Qualities of a Certified Behavior Analyst With a Certified BCU

Qualities of a Certified Behavior Analyst With a Certified BCUIf you are looking for a Certified Behavior Analyst with a Certified BCU, this is the place to be. The school will provide the support that you need to succeed and the high quality of education that you need in order to have your child succeed academically. There are many reasons to choose a BCU that has been certified. Here are some of the main reasons that this is one of the best options.The BCU is known as one of the leaders in behavior analysis. They conduct specialized classes that focus on different issues such as gender identity, substance abuse, and more. This school also conducts workshops throughout the year, which are usually focused on specific problems with the child and which address how to better the student and his or her learning experience. These workshops provide the parents with knowledge about their child's personal and learning needs and are an important part of the educational process.Parents also ha ve the option of choosing to enroll their child in a BCU that is more of a parent-based school or one that offers a broader curriculum in their program. In the latter case, they can opt to have a wide variety of curriculum options that can meet all of their child's needs. Each of these programs has their own staff and curriculum, but the school knows that it needs to make sure that their program is flexible enough to meet the needs of the entire family and not just a particular child.This school will work with the parents to help create a personalized educational plan that best meets the needs of the child. This school also provides classes on the internet, which is perfect for families that live far away from the nearest school. It allows them to have the option of moving their child's program when they have more time.A BCU offers a variety of schools as well as a variety of quality staff. The staff can offer advice on all of the topics mentioned above while having a variety of bac kgrounds in school. This makes for a highly personal and comprehensive education that all parents want for their child. This will help their child to be able to learn with a much higher level of confidence.Parents love what this school offers their child. They will be able to schedule and attend all of the classes that they need. Their child will be able to see a variety of teachers, which gives them more variety. The teachers will make sure that their students are receiving all of the attention they need in order to learn at a high level.To find out more about this school, please visit the links below. This will help you to find out more about this school, how to get enrolled, and more.

Difference between Miss and Lose - English Lesson via Skype

Difference between Miss and Lose - English Lesson via Skype Lets talk about the difference between Miss and Lose.The verbs MISS and LOSE have several different meanings in English and they can be easily confused.In some languages there are situations where one verb covers them both. But in English they have different meanings, so let’s see what is the difference between miss and lose and how we use them so you can avoid mistakes. Difference between Miss and Lose - Transcript Hi thereThis is Harry and welcome to my English lessons.Today were going to talk to you about the words miss and  lose. M I S S miss and L O S E lose.They are  often confused so Im going to give you  some worked examples which hopefully  will help you understand the meaning.When we use the word miss or the past  format of it missed M I S S E D, we mean  that we are late for some scheduled  event.Or we feel sad or lonely because  somebody isnt near to us or around us.Or we forget about some event.Okay. So  let me give you the examples.  I missed my bus on the way to work this morning. I  was late.We cant say:I lost the bus.Okay.I missed the bus. meaning I got out of bed too late, I spent too much time over breakfast, and when I got to the bus stop the bus had already gone and I was late for work.So I missed the  bus.I missed your birthday.   means I  forgot your birthday. I wasnt late for  it, I forgot it.  I had it written in my  calendar but for some reason I didnt  look at the c alendar and I forgot to  send you a birthday card or I forgot to  ring you or text you and in this way.I  can say:Look, Im really sorry that I  missed your birthday. so not only you were  you late but you forgot about it altogether.If your friend goes away for a few months working to another country or travelling to another country and youre not able to go with them you might send them a text to say:I miss youNow, when they get back you say:Wow thats great  to see you again, I really missed you.  meaning I was lonely without you.Okay. So there are some examples of how we use the word MISS.Lose L O S E  means  that you cannot find something. You put somewhere and youre not  able to locate it. You might find it after a short while  so its only lost temporarily. Or  something that you lose completely. Okay.So let me give you some examples.I lost the football match.  I was playing  against another team, we were hoping to  win so that we could do better in thecompetition but we lost th e game. The game is over, we cannot retrieve the situation, the game is lost.Ive lost my car keys.  I  dont know where they are.  I cant say:Ive missed my car keys.Ive lost my car  keys.  I put them somewhere and I cant  find them. Perhaps theyre on the table.Perhaps theyre in a pocket of a jacket. Somewhere but at the moment they are  lost so I have to look for them.I lost  my place in the queue.I was standing in  a queue waiting to go to the cinema and  then I remembered that I had forgottento bring my wallet so I ran home and  came back and of course the queue was  much bigger so I could say:Oh Ive lost  my place in the queue.  I had to stand at  the back of the queue.  If you lose  anything, its misplaced temporarily as  we talked about the keys or permanently.I dont know what I did with my wallet I  lost it when I was in town.You come home  and you have no wallet, your cards are  gone, you have to cancel them so they are  lost forever. So you have to contact the  bank to cancel all your credit cards  because you lost your wallet. So thats  another more permanent nature than  losing your car keys that you find laterin your jacket pocket. Okay.So thats  hopefully giving you some examples of  the difference between MISS and LOSE  and remember as always join us on  www.englishlessonviaskype.com and subscribe to our  channel.  And remember when you subscribe  to the channel, click the notification  bell so that youll get informed when  theres a new video waiting for you.And we have six online courses now available for you dealing with English grammar and other aspects and youll find the link below.Okay. And we talk to you again soon. Difference between Miss and Lose Don't keep this to yourself, tell the world:

Can Brain Training Exercises Help Your Students

Can Brain Training Exercises Help Your Students Maybe youve heard of brain training and wondered what it is, and if it could benefit your students. Put simply, brain training is working out your brain. Certain mental exercises are very effective at developing cognitive skills. Students can boost their memories, sharpen their focus and concentration levels, increase processing speed, and more. The great news: your students can build their cognitive strength with just a little effort each day. Here are a few simple things to encourage your students to do in class and at home: Try the Pomodoro method. Have students set a timer to work uninterrupted for 25 minutes, then take a break for five. This is a great way to build the attention span. Start with even shorter periods if needed. Develop time management. Believe it or not, building executive functioning skills like time management boosts the brain. Spend a few minutes every class going over your minute-by-minute agenda, and encourage your students to keep detailed schedules and planners. Build the working memory. Develop your students memorization skills and attention span. Card games are a great way to hone these abilities, and students who develop their organizational skills also consistently strengthen their working memory. Have students use tools to streamline daily routines. Checklists, homework charts, and planners are helpful aids for all students and build cognitive abilities like memory and brain speed. The brain is like a muscle that can be strengthened. Help your students do so and you will give them much more than subject-matter knowledge. Youll equip them with skills for life.

9 New Years resolution ideas for 2020 + how a TEFL certification will help you achieve all of them

9 New Years resolution ideas for 2020 + how a TEFL certification will help you achieve all of them 2020 is HERE. And with it comes the start of not only a new year, but a new decade full of exciting possibilities. It’s the perfect time to turn your dreams into reality and we’ve got some tips to help you do it. Making New Year’s resolutions is a great way to embrace a fresh start and put yourself on the path to success. But yes, we know, making resolutions is the easy part. Keeping them is much harder (if not seemingly impossible). That’s why we’ve come up with a few resolution ideas that we know how to achieve. If you’re dreaming of exploring the world and looking for the adventure of a lifetime, we’ve got your ticket to endless possibilities: TEFL certification. It’s the first step to starting a career teaching English abroad or online. What are some New Year’s resolutions that you can achieve with a TEFL certification? Travel more. Learn a new skill. Find a job you love. Make a difference in people’s lives. Save more. Spend more on experiences than things. Cut down on screen time. Exercise more (without going to the gym). Get out of your comfort zone. 1. Travel more.?? Traveling more is a popular New Year’s resolution because who doesn’t enjoy a good vacation? There are so many different travel styles that there’s a way for everyone to enjoy time away from their everyday â€" whether you prefer lounging poolside at a Carribean resort, or trekking to secluded waterfalls in Northern Thailand. Teaching English abroad is one of the best ways to get out and explore the world. With a TEFL certification, you can teach English invirtually any non-English-speaking country in the world. With so many options, the hard part is figuring out where to go. We recommend checking out Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2020 list and Travel + Leisure’s list of the 50 Best Places to Travel in 2020 for some major travel inspiration. If you can’t decide on one destination, you can opt to make money while traveling by teaching English online and work from anywhere with an internet connection. With a TEFL certification, you’ll be able to start crossing off your travel bucket list in no time! 2. Learn a new skill.?? Picking up a new skill is often the hardest resolution to achieve. It can take consistent practice to teach yourself something new. But with an online TEFL certificationcourse, learning something new is easy. As long as you choose the right TEFL course for you â€" one that complements your learning style â€" acquiring effective teaching skills can be a breeze. A good TEFL course will lay out a step-by-step guide on how to teach English language learners abroad or online. If you’re eager to take off on your travel journey ASAP, then you can even do an online TEFL course while traveling! Or, if you’re still finishing up your bachelor’s degree, you can get a TEFL certification while still in school. That way you can start your teach abroad adventure as soon as you graduate. 3. Find a job you love.?? A meaningful career is one of the key factors to happiness, so it’s no wonder that this is often a top resolution. Who wants to spend 40 hours a week doing anything besides something they love? Being a teacher can be a dream job not only because of the satisfaction you get from seeing your students achieve their best, but also because of the lifestyle it provides. Teaching abroad can be the perfect mix of travel and work. You’ll need a TEFL certificate to teach English abroad, but once you’ve got that under your belt, the world is your oyster! Happy in your current city? You can still work remotely from home as an online English teacher. There are a ton of companies that let you teach English from home and set your own schedule. That way you can also take time off whenever you need it! 4. Make a difference in people’s lives.? Making a difference in the world is not just an annual resolution, but often a life goal for many people. Being able to bring joy to others and positively impact their lives provides a level of fulfillment that extends beyond just a career. Teaching English abroad allows you to feel good about your work and yourself. Your classroom can be a fun place for your students and the skills they learn in it can advance their careers and positively change the course of their lives. Every student should get the chance to experience the power of a great teacher, regardless of where they live in the world! 5. Save more.?? Maybe your dreams are too big for one year, so you want to start 2020 with the goal of saving more money for your future plans. Well you’re in luck, since teaching English abroad is an easy way to make some extra income. Many teaching contracts abroad include benefits such as housing and flights, which means you can put more of your pay aside each month. You can also opt for a country with a low cost of living, so that your earnings can go even further. Plus, some contracts offer bonuses at the end of your term, so you can take a nest egg with you when you’re ready to move on. Many teaching jobs base your salary off of your education and previous experience. That means that in order to earn a great salary teaching abroad you’ll want to make sure you’ve got the right education, including a TEFL certification. We’ve rounded up some of the best places to save money teaching abroad to help you get started! 6. Spend more on experiences than things.?? We all dream of treating ourselves by buying more of the latest fashion trends or splurging on the latest smartphone, but will that new item really spark more joy? Sure, it may feel good in the moment, but that positive feeling won’t last as long as the memory of you scuba diving in the Pacific Ocean! A new experience will not only result in life-long memories and less clutter, but it can result in longer-lasting happiness. Buying an experience can enrich your life by introducing you to new hobbies you love, meeting new like-minded people abroad and giving you more interesting stories to tell. Teaching English abroad can help you see more of the world and eliminate the clutter that most of us have started to accumulate, since you there's only so much you can take with you on your journey. 7. Cut down on screen time.?? This may sound rich coming from a blog post â€" which you’re likely reading on a smartphone â€" but we’re not joking. Did you know that US adults spend almost half their day consuming some form of media on their smartphone, TV, or laptop? Yup! We’re all guilty of spending too much time glued to our devices. So reducing your daily screen time can have a bunch of benefits! While teaching English abroad, you’ll have loads more free time to dedicate to more meaningful things like travelling and spending time with new friends you’ll make along the way. 8. Exercise more (without going to the gym).?? Ok, so maybe you went a little overboard with your holiday indulgences. No need to feel guilty about it. When you move abroad, you'll be more inclined to go out and walk around more than usual, since you’ll want to make the most of your experience. Walking may not seem like much of an exercise, but just an hour of walking a day can make a huge difference in your overall health and wellbeing. You can easily boost up your daily steps by exploring the sleepy streets of a European city or hiking through mountainous landscapes in Southeast Asia. You’ll get exercise while you travel without even trying. There’s no need to pay for a gym membership when the world can be your gym! 9. Get out of your comfort zone.?? Personal growth happens outside of your comfort zone and teaching abroad is a great way to do it. Living and working in a new place, experiencing a new culture and traveling solo are all great ways to push yourself beyond your limits! There’s no time like the present to start living life to the fullest!?? Every step you take towards improving yourself this year will lay the groundwork for building a fulfilling life you’re proud of. It’s never too late or too early to start something new. Ready to start your journey to a fulfilling life teaching English abroad? Enroll in a TEFL course today and create a FREE Teach Away profile below, so that you can apply to teaching jobs as soon as you’re TEFL certified.

The Natural Approach to Language Learning 5 Powerful Tips from 7.3 Billion Fluent Speakers

The Natural Approach to Language Learning 5 Powerful Tips from 7.3 Billion Fluent Speakers How did everyone become so fluent in their first languages?  You have to wonder.Germans spout German with perfect ease. The French do French with devastating charm.  How did and when did they become so good? At what point did they stop stammering awkwardly and making rookie mistakes?Maybe you’re sweating to learn Russian or Spanish or Chinese. And then along comes this 5-year-old native speaker, who’s lived not even a quarter of your years  yet, and he chatters (albeit simply) with a perfect accent.What gives?In this post, we’ll look deeper into the processes and techniques of first language acquisition. Using the lens of the Natural Approach Theory, we can discover how native speakers rock their languages and how you can do the same.Because somewhere on this planet, there’s also a guy asking himself, “How do people get so good at  the English language? How?” What Is the Natural Approach to Language Learning?The Natural Approach is a language learning theory developed b y Drs. Stephen Krashen of USC and Tracy Terrell  of the University of California, San Diego.The theory is based on the radical notion that we all learn language in the same way. And that way  can be seen in how we acquire our first languages as children. If we want to know the secrets of picking up a new language, we should observe how a child gets his first. And hey, we know it works because we have 7.3 billion humans on the planet who, on a daily basis, wield their first language with astonishing fluency.The term “natural” almost presupposes that there are unnatural methods of learning a language. To doctors Krashen and Terrell, these are the structural approaches to learningâ€"the grammar method that deconstructs a language into its component pieces, and the listen-and-repeat drills that happen in classrooms.In the Natural Approach, theres almost a zen-like attitude towards acquiring a language. You’re not forced to utter words or phrases, much less pronounce them correctly . There are no endless drills on correct usage and no mentions of grammar rules or long lists of vocabulary to wrap your head around. There’s no hurry and no worry that months have passed and you can’t yet distinguish nuances in usage.By continuously exposing you to the language, to how its properly wielded in different situations, and by giving you inputs that are meaningful and memorable, much like a child’s daily experiences with mom and dad, a spontaneous emergence of speech happens.In the Natural Approach, the initial focus really is on comprehension. The crux of the issue is, “Do you understand what is being said?” (You don’t need to notice subject-verb agreement for this.)The first stage in the Natural Approach is essentially a silent phase, where nothing seems to be happening. Children have this stage when they’re not really talking. At all. It seems nothing is going on. You’re essentially getting nada. No utterance, just a blank stare. Silence.Actually, so m any things are happening. Theyre listening. Picking up on meanings. Reading context clues. Interpreting and making guesses on what is being said. Making mistakes and honing their guesses.And when babies start uttering their first words, their first phrases, their first simple sentences, the focus is still on  comprehension. But this time, the crux of the issue is “Are you being understood by the other person?” (Again, you don’t need perfect grammar for this.)Bothering with correct grammar comes late in the acquisition stage. In the Natural Approach, the early stages are replete with grammatically incorrect communication that are not even really implicitly corrected. When a child says, “I drinks,” mommy doesn’t give him a firm scolding. She finds it cute and then hands him a drink. But that child is slowly getting fluent with his first language. Hes now communicating and using language to express what he wants, and all thats happening without any direct grammar lessons.Th is progress to fluency continues as more exposure to the language happens. The (meaningful) linguistic experience stacks up so fast so that when that child sits waiting for his first grammar class, he’s already chatting non-stop with his seatmates, with perfectly decent grammar, even before the language teacher arrives.And when the lessons do come, the child is really just getting  to peek behind the scenes to see the specific rules (grammar) guiding his own language usage. All thats  explained to him is  the rationale, the nuances of communication, behind the groupings of words he’s been using naturally all along. It’s all a review of what he already (more or less) knows. The child has learned the language way before the rules of subject-verb agreement are explained to him.And that’s what Natural Approach is all about. It’s looking back to first language acquisition and using the whole bag of tricks there in order to get the same kind of success for second (and third, and fourth, and fifth) language acquisition. Just because you’re learning another language doesn’t mean you have to reinvent the wheel. The expectations and the learning curve might be different for adults, but the underlying human, mental and psychological mechanisms are the same.So in the next section, well look at five powerful first language acquisition strategies that you can perfectly apply to acquiring that second language.5 Language Learning Tips from 7.3 Billion Satisfied Customers1. Don’t Learn the Language, Acquire It.The first thing to notice in The Natural Approach is that theres an important difference between “learning the language” and “acquiring the language.” And it all has to do with the activities involved in each.“Learning” involves conscious instruction. When you memorize usage rules and vocabulary, when you memorize the different conjugations of the verb, when youre concerned whether or not the tense used is correctâ€"those are all “learning† related activities. “Learning a language” means youre studying a language, its linguistic forms (grammar, semantics, phonology) and how the different elements interact with each other. Most learning activities happen inside a classroom, but you could certainly manage to do these independently.“Learning the language” will get you good grades, but it will not necessarily lead to fluency.“Acquiring,” on the other hand, involves different activities which are, for the most part, communicative and immersive in nature. Meaning, these activities give you plenty of opportunities to listen, observe and experience how language is used. And, even better, these activities give you plenty of opportunities to use the language in order to communicate.For example, you’re living with an Armenian family. Every day you get to listen how they talk. You get to hear what the mom screams when she wakes the kids up in the morning, or what she says when she calls them to the table for dinner . You hear grandma talk to you in Armenian because she often forgets that youre not one of her granddaughters. Every day you find yourself exposed to the language. Something very subtle then happens. You’ll slowly pick up the language. You’ll be able to work out the context of things being said and work out their meanings. Maybe the dirty words first. Then you’ll pick up their expressions, then maybe the adjectives and verbs, and so on and so forth.This is inevitable. The receptive nature of your brain will ensure that.Exposure to language is big when you want to acquire it rather than learn it. So as a language learner (or rather, “acquirer”), you have to put yourself in the way of language that’s rife with action and understandable context. Watch movies, listen to songs and podcasts, read (children’s) books  and  talk with native speakers. You’re not required to understand everything. See, hear and get a feel for how your target language is used by native speakers. You can also change the language option of your gadgets and different social media accounts so that they display in the target language of your choice. You can also make your home a hub of language learning by using Post-Its to label the different objects that you use every day in the language of choice.Outsource your label-making for the most important vocabulary words by using a Vocabulary Stickers set, which gives you well over 100 words to put on items you use and see every day around your home and office.There’s so much you can do, short of going to a country where your target language is spoken, in order to make picking up a language as immersive and as natural as possible. Subscribe to this blog because it’s brimming with awesome tips and techniques that make acquiring a language so instinctive.2. Break the Rules Early. Make Mistakes Often.Now, don’t take all that’s been said before this to mean that grammar doesn’t matter at all or that you should never correct the initial mistakes you make. For sure, you’re going to do a lot of correcting. But the point is, grammar doesn’t come early in the game. In fact, it comes quite late in the gameâ€"when you’ve had plenty of experience with the language.In the early stages of picking up a language, you have to be open to making plenty of mistakes and looking foolish. That means opening your mouth even when you’re not sure if you got the pronunciation or accent right, or even when you’re not confident of the words you wanted to say.Youll make mistakes. Thats for sure. And youll have to be indifferent to those mistakes. “I’m making mistakesso what?” The world doesn’t end when you commit a booboo, even when you come out looking foolish.You’re going to have to be okay about committing themâ€"the wrong pronunciation, wrong conjugations, wrong noun genders, wrong usage, wrong meaning, wrong translation, etc. Don’t be ashamed of your mistakes, but hey, don’t celebrate them either. They re just there. They come with the territory. No big deal.A practical thing you can do is to get some conversation practice online with a native speaker. For example, on one of the most popular language exchange sites, you can Skype somebody who’ll be very open to teaching you and listening to you barbarize his native tongue. He’ll find your mistakes cute and be glad that you expressed an interest in his native language.Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. Tell him if you’re an absolute beginner. Honesty is a powerful anxiety killer and you must absolutely be honest with your partner.You don’t have to speak in just the target language. Switch to English mid-sentence if you have to.Now the native speaker will be gracious and try to correct the mistakes. Take them with equal grace. But remember that correcting grammar isnt really the top priority. It’s actually getting a feel for committing those mistakes and coming out with the realization that, “Hey, I’m actually fine! I made 600 mistakes today and survived.”I want you to be very good at this. I want you to know that it’s no big deal. So claim your absolute divine right to make mistakes. Just like a child.3. Get Exposure to Different Situations with Different SensesGoing to a country to acquire its national language only works when youre actually exposing yourself to the myriad of available experiences in the country of choice. A change in geography won’t do you any good if you only keep to yourself or associate exclusively with fellow English speakers and commune in English-speaking enclaves.But the thing is, you don’t even have to up and leave just to get exposure and immersion. You can get yourself exposed to language as if youre living abroad. Getting a language learning partner is one method for doing this and was already pointed out earlier.Another method is actively seeking out the native speakers who are already living in your area. If you’re in a big city, chances are the y already have an association you could check out. And they often have activities to promote their culture such as food raves and language meetups like  these  in New York. Attend these and socialize with the folks there. Youll find tons of fellow language learners (or rather, acquirers) this way. Knowing that there are others who are on the same journey will be a big boost.The important thing to remember is that, when you’re going for exposure and immersion, you should always make it a point to get it in different situations and have the experiences fully stimulate your senses. Bathe yourself in the same experiences that native speakers have. Eat their food, listen to their music. Read the headlines of their newspapers. Find out what’s up with their local celebrities. Again, you dont need a passport to have the needed immersion.If you want to learn Chinese, go to Chinatown and make a day of it. Dive into the rich underbelly of Chinese culture and youll come out with priceless i nsights, not to mention some really interesting home décor. Get into some stores there and try to ask about the different stuff they sell. The folks there will give you the time of day to explain what their wares are all about. Haggle. And haggle some more. Watch out for hand gestures and youll have learned something not found in grammar books.Get some food packs and try to make out whats written on the backs of packages. Youll learn plenty of contextually rich Chinese just by befriending the characters on those food labels.Going back to the online experience, I highly encourage you to try out FluentU’s videos. They are highly immersive, interesting and, most of all, instructive. There’s nothing like visuals, audio and text working together to help you experience your target language.4. Work with Materials  That Suit  Your LevelNobody would hand a physics book to a toddler, right? One of the tragedies that befall many who try to acquire a language is that they use the wrong mat erials for their level. When someone gives up on a language, you usually hear one of these excuses:“The audio  was too fast.”“I couldn’t understand a word in the book.”“The sentences are too long.”“I didn’t have enough time to digest what my partner was saying.”It doesn’t mean that the language is too hard or the person is too slow. They  didn’t stand a chance because the materials they  got exposed to were too advanced to be remotely meaningful to them at that stage of learning. It became gibberish and had no place in the memory to be anchored in.The tragedy is that this person would have been perfectly able to acquire the language had they been using materials that were more approachable for them. For example, that’s why we start beginners with children’s booksâ€"where the target language is in bold, capital, colorful letters, where the sentences are simple and where pictures help the folks figure out meaning.For exposure to be meaningful, it should be in the general area of the learner’s competency. For example, it should be easy enough so that a reader already understands at least 50% of the words in the sentences. (The remaining 50% is the room where the learner grows.)Imagine a mountain climber ascending a steep rock. He doesn’t reach for those grips that are several meters above him. Nope, he reaches for one an arm’s length above, while the other hand is keeping him safe and steady.So instead of banging your head against materials that prove how much you don’t know, go for materials that say, “Yeah, you already know this. But look, theres more!”Instead of challenging yourself with materials that ultimately overwhelm you, strategically choose materials that you know you can master given enough time and effort.5. Make the Road to Fluency Stress-freeThere are people who thrive on pressure. These are your Tiger Woods, your Michael Jordans and your Steven Spielbergs. They require pressure to really shine.  If there’s no pressure to be found, they push themselves in order to extract that special performance, that special shot that only they can deliver.These people arent the norm. (That’s why they get paid indecent amounts of money.)For sure, some amount of stress or anxiety is constructiveâ€"especially in fields like medicine, law and business. But in the phenomenon of language acquisition, our friend Dr. Stephen Krashen asserts that anxiety should be zero, or as low as possible.For a language to be successfully acquired, motivation must not only be high, but anxiety must also be low. Otherwise, all the language inputs we’ve talked about earlier will find no home in the brain. When a person is so anxious that they cant  even tell you where they are, much less focus on the immersive experience, no amount of stimulation will be comprehensible input. Everything will be for naught.According to the Natural Approach, pressure wont lead to acquisition. The pressure of a language test might push yo u to learn a language by memorizing plenty of vocabulary, drilling grammar rules and getting good grades, but it cant always lead you to acquire language. (We’ve already distinguished “learning” and “acquisition” earlier, right?)Language acquisition is about being so relaxed and so dialed into the conversation that you forget you’re talking in a foreign language. You become engrossed with the message or content, instead of the medium.So shed off the pressure you put on yourself. Thoughts like, “I need to learn this now” or “I’ve got two months to learn this list” wont be helpful to your cause.Expose yourself to the language instead. Watch your Spanish telenovela, eat your Chinese noodles after looking at the labels, enjoy that children’s book in French. Don’t even think about grades or timelines or milestones. Just put yourself in an environment where you can listen and read and observe how the target language is used.If you do that, my guess is that your a cquisition will move into high gear in the coming months.And that’s really all these is to it!Ive just given you five powerful ways to achieve language acquisition, all backed by the scientifically-proven Natural Approach. Theyve also been proven by 7.3 billion people.So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and be a carefree  child  again.After all, learning a language should be fun!Good luck! And One More ThingYou can get started learning a language through the natural approach right now.Just give FluentU a try.FluentU takes real-world videos like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks, and turns them into language learning experiences. Just a quick look will give you an idea of the range of content available:FluentU App Browse Screen.FluentU 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 your mouse over the subtitles to instantly view definitions.Interactive transcript for Carlos Baute song.You can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs learn 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.Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet  or, better yet,  download the FluentU app from  the iTunes store  or Google Play store.

Tips From an Irvine College Consultant Dollars and Sense

Tips From an Irvine College Consultant Dollars and Sense Tips From an Irvine College Consultant: Dollars and Sense at College Students who are excited to go off to college this fall will be primarily focused on how to manage their academic workload, make new friends, and do well on their exams. What most freshmen dont think about is how to manage their money. Some students will have funds provided by their parents to help support them while theyre concentrating on their studies while others will have income from a part-time job. Either way, most college students don’t have experience with financial management. The following tips from an Irvine college consultant can help students manage their money so they can focus the majority of their energy on education. 1. Get out the calculator Incoming freshmen are encouraged to get out the calculator and their bank statements prior to leaving for college and look at how much money per month they expect to earn and spend. For example, if a student has secured a part time job at a coffee shop on campus, they should consider the following: $8 per hour X 15 hours per week =$120 to spend before taxes. Don’t forget to factor in taxes! If tuition and fees are being funded by family or a scholarship, a student will have around $100 per week on miscellaneous activities. A movie out with friends costs about $13.50; a cup of coffee to keep going through a long study session costs about $1.50. 2. Open a bank account Many students who started working at a part time job at 16 already have a bank account. Those who dont should open one as soon as they turn 18. Opening a bank account generally requires a minimum of $50 be put into savings and checking. Also consider the importance of choosing a bank that has an ATM and branch location located either on campus or near campus. Students who are attending school out of state are reminded that not everything is national and they may need to open a second account if they’re attending school out of state. Remember to check the account at least once a week to determine how much money was spent and how much is left. Students with an overdraft in their account could find themselves subject to any number of fees and penalties (READ: 5 Things to do Before You Go Away to College). 3. Credit versus debit Remember to think about the difference between a credit card and debit card when paying for miscellaneous living expenses. Students are responsible for paying their credit card bill on a specific day each month while debit takes money directly from their checking account. It’s tempting to put a lot of items on a credit card and pay the minimum fee, however, this can leave students in a bad position when they graduate as they may have excessive debt but no full time job to pay it off. 4. Additional earning If having $120 per week for pocket money simply isnt enough, one option is to extend work hours. However, many college freshmen will already struggle to deal with academics and won’t want to choose this option. Students who need extra work hours should consider working on the weekend, during breaks, or during the summer when their educational commitments are not as strict (Read: Unpaid Internships: Weighing the Benefits). 5. Practical ways to save New college students should weigh the difference between similar expenses to see where they can save money. For instance, a movie out costs about $13.50, while a Redbox movie costs about $1.20. A brand new, shiny chemistry book costs around $100, while a used chemistry book (with a few pencil marks and highlights) costs around $75. Bottom Line These are just a few basic examples, but it’s important for new college students to remember that every dollar adds up and that the old adage that “a penny saved is a penny earned” really holds true. Regardless of a student’s circumstances, its important to consult somebody experienced in finance to help manage money prior to going off to college in an unsupervised financial situation. Too many college students graduate at 22 to find they have far more debt than they can handle, which makes the early-career period more difficult. Theres more than just one type of intelligence. Being smart with money is one of the most valuable skills of all. All blog entries, with the exception of guest bloggers, are written by Tutor Nerds. Are you an education professional? If so, email us at pr@tutornerds.com for guest blogging and collaborations. We want to make this the best free education resource in SoCal, so feel free to suggest what you would like to see us post about.

American School of Paris

American School of Paris American School of Paris The American School of Paris is an international, co-educational, independent school of more than 800 students organized into three divisions: Lower School (3 - 10 years), Middle School (11 - 13 years) and Upper School (14 - 18 years). On the edge of Paris, ASPs 10.5 acre expansive, green campus features 100% brand-new and fully redesigned buildings and classrooms, within a peaceful and secure learning environment. Founded in 1946 as the first international school established in Europe, the schools rich heritage and dedicated service to the international and French communities continue today to lead in the world of teaching and learning. ASP is a founding school of the International Baccalaureate program and one of the few schools in Europe to offer a range of both IB and Advanced Placement (AP) courses. ASP is accredited by the Middle Schools Association and the Council of International Schools and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, the European Council of International Schools and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. ASP is currently looking for highly-trained, experienced educators who continually expand their subject knowledge and technology prowess, integrate new ways of teaching and share their love of learning. Professional development is an integral part of the ASP teaching experience. In-house and off-site training programs and conferences by thought leaders help to evolve skills. ASPs in-house wellness program also helps to foster a holistic and balanced work environment.