Minneapolis Tutoring - Finding The Right Tutor For Your Child

Minneapolis Tutoring - Finding The Right Tutor For Your ChildIt's a popular misconception that McGraw tutoring is the only option for children in the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas. That's far from the truth. Many great children's programs can be found, and it's time you discovered some.What if you were to tell you that everything you've done and learned about tutoring has been the right thing to do? Your answer could be 'yes.' In fact, if you understand what you did wrong and what you could have done differently, you'll have a better chance of becoming a well-rounded adult who has had a successful, loving, and enjoyable experience with a number of tutoring services.While many parents hesitate when it comes to starting an after school program in their child's neighborhood, the thought of simply signing up for an alternative to an overcrowded public school should bring pleasure. The largest, best-known, and perhaps the most universally recognized school district in the country (since the advent of the internet, anyway) is situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. With such a large system of schools, it's no wonder why Minneapolis parents are having trouble finding the time to deal with the problems within their community.So what does a student in Minneapolis need from a tutor? They need someone who is committed to both learning and working with kids. They need someone who can offer both traditional and non-traditional learning methods. And they need someone who can be flexible enough to change the program as needed or grow as a student grows.Here's how you find the perfect program for your child in Minneapolis and the ideal tutor to work with your child. First, ask yourself: What are your expectations of your child's tutor? What type of student do you expect them to be?Experience should not be compromised in favor of a more professional demeanor. At the same time, a person with the wrong attitude toward learning and someone who has a professional degree may lead to in effective tutoring. If your child is young, try to avoid young people who've only recently started their education. If they lack the necessary experience and have a poor attitude, they'll cost you far more than they will ever save you.When you know your child best, it's much easier to find a tutor that is right for them. Even if they aren't from Minneapolis or the surrounding area, ask yourself what you want out of the relationship between you and your child's tutor. The answer to this question can help you choose a great one who can help your child succeed.

How to Learn Cantonese Vocabulary.

How to Learn Cantonese Vocabulary. A Guide to Learning New Words and Phrases in Cantonese. ChaptersWhy Learn Cantonese?Why Focus on Learning Vocabulary?How to Learn Vocabulary in Cantonese.In language learning, there is a lot to get on top of. You have the grammar, the pronunciation, the syntax. You have the essential receptive and productive language skills â€" listening and reading, and speaking and writing, respectively. And you have all those quirks that a particular language might have: a strange common idiom, an idiosyncratic way that nouns and adjectives need to agree, or the particular stress of a syllable.All of this contributes to make learning a language one of the most difficult â€" and intimidating â€" tasks that there is.But then there is a language like Cantonese, which necessarily brings its own particular challenges. The different script â€" as in, the non-alphabetic, logographic writing system. The phonetic differences, including the tonal structure of the language and the aspiration. And the fact that there are no verb tenses in the language at all â€" o nly temporal indications through the adverbs.All of this makes Cantonese a little tricky to get your head around â€" at least at first.Yet, there is something even more important than all of this for learning Cantonese â€" and arguably any language. That’s vocabulary learning, the process by which you will be encountering, memorizing, and using a new word. To some experts in linguistics, this is the most important part of the process of learning a second language.And so, we’re here to tell you how best to learn your new vocabulary. We’ll be looking at some ways to learn new words in Cantonese â€" and ways to use them too.Check out how you can learn to read Cantonese! NingChinese Teacher 5.00 (10) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LorraineChinese Teacher £10/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JoyceChinese Teacher £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicoleChinese Teacher £ 60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors KatyChinese Teacher £16/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YangChinese Teacher £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ChengChinese Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsWhy Learn Cantonese?Although we’re often told that, in this day and age, it is best to learn more commonly spoken languages â€" such as Spanish, Mandarin, or Arabic â€" sometimes people are just drawn to a particular foreign language.They don’t care to learn languages just because they might be useful, but â€" rather â€" they have different reasons for the appeal of a given new language. They might have fallen in love. Life might have led them to move to a particular place. They might have developed that strange interest in a place that just comes out of nowhere.So, if you’re convinced that you want to be fluent in your language, there’s often no changing your mind. And we’re guessing that, if you are here, Cantonese is the language fo r you.Without much more, we’ll let you know at least that it is a great language to learn, by the way. Sixty million people speak Cantonese, in one of the most commercially and culturally important areas of the world: China’s Guangdong province, Hong Kong, and Macau.But it’s also one of those wonderful languages that native speakers of different languages learn to communicate with each other: a lingua franca. It’s used as such across southeast Asia.As we said before though, this information probably isn’t enough to get you interested in the language. That, we hope, has happened already.Check out our full guide to learning Cantonese. Practice your Cantonese vocab - and head to Hong Kong!Why Focus on Learning Vocabulary?A more important question really is why so much focus on learning vocab?This isn’t as daft as it may sound. Yes, we all know that languages are made up of words â€" thanks. And so, without vocabulary, you aren’t going to go very far â€" thanks again.But it’s more important than that.Many linguists believe that our normal vocabularies are actually much smaller than we might assume. Whilst there might be over 170,000 words in the English language, the reality is that we use just the tiniest fraction of these day-to-day.Three hundred words, actually, make up sixty-five percent of the things we say.Think about that for a moment. With three hundred words, you can unlock the majority of content, speech, and lines in a given language. And, around those most common words, you can build your grammar, your own speech.So, before you freak out about the amount of stuff you need to memorize, just think. T hree hundred words. That’s getting you over half of the way to fluency. After that, when you build vocabulary, you are only becoming more advanced â€" but you know the essentials already.Learn how to write in Cantonese!How to Learn Vocabulary in Cantonese.With that thought in mind, we hope you are going into your Cantonese vocabulary acquisition process with happy thoughts and a bit of optimism. Because developing a bit of fluency in a language is not as hard as you are often told it is.Anyway, here are some ways to extend your own vocabulary list. They are, in fact, the only ways you’re going to improve your vocabulary.Find out the Most Common Cantonese Words.The step for a language learner hoping to develop their vocabulary skills is to check out the most common words in their target language.You’ll find these quite easily with a quick Google. Memrise, for example, has a great feature on precisely this.This list of words will constitute the fundamental elements of your vocab ulary development. It provides a substantial and systematic way of organising your lexical learning â€" rather than just learning the words that you encounter (which is something that you will do later). Find new vocabulary from your reading.Write Down Your New Cantonese Words.If you have found these word lists, then write them down for your own personal study.Yes, we said write them down. We don’t mean copy and paste, print, or type up. We mean literally write them down. In this process, words stick better. You have to think about them, their shape, their sound, their ‘spelling’.And we say ‘spelling’ because you need to write these words, initially at least, both in the Chinese characters and in their Romanized form. This way, you’ll get used to the shape and image of the Chinese character, but also have the crutch for your pronunciation.Accompany this information with the meanings, any phonetic aids (such as the tones), and any mnemonic that will help your memorization.Create a Cantonese Dictionary or Flashcard Bank.With these words, you can do a couple of things â€" yet the aim here is to have a database of your new vocabulary.This can be in flashcards â€" that you can carry around and flick through whenever you have a spare moment. These are good if you want to test yourself or want other people to test you on your new words.Or, you can be old school and use a dictionary â€" but only one that you have made yourself. Building a receptive vocabulary is great, sure, but if you actually want to use these words, you’re going to have to develop that productive part of your language knowledge too. So, write them down; produce that language that you are hoping to memorise.Find tips on Cantonese characters!Use Language Apps.Once you have got the basics down, try using language applications on your phone. Depending on how sophisticated they are, you can use them to practice all of your language skills â€" from reading and writing to speaking and listening.What apps like Memrise, Duolingo, and Babbel do is organise your language learning into thematic stages â€" with quizzes, challenges, and tests. These provide vocabulary relevant to the particular them e that you are studying â€" and reinforce your knowledge through repetition, primarily.When you are on the move, they are a great way to keep practising. But don’t rely on them entirely. The internet is a great place to learn Cantonese vocabularyImmerse Yourself in the Language.What you really want to be doing to develop your language skills is to pick up language and vocabulary from authentic contexts and situations. This means that your primary aim â€" after the initial three hundred words â€" should be to discover new words in dialogues, books, tv programmes, etc etc. In other words, places from which Cantonese people would learn language themselves.This, among other things, means that you ought to do the following:Read Cantonese literature and magazines;Listen to Cantonese radio and music;Watch Cantonese television and films.In these places, you will find all sorts of colloquialisms, idioms, and expressions â€" and you’ll find that you’ll recognise many more words than you think you will.Remember, after those first three hundred words, you are much better than you think you are.Find other Cantonese learning strategies!Simply Translate the Words You Need.At th is point, you are welcome to just translate yourself the words that you encounter in the world.We don’t recommend things like Google Translate. Rather, find a reliable source of information on Cantonese, such as an Oxford Dictionary, a dictionary published by Routledge, or another prestigious institution.Encounter a word, translate it, and write it down. Then you can start to memorise it.Use Your New Words.Yet, the fun starts when you actually start using your new vocabulary. There is no point learning it if you don’t intend to use it.So find a native speaker of Cantonese â€" either a tutor or a friend. And practise, practise, practise.

3 Key Components of a Good MBA Application

3 Key Components of a Good MBA Application GMAT MBA Admissions Blog Applying to business school is an extremely competitive process. Top schools such as Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Wharton hold applicants to high standards, so putting together a good application is key. The three key components of a good MBA application are: a strong academic profile, work experience, and a compelling answer to why you are applying to MBA programs. A Strong Academic Profile Your academic profile is the first impression you will make on an admissions officer. A good GPA, strong GMAT or GRE, and competitive undergraduate institution, will put you in a good place. Your GPA is an indicator of how well you perform in a traditional academic setting, and admissions officers will look to this number as evidence of your ability to succeed in business school. If you have certain concerns with your GPA or transcript, such as a drop in grades one semester, or a slow start at the beginning of college, these are points you can address in an addendum. That being said, the addendum should be used to explain extenuating circumstances, such as a drop in grades one semester due to a death in the family, or something of that nature. Using this additional information section to explain these sorts of situationsâ€"without making excusesâ€"can be a good way to shed light on your GPA or transcript. The GMAT or GRE are thought of as indicators of how well you will succeed in your first year in business school. For students coming from non-business-related majors, the GMAT is a good opportunity to display your aptitude at quantitative skills, if you are lacking those in your academic background. Applying from a competitive, undergraduate school will also help your chances at top MBA programs, especially if you performed well at that school. That being said, your GPA, GMAT, and undergraduate school are simply the first means of evaluation. Once you meet a certain academic threshold for schools, it becomes a matter of standing out in comparison to applicants with similar qualifications. Good Work Experience Good work experience is a major point of evaluation for MBA schools. Unless you are applying directly out of undergrad through a program such as Harvard’s 2+2, you will need a strong resume. If you are coming from a more traditional finance or consulting background, then you should think about ways in which your work experience has differed from your peers. Have you led individual projects? Have you recently been promoted to a managerial role? Have you displayed leadership and initiative in your recent jobs? An upward, promotional trajectory is something top MBA programs look for on applicants’ resumes. Your letters or recommendation should speak to your leadership and initiative in the workplace. Make sure that your recommenders can draw on concrete examples of how you were a changemaker at your job, and how you will continue to impact the business world following your MBA degree. An Answer to: Why are you pursuing an MBA? Many students apply to business school to simply “get ahead.” Yet, admissions offices are looking to admit students who will use their MBA degree in impactful, meaningful ways. This means that as you write your business school essay, you should consider this question of why are you pursuing an MBA degree? You want to be able to tell a compelling, cohesive, and unique story through your application. Let’s say, for example, you have been working at an Investment Bank for the past few years and have been a leader in your specific division, but that your true passion is in sports technology. Maybe you played a Division I sport in college, and you have continued that interest by running in marathons or volunteering to coach a youth basketball team. Now, you need an MBA in order to transition your past leadership skills into this new field, in which you plan to start your own company. This is a compelling answer to “why I need an MBA.” It also brings work experience, academic interests, extracurricular activities, and future goals together in a cohesive way. As you work on your MBA applications, think about what makes you a unique applicant. Formulate your application around this persona. Your academic background may qualify you for top schools like HBS or GSB. But the story you tell about your work experience and your goals for the future may be the ultimate, deciding factor. About the Author: Hannah Smith is a Graduate Coach and admissions expert at InGenius Prep, an MBA admissions counseling company, with Former Admissions Officers from top business schools such as Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton.

Fair Dinkum, Down Under Travel English For Australia

Fair Dinkum, Down Under Travel English For Australia Australia is known for its coral reefs, rugby,  and famous actors like Nicole Kidman. However, it is also known for its difficult dialect of English which even native speakers can have trouble understanding.Heres a vocabulary guide to help you out if you are planning a trip to Australia for work or leisure.Food and drink If you plan on spending time in Australia you will have to know about vegemite.  This is a dark paste made of yeast extract that is put on bread. You will either love it or hate it!Food is called “tucker.”“Chook” means chicken.“Chips” means French fries.A sausage is often called a “snag.”Jello-o is called “jelly.”Candy is referred to as “lollies.”In Australia if you hear someone saying they are going to “Mackers” it means they are going to McDonalds.Dinner is often called “tea.”A convenience store or corner shop is called a “milk bar.”Tea is called a “cuppa” (from a cup of tea.)Alcohol is referred to as “grog.”Social G’da y means hello.“Arvo” means this afternoon. For example “I have to work this arvo.”“Barrack” means to support. For example “I barrack for the Melbourne team.”“Fair dinkum” means that someone or something is genuine.If someone calls you their mate, it means “friend.”“My shout” means that person is offering to pay.“Ooroo” means goodbye.Thanks is often shortened to “ta.”A “stickybeak” is an interfering person.A man is referred to as a “bloke.”An argument is called a “blue.”If someone complains regularly  they are called a “whinger.”An idiot is called a “hoon” or a “nong.”If someone is ill they are said to be “crook.”Cooee! Is often shouted in Australia to attract attention or to let someone know where one is standing.There is a related expression “within cooee” which means nearby. For example, my house is “within cooee” means “my house is nearby.”A hillbilly/redneck can be referred to as a “yobbo” or “boga n.”“No worries” means no problem.“Happy as Larry,” means that someone has no cause for complaint or is content.Random A didgeridoo is a long wind instrument native to Australia.“Oz” means Australia itself. It can also be referred to as Down Under.An Australian person is called an “Aussie.”Money is called “bickies.”A barbeque is often called a “barbie.”The rural area in Australia is called “the bush.”“Bush telegraph” means local gossip.Food to be found in the wild is called “bush tucker.”If something is hurt or sore it is referred to as “bung” for example, “a bung shoulder.”“Bung” is also used to mean to throw. For example, “bung a chicken into the oven.”Hard work is called “hard yakker” in Australia.A toilet or bathroom is often called a “dunny.”Football is called “footie.”A strange person is called a “dingbat.”“Daks” means underpants.You might hear someone call a cigarette a “durry.”A bathing costume migh t be called a “cozzie.”If someone is on the “dole” it means they are on welfare unemployment benefits.

Families Say Private Tuition Definitely Helps Improve Exam Grades

Families Say Private Tuition Definitely Helps Improve Exam Grades New research has shown that private tuition does seem to improve grades at GCSE and A-Level. The survey, conducted by First Tutors, asked families with children taking exams this year whether they felt private tuition had improved their estimated grades. Results showed that private tuition increased results by an average of one grade, e.g. from D to C, enough to make a potentially crucial difference to university choices. At both GCSE and A-Level, the biggest potential for grade improvement was shown to be at the lower end of the grade scale (grades U - D), where students improved an average of two grades. Starting early appears to matter, particularly to GCSE candidates where those receiving private tuition for between three and six months lifted their results by an average of one and a half grades, versus just under one grade for those receiving tuition for less than three months. But surprisingly, there was little correlation between hourly fees charged by tutors and grade impact. The average cost of tuition for GCSE and A-level among students surveyed was 22 per hour, with most families choosing one hour per week of private tutoring. Asked whether they felt the grade improvement could be attributed to private tuition, 80% of the 150 families surveyed said they believed tutoring had definitely improved their results. Additionally, 95% of families said they would recommend First Tutors as a way of finding a tutor. Commercial director, Anita Moss, commented, We are delighted to produce preliminary research into the extent to which private tuition improves exam results. However, it is also important to note that whilst getting the grade matters to our clients, improving understanding of a subject ranked almost equally as a key motivating factor in finding a tutor. First Tutors has over 10,000 tutors registered on the website, and tens of thousands of families use the service to locate local tutors every year. This preliminary survey indicates that there is deeper research potential for educationalists and First Tutors hopes this will encourage academic collaboration to explore the data further.

5 Resources to Organize as a High School Freshman

5 Resources to Organize as a High School Freshman Tips from an Irvine Back-to-School Tutor: 5 Resources to Organize as a High School Freshman Organization is one of the keys to being successful during the first year of high school. During middle school, students are organized by their classroom teacher and parent but, in high school, they will be expected to take on a more independent approach. A 9th-grade teacher will encourage students to ask questions if they are confused or need clarification as opposed to asking each student if they understand the assignment. Students will be expected to do more homework and study for more challenging exams during the 9th grade as well. Once students get off track, it can get very difficult to reorganize, and they may feel overwhelmed and behind for the remainder of the year. As a result, prevention is the best cure when it comes to high school level organization. 1. A Weekly Schedule It’s important for high school freshmen to take a look at their weekly schedule and make sure they have enough free time to complete all of their self-studies. They will have classes from around 7:30 in the morning to 2:30 in the afternoon and should expect to spend at least a couple hours at home completing assignments. Students are not yet old enough to work, but they may be participating in sports or other after school activities that take up a lot of their time. Students should also leave time to schedule in working with a tutor if they need help in a particular subject (READ: 4 Ways to Adjust to Back to School). 2. A Reasonable Number of Extracurricular Activities Elementary and middle school children often have a large number of extracurricular activities to keep them busy in the afternoon. After students start high school, they will need quite a bit of time to manage their homework assignments. As a result, its a good idea to set a reasonable number of extracurricular activities that still allow students time to work on the self study. Some sports leagues meet a couple of times a week while others meet every day after school. Students may be in art, music, and ballet classes in middle school but should pick their favorite as they adjust to their first year of high school. Each student is an individual, so its important they think about what works for them and their goals. 3. Reorganizing During Break Holiday breaks are a great time for students to sit down and reorganize. Backpacks and study desks can overflow with out-of-date assignments and crumpled up pieces of paper. It’s a good idea for students to sit down with their parents or with an Irvine private tutor during a break and make sure they have only what they need. Old assignments should not be thrown away but rather filed into a drawer where they can access it later if they need to study for the final exam. Basic reorganization a few times a year is essential to maintaining a successful high school career. 4. Academic Support Many students will need academic support during their first year of high school due to the increased amount of difficulty. Basic science is now chemistry and English, and language arts is now 18th-century poetry. These more complicated subtopics can be confusing and difficult to a new student. Thus, the organization often falls by the wayside and students need help both with their assignments and staying on top of things. 5. Breaking up Assignments Into Smaller Parts Another way students can stay organized is to break larger assignments into smaller parts. For instance, perhaps a research paper is due two weeks from today. That means it will probably take students a week and a half to two weeks to complete it. Its important to break up the assignment into smaller parts such as writing an outline tomorrow, conducting initial research on Saturday afternoon, and writing the final draft three days before the due date. Students who can organize the timeframe of their assignments are more likely to be successful because they will have extra time to fix mistakes when necessary (READ: 4 Reasons to Multitask While Studying). The best way to get back into the swing of school is with the help of a private Irvine Tutor from TutorNerds. Our tutors work with your busy schedule. Call us today for more information. All blog entries, with the exception of guest bloggers, are written by Tutor Nerds. Are you an education professional? If so, email us at pr@tutornerds.com for guest blogging and collaborations. We want to make this the best free education resource in SoCal, so feel free to suggest what you would like to see us write.

Games Can Help Kids Learn! - ALOHA Mind Math

Games Can Help Kids Learn! Ask any parent about the best way to keep a child occupied and sitting in one position for more than 10 minutes and the answer will mostly be “Hand them a video game!” Though we try to impose restrictions and limit the time spent on electronic items such as games or the computer, an easier way might be to introduce children to games that are fun as well as educational. In this way, we can utilize the time that is going to be spent on playing games anyway, in an effective and positive way. Free Educational Games Online:You can find a multitude of learning games for kids on online sites which can be played free of cost. These are usually even provided in a grade-wise grouping which makes it easy to find age appropriateness for your child. Do make sure that you scout around and check out the site online before you let your child play any game unsupervised especially for younger children. You will even find fun games for kids that help motor skills, such as painting or typing games, as well as a variety of math games for kids. Some of the most popular games are: Coloring games like this which educates the child about colors as well as teaches them motor control in a fun way. Math games like this one in which the child gets to play a game like pac-man and also solve some simple math problems along the way. Sites like this also give a grade-wise selection of games. Using gadgets effectively: Children are instantly attracted to gadgets like tablets or phones and pick up navigation skills to get around these devices even faster than an adult can. Parents can ensure that devices are updated with the current apps and newer games, choosing a combination of fun and educational games. Kids spend a lot of time on gadgets especially when you may be traveling and there may be nothing else to entertain them, so by choosing the best educational games for kids, you can make sure that they can learn along with play.“Super Why” has been named as one of the best educational Apple apps for kids, by Parenting.com, Board Games: Whenever possible, parents can also sit with children and play games such as Scrabble which are great for building vocabulary. Initially they might need a little parental guidance unlike with some online games or apps, but once the child gets an idea of the rules, they can start playing with friends and spread the enthusiasm too. As we can see, there are many games that we can choose from to help our kids have fun and learn at the same time. Another way to make learning fun and easy is to introduce them to mental math techniques through Abacus classes at Aloha USA. Please see our website for more details: http://www.aloha-usa.com/. Also, follow us on Facebook; http://www.facebook.com/aloha.usa and on Twitter @AlohaKidsMath for continuous updates on your child’s learning development!