Articles by December, 2013

~~Just how powerful is the English language? The answer is very, very powerful. The English language has been the cause of change throughout the world. Its incursion on other cultures has changed the very face of their native languages. The fact that a single language can create a large ripple effect of change shows just how powerful it is.
English itself however, is not exempt from its own incursions. That sounds confusing, yes? Of course, because how can English cause change to English? The answer is through English language learners, specifically those with another native language. English language learners are generally called ESL students (English Second Language). Throughout the United States it is called by different names, such as, ELL (English Language Learners), or LE (Learners of English), etc. The English language of the United States is altered and influenced by these learners. Through several forms of studies, through immersion of the language, and through practice, ...

If you're a student who has an iPad and are interested in some apps that you can use to stay organized throughout your school year, pay close attention here.
There are literally hundreds of back-to-school apps available for the iPad. Choosing the best apps to stay organized can be overwhelming. But don't worry.
We've found five powerful applications that can help you learn faster, keep track of your assignments and stay on top of your class. Download them ASAP to your iPad and you're ready to rock at school.
1. Graphic Calculator App - Quick Graph +
Graphic calculators can be expensive and a pain to carry with you whenever you have classes. There's always a chance of you forgetting your calculator and being forced to share it with a friend. Well... you can say goodbye to that with the QuickGraph + iPad Application.
This application transforms your iPad into a powerful graphic calculator with key features such as an equation library, multiple co-ordinate system support, and independent ...

Beneath the base of a rich and robust curriculum, past the point of prolific and passionate teachers, beyond the bond that binds playing and spirited pupils, learning will only become the experience of all when we learn what we should have learnt thirty years ago. Thirty years! That's how long it's been since Howard Gardner shared his Frames of Mind with us: That one child plays the piano while the other can't even hum a tune doesn't make the latter any less intelligent. We haven't learnt that, have we? Or why in the world do we have a Ministry of Teaching rather than a Ministry of Education?
When a people can afford to throw a party over a tenth rather than demand a rightful third of the national budget, its graduates can rejoice in the rot that they went to school to learn to read and write. If yesterday's child had a school to learn in, today's adult would have had a house to vote in. That is a tall order since our schools still admit based on Numeracy and Literacy scores, yet lack ...

At times students may hesitate to ask a question in class because a class of 100 students could be daunting for anyone. But this is not a right form of receiving education because then it becomes a habit to ignore queries and it affects the student's psych to an extent. The student may start believing that it is okay to keep the cluttered information in mind rather than getting embarrassed in front of the whole class.
Ultimately it may frustrate the student so bad that the student may start feeling insecure and lonely. Psychologists believe - 'It is better to give attention to internal urges because if they are ignored they come out in different manifestations of a problem'. Hence there is no point in suppressing our desire to learn and instead one should stimulate the intellect with knowledge rather than information.
The difference between performance-based and information-based learning is that information memorizing only leads to short-term gains such as may be scoring in some exam ...

Medical science has confirmed that there are over ten million dyslexic children in our school systems and I believe it is important to understand what that means to those children, our society in general, the educational system, and those of us who are not dyslexic.
Before we can answer that question, it is important to understand what dyslexia is. Most sources characterize dyslexia as a "learning disability," meaning that a dyslexic individual's ability to learn how to read is somehow disabled. In reality this is just not the case. Dyslexics learn how to read every day; they just cannot learn to read in a system that makes incorrect assumptions about them. So then is it the child who is disabled, or is it the system?
In a medical sense dyslexia is a neuro-psychological condition in which an individual uses a different part of the brain to process information. This dyslexic profile carries with it some weaknesses in prerequisite skills that are needed before someone can learn to ...

When you decide to learn English-speaking, you must know that it is certainly going to be one of the best investments of your life. Investing in an English-speaking course online would mean that you are now ready to expand your horizons and enhance your life choices, which in turn would lead to greater opportunities on the professional as well as personal front.
You must prepare and dedicate yourself wholeheartedly in the learning process and be an active student. Let us look at fourteen great reasons as to how one should learn and improve spoken- English skills:
1. Leave behind your insecurities and do not worry about making mistakes. Always remember, you learn from your mistakes.
2. Keep your patience at the forefront, as this is not a one-day or a one-week process. Instead, enjoy and soak in all the information being passed on.
3. Make sure to learn and remember certain phrases that could be used in numerous situations as well. This way you will learn new phrases as well as ...

I attended a graduation this past weekend. As the dean of the school of education confirmed the degrees I thought, what number of those students who selected teaching as their career really have the passion for teaching. Do they have the right stuff to be a teacher?
What does passionate teaching look like? Personally, I think it is a calling. Teaching is something you pour your heart and soul into. You care and you admire. Teaching should be a fun and colourful. Your students should love learning.
Teaching is totally full of personal relationships. Students need these relationships to be able to learn. According to Jerelyn Thomas in Passionate Teaching, "Bonding with students rests on what the teacher gives rather than what he / she asks of the students."
Mary Powell states in Passionate Teachers Create Passionate Students, "Students equate satisfaction with learning and be more inclined to enjoy school. Enjoying school is far more than just for the student." Teaching should come from ...

As we have increasingly moved into a digital age, everything we do has become more technical. The way we communicate, the way we socialize, the way we entertain ourselves, and even the way we learn - all of these things are now done increasingly on digital platforms.
One learning tool that is often used in the educational and corporate world is LMSs, which stands for Learning Management Systems. These systems provide a very effective learning tool that can be rolled out to specific groups based on the environment and sector in which you are using the system. Of course, in order to enjoy the full benefits that an LMS can offer, you need to make sure you choose the right one for your needs. However, once you have determined which LMS is the right one for you, you will be able to look forward to a range of benefits.
Some of the main benefits of using an LMS
There are a number of benefits that come from using an LMS. Some of these include:
Greater consistency: Because an LMS provides a ...

I once had the opportunity to interview a language learner. This student was enrolled in a full-time, intensive language program. She was learning her second language because she was going to go into an international political science course. She loved the idea of working for a large corporation overseas.
At the beginning of the course, this learner was highly motivated, excited to get up every day and go to class. By the end of the course, she dreaded spending another day in a small room with the same people she had been learning with over the past several months. When asked, she still had a deep desire to continue her international studies program, but she could not stand the thought of another day in the language program doing the same tasks with the same teacher and the same classmates.
As this learner's experiences demonstrate, different aspects of your language learning environment can impact your motivation.
These aspects can be broken down into three broad categories:
 
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