Friday, March 27, 2020

How to Choose the Best Type of Tutor For Your Needs

How to Choose the Best Type of Tutor For Your NeedsWhen looking for jobs as a tutor, you may find that there are many different places to look for an answer. The one thing that you must understand is that there are many different types of tutoring out there, and they will have different rates. This is why you must do your research before choosing which type of tutoring to go with.These various types of tutoring have different costs per hour for each lesson. The costs can vary greatly depending on the type of tutoring that you choose to go with. So, what is the best way to figure out the costs of each tutor? You will want to compare all of them before you select the best type of tutor to help you with your studies.The first thing that you need to know is how much an hourly rate is. This will be the lowest cost that you will have to pay for any tutor that you choose to work with. Since the hourly rate is so low, you will want to make sure that you find a tutor that has affordable rates .The other thing that you should know is how much you will need to pay for the actual tutoring itself. This can be a little difficult to figure out since some of the tutors will offer their services for a small fee and will charge you per lesson.To figure out this, you will want to talk to the tutor that you are interested in working with. You can also check with your school or employer to see what rates they charge tutors. Once you find out the cost of each type of tutor, you will want to determine which tutors are offering the best rates.After you have decided on the best ones to work with, you will need to do a one on one training course. You will want to attend this class so that you can learn all of the proper techniques and strategies to use while working with your students. If you are not comfortable with teaching yourself, you may want to consult a professional tutor who can help you in this area.There are many different places where you can get advice on finding the best tu tor for your needs. Make sure that you keep in mind the amount of time that you have to spend each day for your job as well as the amount of money that you are willing to spend to make sure that you find the best tutoring for your needs.

Friday, March 6, 2020

Numbered Diagram of Virtual Writing Tutor Features

Numbered Diagram of Virtual Writing Tutor Features Feature List (The numbers below correspond to the numbers on the image above.) Click on the logo to return to the main page. Update your password, newsletter subscription status. Create a free account and login. For added convenience, you stay logged in until you logout. Use speech recognition for hands free operation or to check your pronunciation. (Explainer video) Hear how your text is pronounced with text-to-speech. Download your text as a text-to-speech MP3 file. Download your text as a .doc file. Count your words: there is no limit to the number of words you can count. Check your spelling. Check for grammar, punctuation and contextual spelling errors. Check your vocabulary: check for academic conversational vocabulary, cliches and power words, field-related vocabulary (Explainer video), or target structures. Check your paraphrase against the original to avoid plagiarism. (Explainer video) Clear the textarea. Look up words in the Cambridge Dictionary. Create essay outlines. Retrieve past feedback, links to practice exercises, and PDFs of feedback you sent to someone else. Print your text and feedback. Practice correcting errors with one of two games: Correct 1000 random errors or Correct your own errors (Explainer video). Feel free to  contact me  by email, find me on  Facebook  or subscribe to my  blog. Please follow and like us:

Learn a Language Through Music with 6 Awesome Lyrics Sites

Learn a Language Through Music with 6 Awesome Lyrics Sites Learn a Language Through Music with 6 Awesome Lyrics Sites You just cant stop humming that tune.Its an earworm. And youve tried everything to make it stop.Worse yet, its a song you heard while watching a foreign film. And you only caught some of the words.Wouldnt it be great if you could take that earworm and use it to your advantage?What if the songs you just cant get out of your head could also help you advance in your language studies?Its certainly something to think about. (Hey, any kind of distraction from the incessant repetition of that chorus would be a relief, wouldn’t it?)Help is here. And it isnt a set of earplugs for your brain: Its a guide to a half-dozen of the best lyrics sites out there.You can use these sites to track down those pesky words that you cant quite remember or couldnt quite figure outâ€"the words that will help you better understand the language youre trying to learn.Believe it or not, you can also use them to keep up with the latest music in your target language and discover new artists you love.In this post, well find out howâ€"but first, lets take a look at how you can make song lyrics part of your language study plan. Value Behind the Verses: How Song Lyrics Help You Learn a LanguageMusic works its magic in several ways, helping you to learn far more than just a set of lyrics for a single song.By stimulating your brainMusic engages your learning processes. Its catchy and memorable, which helps you retain what you learn.If youre learning the words and not just the tune, the music itself will help you remember the lyrics.By capturing casual speech and slangSongs help you learn slang and idiomatic expressions. They often use everyday speech to express the writers feelings on the songs topic.Since theyre generally written for native speakers, theyre not glossed the way a textbook or graded reader would be. They bring you into the real, everyday life of the living language.By helping you profit from poetry set to musicSong lyrics can be more than just everyday speech, though. Many of the m are written in a poetic way, using metaphors and other figurative language to evoke a certain feeling in listenersâ€"whether its painting a dismal picture of love gone wrong, or lighting up the world with hope.A Transcription Prescription for Learning Through LyricsKnowing what you can learn from songs is all well and good, but how do you get there? Whether you think of a song in another language as a delicious nut with a tough shell that needs to be cracked open or as a sweet, tangy pomegranate with layers of juicy arils inside its waxy, honeycombed interior, the songs lyrics certainly offer more than meets the eye.All you need are the right tools to dig down deep and enjoy the fruits of your song-harvesting labor.Below are some suggestions for finding and learning from song lyrics. Some of them, such as doing your own transcription, are a bit more labor-intensiveâ€"although they may bring you better reinforcement.Other options, like finding the official lyrics and translations a lready done for you online, are huge timesavers. However, you may not retain what you learn quite as well if you jump right into looking up the lyrics.Try the options that seem the most feasible for you. Just like your own personal playlist, the way you learn from lyrics should be customized to you.DIY transcription and translationAre you one of those people who likes to try figuring something out for yourself before you read the manual? You might enjoy challenging yourself to see what you already knowâ€"and what you can puzzle outâ€"before you look at the answer key.Try transcribing a song yourself first. Just sit down with a notebook, let the music play and jot down what you hear as best you can.If youre not sure about something, stop the recording and listen again. It doesnt have to be perfect and it doesnt have to be pretty; there will be a lot of question marks and false starts. You just want to make an honest attempt to use the words you already know and the language skills yo u have, as this will build your confidence in the language over time.Dont belabor the attempt. The point is to have fun with the music, not to drive yourself crazy because you cant make out some of the words. (Thats hard enough to do in your native language sometimes! And youre not the only oneâ€"theres even an online archive of misheard lyrics.)Once youre satisfied youve gotten the lyrics down as well as you can, attempt to translate your transcribed lyrics.First, do what you can off the top of your head; then, when you get stumped or want to double-check yourself, reach for the dictionary.Keep a running log of new words and phrases you learn while translating songs. You can review them from time to time to help you remember them, maybe even making your own lyrical flashcards.Make it officialOf course, you wont be completely sure how well youve gotten the lyrics down until you can compare your efforts with the official version.If the songs artist has a website with a lyrics archive , great! Getting the lyrics directly from the artist is about as official as you can get, and those lyrics will probably be the most correct.Older artists may not have gone digital with their works. If you went old school and bought a CD, you may have the lyrics in the liner notes, right in the CD booklet.Coming up empty on getting the official lyrics from the artist? There are many online lyrics repositories that could fit the bill. Aside from the great lyrics sites well look at below,  MetroLyrics is a solid, well-presented site with lyrics from multilingual artists, as is Genius.If you choose not to personally transcribe the lyrics, but still want a chance to translate the lyrics for yourself, these are good places to go for just the original words.Compare and contrastWhether you choose to transcribe songs yourself or just to translate the lyrics you found on another source, youll probably want to check the accuracy of your translation.Once you have your own translation on hand, you can see how it fared against an online version from a site like LyricsTranslate or AlltheLyrics.com. Both of these sites host lyrics translation forums supporting users who are interested in dozens of languages.Dont be shy about participating in these forums, whether its to offer your own services in translation, ask questions or just to be part of the cultural conversation.And bear in mind that many online translations are done by amateurs, and may not be entirely correct. If something in the online version doesnt seem right to you, its possible there were transcription or translation errors.Again, the idea isnt to strive for perfection, but just to enjoy a rich, entertaining language learning resource.Learn a Language Through Music with 6 Awesome Lyrics SitesOnce you’ve practiced transcribing and translating a few of your favorite songs, you might be hankering for some new tunes. These six sites, with lyrics for millions of songs and thousands of artists, will introduce you to popular artists and rare gems, all while helping you improve your language skills through learning and translating lyrics.Songs in Many LanguagesFluentUWith curated, interactive video libraries to help you learn languages, FluentU is your go-to source for learning language through music! FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"including lots of music videos but also movie trailers, news, inspiring talks and moreâ€"and turns them into personalized language lessons.FluentU is like MTV for all these MFLs (Modern Foreign Languages):ChineseSpanishFrenchEnglishGermanJapaneseItalianKoreanRussianYoull find more than just the song lyrics on FluentU: Get fully captioned videos with translations and extra features to help you learn through lyrics… like the exercises, flashcards and quizzes available in FluentU’s Quiz Mode.The great thing about using FluentU as your main lyrics site is that everything is right there in front of you: You can pick a song and immediately start watching the video, and you get to choose whether you see the transcription, translation, both or neither. You can even download a PDF transcription of any video to study offline.FluentU can recommend more videos for you, based on your previous picks and your language level. Keep yourself challenged and keep the hits coming!Songs in Specific LanguagesThis part of the list will cover dedicated lyrics sites for seven of the most widely-spoken languages out there.Since these sites are often geared toward native speakers, many of them dont offer translations for the song lyrics. If you find songs you really like on these sites and need to check your own translation, try right-clicking on the screen and see if your browser offers a Translate this page option. (Google Chrome has this feature, although the machine translation may not be as nuanced as a translation by a person.)Otherwise, FluentU and LyricsTranslate might pick up where these sites leave off, giving you access to translations and other learnin g materials.Chinese,  Korean  and Japanese: AlyricsoAlyricso will help you get your fix of C-pop, K-pop and J-pop.The site offers two versions of lyrics for each song presented:First, youll see the original lyrics, in Mandarin characters, Hangul or Japanese script.Scroll down the page to find the Romanization (transliteration of the sounds of the words into the English alphabet).A few of the songs, especially from the Featured section, are glossed in English.French: Paroles-MusiqueThis French music site lets you search for song lyrics by artist and/or title. But its more than just a lyrics repositoryâ€"Paroles-Musique keeps you up-to-date with all the latest musical trends, tallying the Top 50 songs of the month (based on the number of visitors to various lyrics pages).The site also hosts translations of popular songs into French. If youre familiar with the original lyrics, this can be a great exercise: You might try your hand at producing your own version of a translation into Fren ch, then check it against the efforts published on the site. Just look for the Traduction (Translation) tab near the top of the page; you can either browse the Top 100 popular translations or search alphabetically for songs that might interest you.If youre just beginning your French language adventure, the site is available in English to help you navigate. And take a peek at these seven songs, which can help you tackle several facets of French grammar and vocabulary.German: SongtexteGet grooving with the German-language gems on Songtexte! This site not only features the lyrics to oodles of hits, but itll keep you up to speed with German pop with its front-page News section. Its interactive forum is the place to go to discuss the music of many genresâ€"along with many other music-related and off-topic topics. You can even give your feedback about the website content.Songtexte shows you the most popular music of the day, displaying the iTunes charts for Germany, Austria, Switzerland a nd more. You can also enjoy themed, best-of listicles, like this list of the 50 best Schlager songs, the 40 loveliest songs for nights around the campfire  and the 10 most beautiful friendship songs.Russian: RussMusRussMus may not be one of the biggest lyrics sites out there. However, its pages cover a broad scope of music genres.The Traditional Music section brings you Russian folk songs and Soviet Classics, plus anthems and childrens songs.Switch over to Modern Russian Music, and youll see rock, hip-hop, techno and more.Each major section has a history of the music styles, helping you to put the artists and lyrics into cultural context. The site also gives short artist biographies, so you can learn a bit more about the individual singers and musicians.The lyrics themselves are shown in the original Russian (or, in some cases, Ukrainian). Many songs have a Romanized transliteration/phoneticization, and there are even links to guitar tabs and song videos in some cases. This small-bu t-mighty site will get you on the path to  learning Russian through song, boldly taking you where The Volga Boatmen  has never gone before!Spanish: Musica.comSpanish-language lyrics site Musica.com  has got the beat, offering not only straight-up lyrics but lyrics paired with music videos  for on-the-spot karaoke.Theres a series of articles merging music and culture. Plus, you can test your knowledge of Spanish-language music, artists and culture with these music trivia games.Here are 10 canciones (songs) to get you started, with tips on learning Spanish through songs.  Find some songs youll love and give these lyrics sites a shot at helping with the translations.Youll be humming a happy new tune, and singing alongâ€"with the correct words. And youll even know what they mean!Michelle Baumgartner is a language nerd who has formally studied seven languages and informally dabbled in at least three others. In addition to geeking out over slender vowels, interrogative particles, and phon emes, Michelle is a  freelance content writer and education blogger. Keep up with her latest adventures in language and learning on  Twitter.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

The Beginners Guide to Going Paleo

The Beginner's Guide to Going Paleo Image via cdn.running.competitor.com The best way to describe the goal of the paleo diet would be in the words of paleo super chef Mchelle Tam. “In a nutshell, the Paleo diet (or, as I like to think of it, the Paleo template the word “diet” tends to mislead folks into thinking this is nothing more than a temporary weight-loss program) is based on the notion that for optimal health, modern humans should go back to eating real, whole unprocessed foods that are more healthful than harmful to our bodies.” While many people choose to embark on the paleo journey as a method of weight loss, this diet offers a plethora of health benefits that go far beyond simply shedding a few pounds. You should be advised that eating paleo isn’t a diet, but more so a way of life. You can transition to a semi-paleo diet, but you will see more enduring results by sticking to this plan holistically. While slip-ups are totally acceptable, eating paleo requires you to be cognizant of your entire food intake, including (and most of the time, especially) food additives such as salad dressings, condiments and beverages. So if you’ve thought about giving into the paleo fad, why don’t you educate yourself on what it is all about and see if it is something that would align with your dietary needs or goals? There are essentially seven fundamental characteristics that should be followed when transitioning to a paleo diet. 1. Higher Protein Intake Lean protein comprises 15 percent of the calories consumed in a paleo diet. Lean proteins support strong muscles, healthy bones and optimal immune function. Protein also makes you feel satisfied between meals. In order to consume lots of healthy lean proteins, stick to foods such as grass fed meats, chicken (not fried), eggs, shrimp, lamb, and turkey for your main course. 2. Lower Carb Intake The paleo diet places an emphasis on reducing the consumption of carbohydrates and banning any simple or refined carbs. Reducing carb intake goes hand in hand with a lower glycemic index. In order to achieve this, non-starchy fruits and vegetables provide 35-45 percent of daily calories. Be sure to steer clear of foods such as bread, rice and potatoes. 3. Increased Fiber Intake Increasing your consumption of fibrous foods is an important aspect of the paleo diet because not only do they provide essential vitamins and minerals, foods high in fiber keep you fuller longer and aid in digestive processes. The paleo diet emphasizes adding fiber through non-starchy vegetables such as leafy greens, carrots and brussel sprouts. These foods provide eight times more fiber than whole grains and a whopping 31 times more fiber than refined grains (such as bread and white rice). Fruits can also provide loads of fiber, as much as seven times more than refined grains. Try fibrous fruits such as apples and bananas for breakfast and berries later in the day (berries have lower sugar content than apples and bananas therefore they are better to consume closer to bed time). stocksnap.io 4. Increase Intake of Polyunsaturated Fats Many people think that eating foods high in fats will result in weight gain. This is completely untrue. Foods high in healthy fats actually play a major role in helping shed those unwanted pounds of belly pooch. The paleo diet includes raising the consumption of healthy fats, primarily polyunsaturated fats and balanced omega-3 and omega-6 fats. Scientific research shows that diets rich in Monounsaturated and Omega-3 fats dramatically reduce the instances of obesity, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and cognitive decline. 5. Higher Potassium and Lower Sodium Intake Higher potassium benefits the heart, kidneys, and other organs and aids them in functioning properly. Reducing sodium intake also helps to mitigate heart problems including high blood pressure or the possibility of stroke or cardiac arrest. 6. Net Dietary Alkaline Load The basic idea is that the human body is designed to function at a certain balance between acidic and non-acidic (also called basic or alkaline) foods, and that upsetting this balance is a major contributor to chronic disease. All foods upon digestion must report to the kidney as either acid or base. When the diet yields a net acid load, the acid must be buffered by the alkaline stores of base in the body. Calcium salts in the bones represent the largest store of alkaline base in the body and are eliminated in the urine when the diet produces a net acid load. The highest acid-producing foods are hard cheeses, cereal grains, salted foods, meats, and legumes, whereas the only alkaline, base-producing foods are fruits and vegetables. Because the average American diet is overloaded with grains, cheeses, salted processed foods, and fatty meats at the expense of fruits and vegetables, it produces a net acid load and promotes bone de-mineralization. The Paleo Diet recommends an appropriate balance of acidic and basic (alkaline) foods (i.e., grass-produced or free ranging meats, fish and seafood, fruits, and vegetables). 7. Increased Intake Of Vitamins A natural result of embarking on the paleo diet is an increased intake of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and plant phytochemicals. However, you should also consider taking added supplements such as a high quality fish oil, magnesium, or probiotics to help keep your gut healthy and happy.

Sodexo To Implement Changes To Better Animal Welfare

Sodexo To Implement Changes To Better Animal Welfare Image via Sodexo press release What does this mean exactly for the average person? Well, Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States stated that he believes the announcement is “surely one of the biggest decisions in the food sector from an animal welfare perspective.” Sodexo has operations in 80 countries, so taking on these reforms is actually a big deal. According to the press release, Sodexo sources about 20 million pounds of liquid eggs a year from 750,000 egg-laying hens. The implementation of veal-free crates and cage-free hens is a giant national endeavor for the company to take on, forcing changes in many dominant animal food facilities. What this means is that with more efficient regulations, the concerns relating to animal productions will be reduced. Hopefully, this will mean better quality eggs, and pork and less stress for animal rights activists because of the bettering of treatment of the animals raised to produce this food. “With an annual spend of nearly $900 million on animal proteins in the U.S., Sodexo has established sustainable purchasing practices with suppliers that drive humane treatment of animals throughout our supply chain,” Hecker said. More good news is that the press release highlighted even further steps that the company is also looking to promote in the future. Sodexo is working with suppliers to apply pain relief protocols with de-horning, castration and tail-docking procedures. While pain relief protocols are a good start, the company plans to eliminate these procedures to improve the treatment of farm animals. Image captured by Matt MAcGillivray via Flickr.com. By committing to source all egg products exclusively from cage-free hens, Sodexo has built on an already strong set of animal welfare policies, with this latest pledge affecting the removal of 750,000 hens annually from extreme confinement in battery cage systems,” Pacelle said, adding further commendations about Sodexo in the press release. If animal and food lovers are looking for any more reasons to love Sodexo’s dedication to not only animal well-being but also human well-being, then listen to this: This month, Sodexo was ranked for the eighth consecutive year as the best-performing company for economic, social and environmental performance in the benchmark RobecoSAM Sustainability Yearbook 2015. This earned the company Industry Leader and Gold Class recognition. Based on further research of the RobecoSAM Sustainability Yearbook, this is an assessment that over 3,000 of the world’s largest companies are invited to participate in, compiling “one of the largest global databases on corporate sustainability,” according to the RobecoSAM website. Image via http://sfbay.cropmobster.com So basically Sodexo is being even more awesome this year and their passion for ethical sourcing animal welfare will not only raise further awareness of the degrading treatment of animals in food production farms but will also raise the standards for smaller food farm companies looking to stay competitive with Sodexo regulations. To learn more about Sodexo and all that the company does, especially about their passion for animal welfare, visit SodexoUSA.com.

What Could Your Kids Gain (or Lose) This Summer

What Could Your Kids Gain (or Lose) This Summer What Could Your Kids Gain (or Lose) This Summer? For most kids, the end of the school year evokes images of sun-filled days at the pool, adventurous family vacations, no alarm clocks and extended bedtimes. However, water parks and playgrounds may not be  the only  places  your children  experience  a “slide”  this summer. Whether you call it the “summer slide” or “brain drain,” children often fall behind without any academic learning during the summer months. While summer is a great time for kids to  relax  and have fun, studies show kids can lose up to two months of their knowledge and skills between school grades, and spend six weeks relearning in the fall. Just imagine your children  forgetting everything  they’ve  learned in April and May by the time school begins. The infographic below  compares the gains and losses kids may experience over the summer. (View Full Sized Image) It’s important to remember the brain is like any other muscle and needs a regular dose of exercise to stay strong. The great news is that there’s plenty of time in the summer for fun and learning.  Kids that continue learning throughout the summer  have an academic advantage that can catapult them into the  new school year.     You might also be interested in: Four Easy Ways to Make Summer Break Fun and Educational How to Teach Your Kids About the Stars This Summer Soar Past the Summer Slide with Kumon’s Summer Learning Roundup Fun and Easy Tips to Keep Kids Learning during the Holiday Season What Could Your Kids Gain (or Lose) This Summer What Could Your Kids Gain (or Lose) This Summer? For most kids, the end of the school year evokes images of sun-filled days at the pool, adventurous family vacations, no alarm clocks and extended bedtimes. However, water parks and playgrounds may not be  the only  places  your children  experience  a “slide”  this summer. Whether you call it the “summer slide” or “brain drain,” children often fall behind without any academic learning during the summer months. While summer is a great time for kids to  relax  and have fun, studies show kids can lose up to two months of their knowledge and skills between school grades, and spend six weeks relearning in the fall. Just imagine your children  forgetting everything  they’ve  learned in April and May by the time school begins. The infographic below  compares the gains and losses kids may experience over the summer. (View Full Sized Image) It’s important to remember the brain is like any other muscle and needs a regular dose of exercise to stay strong. The great news is that there’s plenty of time in the summer for fun and learning.  Kids that continue learning throughout the summer  have an academic advantage that can catapult them into the  new school year.     You might also be interested in: Four Easy Ways to Make Summer Break Fun and Educational How to Teach Your Kids About the Stars This Summer Soar Past the Summer Slide with Kumon’s Summer Learning Roundup Fun and Easy Tips to Keep Kids Learning during the Holiday Season

Simone Elkeles Perfect Chemistry - A Review

Simone Elkeles Perfect Chemistry - A ReviewSimone Elkeles Perfect Chemistry has become one of the best selling lesbian romances ever written. After five years of hard work and hundreds of pages of theory, the book is finally available to the public as a hardback in a paperback format and is available as an eBook and e-book.Simone Elkeles comes from a family that had no idea of being lesbians. The plot begins with the story of 'mom' who leaves her husband because she is not able to satisfy him sexually anymore, while also leaving her three daughters, a baby, and the baby's mother without a father. In turn, this results in her sister and best friend setting out to prove her unfaithfulness, which were not just a lie, but an outright lie.A tragic accident has left Simone with a brain tumor. Her doctors told her that this could cause her to lose her ability to remember things, but somehow, she continues to live without her memory, even without having any mental issues. She remains in a ne ar vegetative state after her brain surgery, and every year, her husband and sisters drive her back to the hospital, where they are expected to be told that her life will be prolonged for an indefinite amount of time. However, at the end of each year, Simone is given a few hours to speak to the doctors, even though she is still living on a wheel chair.Simone attempts to write the book after her older sister, who writes 'The Grace Lie,' contacts her asking for help. Simone decides to write the book, but not only is it too long, it is nearly impossible to read. Fortunately, a friend of Simone's helps her write the book, and they are finally able to sell it to a publishing company, but only after hiring a ghostwriter to make a new cover for the book.The first edition of The Perfect Chemistry had no covers, but when the first edition was reprinted, they included a couple of photos. The other issue with the book was that it became much easier to detect what was in the book. The more popu lar the book became, the more cover photos and text were added, but the text changed throughout the editions.The book was eventually published with a new cover, and a new title: Simone and Grace Lie. The E-book version of the book is designed to work exactly like the traditional paperback, but the E-book version of the book is not as long and does not have the strict formatting of the paperback edition.While there is no doubt that the book is quite good, the bulk of the reviews talk about the three versions of the book that were published. Some people complain that the differences in the book are very slight, but this is a common complaint with all romance novels that sell very well. People feel that the differences in the book are so slight that they can't tell that it is a different book.