learn to beatbox from sheet music; you need to be able to listen and repeat in a ‘copycat’ style training your mind to get used to the way the sounds can work together. Eventually, the goal is to be able to improvise using the sounds you’ve learned to make. Being able to improvise relies  almost completely  on strong aural skills, and the best way to strengthen them is through the same sort of ‘listen-and-repeat’ style of exercises, precisely what children will learn when they try their hand at beatboxing. Rhythm and Timing Beatboxing is essentially a way of creating a sequence of different rhythms, which play off each other to create a complicated, yet logical, sequence of beats. To pull this off, musicians need a pretty firm understanding of musical timing and how different rhythmic and percussive sounds can combine to create a particular effect. Having a strong sense of rhythm and being able to play to complicated time signatures will be a necessity as your child becomes a more developed musician no matter what style or instrument they’re learning. For instance, jazz musicians need a strong handle on syncopation, a way of playing unexpected rhythms that are sometimes off-beat. Learning how to create fast, complicated rhythms from sequences of quick, improvised beats will boost your childs technical prowess and confidence over difficult passages.   Plus, being able to move in time to a steady beat is also linked to stronger language and reading skills. Breath Control Being able to breathe properly is essential to beatboxing. For singers and woodwind players, having good breath control is just as important. When you beatbox, you need to know how to command breath to produce different types of sounds, from a higher ‘hi-hat’ sound to a bass drum. There’s also the need to have enough breath to carry on with the performance, which means your child will need to learn how to incorporate breath into the beat itself. For vocalists, strong breath control is one of the most important factors in controlling your voice. Whether belting out a gospel tune or shattering glass with a powerful aria,  they’ll need to know exactly the amount of breath that’s required to create the tone and sound they want. How young musicians learn to exhale will alter the quality of the sound, volume, pitch, and tone of their voice; so learning how to manipulate it as a beatboxer will increase control over their range. It’s the same principle for woodwind players: different types of exhaled breath will resonate differently through the instrument, each bringing out a different sound and tone. Protecting the Vocal Cords As well as the benefits for your child’s capabilities as a musician, beatboxing can actually help strengthen and protect the vocal cords.  When you sing, you rely almost entirely on your vocal cords to produce sound, which when overused can lead to the development of scar tissue.  However, beatboxers use their entire vocal tract to create different sounds, which spreads energy across different structures, therefore minimizing strain on one particular area. Muscles used when beatboxing work to elongate the vocal tract, which can also help singers reach higher notes. Getting Started The best thing about beatboxing is that you first learn by copying. While it’s always easiest to be led by a tutor who knows what they’re doing, there are plenty of video tutorials online to help your child get his or her head around beatboxing before formally heading in for a lesson. Your child will typically start to learn to beatbox by learning how to make percussion sounds like a drum kit. For instance, they’ll be able to mimic sounds of hi-hat cymbal, the tom-tom, and bass drum, and learn how to put them together to make basic beats. As they get better, they’ll learn more complex sounds to add to the mix. Monica Karpinski is a staff member at Ingenium Academy, a summer music program for talented young musicians around the world, aged 14-18. All students are taught beatboxing, regardless of style, previous training, or instrument they play. 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  Eoin C

Area of a Pyramid - Online Tutoring

Area of a Pyramid - Online Tutoring Pyramid is a geometric figure formed by a polygon base joined to a point.This point is called as the apex. Theedges of the base and the apex form a triangle. Area of the pyramid when all the side faces are the same isB+ 1/2PL. Here B is the base area of the pyramid, P is the perimeter of the base and L is the slant height. Example 1: What is the area of the pyramid which has a rectangular base with dimensions 4 cm, 8cm and slant height 6 cm? The rectangular base dimensions are 4 cm and 8 cm respectively. The base area = 4 cm * 8 cm = 32 cm2. The base perimeter = 2(8 + 4) = 2 * 12 = 24 cm. Slant height = 6 cm. Area of the pyramid = B+ 1/2PL Hence, Area = 32 + 1/2(24 * 6) = 104 cm2. Area of the pyramid = 104 cm2. Example 2: What is the area of the pyramid which has a rectangular base with dimensions 3 cm, 6 cm and slant height 10 cm? The rectangular base dimensions are 3 cm and 6 cm respectively. The base area = 3 cm * 6 cm = 18 cm2. The base perimeter = 2(3 + 6) = 2 * 9 = 18 cm. Slant height, L = 10 cm. Area of the pyramid = B+ 1/2PL Hence, area = 18 + 1/2(18 * 10) = 108 cm2. Area of the pyramid = 108 cm2.

Is the SAT Essay Required

Is the SAT Essay Required Typically, a portion of SAT prep time is dedicated to success on the essay section. As of late, however, a large number of schools are making the SAT essay optional to applicants. Ivy League schools including Brown, Harvard, and Yale are no longer requiring students to sit for the essay section of the exam. This begs the question, what does this mean for you? Is the SAT essay really required? When examining the requirement behind the SAT essay, its important to understand the SAT essay basics, the benefits and drawbacks of taking the essay, and how recent changes apply to you. Looking to gain a deeper understanding of the SAT essay requirement? Keep reading to learn more about whether the SAT essay is truly required. SAT essay basics The SATs essay is a 50-minute assessment in which youre asked to read a passage and to then write an essay that explains how the author forms his or her persuasive argument. A successful SAT essay will point to evidence from the passage as support for its explanation. The essay is scored on the following criteria: Readinghow well you understood the passage and its central ideas. Analysisyour ability to give insightful analysis of the passage and to evaluate the authors use of evidence and reasoning. Writingyour essay is well organized and shows a good command of standard writing conventions and style. [RELATED: What is an Average SAT Score?] Changes to the SAT essay In 2016, the SAT changed its essay portion from required to optional. This began raising the question for students and colleges alike as to whether to continue using the essay for admissions. Now that the essay is optional for test-takers, many schools are changing their application requirements, as well. In the first eight months of 2018, a slew of prominent schools, including Harvard, Dartmouth, and Yale, announced that they would no longer require the SAT essay. The end result is that only a handful of schools nationwide require the essay, although others still recommend that students take it. There are several reasons schools give for dropping the essay requirement. One primary reason is that many public school students are now able to take the SAT for free during the school day, and those tests dont always include the optional essay, which costs an additional amount. Also, colleges and universities generally already require applicants to show their writing ability in other ways, making the essay test less essential to some admissions processes. [RELATED: ACT and SAT Test Dates for 2018-2019] Who should take the SAT essay? Although the essay is now optional for test-takers and most colleges are no longer requiring it, that doesnt mean you shouldnt consider taking it. First, find out whether any of the schools youre interested in require or recommend the essay. You can find this information here. If your schools of interest require you to submit an essay score, be sure to sit for it on test day. Additionally, if the schools youre interested in dont require the SAT essay, it could still be a good way to showcase your writing skills to these schools. If you choose not to take the essay, inquire about other ways you can show your writing skills to these potential schools. Regardless of whether a school requires or recommends the SAT essay, they still view writing as an important skill for college success. Typically, schools will require their own essays as part of the overall application process, and some are asking students to submit a graded high school essay as an example of their writing skills. Use those opportunities, as well as the SAT essay if you so choose, to showcase your style and analytical abilities, and make the case that youre a worthy applicant. [RELATED: What I Wish I Knew About Taking the ACT/SAT] Any topics you want to know more about? Let us know! The Varsity Tutors Blog editors love hearing your feedback and opinions. Feel free to email us at blog@varsitytutors.com.

17 Tips For Recording Acoustic Guitar At Your Home Studio

17 Tips For Recording Acoustic Guitar At Your Home Studio Suzy S. Curious about recording acoustic guitar tracks at your home studio? Check out these helpful tips for before and during the session from Perth Amboy, NJ teacher  Jeff S... If youve tried recording acoustic guitar before, theres a good chance you know how demoralizing it can be to think youve captured a wonderful performance, only to learn later that its sonically flawed. Id like to offer some tips, with hopes they will assist you in rendering consistently clean and clear acoustic guitar tracks. Before you even begin, here are some tips for setting up: Find the place in the room that you feel your acoustic guitar or voice sounds best, make a mark on the floor, and also take detailed notes. Include the height of the mic off the ground, the distance between you and the mic, and the angle of yourself and the guitar in relation to the mic. Better yet, have someone take a picture of you recording in your “sweet spot.” Spend some time choosing and verifying the tempo at which you’re going to record the song. Experiment with a few different tempos until you find just the right one. Determine the mood of the song  you are recording and base all your decisions around that. Is the guitar meant to be gentle? Aggressive? Graceful? Attacky? Both the guitar part and the vocal approach will fly or die by your accurate assessment of the mood! Record acoustic guitar and vocals in mono, as these are monophonic sources. Once you get a beginning-to-end performance of the main guitar part, you can think about recording it again and either using the second part to beef up the sound or run one guitar track on the left channel and one on the right. Some engineers like to record with two different mics simultaneously, pointing one at one part of the guitar and one at another part of the guitar. Experiment and see what floats your boat. Record both guitar and vocal without any reverb, effects, or EQ adjustments. Add what you wish after it, but cut the tracks dry. This gives you much more flexibility when you mix. Set your volume levels so that you don’t end up pushing the meter into the red more than once or twice per track (even that might cause distortion enough to ruin an otherwise good track) and then focus on maintaining that level and waveform size as you replay or re-sing the part. Count in one or two measures before you start recording the guitar part. Don’t have the volume of the click track up so high that it bleeds through the headphones into the microphone. Its prudent to record with a click track, but you need to make sure its not so loud that the clicks get picked up in your vocal or instrument mic. Consider extra purchases. If your recording room isnt soundproofed and you dont have the time or the budget to make it so, dont worry. There are several effective and reasonably priced options that will quell the bleed-throughs. Three you might consider are sE Electronics Reflexion Filter X Portable Vocal Booth (just under $125), sE Electronics Reflexion Filter Pro model (just under $250), or the Auralex Pro Max (just under $350).  You might also want to consider getting a wind screen. Next, heres a list of some of the most important tips to keep in mind during your session: Be cognizant of noises, including your own breathing, arm, and hand noises as you move them on the guitar, and other noises that could come from the chair you’re sitting on, the floor, and so on. These will all contaminate your tracks. Nothing is more agonizing than thinking that your performance and recording were pristine, only to later discover that your stomach rumbled or the chair creaked. After you record a track or two, listen to the guitar track for squeaks. Some guitarists hands and styles lend themselves to more squeaking than others. Squeaks are hard to avoid altogether, but aside from being aware of them, you can get coated strings that help reduce squeaking. If youre generally pleased with a performance you record, but it has a few squeaks, write down the times where they occur and then decide whether you’re going to punch in replacement sections or look for a squeakless performance of the section in another part of the song (that you can cut and paste into the squeaky area). Remember to re-tune your guitar (and all other instruments) often during the recording process. As soon as you think you have recorded an acceptable main acoustic guitar part, throw down a quick reference (scratch) vocal (one or two takesâ€"don’t finesse the performance) to see if the vocals work well with the guitar part. In evaluating their synergy, make sure the guitar is not “stepping” on the vocal (i.e. interfering or drawing attention away from) and that there arent any glaring rhythmic or chordal anomalies. Sometimes when you separate the guitar and vocal parts and record them independently, you might alter how you play the guitar part, which makes for a stilted performance. Also, listen to make sure you are not holding out chords or notes too long (or not long enough). If your digital audio workstation (DAW) doesnt automatically save your recordings as they evolve, then you need to remember to click the save button early and often. If applicable, let the final chord of the song ring out until you can’t hear it anymore. And be ever so quiet as it does. Be sure not to breathe loud or move your hands or body. If the song has a fade-out ending, play the fade at least 15 seconds longer than you think you need. Before you decide to end your recording session, listen to the track all the way through. Its easy to lose perspective when you are doing both the engineering and recording. Take notes as to possible EQ modifications you need to make, possible spots you need to punch in, and times and specifics about any performance or recording anomalies that you hear. This way you have a game plan of things to tackle when you return to the project. As you can see, there are a lot of important details to keep in mind when recording acoustic guitar on your own.  But along with those concerns and oversight measures comes an enpowering experience with lots of advantages.  Those include the freedom of recording any day and time youd like without a reservation, deposit, or committing to a minimum block of hours; the ability to leisurely listen and evaluate the quality of various takes;  experimenting as much as youd like with  altering the position of equipment and recording environment without oversight or added expense; using and comparing different types of mics and guitars, etc. So take your time, enjoy the experience, remember to have fun, and pat yourself on the back every once in a while. Jeff S. teaches guitar, ukulele, speaking voice, songwriting, and more in Perth Amboy, NJ, as well as online.  Jeff has created and taught songwriting and music business classes at colleges, universities, and music schools throughout the country for many years. Learn more  about Jeff here!   Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo  by erik  forsberg

GCSE poem analysis Kamikaze by Beatrice Garland

GCSE poem analysis Kamikaze by Beatrice Garland What is it about? The poem tells the story of a Japanese kamikaze pilot who failed to carry out his suicide mission and instead returned home in dishonour. The poem includes the perspective of his daughter, imagining how she told the story in turn to her own children. Kamikaze by Beatrice Garland Her father embarked at sunrise with a flask of water, a samurai sword in the cockpit, a shaven head full of powerful incantations and enough fuel for a one-way journey into history but half way there, she thought, recounting it later to her children, he must have looked far down at the little fishing boats strung out like bunting on a green-blue translucent sea and beneath them, arcing in swathes like a huge flag waved first one way then the other in a figure of eight, the dark shoals of fishes flashing silver as their bellies swivelled towards the sun and remembered how he and his brothers waiting on the shore built cairns of pearl-grey pebbles to see whose withstood longest the turbulent inrush of breakers bringing their father’s boat safe â€" yes, grandfather’s boat â€" safe to the shore, salt-sodden, awash with cloud-marked mackerel, black crabs, feathery prawns, the loose silver of whitebait and once a tuna, the dark prince, muscular, dangerous. And though he came back my mother never spoke again in his presence, nor did she meet his eyes and the neighbours too, they treated him as though he no longer existed, only we children still chattered and laughed till gradually we too learned to be silent, to live as though he had never returned, that this was no longer the father we loved. And sometimes, she said, he must have wondered which had been the better way to die. Form The poem has seven stanzas of six lines each, with an irregular, unrhymed rhythm. This freedom of form suits the poem as a drifting reminiscene that shifts its focus from one character to another and moves through time. The shape of the poem is then simply created by the writer's choice to tell or to stop telling details of the events and feelings. The second and third sentences both begin with 'And', helping this sense of a story verbally retold. Choice and consequence The pilot's choice not to spend his life by attacking his enemy may have saved lives, but he seems to have made new and more personal enemies out of his wife and family: 'they treated him | as though he no longer existed'. In fact if the poem didn't include the shift of perspective and time at the second sentence, we might not know that the pilot returned from his 'one-way' mission. This means that there is an air of mystery about his reasons: his daughter imagines why he may have turned around, but in truth his family simply do not know. On top of this, the fact that they never spoke about it means that she did not even know whether he regretted his choice to return. In fact, the daughter is sure that 'he must have wondered | which had been the better way to die.' Structure Kamikaze is made of only three sentences: notice the full stops after the description of the tuna ('the dark prince, muscular, dangerous.') and the two in the final lines. This gives the first part of the poem - the first five stanzas - a flowing unstoppability, like the train of thought that takes the character of the pilot from the fishing boats to the sea, to the fish and on to his memories. There is something inevitable and unstoppable about his choice for life instead of death. The poem begins as told about a woman ('her') and her family, but the poet uses italic font to mark when the poetry becomes the woman's own words. We can tell because of the shift of pronouns to include 'my mother' and 'we children'. As we saw earlier, this shift of perspective is effective in putting his behaviour in context and actually explaining his return. Imagery Beatrice Garland describes the fishes beneath the boats as 'a huge flag waved first one way | then the other in a figure of eight'. She turns the individual fish into a collective - a shoal - just as the individual can become lost in society, particularly in a society with very rigid codes or in wartime. The 'flag' that the pilot imagines in the water mocks the flags of nations at war: the fish are simply waving their flag for the joy of movement. In fact, this massive flag is much more significant, viewed from the air, than the tiny flags of the 'bunting' of the fishing boats. The poet also uses the senses to give a sense of immediacy and reality to her writing. She references the colours of the 'green-blue translucent sea', the 'pearl-grey pebbles', the 'silver fish' and so on, as well as describing the shapes of the shoals, the cairns and the boats. She references the 'salt-sodden' texture- or perhaps taste or smell - of the grandfather's boat. Memory The poem is written in a set of nested tenses. The first stanza takes place in the past, but then time moves forward when 'she thought, | recounting it later to her children' is placed in a continuing past tense. Then in turn, the pilot remembers his own father. When the daughter speaks her own mind, remembering what happened on her father's return, she explains how she also changed: 'till gradually we too learned | to be silent…' There is a palpable sadness about this memory, but also love and respect for the father, just as he sadly chose to value his family and peace over his own duty. For extra support with poetry analysis, why not book a lesson with one of our experienced  GCSE English tutor?  With Tutorfair you can browse through a selection of great tutors to find the right one for you. For More GCSE poem analyses similar to Love's Philosophy:  The Farmer's Bride, Love's Philosophy,  Neutral Tones,  The Yellow Palm,  Medusa, and Bayonet Charge.

A Pen Pal Exchange for Communicative Writing Practice

A Pen Pal Exchange for Communicative Writing Practice More on pen pals: Start a Pen Pal Exchange project for studentson the Virtual Writing Tutor. For instructions on how to create a pen pal exchange for your students, check out these step-by-step pen pal exchange creation instructions for teachers.Click here for an article on pen pals that students can read to introduce them to the concept of pen pal writing. For ESL/EFL instructors teaching beginners, finding authentic and meaningful communicative writing tasks can be difficult. One challenge is figuring out how to keep a substantial conversation going. Social media posts are often short, eliciting short comments and likes. Emails are often utilitarian vehicles for conveying digital information, with file attachments, or for making requests. They do not lend themselves to extended, deeply meaningful exchanges that sustain students interest over long periods of time. Blog writing and hypertext narrative writing tasks are different, but these are written equivalents of monologues, a type of one-way communication for broadcasting to the masses. And yet, Applied Linguistics has taught us that languages are best taught by maximizing the repeated exchange of meaningful messages with a focus on form, right? Isnt it strange, then, that when we teach writing, many of us teachers focus primarily on structure, form, accuracy, and critical thinking? Strange, but unsurprising because engaging, meaningful, focused, authentic writing tasks are hard to come by. How can we make writing meaningful, repetitive, form-focused, and engaging for learners? Languages are best learned through an engaging and repeated exchange of meaningful messages with a focus on target structures Instead of resorting to 5-paragraph essay writing activities, a discourse model that does not exist in the wild, we can support the development of Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) with online pen pal writing tasks instead. Think about it. Pen pals usually live far from each other and so try to convey theirday-to-day lives through letters. Pen pals often try to communicate who they are, their culture, their family, food, holidays, and life eventsthis is all basic, interpersonal stuff!So pen pal writing projects seem really well-suited for learners trying to develop their BICS. The obvious problem with pen pal writing is that it takes a long time before letters in the mail arrive where they are going, and longer still to get a reply. There are only so many weeks in a semester, so pen pal writing is impractical for instructed language learning contexts. It is something a learner might do in addition to an English Second Language course, right? Maybe not. Maybe there is still a way to integrate pen pal writing into an ESL course. Maximizing Repetitions Sending letters internationally takes about two weeks. Pen pals cannot, therefore, expect more than one letter a month. In terms of maximizing meaningful, form-focused repetitions, college writing teachers wont get much in a three-month English Second language course. Something needs to be done to maximize the number of exchanges. A colleague of mine gets students to write messages to anonymous pen pals in their Hilroy notebook as informal writing practice. He collects the notebooks and redistributes them to students in another group on a different day. They write replies or questions, and he collects them back up again and returns them to the original author. It is a lot to keep track of, but the students enjoy it he saysand I believe him! At theend of the semester, he arranges for the pen pals to meet each other at an end-of-semester party. The Pedagogy of Notebook Pen Pal Exchanges For the record, I love the idea of notebook pen pal exchanges because of the meaningful exchanges it produces. However, I have not implemented this activity in any of my courses because I cant figure out how to ensure that it prepares students for competency-based writing evaluations in a direct and coherent way. General, unfocused language practice is not the highest expression of good CLT pedagogy, is it? Here are a few thoughts on my pedagogical concerns with notebook pen pal exchanges at the college level. Later, I will propose a solution that should improve upon this otherwise excellent activity. Not evaluated: Since this type of pen pal writing is framed as informal writing practice, it doesnt count toward the students final score. What counts instead are formal essay assignments during midterm and final exams. As such, pen pal writing reduces the cohesion of a course. Students pen pal writing does not prepare them for writing that counts. Since the meaningful exchange does not prepare students for competency-based evaluations, its value is restricted only contributing only to general proficiency and a reduction to writing apprehension.Feedback on errors:Giving corrective feedback on weekly writing has proven impossible for my colleague. There is just too much writing to correct, so he doesnt. This makes pen pal writing ineligible for evaluation. If students dont get formative feedback, pen pal writing tasks cannot be used for summative evaluations.Feedback on target structures: Students are invited to use the grammar from the lesson, but there is no follow-up on theuseof th e targets.Drop-outs: Some students go missing for a week or two. Sincehe keeps the notebooks in his office, students cant participate in the exchange if they are absent. Some students drop out of the course and notebook pen pal exchanges become difficult to manage. Some students complain that their pen pal is delinquent. the teacher is quick to pair students up or substitute another pen pal who also lost a partner. Designing an Online Pen Pal Exchange for ESL Learners Whats needed, obviously, is a system that can match up students in the same class and or in other countries. Also, there needs to be a way to provide fast feedback on spelling errors and grammar errors, so that students can get help with their extensive grammar errors. Indeed, it would be useful to know if students are writing more than the minimum number of words. Short messages wont do. Finally, there needs to be a way of ensuring that students use the grammar and vocabulary that they learn in their lessons because of the problem of grammar avoidance. The VWT grammar checker robot can help Sounds like a job for the Virtual Writing Tutor, right? The Virtual Writing Tutor grammar checker can already, count words, check spelling and grammar, and check for target structures. All thats needed, then, is a way to match students up and track their progress. Introducing the Virtual Writing Tutor Pen Pal Exchange Project. Designed for ESL teachers, by an ESL teacher, the system can match up students within the same class or from different classes taught by other teachers. All they need is a free account. It can also, check spelling, check grammar, check for target structures, add voice recordings and photos, and automatically score each pen pal message based on criteria defined by the pen pals teacher. Find out how to create an ESL pen pal exchange on the Virtual Writing Tutor. Please follow and like us:

Be Polite! Learn the Politest Phrases in 9 Foreign Languages

Be Polite! Learn the Politest Phrases in 9 Foreign Languages Be Polite! Learn the Politest Phrases in 9 Foreign Languages Its a bird, its a plane, itsPolite vocabulary!This hero is ready to swoop in and save you from dreaded language confusion  and awkwardness.Polite vocabulary can help you overcome a language barrier and clarify that you have good intentions.Sure, if you need a few more words, a  translation app can help  fill in gaps in your knowledge. You may also want to practice with a  language exchange app  to prepare for any planned interactions.But if you only have a limited amount of time to learn a language, or if you want to be prepared for chance encounters with languages you dont speak fluently,  your best bet is to learn polite vocabulary first since its the most essential.Below are some of the most polite words and phrases in popular world languages to prepare you for pleasant interactions! Why Learn These Polite Phrases?First of all, learning polite phrases in the language of a country youre visiting simply  shows respect. Everyone knows that its impossible for one person to speak all the worlds languages, but if you show youre making an effort to learn someones language by using some polite vocabulary, it will show that you respect the language, which in turn shows respect for the people who speak it.Secondly, learning polite phrases will help you avoid being offensive, or coming across that way. Assuming that everyone everywhere speaks English is rude and ethnocentric, so you dont want to come across like youre making that assumption. If youre traveling, most people will cut you some slack and understand you might not be fluent, but using some polite vocabulary will allow you to avoid conveying the idea that everyone should speak your native tongue.Additionally, learning polite phrases will help you communicate clearly. After all, even if someone speaks English, you cant count on them understanding everything you say. Learning polite words and phrases that theyll understand will help ensure that your communication is clear and that you avoid any awkward misund erstandings.Finally, learning polite phrases will help you build bonds with people. When you speak at least some of someones language, it builds more of a bond than if that person must consistently speak your language. This will help you connect more easily with more people. This holds true no matter where you are, so even if youre not planning on traveling to a foreign country, you may want to learn polite phrases in any languages you might be likely to encounter in your own countryâ€"or just learn all the phrases for the common languages below!Be Polite! Learn the Politest Phrases in 9 Foreign LanguagesChineseCombined with other basic Chinese phrases, these words and phrases will prepare you for simple interactions.For the purposes of this list, weve used simplified Chinese characters, which are used in mainland China and Singapore. Traditional Chinese characters have a different appearance and are used in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Malaysia.??  (ni hao) â€" HelloAn important ca veat: While this phrase is considered polite, it may not actually be used as often as you think it is. This post goes into more detail about different ways to say hello in Chinese  and will help you understand the context surrounding Chinese greetings more.Speaking of context, FluentU can help you learn a much more context-based, nuanced version of most of the languages on this list. FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language lessons.??????  (hen gao xing jiàn dào ni) â€" Nice to meet you?????  (wo de míng zì shì . . . ) â€" My name is?  (qing) â€" Please??  (xiè xiè) â€" Thank you???  (bié kè qì) â€" Youre welcome??  (bào qiàn) â€" Sorry????  (da rao yi xià) â€" Excuse me???????  (ni huì shuo ying yu má?) â€" Do you speak English?SpanishIf youre looking to communicate in Spanish, these polite words and phrases are a good jumping-off point. Follow up by studying basic Spanis h phrases, and youre on the road to success!Hola  â€" HelloEncantado/Encantada â€" Nice to meet youEncantado  and  encantada  actually mean enchanted. Theyre used like nice to meet you. If youre male, you would say  encantado. If youre female, youll say  encantada. Remember: The ending reflects your gender, not the gender of the person to whom youre speaking.Mucho gusto  â€" Nice to meet youLike  encantado,  mucho gusto  doesnt literally mean nice to meet you. Instead, it means much pleasure. However, its used just like the English phrase nice to meet you.Youll hear both  encantado/encantada  and  mucho gusto.Me llamo â€" My name isThis translation also isnt literal.  Me llamo actually means I call myself If you want a more literal translation, you can also say Mi nombre es  However, this is less common.Por favor â€" PleaseGracias â€" Thank youDe nada â€" Youre welcomeLo siento â€" SorryDisculpe â€" Excuse meDisculpe  comes from the verb  disculpar, which means to excuse, so this is a fairly literal translation.Perdón â€" Excuse mePerdón,  on the other hand, means pardon. Either can be used to mean excuse me. ¿Habla usted Inglés?  â€" Do you speak English?FrenchContinue on with basic French phrases to prepare yourself for better communication.Bonjour  â€" HelloTrès heureux/Très heureuse â€" Nice to meet youWhile this is used like nice to meet you, it literally means very happy. If youre male, youll say très heureux.  If youre female, you would say très heureuse.  Je mappelle â€" My name isSil vous plaît â€" PleaseMerci â€" Thank youJe vous en prie â€" Youre welcomeJe suis désolé â€" SorryPardon â€" PardonJe suis désolé literally means I am sorry.  Pardon, on the other hand, means pardon. Either phrase can be used as an apology.Excusez-moi â€" Excuse meParlez-vous anglais ? â€" Do you speak English?GermanLearning these polite words will help you, but if you really want to interact with German speakers, you should also dig into  these basic German ph rases.Hallo â€" HelloEs freut mich, dich kennen zu lernen  â€" Nice to meet youIch heiße â€" My name isBitte â€"  PleaseDanke â€" Thank youBitte â€" Youre welcomeMaybe this word looks a little familiar to you. Thats because you saw it just a couple lines up. The German word for youre welcome is in fact the same as the word for please. Youll also notice this in the Russian language.Verzeihung â€" SorryEntschuldigung â€" Excuse meSprechen Sie Englisch?  â€" Do you speak English? (formal)Sprichst du Englisch?  â€" Do you speak English? (informal)JapanesePolite Japanese phrases are essential if youre traveling to Japan. You might also study basic Japanese survival phrases to prepare yourself.????? â€" Hello????? (??????) â€" Nice to meet you??????? (???? ????…??) â€" My name is?????? (???????) â€" Please?????????? â€" Thank you???????? â€" Youre welcome?????? â€" Sorry????? â€" Excuse meThis phrase is particularly useful and expressive since it can convey regret, confusion and even g ratitude. Its like the Swiss Army knife of Japanese vocabulary.?????????(???????????) â€" Do you speak English?ItalianItalian sounds good no matter how you use it, but its still better to be polite. Once you have that down, you might want to learn some more  useful Italian phrases.Ciao â€" HelloWhile  ciao  is better known across the world, in formal situations,  salve  is more fitting.Piacere di conoscerti â€" Nice to meet youMi chiamo â€" My name isPer favore â€" PleaseGrazie â€" Thank youPrego â€" Youre welcomeMi dispiace â€" SorryIf mi dispiace  is too much of a mouthful, you can shorten it to  mi spiace.  Scusi â€" Excuse meLei parli inglese? â€" Do you speak English?RussianIf youre going to Russia, these polite phrases are essential, but theyre just the tip of the iceberg. Delve deeper with Russian travel phrases to prepare yourself more fully.???????????? â€" Hello??????? ?????????????  â€" Nice to meet you???? ????? â€" My name is?????????? â€" Please??????? â€" Thank you??? ??????? â€" Youre welcome???????? â€" Sorry???????? â€" Excuse me?? ???????? ??-??????????  â€" Do you speak English?KoreanVisiting Korea? Youll definitely need these polite phrases. Tack on some Korean travel phrases, and youll be set for a much easier trip.????? â€" Hello??? ?????  â€" Nice to meet you? ???  â€" My name is?? â€" Please????? â€" Thank you???? â€" Youre welcome????? â€" Sorry????? â€" Excuse me??? ??? ????? â€" Do you speak English?PortugueseYou can use these phrases if youre traveling to a Portuguese-speaking country or to start teaching yourself Portuguese.Olá â€" HelloPrazer em conhecê-lo â€" Nice to meet youMeu nome é â€" My name isPor favor â€" PleaseObrigado â€" Thank youSeja bem-vindo â€" Youre welcomeDesculpa â€" SorryCom licença â€" Excuse meVocê fala inglês? â€" Do you speak English?Lets face facts: Invisibility and super speed are overrated.With these words and phrases, politeness can be your superpower that will allow you to have enjoyable interact ions with people from around the world!