Tutoring in Chapel Hill

Tutoring in Chapel HillTutoring in Chapel Hill is becoming more popular as the number of high schools grows. As a result, many parents are looking for other ways to improve their child's academic performance. What better way than to find a tutor who can make sure your child gets all the help they need in a private environment.Tutoring in Chapel Hill doesn't need to be expensive. You don't have to worry about the cost of travel or hotel accommodations. Most private tutors in Chapel Hill offer affordable rates for their services. They also offer trips to local attractions and events like concerts, film festivals, and art shows.There are plenty of different types of tutors in Chapel Hill. A great place to start is by taking a look at the online profiles of the tutors you're interested in. You can find reviews, testimonials, and even website links.In addition to the information provided by the tutor in a private setting, you can find out a lot more about the tutor through websites such a s Tutor.com. The directory also features information on current and past students, information on professional credentials, and how long they've been in business. That information is valuable for both parents and children, so it's worth a visit to some Tutor.com sites.One of the other most popular forms of tutoring is the board-and-care tutoring sessions. Board-and-care tutoring sessions are held on a regular basis, depending on the needs of the student. This form of tutoring usually happens at the local schools, community centers, and other public institutions that allow it. These sessions aren't sponsored by any institution and are designed to keep the students involved with the program.One thing to remember is that the first Tutoring in ChapelHill workshop that you attend might not be the best fit for your child. You may need to try several different tutoring programs before you find the one that works best for your child. If you're still unsure, check the local school calendar t o see if there's a workshop during the current school year.Although Tutoring in Chapel Hill isn't a necessity, many Christian parents want to find a way to improve their child's academic performance. If you want to improve your child's school performance, check out tutoring programs in Chapel Hill today.

Sports Training What Schedule of Circuit Training to Adopt

Sports Training What Schedule of Circuit Training to Adopt How to Tailor Your Circuit Training Workout to Your Needs ChaptersDefine a Specific Objective to Establish Your ScheduleSet a Fixed Duration of a Circuit Training SessionIdeal Frequency of Circuit Training for Casual AthletesPractising Circuit Training RegularlyIn order to have a great physical condition, the most effective method you can implement, coupled with a balanced diet, remains working out. Strength training, weight training and resistance training all form part of some of the fitness methods athletes adopt in order to condition themselves.However, there are many other exercise regimens that you can use, particularly those that can be seen as optimizations of weightlifting. One of the most popular methods is called circuit training. Working on both the muscle groups in your body as well as your cardiovascular system, these workouts are great for all skill levels.One of the major stumbling blocks for people starting on their circuit training journey is deciding the frequency that they attend a circuit training session and the durati on of that session itself. This type of variation, while hard to figure out at first, can actually make you more likely to enjoy your workouts. Superprof invites you to discover what kind of circuit training structure is best for you depending on your physical capabilities, your goals and sports training interests! A strength training workout can be done at the gym and from home CalumDrama School Entrance Teacher 5.00 (15) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ToriSpanish Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors OliviaSchool support Teacher 5.00 (2) £21/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkESOL (English) Teacher 4.76 (17) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JenniferMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LouiseAutoCAD Teacher 5.00 (3) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RickyPercussion Teacher 5.00 (7) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicolasGuitar Teacher 5.00 (2) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MyriamOrganic chemistry Teacher 5.00 (13) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JonathanEconomics Teacher 5.00 (9) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Oluwakemi imoleMaths Teach er 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AlexPhysics Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AdamSinging Teacher 5.00 (14) £48/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ValentiniMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (2) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MilenaMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RashmiEconomics Teacher 5.00 (1) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsDefine a Specific Objective to Establish Your ScheduleWhile exercising is great in itself, your fitness journey will be made even better by defining an objective for yourself before you even start. Whether that be the pleasure of challenging yourself every day or to get in shape by getting rid of body fat, setting up objectives can help you sustain motivation in the long run. Circuit training is an ideal way to meet some of the objectives you may have for many reasons.Looking at the principles of circuit training, we can see why:Burn fat through high intensity, total body workoutsReinforcing your endurance through interval trainingGain muscle by working your upper body and lower bodyWhether your objective is to get the butt of your dreams, the abs you’ve always wanted or simply to lose weight, circuit training is a balanced body workout that can help get you thinking about something other than just your bodyweight.Circuit training is also an effective way of toning your muscles because of the variation in its exercises, like squats and push-ups, as well as the occasional equipment such as a dumbbell or kettlebell. Achieving your goals with circuit training is also fun when you combine this sort of training with a workout routine you already enjoy, such as swimming or running.If you’re having trouble working out due to a lack of motivation, you can remind yourself of some of the reasons why you started to workout. Remembering the objectives, you’ve outlined for yourself can serve as a great motivator.Finally, the results that everyone can achieve from circuit training will of course depend on the extent you take your fitness program. While circuit training can be done at the gym, it can also be done in the comfort of your home with some aerobic exercises and maybe the occasional dumbbells. The basics of circuit training will stay the same no matter where you go: no recovery time, repetitions and a timer.Read our post about the benefits of doing circuit training.Set a Fixed Duration of a Circuit Training SessionCircuit training can be defined by comparing it to HIIT, or high intensity interval training. While a HIIT workout routine will structure itself with short, timed exercise moves including intervals of rest in between each one, circuit training involves doing each exercise move one after the other without a rest interval.Now that you’ve defined your objectives and understand the basics of circuit training, you can now focus on finding what session duration is right for you. In cir cuit training, each move should be timed because of the fact that the time will dictate when you should move on to the next exercise.If you’re a beginner, meaning you don’t do physical activity every day, you should be careful and not strain your heart or muscles too much at the beginning. Your system is probably not ready to perform a push-up sequence for 30 seconds non-stop, which is why you should adapt each move and duration to your level.Whether you’re doing lunges, burpees or whatever workout move, we recommend fixing the time you perform each exercise to be between 15 and 20 seconds â€" after which you can increase or decrease the time and/or the training exercises to fit your abilities. After each circuit, don’t forget to give yourself a rest break as each circuit will require an intense amount of energy. This recovery interval between each circuit you perform will be longer in the beginning: take 2 minutes at least before starting up the next round.Get a personal tr ainer near me here. High intensity workouts can improve cardiovascular healthIf you’re at the intermediate level, this means you have already gained some muscle endurance and toning in your body. You can go ahead and adjust the duration of the circuit training session itself. Whereas beginners should have an exercise program that lasts about 20 minutes, those at the intermediate level should have a session that lasts about 30 minutes.At this level, not only will you burn calories for a longer period of time, but you will also work out muscles like your biceps and glutes at a higher intensity. Each exercise move should last at least 30 seconds, where increasing the time can make each exercise even more effective for weight loss or simply for challenging yourself.The rest interval at this level will be less: spend only about a minute or a minute and thirty seconds in between each circuit in order to get the most out of your workout. For training workouts that place a heavier emphasis on cardio exercise, you might want to increase this time depending on how winded you get.If you’re at an advanced level, you’re probably looking for a weight lifting, total body workout that can put your body to the test. At this level, you can combine fat loss exercises with exercise equipment like weights or a pull-up bar in order to push your limits. Each exercise move should last anywhere between 30 seconds to a minute.Make sure to always have a bottle of water around you during your workout, not strain your muscles if you feel burnt out, and to cool down after every workout!Get a creditable personal trainer here.Ideal Frequency of Circuit Training for Casual AthletesFor those who are at the beginning of their journey towards building muscle or are constantly missing their sessions at the gym â€" circuit training can offer you a great opportunity to start getting serious with sessions that are not as long and have bigger rest periods between each round.Making sure not to overstrain or overexer t yourself when you’re first starting out is super important. Therefore, regardless of whether you’re doing cardio workouts, bodyweight exercises or aerobic exercise in your circuit training â€" you can follow this basic structure. Start by completing a training session at least 2 or 3 times a week, making sure that each session lasts about 15 to 30 minutes each.Here is a list of exercises you can try during a circuit training session as a beginner:Jump rope or jumping jacksMountain climbersPlankSquatsTriceps or tricep dipsPushupsWhether your goal is to lose fat, increase muscular endurance or simply try to include more weight exercises in your life â€" adapting a fitness program to your specific needs can be easily done with this whole-body workout method. If you’re interested in challenging yourself more at the beginner’s stage, try including a barbell or medicine ball during any cardiovascular exercise or cardio workout-based circuit training. Muscular fitness is only as good as what you eat! Make sure to eat a balanced dietPractising Circuit Training RegularlyIf you’re already familiar with aspects of fitness such as bodyweight exercises, strength exercises, metabolic weight and cardiovascular fitness â€" you’ll have no trouble getting used to the rhythm of circuit training workouts. If you’re at a more advanced level, you can practice this circuit workout method 4 to 5 times a week.Focusing on targeting major muscle groups, good form and your fitness goals â€" you will be able to get fit and get stronger in no time. If you’re transitioning from doing a HIIT workout schedule or practice jogging and other sports every day, you can also simply take 3 days out of your week to complete a circuit training session.Here are some of the exercises you can practice at a more advanced level of circuit training:RowingCrunchesWeight-liftingPull-upsBurpeesTricep dipsWhether you’re looking for body workouts for weight loss, fa t burning or toning â€" circuit training is a great way to start getting into the shape of your life.Interested in circuit training for women? Check out this guide!

Re-Thinking Test Prep, Applications, Admissions

Re-Thinking Test Prep, Applications, Admissions ACT SAT Prep and College Admissions Blog This is a guest post byJoel Butterly, CEO ofinGenius prep. The Old Adage: You’ve probably heard that the admissions process is a crapshoot. I’ve heard it countless times: college, business school, law school, and medical school â€" all of them crapshoots. I have had friends, parents, and even students who try to convince me that some admissions offices simply discard half of the applications they receive. These individuals believe that behind the opaque doors of admissions offices, the fate of applicants is determined by random and spastic decision-making. According to them, attempts to predict or improve an applicant’s chances of admission are futile. Prospective applicants should just get good grades, score high on their standardized tests â€" SAT/ACT, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, etc. â€" and hope for the best. Maybe they should just abandon hope altogether. Luckily, these people are dead wrong. Why the Adage is Wrong: There is nothing random about admissions officers’ decisions. In fact, their continued employment hinges on the quality and predictability of these decisions. If they were random, then schools would likely have a simple computer program that replaced the entire admissions office. Instead, schools spend considerable sums of money competing over and hiring the best admissions officers in the country. Indeed, the salaries of the highest paid Directors of Admission â€" those in top 10th percentile â€" are almost three times greater than the salaries of their counterparts in the bottom 10th percentile. Seems pretty wasteful if these people are making arbitrary decisions, doesn’t it? In reality, the old “crapshoot” adage only demonstrates one thing: these people aren’t paying enough attention. They observe that admissions decisions are not determined by a simple, immutable formula. From this, they assume (incorrectly) that results cannot be predicted, and that an applicant’s chances cannot really be improved. To the contrary, a poll of admissions officers from the top colleges and professional schools revealed that nearly 100% claim they can “almost always spot a successful application as soon as [they] read it.” The results of this poll, conducted in the winter and spring of 2013, are displayed in Graph 1. If we assume that these admissions officers were telling the truth, this graph suggests that the factors that determine an application’s success are both identifiable and predictable. Moreover, if these factors can be easily identified on an application, then applicants should approach their applications strategically, and with the utmost care. But how do we know what these factors are? How do they change between different schools? Good questions. Analyzing Admissions Objectively: Since its inception, the inGenius prep team has been working around the clock to compile a one-of-a-kind database from tens of thousands of applications to the most competitive schools. Unlike your run-of-the-mill “admissions calculator” that only accounts for GPA and test scores, our database includes hundreds of variables ranging from nationality and ethnicity, to extracurricular activities and internships; from test scores to personal statement topics; from GPA and class rank to professional job experience. You name it, and we’re collecting data on it. Using this data, our statisticians can analyze and compare successful and unsuccessful applications. This analysis has yielded some very interesting insights. For example: If you are a female high school student applying to Yale College (as well as a number of other schools), your chances of getting admitted â€" holding all other variables constant â€" improves considerably if you say that you are interested in studying engineering. Individuals applying to the top business schools fare much better if they have actually had some entrepreneurial experience, even if that experience was a failure. This is likely because business schools are often overpopulated with applicants who worked at finance/consulting firms, but who have never had to run or operate a business themselves. Your chances of being accepted to a top-ranked law school (particularly Harvard, Yale, and Stanford) increases considerably if you write an honors or senior thesis during college. In fact, academic work beyond regular classwork is a strong predictor of an applicant’s chances of admission for nearly every top-14 law school. These are just a few small examples of what insights this data can produce. Using this data, we can determine what an applicant’s chances of success are for a particular school based on hundreds of variables. More importantly, this data can give applicants objective feedback on how to best improve their chances of admission. You can check our blog for the latest updates from our statisticians. Author Bio Joel Butterly, CEO of inGenius prep inGenius prep is an admissions counseling company which uses state-of-the-art data analysis and its team of former admissions officers to maximize students’ chances of admission to Colleges, Business Schools, Law Schools, and Medical Schools. InGenius is partnering with MyGuru on our new book: 99th Percentile - A Roadmap for Achieving Drastic Performance Improvement on Standardized Tests. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(215486, '6a1dd6c8-e4a0-489c-9abc-5c478662ad47', {});

Listening and Writing Exercise 2013 Year in Review

Listening and Writing Exercise 2013 Year in Review Many of us are now back at work and and have said goodbye to 2013 and hello to 2014.For me personally 2013 was a challenging year. I think the lessons it taught me were to expect the unexpected, be willing to change plans, and that sometimes the best we can do is control our reactions to what life throws at us. 2013 gave us a knee injury, a couple of minor car accidents, one move, lots of visitors and time with family. I am personally looking forward to 2014 and I hope that you are too.We started it out on a positive note, welcoming a new niece into our family on January 1st. This week we have a listening exercise that reviews the year. Also, I wanted to focus on your writing. In comments, tell me about your 2013 year and what you hope for in 2014, and Ill make corrections.1. Everyone of us has been ______ by this attack on your beloved city, everyone of us _______ with you.2. Our ______ was freakin destroyed.3. What are the two largest inventions of our generations?4. What restricts the activities of a survelience state?5. Who gave gay marriage the final stamp of approval in England and Wales?6. How does he suggest we stop the ignorance and intolerance?Ok. Happy 2014! Tell me about your year and what you hope 2014 will bring you. Patty Mares 1. Everyone of us has been _touched_ by this attack on your beloved city, everyone of us _stands _ with you.2. Our _house__ was freakin destroyed.3. What are the two largest inventions of our generations? the internet and the mobile phone4. What restricts the activities of a survelience state? Policy5. Who gave gay marriage the final stamp of approval in England and Wales? Queen Elizabeth the 2nd6. How does he suggest we stop the ignorance and intolerance? By standing strong togetherOk. Happy 2014! Tell me about your year and what you hope 2014 will bring you. 2013 gave me the opportunity to grow as a person to know that it is possible to have relationship that makes me blossom. It gave me self confidence and knowledge of myself, what I really like and what I don ´t. Independance. 2014 will bring me a new stage in my life where I will travel more and will do my best to make it unforgettable, it will also bring me health and this is already making me feel that there are better things to worry about, that your life can change in a minute and as you said that you have to be willing to change plans and as we said in Mexico: when life gives you lemmons.make lemonade, this means that when life is not giving you what you expected you have to take advantage of what it is giving, have an awesome 2014! ?? LOIEnglish Thanks Patty for the response. Your writing is quite good! I found one teeny mistaketo know that it is possible to have (a relationship or no article but relationshipS that make, no s,) me blossom. Happy 2014! LOIEnglish Peter congratulations on your move! Your English seems quite good. Who is your teacher? We love giving our teacher kudos and credit. Thanks for the correction, sometimes late n ight blogging isnt spot clean. Petar Å imic Oh, OK then. The man behind curtains is Joe Manning ?? LOIEnglish Good Pedro. Give the writing a try. Joan 1. Everyone of us has been touch by this attack on your beloved city, everyone of us stands with you.2. Our house was freakin destroyed.3. The internet and the mobile phone4. Policy5. Queen Elizabeth II6. By standing strong together LOIEnglish Sara congratulations on your new job. Learning languages always open new doors. A few quick tips on your writing.What 2013 left me WITH was a lot of magnificent experiences. IN MY WORK LIFE I grew as a project developer and as a teacher. (work life is the correct term, grow up=to mature, grow=move forward or get bigger. I grew up in the 1960s. I grow as a woman every year)Fortunately this experience GAVE me my new job for the new year (past simple). I hope for 2014 I can improve my English and be able to TRAVEL out of my country in order to get a master degree that allows me to improve all m y skills IN the area that I care the most about, Biology. (to go out=to leave your house at night to go to bars or restaurants and enjoy night life)I hope this helps you! Marcio Guerguen First at all, I love this kind of lecture with videos and audio, It gaves us a great helpful hands. In this year. ( I always read the answer section to gave me direction, mainly the correct field.) , I worked hard, I decided to got up early everyday at six and at least studied 4 hours. and one week of each month I went on the razzle, friends of mines moto are Burst at the seams. These effort gave me one new job, Now I will work 24/7. I felt like a millions of butterflies im my stomach, that just they say, When it comes to the crunch you runs. Im not afraid of work day by day, but work with kids and failure, I mean, Im afraid of burn my boats, If i arent good enough just I like I figured it out! So I, m pumped about this new year 2014. LOIEnglish Marcio! Happy 2014Im glad you are pumped for the n ew year and new growth in our lives. Im going to correct your writing below: First OF all, I love this kind of lecture with videos and audio. It is very helpful to us. (helping hands is an idiom used for more physical activities, i.g. He gave me a helping hand carrying the groceries in from the car.) I worked hard, I decided to GET UP early everyday at six and STUDY for AT LEAST 4 hours. (you used past simple in your active verb: decided, so you must use the infinitive form of your following verbs: get up, study.)MarcioIm not sure what this sentence means: I went on the razzle, my friends motorcycles are busting at the seams. Specifically Im not sure what razzle is?I felt AS IF I HAD a million butterflies IN my stomach, but they say,.(Im not sure of the following expression when it comes to the crunch you runs.)Im not afraid of DAILY WORK, but working with kids and failure, I mean, Im afraid of BURNING MY BRIDGES????If I AM NOT AS GOOD AS I THINK.MarcioTry not to translate or use di rect expressions from your language. Most languages have idiomatic expressions but rarely are they the same. For example in Spanish they say: touch wood, tocar madera; In English we say knock on wood. Same meaning but different words. It is difficult to have a direct translation of expressions. Try simplifying your writing and not using expressions for now. LOIEnglish Dont be sorry for your mistakes, that is how we learn.

The Essential Guide on How to Learn a Language by Watching Movies and TV

The Essential Guide on How to Learn a Language by Watching Movies and TV The Essential Guide on How to Learn a Language by Watching Movies and TV Think over this familiar scenario:You finally put together a great and useful phrase which will enable you to get around in another country or communicate with a foreign colleague.  Something along the lines of,  â€œExcuse me, could you tell me where the bank is?”As you hear the reply, “Dkniw neiwn einkcn,” you realize its a non-sensical mass of white noise, and it hits you:Oh god! I have no clue what they’re saying to me! Now what do I do?  Ask again and after the third time give up, nod thankfully and walk away hoping they didn’t realize?You were so focused on your own pronunciation and putting together the correct phrase that you completely forgot about whether or not you’d understand the response!I have forgotten the number of times I have found myself smiling and nodding along to a kind stranger who is giving me an exact answer I can’t understand. I have all but perfected my I-have-no-idea-what-you-are-saying-but-thank-you-so-much-for-your-time face. It is so good, no one has ever suspected I am clueless.Fed up of having to pull out my no clue face every two seconds, I decided I needed to find out how to make sense of this all. I stumbled at the beginning but over the years, and thanks to my students and their ideas, I have put together a raft of techniques and resources for improving language skills through movies  and TV.More  good news: Its  a fun way to learn a language!You can watch whatever it is youre interested in, and learn at the same time!Whats even better is that with the internet, we absolutely do not have to be in a country where the language is spoken to do it, plus we have endless options available to us (evident in the resources section at the end of this post).Using TV Shows, Series and Films to Improve LanguageDo you know what the best thing about learning a language isâ€"something you cannot necessarily say about learning almost anything else? You can watch all the TV and movies you want and actually learnâ€"no need to fee l guilty anymore!TV and movies have  something for everyone, whether its drama, romance, soap operas, nature documentaries or the news. And all this can help you improve your language skills.Now, listen up. The hard part is that a small amount of effort needs to be made in order to maximize learning potential, meaning  you cannot plant your bottom on the couch, stare at the screen, switch off your brain and expect to instantly become a language expert. Nor is it particularly useful to watch something where you understand only 10% of whats going on.Some have suggested that, ideally, in order for it to be useful, we should be listening to material where we understand 90% of whats said.  But personally, I dont think this is useful at all. We would just be reaffirming what we already know. And whats the use in that?I have have always thought we should give our brains some credit. Think about medical dramas or action films: Do you actually listen to all that medical and military spiel? O r do you just look for context, feel content enough with that and carry on?  I’d say most of us do the second. Its natural.We work by context; we do not need to know every single word. With 70% we get what’s going on. We feel comfortable because we know whats happening and have time to pick up on new language at the same time.So where do we go from here? It can be daunting at first, but once you have a basic bank of words, you can start using TV, Netflix or online streaming to your advantage.To both ease you in at the start, and to support you as you advance through your  target language, I recommend balancing  your TV/movie time with FluentU time. Whats FluentU?Learn from Real-world Videos on FluentUFluentU  is an online immersion platform that takes real-world videosâ€"like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that natives  speak them. FluentU ha s a wide variety of videos like movie trailers, funny commercials 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.But FluentU is more than just videos and  the best subtitles youll ever findâ€"its an entire language learning program.Spend time  in FluentUs unique learn mode  before or after  watching a video to learn all that the clip has to offer. Learn mode takes your learning history into account, asking questions based on what you already know, which  sets  you up for success.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  or  Google Play  store.Whether you use it to warm up and get your mind thinking in your target language, to select a film by watching movie trailers, or to learn from  TV show clips, FluentU is a must-have tool for any language learner.The Essential Guide on How to Learn a Language by Watching Movies and TV4 Stages of Foreign Movies/TV Shows for Language LearnersTo keep easing  yourself in, I recommend following these four stages of foreign movies and TV showsâ€"starting at the top and working your way down as you progress through the language.Kids TV and FilmsStart by watching childrens  shows. Think about it, most childrens programs are educational and serve to teach children language and values. They provide simple language along with corresponding images, so its easy to understand.So get in touch with your inner child, or if you have kids, you can sit down with them and watch a show together, like Dora la Exploradora.ComedyOnce you are used to those, you can start watching light comedy. American sitcoms and cartoons are great. The most popular ones are all dubbed into many languages, and can be used to great effect. They tend to use easy-to-understand slapstick humor where physical gestures and movement complement the language.These include shows like How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, The Simpsons, etc.Thrillers/ActionYou can then move on to thrillers, horror and action series or films. Action films are plot-based and very visual, therefore they will often explain the main plot points various times to make sure the audience is following.Series such as CSI and Missing, which exist in their own formats in almost every country, often use familiar templates which follow the same pattern so y ou get a feel for whats going on quickly.Drama/Dark HumorWhen you are ready to turn up the heat, drama and dark humor are perhaps the most difficult to understand for their use of puns and double-meaning or situation and culture-specific language.Films and series (think Breaking Bad or The Wire) rooted in underground or minority cultures can also provide a great challenge, as the accents are thick and a lot of slang is used. They are a great source of cultural knowledge and provide excellent practice with different accents.Now apply the following techniques to each stage.4 Techniques to Learn a Language by Watching Movies and TVHere some additional techniques you can employ to maximize your screen time.Watch a Film All in One GoThis helps mostly with getting a feel for how a language sounds. This is, however, an important step which helps with general understanding and also speaking and pronunciation.The best advice someone once gave me was do not panic. When you hear words you do n ot know, do not go into panic mode; it will only block your brain’s ability to absorb anything.So dont try to understand every single word. Instead, let  your brain relax  and let  the words flow naturally into your ears. Slowly you will find yourself recognizing words. Focus on the images and whats happening on screenâ€"they can help you gain context.If you do have a tendency to panic, it can be extremely helpful to watch that same episode or film dubbed or subtitled in your own language first. Then a few days later, watch it again in the original language. That way you know the story and you can relax better.Watch Segment by SegmentThere is a bottomless gold pot of words and expressions contained in films and series. Splitting an episode or film into small segments is the best way to focus on vocabulary and specific word sounds.Watch an episode or film with the subtitles in the original language switched on. As before, relax and enjoy!  As you watch, jot down four or five short 1-2 minute sections that you liked or that had some interesting dialogue.Once you’ve finished you can go back and focus on those sections. Turn off the subtitles and let yourself relax into it the first time. Since  you now know the context of the film, you may catch 40-50% of what’s going on, and increasingly more as you practice. Watch it again, this time aiming to recognize more words or phrases.Now turn on the subtitles in the original language and watch it again. Listen for what you missed the first two times. Write down any words or phrases you don’t know already. Look them up and put them in your vocabulary notebook. Check out these great tips to memorize vocabulary, so you dont forgot all those new words youve learned!Finally, turn off the subtitles and watch the segment again. Congratulate yourself on how much more you are now understanding!Repeat this process with other segments.Record and RepeatIf are feeling particularly productive, you can go one step further and use digital recording toolsâ€"such as Audacityâ€"to record segments from TV shows or films.With Audacity, switch to record directly from your computer’s built-in microphone, or simply press the record button on your smartphone, to record the segment. Then, you can play it back anytimeâ€"while driving in the car, cleaning or taking a shower.Sometimes the hardest part of listening is recognizing where the splits are between each word. At the beginning it sounds like one never-ending mash. Audacity is very useful because  you can save files in various formats and slow down recordings to  really focus on recognizing sound combinations.Practice Speaking and PronunciationOnce you have your recording you can focus on imitating pronunciation. Repeat the same words and then repeat the phrases, focusing on copying the word sounds. Word sounds are combinations of soundsâ€"how words sound when they are put togetherâ€"which is not necessarily word-by-word, nor phonetical. English is a great ex ample of this:Youre amassing quite a fortuneIf we look at where we place the natural pauses and the sounds we make, it becomes something like:You | ramassin | quai | ta | forchunOnce youve practiced repeating those phrases, you can record yourself and compare it to the original and repeat until you are satisfied.Repetition is the key,  as always. It took me a good few months of Mexican soap operas before I really got into the flow of the language, so don’t be disheartened if it doesn’t come at first. It will, and you’ll see and feel the result in your understanding.Where to Find Foreign Language Movies and TV SeriesApart from all the great resources on FluentU and in your local public library, with the internet we now have easier access to a huge variety of films and series, wherever in the world you may be. Now you have no excuse!Here are just a few site to check out first:Netflix  and Amazon Prime: These  are both fee-based online video streaming sites. You pay monthly and g ain access to a huge library of films and TV series, though both offer a free trial. Netflix offers subtitles in many languages on most movies, whereas Amazon Prime only offers English subtitles on foreign films.TED:  If you havent already heard about TEDTalks and are a language learner, you have been missing out on a gold mine! Completely free, TEDTalks has  over a thousand talks (5-20 minutes in length) from experts and well-known figures on their subject of interest or studyâ€"from design issues to philosophy and science. You can search by language and topic, and choose to add subtitles in a huge number of languages. The transcript is also available in the original language and in the translation.YouTube:  Dont forget that there are manyâ€"especially olderâ€"movies or series available on YouTube, so remember  to check. Type in the name of the film or series, and if you want subtitles you can try to add that in to the search box as well.  For example, if  I want to watch The IT Cr owd with Italia subtitles I could try searching for The IT Crowd sub ITA. Using YouTube is also great if your internet connection is too slow for other streaming sites.Beeline TV  provides a list of TV channels in many languages, even Uzbek TV!Multilingual Books  has a list of websites and links for watching videos, series and films in English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese.SnagFilms  offers free online streaming of foreign films with English subtitlesSubsMovies offers free online streaming of English language films with foreign language subtitles.LosMovies  provides online streaming of English language TV series with English subtitles.And finally, to watch TV shows or movies from the following foreign languages, weve put together some awesome guides for you:Chinese TV |  Chinese moviesFrench TV   |  French moviesGerman TV  |  German moviesJapanese TV  |  Japanese moviesSpanish TV  |  Spanish moviesThis list of resources should  be enough to get you started a nd boosting your level  quickly. Have fun watching and learning!

ACT or SAT Which test is right for me

ACT or SAT Which test is right for me As a high school science and math tutor, I get a lot of questions about college prep and standardized testing. Many students struggle between deciding between taking the ACT or the SAT if their desired school accepts both test scores. Over the years I have found a few key differences that help students decide which is right for them.The ACT and SAT tests are a test designed to evaluate a student’s aptitude for a variety of subjects. Each test changed every session, so the scores are scaled to make them comparable from session to session. Although almost every college will accept either score, it is up to the student to decide which test is better for them. Both take roughly 3.5 hours plus breaks, and cover a variety of core subjects. There are, however a few key differences:1. The ACT has a Science section.Although this ‘Science’ section may scare many students away from the ACT, a more accurate title would be ‘Science Reasoning’ section. This section does not test one’s knowledge about physics, chemistry, or biology, but rather tests one’s ability to use the scientific reasoning one has developed in those courses. This section consists of experimental data, charts, graphs, and other information which the student must analyze and use to come to some sort of conclusions.2. The SAT has an unscored ‘experimental’ section.The SAT has an additional, unscored ‘experimental section, which will either be an additional math, reading, or writing section. This means there will be an extra section in one of these categories, but it will not be identified as to which one is not graded, so be sure to try your best on each one.3. The SAT penalizes you for wrong answers.The ACT uses only your correct answers in order to determine your section and overall scores. The SAT however, not only awards points for wrong answers, but subtracts points for incorrect answers. This means that if one is taking the SAT, they are better off leaving an answer blank than ‘guessing’. There are many strategies designed to help a student decide when to skip and when to ‘guess’ on the SAT, but a student should really use their own judgement on how confident they feel about each answer. If they are pretty sure but have some doubt, they might want to guess, but randomly bubbling, or ‘Christmas-treeing’ as it is sometimes called, is highly discouraged.4. The SAT emphasizes vocabulary.The SAT is known for its difficult vocabulary questions, and there are plenty of prep materials out there just to help you learn these. If you are a great wordsmith, this will be a good fit for you, but if you struggle finding synonyms or with particular connotations of words, this might be something you should stay away from.5. The location of the essay portions are different.Does writing an essay tire you out, or warm you up? The SAT starts with the essay portion, with the multiple choice sections all coming after. The ACT, on the other hand, finishes with the essay last. If this is something that could affect how you perform on the rest of the exam, it may be something worth thinking about.6. The SAT is broken up into many small sections.When a student takes the ACT, they take each subject in one long sitting. On the SAT, the subjects are divided into 10 smaller multiple choice sections, with the student switching back and forth between the different subjects. If moving back and forth between the content confuses you, you may want to take the ACT, but if you get tired of a subject after thirty minutes, you may want to take the SAT.7. The ACT is more time-constrained.On the SAT is it important to be conscious of time, but bad time management could break you on the ACT. A student is much more likely to run out of time on a section of the ACT, so it is important to know your limits in regards to time. If you are not the best at paying attention to the clock during exams, you may want to take a timed practice test to see how strapped for time you’ll end up being.8. ACT composite is more important than sections.When colleges are reviewing a student’s scores, they are much more concerned with a student’s composite on the ACT and with the subject scores on the SAT. So if you have relatively strong scores on each section and they don’t differ much, the SAT might be better for you, but if you are weak in grammar but have a killer math talent, than the ACT might be the way to go. 9. ACT questions tend to be more straightforward.The ACT tends to write pretty straightforward questions that might take multiple steps and a little more effort to solve. The SAT however tends to have harder to understand questions, but once a student understands what is being asked of them, it may be easier or simpler to solve.10. The ACT tests more advanced math concepts.SAT and ACT both cover basic logical arithmetic, Algebra I and II, and a good deal of geometry. The ACT, however, also includes some basic trigonometry, which can be difficult for those with a weakness in math. However, the questions tend to be easier to understand, so I would recommend trying out a few problems of each and deciding from there which you may prefer.11. The ACT Writing Test is optional.The ACT essay portion is not included in one’s overall score- it is sort of tacked on to the end. That said, most colleges will require you take this portion as well. The key difference here is if you struggle with writing essays that require you to take a position on a topic and explain it, then you can still do poorly on it without it affecting your overall score. If you are a strong writer, however, you may want to take the SAT so that your essay score helps your grammar score.Determining which exam is right for youThere are many different factors in deciding which test would be a better for you to take. If you are still unsure which you want to take after reading this post, I recommend taking a practice test of each, and seeing how you fair on each one and which you feel more comfortable with. Additionally, there are many different online assessment quizzes that can estimate which one is better for you based on your testing habits and preferences.In the end, it is a good idea to take both the SAT and the ACT, since you can choose which scores to submit to which schools. That way, you have twice the opportunity to impress your dream school.

5 Free Apps Every College Student Should Have

5 Free Apps Every College Student Should Have Upgrade your study methods and enjoy paperless productivity.Akiko Aoki/Getty Images The task of  juggling a college workload is not an easy one. With papers, tests and so much reading your eyes become sore; its no  surprise  that things tend to slip through the cracks. These five free apps, however, can help you organize yourself and hopefully allow you to maintain some  semblance  of a social life. 1.    StudyBlue With a set of high quality study tools you can effortlessly condense hours of flashcard making into half that time. Studyblue allows you to take advantage of your phones built in microphone and dictate a flashcard in seconds; you can even snap a picture if you’d like a visual aid. Quiz yourself on the go and keep track of your scores to map your progress. Students can even share their flashcards on Studyblue’s website and search through hundreds of subjects to access pre-made flashcards. 2.  Evernote                 Record audio, capture pictures, store class notes, files, ideas and more; Evernote is the paragon of note taking apps. Functional with nearly every mobile device and computer, Evernote allows you to sync all your notes between devices and keeps everything up to date. Create multiple notebooks for easy navigation and search by keywords to find anything at a moment’s notice. Just like StudyBlue, you can download and share notes with anyone, they don’t even need an Evernote account. You can easily make your notes public with a URL link, email them to someone directly or create a downloadable PDF file. 3.  Alarmed As the name would suggest, Alarmed  isnt  just an alarm clock but your very own personal assistant. In addition to orienting you during your morning daze, Alarmed allows you set a series of reminders, countdown or up to events and quickly create alerts on the go through the use of your phone’s built in microphone. For the really important task, the nag-me feature will repeatedly remind you at intervals from 1 minutes to 1 hour until you acknowledge the reminder. 4.  Chegg It’s no secret that college textbooks are expensive, so at the end of the semester don’t let them collect dust. As an app that is geared toward renting, buying and selling textbooks, Chegg is a great way to quickly compare and contrast prices between retailers. Simply scan the  bar-code  of a book and peruse a list of opinions. Chegg allows you to purchase, extend rentals and manage your due dates all from your phone. You can even sell your textbooks directly to Chegg and track the shipping process. 5.  MyFitnessPal College is typically the time when healthy eating habits are flung out the window, but with MyFitnessPal that  doesnt  have to become a reality. Research studies have consistently confirmed the health benefit for keeping track of the food you eat and activity you do. MyFitnessPal offers a food diary and activity log, believing the more conscious you are of your food intake and physical activity the more likely you are to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The app offers nutritional guidelines and a food database with the nutritional facts of over 2 million items.