Tutoring Center in the Cayman Islands

Tutoring Center in the Cayman IslandsA great place to study and a fun experience for everyone is learning at a tutoring center in the Cayman Islands. If you are looking for a new hobby or need to improve your current skills, you can turn to a Cays tutoring center to help you learn. Whether you are interested in arts and crafts, language and other academic areas, math, reading or writing, there is something for everyone at the Cays tutoring center. No matter your interests, the Cayman Islands is a great location to help you sharpen your abilities and learn at a pace that fits your needs.The Cays tutoring center in the Cayman Islands is an independent school that provides English tutoring, writing tutoring, language tutoring, college placement tutoring, and other educational programs. Each program offers a variety of tutoring services for students from kindergarten through high school. They provide many benefits such as a cost-effective way to learn.When you visit the tutoring center i n the Cayman Islands, you will find various different types of tutors available to help you. You can find tutors in your area or have them come to your location. With the large variety of courses offered, there is one for anyone and everyone, no matter what you are looking for.The tutoring center in the Cayman Islands has a variety of opportunities to take the course you are most interested in. As you would imagine, this means students can take courses that match their interests. Some courses are held online, while others are taught at the center. Even if you don't want to attend the tutoring center in the Cayman Islands, you can find the courses you are interested in online to help you enhance your skills.The best thing about the tutoring center in the Cayman Islands is that they offer a variety of courses in many different areas. Whether you are interested in language courses, math lessons, arts and crafts, or even college placement, there is something for everyone. And all of the se courses are taught at the same time at the same center. For some people, this might mean the ability to meet several times per week to continue their learning while others might be able to find a center that offers weekly meetings.The tutoring center in the Cayman Islands also offers personal attention for students. They know that you may not be able to afford someone to be there to help you with your homework, but they can come to your house to help you with the other things that come up. Of course, all tutors must undergo a rigorous vetting process before they are allowed to work at the center. For this reason, it is important to choose a tutoring center carefully to ensure that you are getting the best possible service.Most of the tutoring center in the Cayman Islands also offer financial assistance for students who can't afford to pay for their tuition. These programs are usually run by student centers and run on a tuition payment plan that works out to a good price. Financia l assistance is not available for students who are too far away or don't have enough money to cover their tuition. For those students who can't afford to pay for their tuition, financial assistance makes a great option to consider.

English Modal Verbs Video 4 Can

English Modal Verbs Video 4 Can Ok, were on to the fourth video in our series on English modal verbs. In this video we explain the modal verb can. You will learn about the positive and negative forms of this modal verb, and its various meanings.Watch the video below, then see if you can do the exercises. Contact us if you have any questions! Four of the five sentences below contain errors. Try to correct them.Can I to go to the movie with you?He cant not sleep at night.Do you can meet me on Friday?Can I borrow your toothbrush?Yesterday I cant find my keys.English Modal Verbs Video 1English Modal Verbs Video 2English Modal Verbs Video 3

English Convesation Classes Analogue v. Digital Cameras

English Convesation Classes Analogue v. Digital Cameras One of my favourite pastimes is Lomography or informal photography. My collection of (film-based) analog cameras  includes everything from a Holga to an Action Sampler to a Fisheye, which takes wonderful circular shots.Camera with fisheye lense.These cameras mark an incredible evolution in form from the earliest manifestation of the camera as an 11th century dark box or camera obscura. Let’s not forget today’s digital cameras which have taken that evolution even further. Which do you prefer? Its a great topic for an English conversation class.Let’s talk about the cameras you use. Below youll find great English vocabulary and phrases for talking about photography, as well as conversation questions.What kind of camera do you prefer?Digital,Analog,Polaroid,Single-use,Professional,Why do you prefer digital cameras?Shots are instantaneous.I can  upload photographs easily onto my computer.There are no expensive developing costs for prints.I can take hundreds, even thousands, of pictu res provided I have sufficient memory in my camera.I can edit my photographs myself without needing a professional to do so.I can print pictures easily on my computer.I can easily delete pictures I don’t like.There are many different models of digital cameras to choose from.Digital cameras are convenient and can fit in my pocket or  purse on a night out.Why do you prefer analog cameras?I like the artistic shots I can take.I enjoy the process of developing prints in a darkroom.I enjoy the craft involved, for example having to know how to take advantage of light and positioning.An imperfection in a shot can give it originality. It doesn’t have to be perfect.Yes, digital cameras can be easily deleted but analogue photographs have been around for centuries!Now, let’s look at two photographs of New York City. One   is taken with an analog camera and one with a digital device.Which is which?Why do you think this is so?What are the differences between the two photographs?Which do you prefer?Did you find this blog helpful? Feel free to share this blog on Facebook and Twitter.

AMERICAN WOMAN A Plea to Female Voters

AMERICAN WOMAN A Plea to Female Voters Bust of Susan B. Anthony, one of Americas greatest feministsPhoto by Flickr user cliff1066â„¢ While I know for a fact who I am voting for, and while I am passionate about my political party, I am not here to convince you to side with me. You are a woman with the right to vote (assuming you are of age, of course), and that right is something that did not come easily. Susan B. Anthony, one of America’s most influential and passionate women, once said, “Women, we might as well be dogs baying the moon as petitioners without the right to vote!” Others have fought long and hard for us to have a say in how our country is run, so why neglect that right? A republican woman is equal to a democrat woman is equal to a republican or democrat man. Each vote holds the same weight, and I cannot stress that enough to you ladies. So as November 6th draws closer and closer, get excited. Being active and involved citizens is what will make this nation what it should be. Nothing is more dangerous to our success than apathy, so here I stress one more time to my American women: your voices matter.  Let them be heard.  I hope to see you all with ‘I voted’ stickers come Election Day. For more information on being an active woman voter, I suggest looking into your local chapter of the League of Women Voters.

The Ultimate Guide to Language Learning Flashcard Apps

The Ultimate Guide to Language Learning Flashcard Apps Flashcard 411: Everything You Ever Needed to Know About Language Learning FlashcardsFirst, were going to take a quick look at all the reasons why flashcards are perfect for language learners. There are certainly a lot of reasons, but these are the strongest!  Why Do Flashcards Work for Language Learning?Theyre beyond easy to useWell, dont get me wrong, many  language tools are quite easy to use. Everyone can read a grammar book, dictionary or thesaurus. Anyone can listen to podcasts or watch movies.Everything is easy. Until you meet a grammar book you dont understand or listen to a podcast where the hosts speak so fast you cant even make out individual words.Flashcards are simpler on a whole different level.Flashcards are so easy, so simple and so unassuming that learners often underestimate their power. Were so used to thinking that unless a tool has all the bells and whistles, it couldnt do a great job.But the sheer  simplicity of flashcards, both in paper and digitized forms, is t he very feature that makes them  so powerful. As youll soon learn, the next 3 bullet points spring from the fact that flashcards are so deceptively simple.Those rectangular spaces really do grab  our attentionA feature of flashcards is that theyre confined to a limited (rectangular) space. As it turns out, this is very helpful in learning. Unlike a single book page which may contain several paragraphs and dozens upon dozens of sentences, a single flashcard often contains just a few wordsâ€"sometimes even just one word or one image.And this one word, in that very instant, becomes our whole universe. Its daring us to answer or guess whats behind the card, and in that moment its our entire point of focus.Nothing else matters. No extraneous factors dilute or demand our attention. Its like being in a gun duel and all your focus is spent on  that dark silhouette in front of you. It’s just you and the flashcard, there’s no tomorrow.I dont wanna get too theatrical, but that’s what fac ing a flashcard is like. It’s just the word and you. And the only question is, can you conquer it?They give us instant feedback and course correctionWhether you use print flashcards or the digitized versions of today, flashcards have an  instant feedback mechanism. You simply flip the card and expose what’s behindâ€"then youll know who won the duel.This instant feedback and course correction is vital for enhanced learning.  Because the correction is in real-time, you can immediately learn from your mistake and incorporate the learning into the very next question/card.It’s not like taking a long exam, passing the answer sheet to your professor and waiting for one week to get it back.Instant feedback allows you to self-reflect and review your train of thoughts immediately after you discovered your mistake. The mistakes and lessons learned are painfully fresh, which makes it memorable.They encourage repetitionâ€"the key to learningThe Romans have a saying: repetitio est mater stu diorum. (Repetition is the mother of all learning).How true! The role of repetition in learning is well understood in Psychology.Flashcards are quite effective because they promote the act of repetition. Because of their inherent simplicity, which weve already talked about, flashcards easily lend themselves to repetition. Thats why theyre  so freakin’ awesome. Theyre simple and unassuming, but they can pack a mean punch.You can have another go at the deck without fear because you know you can stop anytime you want to. You don’t have to finish the whole thing. (Unless of course you are somewhat slightly obsessive-compulsive.)You think you can do better with Spanish verb forms in the next round? Simply shuffle the cards, and voila! You got a brand new randomized deck.Flashcards can even be mildly addicting. Especially when youre getting good at the lesson and you just have a few mistakes in the round. You’re gonna be itching to make up for  all those careless mistakes and end up with a perfect record.So guess what just happened? You overlearned and burned the lesson into your long-term memory. Not bad at all.Okay. Now that we know why flashcards are your buddies in learning a language, let’s dive deeper into this topic and investigate the ways that we can pack even more punch into these babies. The defining features of an awesome flashcard system are up next.3 Characteristics of a Great Flashcard System1. Different sensory cues are integrated for maximum impactWe know that there are visual learners. They learn best with images and colors. We also know that there are auditory dudes  who like melodies and sound with their lessons. Finally, there’s kinesthetic learners, who learn best when theyre moving and actively doing things.Now just to make it clear, we all learn visually, auditorily and kinesthetically. It’s just that people have certain preferences or modalities where they learn best. So a kinesthetic bloke  can still learn visually, albeit not a s effectively as when he’s jumping around, running after people and generally making a mess of things.Going back to flashcards, what do you think will happen to the learning process when we have cards that hit on multiple sensory modalities?In other words, whats the effect of having multimedia elements like images, sounds and videos to the flashcard ?Answer: Enhanced learning.Memory will be served well by multimedia as the brain can have multiple points of anchoring.Studies have shown time and again that hitting many varied  sensory nerves makes the event, object or, in this case, language lesson more memorable.A great flashcard system is one that hits the eyes with images. Not just ordinary, boring pictures mind you, but funny, cute, interesting or shocking ones.For example, if you want an “el gato” (cat) vocabulary card, dont just place there a picture of an indistinct feline. Choose one that’s funny or cuteâ€"like many of those cat memes. Thatll make it so much more memor able.Use interesting fonts and colors as well for your “el gato” text.If you can have a video of a cat hopelessly chasing a laser pointer, even better.2. Language is always presented with good  contextThe brain cant hold information that exists in a vacuum, at least not for very long. That’s why memorizing a bunch of meaningless numbers is futile. Itll only take a few minutes before you forget them.Youve got to make all your learning meaningful.One way of doing this through flashcards is by creating context for your card. That’s why Voxy’s system (which well learn more about later in the post) is so goodâ€"it allows you to make flashcards out of the pictures in your phone’s photo gallery. That means the pictures that youre using already have personal context. Theyre already anchored. You already hold memories of themâ€"you only have to add a language lesson.The picture of your drunk uncle on New Year’s Eve, for example, can be used as a Spanish vocabulary card for “t ío” (uncle).A great flashcard system makes every card meaningful. Otherwise, itll be just a boring vocabulary list.3. It performs spaced repetitionWhat is spaced repetition?Let’s say you have card A and card B.  Card A, you know by heart.  You get shown Card A, you quickly answer and with 100% accuracy. You get shown Card A, you think your intelligence is being insulted.Card B is a little different.  You’re not so familiar with Card B. It takes you a couple of seconds to give an answer. And youre not even sure of your answer.A spaced repetition system  will make sure that you meet Card B more often than Card A.Spaced repetition is a great way to maintain the “freshness” of your flashcards. It means youll always be learning something new. You will always be challenged.  A great flashcard system is not random. Its algorithmically determined so youll only keep studying words you really need to study. Time is saved in the process.Now that we know all that, let’s see some pr ime examples of both traditional and digitized flashcards.The  Hottest Flashcard Apps When we were kids, nobody wanted to be the nerdy flashcard kid.Now that were all grown up, being a nerd is where its at.They used to call the studious kids nerds, just because they were  using their  big stacks of  mom-made flashcards in class.Maybe you were one of em!They had flashcards for everything: multiplication tables, vocabulary, words beginning with the letter “J,” male and female names of animals, the whole lot!The rest of the class just thought they were begging for wedgies.Then the test season came and wentâ€"those nerds got stellar grades.And you know in your heart of hearts why that is. But you can’t seem to admit it to yourself.It’s those darn flashcards! That’s why they were tearing through the test like it was toilet paper.You learned at a young age that the crude technology of flashcards works. But you can’t seem to get around to using them. Why not? Because theyre so not cool. They’ll destroy your reputation of being the kid who winged it all.In this post, I’m gonna convince you to give flashcards a shot. Because theyre simply that awesome.Let’s go find out why flashcards workâ€"particularly for  learning a new language.Don’t worry, nobody’s looking. Flashcard 411: Everything You Ever Needed to Know About Language Learning FlashcardsFirst, were going to take a quick look at all the reasons why flashcards are perfect for language learners. There are certainly a lot of reasons, but these are the strongest!  Why Do Flashcards Work for Language Learning?Theyre beyond easy to useWell, dont get me wrong, many  language tools are quite easy to use. Everyone can read a grammar book, dictionary or thesaurus. Anyone can listen to podcasts or watch movies.Everything is easy. Until you meet a grammar book you dont understand or listen to a podcast where the hosts speak so fast you cant even make out individual words.Flashcards are simpler on a whole different level.Flashcards are so easy, so simple and so unassuming that learners often underestimate their power. Were so used to thinking that unless a tool has all the bells and whistles, it couldnt do a great job.But the sheer  simplicity of flashcards, both in paper and digitized forms, is the very feature that makes them  so powerful. As youll soon learn, the next 3 bullet points spring from the fact that flashcards are so deceptively simple.Those rectangular spaces really do grab  our attentionA feature of flashcards is that theyre confined to a limited (rectangular) space. As it turns out, this is very helpful in learning. Unlike a single book page which may contain several paragraphs and dozens upon dozens of sentences, a single flashcard often contains just a few wordsâ€"sometimes even just one word or one image.And this one word, in that very instant, becomes our whole universe. Its daring us to answer or guess whats behind the card, and in that moment its our entire point of focus.Nothing else matters. No extraneous factors dilute or demand our attent ion. Its like being in a gun duel and all your focus is spent on  that dark silhouette in front of you. It’s just you and the flashcard, there’s no tomorrow.I dont wanna get too theatrical, but that’s what facing a flashcard is like. It’s just the word and you. And the only question is, can you conquer it?They give us instant feedback and course correctionWhether you use print flashcards or the digitized versions of today, flashcards have an  instant feedback mechanism. You simply flip the card and expose what’s behindâ€"then youll know who won the duel.This instant feedback and course correction is vital for enhanced learning.  Because the correction is in real-time, you can immediately learn from your mistake and incorporate the learning into the very next question/card.It’s not like taking a long exam, passing the answer sheet to your professor and waiting for one week to get it back.Instant feedback allows you to self-reflect and review your train of thoughts immedia tely after you discovered your mistake. The mistakes and lessons learned are painfully fresh, which makes it memorable.They encourage repetitionâ€"the key to learningThe Romans have a saying: repetitio est mater studiorum. (Repetition is the mother of all learning).How true! The role of repetition in learning is well understood in Psychology.Flashcards are quite effective because they promote the act of repetition. Because of their inherent simplicity, which weve already talked about, flashcards easily lend themselves to repetition. Thats why theyre  so freakin’ awesome. Theyre simple and unassuming, but they can pack a mean punch.You can have another go at the deck without fear because you know you can stop anytime you want to. You don’t have to finish the whole thing. (Unless of course you are somewhat slightly obsessive-compulsive.)You think you can do better with Spanish verb forms in the next round? Simply shuffle the cards, and voila! You got a brand new randomized deck.Fl ashcards can even be mildly addicting. Especially when youre getting good at the lesson and you just have a few mistakes in the round. You’re gonna be itching to make up for  all those careless mistakes and end up with a perfect record.So guess what just happened? You overlearned and burned the lesson into your long-term memory. Not bad at all.Okay. Now that we know why flashcards are your buddies in learning a language, let’s dive deeper into this topic and investigate the ways that we can pack even more punch into these babies. The defining features of an awesome flashcard system are up next.3 Characteristics of a Great Flashcard System1. Different sensory cues are integrated for maximum impactWe know that there are visual learners. They learn best with images and colors. We also know that there are auditory dudes  who like melodies and sound with their lessons. Finally, there’s kinesthetic learners, who learn best when theyre moving and actively doing things.Now just to mak e it clear, we all learn visually, auditorily and kinesthetically. It’s just that people have certain preferences or modalities where they learn best. So a kinesthetic bloke  can still learn visually, albeit not as effectively as when he’s jumping around, running after people and generally making a mess of things.Going back to flashcards, what do you think will happen to the learning process when we have cards that hit on multiple sensory modalities?In other words, whats the effect of having multimedia elements like images, sounds and videos to the flashcard ?Answer: Enhanced learning.Memory will be served well by multimedia as the brain can have multiple points of anchoring.Studies have shown time and again that hitting many varied  sensory nerves makes the event, object or, in this case, language lesson more memorable.A great flashcard system is one that hits the eyes with images. Not just ordinary, boring pictures mind you, but funny, cute, interesting or shocking ones.For ex ample, if you want an “el gato” (cat) vocabulary card, dont just place there a picture of an indistinct feline. Choose one that’s funny or cuteâ€"like many of those cat memes. Thatll make it so much more memorable.Use interesting fonts and colors as well for your “el gato” text.If you can have a video of a cat hopelessly chasing a laser pointer, even better.2. Language is always presented with good  contextThe brain cant hold information that exists in a vacuum, at least not for very long. That’s why memorizing a bunch of meaningless numbers is futile. Itll only take a few minutes before you forget them.Youve got to make all your learning meaningful.One way of doing this through flashcards is by creating context for your card. That’s why Voxy’s system (which well learn more about later in the post) is so goodâ€"it allows you to make flashcards out of the pictures in your phone’s photo gallery. That means the pictures that youre using already have personal context. Theyre already anchored. You already hold memories of themâ€"you only have to add a language lesson.The picture of your drunk uncle on New Year’s Eve, for example, can be used as a Spanish vocabulary card for “tío” (uncle).A great flashcard system makes every card meaningful. Otherwise, itll be just a boring vocabulary list.3. It performs spaced repetitionWhat is spaced repetition?Let’s say you have card A and card B.  Card A, you know by heart.  You get shown Card A, you quickly answer and with 100% accuracy. You get shown Card A, you think your intelligence is being insulted.Card B is a little different.  You’re not so familiar with Card B. It takes you a couple of seconds to give an answer. And youre not even sure of your answer.A spaced repetition system  will make sure that you meet Card B more often than Card A.Spaced repetition is a great way to maintain the “freshness” of your flashcards. It means youll always be learning something new. You will always be chal lenged.  A great flashcard system is not random. Its algorithmically determined so youll only keep studying words you really need to study. Time is saved in the process.Now that we know all that, let’s see some prime examples of both traditional and digitized flashcards.The  Hottest Flashcard AppsFluentUFluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.Greatâ€"but what does this have to do with flashcards?Well, FluentU just happens to have developed one of the best interactive flashcard systems to date. Everything that your senses will ever need is provided for: example sentences, dynamic games, relevant images, audio pronunciation examples, usage examples from real-world videos and more.Plus, all the language on the flashcards is pulled from video content that youve been enjoying and studying on the site. That means every last word is anchored in context thats personally meani ngful to you. Your flashcard decks will be perfectly customized to your FluentU progress.Try this out if youre looking for the liveliest possible flashcard experience.Start using FluentU on the website  with your computer or tablet  or, better yet,  download the FluentU app from  the  iTunes  or  Google Play  store.AnkiAnki is the Japanese word for “memorization.” And that’s what this program is for. Anki is offered as freeware for anybody who needs to memorize anything (so basically every breathing human being on the planet).Students can use it to memorize formulas, historical dates and figures, countries’ capitols and currencies, definitions of terms, scientific names etc.For language learners, the program can be used to memorize sets of vocabulary, grammar rules, important phrases, pronunciations and more.  It’s media-friendly and can support clips, images, videos and sounds.There’s a feature where you can download the flashcards shared by others so that you can also benefit from their lessons.  And because its open source, you can customize the features to perfectly suit your learning style.Brainscape“What would you like to learn today?” That’s the question the folks from Brainscape would like you to ask yourself. Because whatever that is, whether it’s Spanish verbs, French adjectives, cocktail proportions or keyboard shortcuts, Brainscape can help you learn these things faster.With their unique Confidence-Based Repetition (CBR) system, you spend more time learning the things that you find challenging and less time on those youve already got in the bag.With every flashcard, youre asked to gauge the difficulty level and decide how often youd want to review that particular card. Their adaptive learning algorithm then jumps into action scheduling the card to come up at the most optimal moment.So with Brainscape, your learning is highly targeted and personalized. Youre getting the most out of  the time you spend studying. And, for students, that leaves you with more time to play!VoxyImagine this. Youre taking one of your morning walks. Youre listening to a language learning podcast on your mobile. Then suddenly, something catches your eye. A man wearing a cowboy hat is walking in the opposite direction. It made you wonder, “What’s the Spanish word for hat?”Voxy is the app for that. You can take a picture of that hat, and then this (free!) app is going to analyze your picture and transform it into a flashcard with the word el sombrero  on it.Wouldnt that make your day, knowing that you can take pictures and turn your daily life into one big, exciting vocabulary lesson?With Voxy’s app, you can even use the pics in your galleries to make the smart flashcards. You can also add notes to provide richer context for your pictures.And in order to further boost your language learning, the app comes with 3 exercises to help reading and listening comprehension.Boom! There go all your excuses for not learning a new languag e. Its too much fun to resist!British CouncilYou know flashcards are effective when British Council is  getting in on the action. With its mission of spreading development, uplifting the arts, promoting social equality and championing the English language, the Council only promotes methods that are practical and seriously effective.The site has a flashcard maker that helps both student and teacher to print out engaging and informative flashcards. They can be most useful in a  classroom setting where playful interaction with fellow students increases the lesson’s “retainability.”Here youre just going to find good ol’ flashcards flipped and shuffled by hands. But for some language learners, especially the kinesthetic and social types, this is the most  effective way to go.StudyBlueThis app  has one of the better interfaces around. Its easy on the eyes and easy to use.Youll know right away that the makers of StudyBlue didn’t want you to study alone. You can actually share you r flashcards with  everyone in your class, as well as benefit from the flashcards of others.With StudyBlue, you not only get the standard options  to add text, pictures and audio to your cards, but youre also given stats, search options, reminders and a study saver so you can really get down to learning Russian, Spanish, French, Korean or any language of choice.StudyBlue is one of the best Android flashcard apps around. So if youre gonna find yourself idle while waiting in line for that hot java, fiddle with StudyBlue and get that learning going.So how about that? Are beginning to change your mind? Ready to give flashcards a chance?Then get downloading! And One More ThingIf youre digging these apps, youll love using FluentU. FluentU makes it possible to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, news and inspiring talks.We talked about its flashcard features earlier, but it has plenty more to offer learners. FluentU has a wide variety of videos like movie trailers, funny comme rcials and web series, as you can see here: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.

How to Study Any Language Effectively 7 Common Study Time Mistakes to Avoid

How to Study Any Language Effectively 7 Common Study Time Mistakes to Avoid How to Study Any Language Effectively: 7 Common Study Time Mistakes to Avoid We all make mistakes.There, its out there.Thats probably no big newsâ€"but when you learn a foreign language, you might be surprised by just how many mistakes you end up making.Too many language learners assume that this is a bad thing and end up feeling discouraged.But mistakes can be very productive!The best way to improve your language skills and make the most out of the learning process is to identify  these mistakes, learn from them and try to avoid them as best you can.Even if you study languages at school or college where professional educators help you deal with pitfalls, mistakes are still bound to happen to you, in class and after class.Now, were going to discuss  how  to turn  these mistakes into productive learning experiences.Language study cant be called a one-size-fits-all process. Learning styles vary, learning techniques develop and upgrade and students open up to new ways of learning, but we all want one thing: to master the language were learning.We have something else in common. There are some common mistakes that far too many of us make! Lets learn from those who have gone  before us. Here come 7 common mistakes  for you to remember and avoid while learning foreign languages. These are so common, and so very subtle, that they often arent recognized as mistakes that make an impact on learning. How to Study Any Language Effectively: 7 Common Study Time Mistakes to Avoid1. Try to remember tons of new words at onceWhen you learn a foreign language, its needless and virtually impossible to remember ALL the words.Even native speakers dont use them all, only regularly dealing with 2,000-3,000 on average. For example, while an adult native English speaker might have tens of thousands of words stored in their brain,  you only need about 3,000 words to be able to read the vast majority of modern English texts in existence.The same goes for most languages: To understand and speak a language, several thousand words will be enough to get by in convers ation and while reading modern writing. Youll need more if youre going to tackle more specialized or academic writing, or perhaps if youre going to become a translator or interpreter. But we all have to start somewhere.How do you know which words to learn and remember?We live in the digital era when the Internet surrounds us everywhere. So, check the list of most widely used words in the language youre learning or download some applications that show you popular words, helping you to remember them along the way.You can also watch FluentU videos in your target language. Thanks to the vast array of modern, relevant video content here, youll be able to become more strongly familiar with the most common words used by natives.With FluentU, you hear languages in real-world contextsâ€"the way that native speakers actually use them.Just a quick look will give you an idea of the variety of FluentU videos on offer:FluentU really takes the grunt work out of learning languages, leaving you with nothing but engaging, effective and efficient learning. It’s already hand-picked the best videos for you and organized them by level and topic. All you have to do is choose any video that strikes your fancy to get started!Each word in the interactive captions comes with a definition, audio, image, example sentences and more.Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab, and easily review words and phrases from the video under Vocab.You can use FluentU’s unique adaptive quizzes to learn the vocabulary and phrases from the video through fun questions and exercises. Just swipe left or right to see more examples of the word youre studying.The program even keeps track of what you’re learning and tells you exactly when it’s time for review, giving you a 100% personalized experience.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.Tip: Using vi sual elements is the best method to learn new words, as they cause associations in our head, making it easier to remember permanently, not just learn by rote. (Another reason to try FluentU!)2. Try to memorize  all grammar rulesCertainly, grammar is important, and no one is going to say that you shouldnt learn it.Regardless of the language, grammar is always tricky for non-native speakers (well, let’s be honest: it’s often tricky for native speakers, too). All those gerunds, tenses, infinitives and exceptions are useful when you write academic essays,  do research or write professional emails. You need to build a foundation of great grammar in order to speak and write correctly.However, if your primary goal is to communicate, prepare for a trip abroad or master just the basics, dont stress about this too much. If youre seriously turned off by the nitty gritty of grammar, dont torture yourself trying to remember all the rules at once.Many learners get discouraged by the idea of s tudying grammar and end up avoiding their daily practice. Dont procrastinate. On days when grammar fills you with dread, treat yourself to some movies, games or music videos in your target language. Keep building familiarity with the language every day, and  youll start learning grammar naturally.Some educators recommend starting off with full immersionâ€"constant exposure to the language through a diversity of authentic materialsâ€"and never cracking open a textbook or starting formal grammar study until youve developed basic proficiency in the language. You can always give this route a try!Tip:  Write something every day. Write blog posts, diary entries, shopping lists, notes to yourself or anything else that is already part of your daily life, but do it all in your target language.  Using grammar in practice will improve your skills many times over.3. Forget about listeningWhile learning a foreign language, we usually pay lots of undue attention to vocabulary and grammar. Our goa l is to learn how to read, write and speak.That’s all well and good, but we often forget about listening to a target language despite the fact that its key to understanding and communication.Learners too often discover the hard way that speaking a language and understanding it arent the same thing.Sometimes one can speak but can hardly understand native speakers at all while listening to songs or watching a movie in the target language. Never underestimate the importance of listening skills; you need to practice them on a daily basis.Tip: To develop your listening skills, you can watch movies or TV shows with subtitles, listen to a radio show in your target language, play games, try to understand all words from your favorite songs and so on. Keep it fun and casual! Listening to  TED lectures  is always a good decision, too.4. Read classic literature to learn new wordsFive bucks say Im right: Your past or current language teachers have assigned  you the task to read a book in the l anguage youre learning, make a vocabulary list  of unknown words from it, learn them and discuss the book in the classroom afterward. I got those five bucks, didn’t I?Such exercises are great unless your teacher asks you to read classic literature in the target language. They often dont, and instead opt for abridged and otherwise simplified reading material.Why?First of all, it can be difficult to understand a plot and get pleasure from reading a book if you dont know the meaning of most words. The extensive reading method encourages learners to choose texts where they know 95% of the words on any given page.Secondly, books of classics may contain lots of  archaic vocabulary (lets take Shakespeare, for example). Theres no real need to learn all words from classics, as no one uses them in everyday language anymore.However, many language learners make the mistake that teachers strive so hard to avoidâ€"they dive into deep, complex literature and other texts that are well outside the ir reading level. They want to read what they want to read, even if they cant read it! As you may already know, it can be very discouraging when you dont understand most of what youre reading.Youre not giving yourself the chance to develop good reading habits. You wont learn how to get into the flow of a native text if youre constantly stopping to use your dictionary. You also wont be able to pick up words via context if most of the language is way above your head (for the time being), and this kind of deductive work is critical for learning a language effectively.So, what to do?If youre at the beginner level of learning, childrens books would be the best option  for you. Intermediate and advanced learners can always try reading simplified versions of classics to learn some new words and grammar rules. If youre pretty advanced, you can start tiptoeing towards the classics. Start with modern classics.No matter your level, always  read books that suit  your learning level.5. Spend all your time studying from textbooksGoing by the book is  one of the biggest mistakes you can make while learning a foreign language.The textbook can give you all the essential building blocks, but it cant take you much farther.Have you ever heard the people speaking in the audio files accompanying English textbooks? Theyre speaking perfectly correct English, but they sound a bit forced and awkward at times. Thats because theyre reading a script designed for learners. Its easy on the ears, and great for becoming familiar with the basics of language, but youll probably never hear a native speaker who talks quite like that.Slang, idioms, jokes, regional dialects, pop culture referencesthey usually cant be learned from standard textbooks. To really understand native speakers, you must learn casual language.This doesn’t mean that you shouldnt use textbooks at all. Some of them are worth trying, and one can find many reasons to use modern textbooks: Theyre well-designed, they provide use ful content and a road map for learning, they give lots of practice opportunities and they usually offer audio components.Just don’t make them the only instrument  you use for  learning that target language.6. Consider the target language a task to completeSome learners arent super passionate about languages, and instead  consider reaching fluency  just another task to complete. Its just another task on a life list, bucket list or resume building plan. There are a couple of noteworthy problems with this:Its very difficult to pinpoint the exact moment you reach fluency, so you may never be able to check the task complete box.You dont know a language just because  you score all As and 100s on your exams.You need to find some personal motivation coming from within to really master a language without ever losing focus.You cant just study for the test. Fluency doesnt come until after youve put your language skills into action, spoken with natives for hours, listened to native speakers intently and followed their directions. You also need to learn the culture behind the language to a certain extent, or youll find a large gap between you and natives while communicating.Not to mention, you have to constantly be updating your language knowledge. Languages change and develop all the time. Don’t miss a chance to learn the culture of those people whose language you learn, chat with your native speaker friends, watch movies, listen to songs, travel to countries and interact with locals.If you make the language enjoyable and something you genuinely look forward to studying, it will be much easier for you to master it.7. Rely on language schoolsThis may be the most common mistake made by language learners. They rely on whatever course theyre taking, whether theyre taking it  through a college, university or institute online, at home or abroad. This reliance comes in two forms:Relying on the course to give you all the material and exposure you need to learn.Holding the co urse or teacher responsible for your successes and failures.When you learn a language, its good to have a teacher who will help and support you, but it doesnt mean he or she can  do everything for you. Teachers guide youâ€"they cant inject the language straight into your brain. Its only you whos  responsible for your learning.If you feel like  the books and materials your school gives you arent effective or sufficient on their own, find a different textbook or other language learning materials to accompany the coursework. If the coursework doesnt target your preferred learning style, learn how you learn best on your own time. If you learn best through music or visual cues, but simply dont get enough of that in class, take care of yourself at home later.Dont only do your homework, study for tests and call it a day. Read and listen to your target language every day, communicate in it, go to language exchange clubs, make friends with native speakers and seek out new articles, blog post s, YouTube videos and more in that language. Become ravenous. Consume as much of the target language as you can on a daily basis.Ask your school to assist you where needed, manage your emotions and try to stay motivated and optimistic.If you dont study properly and perform poorly on tests, take responsibility for this. If you ace all the reading and writing assignments but cant speak without a heavy accent, then take responsibility for this and double up on speaking practice. The teacher and coursework can only get you so far.Its you whos learning the language.Its you who needs it.And its you who will succeed.

Andy Completes the October Language Challenge!

Andy Completes the October Language Challenge! Andy is our new UX Designer and recently joined the italki team in September.  One of the first things he did was join the italki October Language Challenge as he really needs to improve his Chinese as you can tell from his Public Video Pledge.  Hes graciously offered to blog about his experiences and how he is going to conquer the Challenge!  Take it away Andy Yeah! I Made it!!! Im so happy i was finally able to focus an entire month on learning chinese, i really needed it! I always thought that chinese is way to difficult  but it only requires some time and dedication. Looking back at it, it wasnt even so hard. 12 hours per month, or 3 hours per week are something really easy to achieve. The main lesson that i learnt is that i also needed to account time to review the lesson by myself in order to be really efficient with the time i spend with the teacher. This improves the result by a lot, but it also requires more time than i thought. Developing a routine was also useful to achieve the goal. A routine that was working for me, was to wake up earlier and get a class before going to work. Additionally, i was alternating teachers lessons days with personal review days. This also helps you optimize the cost of your learning, at the end of the month i practiced around 20-24 in total, but only 12 of those hours were with a teacher. Overall, it feels great now! I can finally start to have some short conversations with my chinese friends in chinese, but i still have a long time to go before been able to properly hold a more serious discussion. Fortunately, there will be a new language challenge soon! ?? (I have inside information!) Happy learning! Andrea P.S. Check out my AFTER challenge video below! Andy Completes the October Language Challenge! Andy is our new UX Designer and recently joined the italki team in September.  One of the first things he did was join the italki October Language Challenge as he really needs to improve his Chinese as you can tell from his Public Video Pledge.  Hes graciously offered to blog about his experiences and how he is going to conquer the Challenge!  Take it away Andy Yeah! I Made it!!! Im so happy i was finally able to focus an entire month on learning chinese, i really needed it! I always thought that chinese is way to difficult  but it only requires some time and dedication. Looking back at it, it wasnt even so hard. 12 hours per month, or 3 hours per week are something really easy to achieve. The main lesson that i learnt is that i also needed to account time to review the lesson by myself in order to be really efficient with the time i spend with the teacher. This improves the result by a lot, but it also requires more time than i thought. Developing a routine was also useful to achieve the goal. A routine that was working for me, was to wake up earlier and get a class before going to work. Additionally, i was alternating teachers lessons days with personal review days. This also helps you optimize the cost of your learning, at the end of the month i practiced around 20-24 in total, but only 12 of those hours were with a teacher. Overall, it feels great now! I can finally start to have some short conversations with my chinese friends in chinese, but i still have a long time to go before been able to properly hold a more serious discussion. Fortunately, there will be a new language challenge soon! ?? (I have inside information!) Happy learning! Andrea P.S. Check out my AFTER challenge video below!