ESL Teachers - Helping Foreign Language Students Learn Chinese

ESL Teachers - Helping Foreign Language Students Learn ChineseEnglish teachers who help ESL students learn the Chinese language also do other things to make their students learn the language. It is sometimes difficult for the teachers to go on their own to help a student as the student is not yet strong enough to handle the task of learning the language alone.For Chinese children, there are two schools that would offer a better curriculum and they are a day school and an English school. If a student wants to study in an English school, he has to go to the school that is nearest to his home.ESL teachers should have time to help the children with their study and if you have a choice between the two, it is best to ask the teacher which school he thinks would be best for the child. However, even if the teacher thinks the school is best, it is the child's choice. If you do not feel you can manage your students and the task at hand, you can ask your ESL teacher to help you.If you want to l earn the Chinese language yourself, you will have to take some help from a tutor. Chinese language has a large vocabulary and there are many words that are difficult to understand. You need a tutor who can help you in understanding these difficult words.The best thing about foreign language teachers is that they teach at the same pace as you do. They know your child's weaknesses and strengths and can be your most effective assistant in helping the child understand the words and learning the language. The biggest problem with ESL teachers and tutors is that they both need to go to their students at the same time.These students may have different courses, different lessons, different timetables and different schedules. It is important for both teacher and student to have some kind of assistance at any time. It helps both to bond better and it makes sure that both of them are not overwhelmed by their tasks.A foreign language tutor can also help you in long distance Chinese teaching. Th ey know how to use the online resources that are available to help you in your teaching.

10 Extremely Influential Guitarists Who Were Not Technically Great

10 Extremely Influential Guitarists Who Were Not Technically Great Megan L. You dont have to be a virtuoso guitarist to touch peoples hearts with your music! Guitar teacher  Samuel B.  shares a few of his favorite great-but-not-that-great famous guitar players Towards the end of Johnny Cashs autobiography, youll find the following paragraph: As to my musical future, my prospects look good. I can whack on a guitar as incompetently as I could a year ago, probably more so. I can sing just as well, or as badly, as I ever could. And Ive got more songs trying to go through me than ever; Ive written three in the last three weeks. Despite his technical limitations,  Johnny Cash remains an iconic musician, and likely will for decades to come. It is a mistake, I think, to automatically link great music  with technical perfection. Vaughan, Hendrix, and Clapton aside, the majority of my guitar heroes were not superb musicians. Their influence is based on innovation and expression to a much greater extent than it is on fluid musicianship. Cash is just one example. Here are nine others: Bob Dylan Guitar-wise, the best Ive heard of Dylan are the tracks on his first album for Columbia: Bob Dylan (1962). With two exceptions, its 14 tracks are traditional songs or material by other artists which Dylan adapted to a fast-paced “high and lonesome” style involving intense strumming and (in some cases) intricate fingerpicking. Despite these energetic musical highlights, none of his other albums boast remarkable guitar moments. While Dylan has proven himself an exceptional and highly influential lyricist, his musicianship is considered average at best. Tom Petty Just listen to the opening chords of “Free Fallin.” They are about as simple as they come. The song itself has no chorus or bridge. Very few figures in rock create anthems as memorable as Pettys. Theyre not based on intricacy â€" just gut and tone. Pettys music  is raw and exuberant. Any listener can relate to it. Richie Havens A former doo-wop and gospel singer, Havens maintained a career of playing an alternate tuning with his thumb over the neck. The sound of his strumming and his voice was unmistakable â€" a powerful yet warm and soothing balm. At times, he described his guitar as more of a tool than an instrument. Havens contribution to music history was not based so much on musical excellence as it was on his ability to use his artistic gifts and his grandfatherly wisdom to inspire the best in others. BB King Footage from the 1988 documentary Rattle and Hum includes a collaboration between U2 and King. During the rehearsal, King twice indicates how poorly he plays chords. Kings calling card was his vibrato which (like Havens thumb chords) was his alone. Who can forget his childlike face after telling Lucille to talk to him and closing his eyes? Kurt Cobain Even on Nirvanas intimate MTV unplugged album, no guitar highlights are apparent. In most respects, Cobain was an innovative songwriter and bandleader. He should be credited as having been one of the key players that brought alternative music to the mainstream. Few bands had a sound as full-bodied and expressive as Nirvanas. Joni Mitchell Mitchells diverse use of open tunings is not well-known. Shes used more of them than any recognizable guitarist I can think of. The sound of her lower strings has been compared to that of a snare drum. The sound of her higher ones to that of a cool jazz horn section. Shes even taken to having her electric “VG-8” guitar tuned offstage as each song on her set list is in a different tuning. Still, she is not a technically brilliant guitarist. Dave “The Edge” Evans I  once saw  Evans provide a televised tour of his onstage lineup of pedals and related electronic tools during U2s Zoo TV tour in the early 90s. Among the guitarists whove honed a recognizable niche in alternative music, hes a chief innovator. The haunting opening lines of “With Or Without You” should be considered a revolutionary piece of musical history in of itself â€" a single sustained note over multiple measure of the bass line (not an easy feat actually). The strumming later in the song comes close to imitating the sound of a train. As with Cobain, credit is due as praise for the sound itself â€" not for how fast and flashy he has played it. Amy Ray and Emily Saliers When it comes to attitude and energy (not to mention lyrical brilliance and enough stage presence to convert an entire arena of avid concertgoers into instant fans), nobody compares to Amy and Emily (The Indigo Girls). Theyve penned what I consider to be some of the most memorable songs of the last two (nearly three) decades (ie “Closer To Fine”, “Joking”, “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee”, “Least Complicated”). As is true with many of the others mentioned, unforgettable guitar licks are few (if any) on their albums and in their live shows. Theyve given us a beautiful tapestry of poetry and emotion thats easy for most of us to appreciate and understand. What did you think of this list? Are there any famous guitar players youd like to add? Let us know in the comments below! Samuel B. teaches beginner  guitar lessons in Austin, TX. He teaches lessons face-to-face without sheet music, which is his adaptation of Japanese instruction (involving a call-and-response method). Learn more about Samuel here! Photo by Mathias Miranda Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher

Happy Pi Day! Enjoy Heart Math Tutorings p Chart!

Happy Pi Day! Enjoy Heart Math Tutorings p Chart! Happy Pi Day! 3 Ways To Find p Happy Pi Day! 3 Ways To Find p March 13, 2015 For years, math fans around the world have celebrated Pi Day on March 14. You can find videos, songs and T-shirts to mark the occasion. Many also count it as a day to eat lots of pie. Why is the number Pi, denoted by the Greek letter p and pronounced “pie,” worthy of so much praise? Pi   is one of the most common constants in all of mathematics. It is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter or approximately 3.1415926. This year, the day is even more special since it’s 3-14-15. According to PiDay.org, Pi has been calculated to over one trillion digits beyond its decimal point. As an irrational and transcendental number, it will continue infinitely without repetition or pattern. While only a handful of digits are needed for typical calculations, Pi’s infinite nature makes it a fun challenge to memorize, and to computationally calculate more and more digits. Here are some ways to find p if you don’t have a pie or calculator:

Hypertext Narrative Creator and Grammar Checker

Hypertext Narrative Creator and Grammar Checker How to Create a Hypertext Narrative with the Virtual Writing Tutor Have you ever read a choose-your-own-adventure story? A hypertext narrative is a branching story just like that but online with hyperlinks. The reader reads a section of the story and then chooses how the story should progress by clicking on a link. See examples of hypertext stories created with the Virtual Writing Tutor. You can create your own hypertext story using the Virtual Writing Tutor Hypertext Narrative Creator. Because the hypertext is stored safely in the users profile, this feature is available only to membersbut membership is 100% free. As you create your hypertext story, you can add images, and links, and ensure that it is error-free using the Virtual Writing Tutors spell checker and grammar checker. You can publish your hypertext narrative to a blog using HTML with jQuery, plain HTML, or as an iframe. How to Create a Hypertext Narrative with the Virtual Writing Tutor Please follow and like us:

TutorNerds Featured on OC Mom Blog End of the School Year Tips

TutorNerds Featured on OC Mom Blog End of the School Year Tips TutorNerds Guest Post on the Orange County Mom Blog: 4 Tips to Help your Child Concentrate Through the End of the School Year As students are wrapping up the school year, its important to make sure theyre on track to finish strong. To help with this, one of our private Orange County tutors wrote a guest post for our friends at the OC Mom Blog. It’s that time of year again, school is almost over, and students are excited to get out of the classroom and into the swing of summer. Unfortunately, this can make it harder for students to concentrate on what’s important including end-of-year testing, final exams, and final projects that will make a big difference in their overall GPA. There are lots of things kids can do to stay on track and work towards academic success for the remainder of the year. Make the most of your summer break! With our experienced Orange County tutors that work with your schedule, youll be able to catch up and get ahead on your academics all while relaxing and having fun in the sun. Call us today to book your private Orange County summer tutor from TutorNerds! Members of the TutorNerds team and our private tutors write every blog post. If you have any questions about our blog, please email us at pr@tutornerds.com.

Venice, the Circle of Life

Venice, the Circle of Life Spending much of my earlier life in Venice, California, looking back at it, I have become curious about how and where this whole Venice Italy in Los Angeles thing came from? I watched as the old oil wells on the beach and the worn broken Pilings from piers that have long been gone were removed and cleaned up. As children we watched as a new modern Pier was being built right at the end of our street, it was pretty cool. It was great being the first kids to dive off the end of it long before it ever opened up to the public. And long before we could have been arrested for jumping off of it! We lived in Venice because it was very cheap back then and we were immigrants with little money. It was a pretty rough place, back in the day. As kids we took pride in the fact that folks from other areas didn’t come here at night. We watched it turn from beatniks, to hippies, to yuppies, and finally now the very well to do. Consequently most of us were slowly pushed out to make way for the money   people. But man it was a great place to grow up, if you didn’t mind a fight now and again. We built rafts and would play pirates along the canals with homemade boats that sometimes sank into the, now stinky water. As we got older we became a part of the scene on the beach, lots of free concerts, the Doors, Chambers Brothers, you name it, twas a happening place alright. Heck we even had our own chapter of the Hells Angeles, so you know we were “on”. Enough of memory lane, how did Venice as it is now and has been for so long become, this unusual place? A good place to start would be to mention a street in Venice that runs through the northern part of town. The street was called West Washington Blvd and split off from Washington Blvd, one of the main boulevard’s that traverse Los Angeles through down town all the way to the ocean.   You won’t find West Washington Blvd now because some years ago the name was changed to Abbot Kinney. Historical societies say, he was the founder of Venice, California which at that time was called Ocean Park. Interestingly enough there is a portion of the city of Santa Monica, adjacent to Venice that is known as the Ocean Park neighborhood today. One of the stories about this Abbot Kinney guy was that he went through some trouble with past business partners and eventually had become one of five partners of this, very mundane and unattractive parcel of beach adjacent property, along with some much nicer grounds along the coast in 1904. The story goes that Mr. Kinny made a deal with his partners on the flip of a coin.   Kinney won the toss and got to pick first on which parcel of land he would take. Most said Kinney lost, as he chose the barren marsh land of Ocean Park. When he said this area would soon be known as a cultural city patterned after Venice, Italy, the public laughed and dubbed it “Kinney’s Folly”. By 1905 Venice-of-America officially opened with a beautiful pier and electric trolley cars running along the boardwalk. Kinney decided the canals he built to drain part of the Ballona wetlands (on which he built his real estate project) reminded him of Venice Italy, so he bought gondolas and hired Italian gondoliers to highlight his new beach resort as a tourist attraction. He added exotic hotels, Camel rides and a miniature railroad that circled the entire sight. Venice was an independent city up until 1925 when the voters chose to consolidate politically with the city of Los Angeles and the self-destruction of Venice began. The canals were filled with dirt and became streets about 1930. The amusement parks and other entertainment attractions were closed down. The final destruction of this playground for the well to do was snuffed out by the enforcement of prohibition. That would kill any party, right? About this time oil was discovered in Venice and oil wells were constructed all over the city. In fact when we moved to Venice in 1960 some of the oil wells were still around pumping away, even on the sandy beaches. When we kids came home from a day of playing in the ocean, we had to have the oil washed off us before we could enter the house.   No wonder we don’t get the flu very often. We have all the chemicals and germs in us to kill just about anything. That would explain a lot about me. The 60s’ was a great time to be a kid here. We had everything that money couldn’t buy. We had Muscle beach, where unknown body building competitors like Arnold something or other was competing in Gold’s Gym.   My kid brother and his friends were doing crazy things on their skate boards, with wheels from roller skates. Horrible wheels too, because when you hit a little rock you were in the air while your skate board stopped right there. Heck they became so well know that a couple movies were made about them. And if you ever wondered why they called it dog town the simple polite answer would be, you better watch where you step or your personal life will begin to  deteriorate from the foul smell on your shoes. We all had dogs and nobody ever picked up after them. This was very much a dog town. If you have ever seen the old “Our Gang and Little Rascals” on television, take a closer look, they were mostly filmed in Venice. Well through all these up’s and downs Venice always had a few celebrities and new thinkers residing in the hood. However as Los Angeles property values continued to rise upwards many of the original residents (including us) were slowly pushed out or tempted by the huge money they could get for their modest house, they sold. The moral of the story here would be that Venice has gone full circle, from the playground for the well to do, to the haven for the have not’s, while culture of art and music blossomed and now currently back to millionaires only in Venice Beach? I look forward to when it’s our turn again.

Five Questions Parents of Struggling Students Should Ask Teachers

Five Questions Parents of Struggling Students Should Ask Teachers You may already have some questions you'd like to ask your child's teacher at parent-teacher meetings. However, there's no reason to reserve your questions for that time of year, particularly if a student is struggling. These five questions will help you get a sense of your child's strengths and weaknesses, as well as understand how you can improve your child's academic experience. 1. Where does my child need extra help? As a parent, it is essential for you to know if your child is experiencing difficulties or delays in one or more subjects. This question forces teachers to address an uncomfortable topic: areas where your child is lagging behind. Ultimately, you are your child's advocate, and understanding his/her weaknesses can help you correct the situation. 2. Does my child complete his/her homework? You may think your child is turning in his/her homework every day, but are you 100 percent sure that's the case? If your child is struggling in school, it may be because he/she is not responsible about handing in assignments. It could also be that your child isn't doing his/her homework due to lack of comprehension. Unfortunately, this perpetuates a cycle. The further your child falls behind on assignments, the harder it becomes to understand more advanced topics as the class moves on. 3. Can my child see the board? Many kids who struggle in school do so for a simple yet unexpected reason: they can't see the board. Vision problems often start in elementary school, although they can begin at any point during the academic years. If you've noticed your child is squinting, sitting closely to the television or computer, or complaining of headaches or tired eyes, he/she may be experiencing vision problems. Your child's teacher may have useful insights into whether his/her eyesight is affecting performance. 4. Is my child organized? Organization is an essential part of success, both academically and throughout life. If your child is frequently forgetting to bring books, struggling to locate homework, and losing track of time, these organization issues may be impacting his/her performance. A lack of organization may also indicate that your child has a learning disability, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), for which trouble with organization is a common symptom. 5. Can you share any recommendations? This question demonstrates critical parent engagement, as well as a willingness to learn. In some cases, a teacher may recommend a solution as simple as a tutor. In other cases, the situation might call for serious measures, such as a follow-up with the school's special education committee. Even if the conversation becomes emotional, keep in mind that the teacher wants your child to succeed as much as you do.