A Day in the Life of a Medical Student

A Day in the Life of a Medical Student The following piece was written by Anubodh Sunny Varshney. Sunny is a Dallas Fort Worth tutor for Varsity Tutors and a current medical student at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He has accepted a residency in internal medicine atBrigham and Womens Hospital. Medical school is a transformative and unique experience. Students begin with very little clinical knowledge and a vast body of material to master. By the end of their fourth year, however, they are confident in their clinical abilities and prepared to tackle the challenges of an internship. Below is a day in the life of a medical student during the pre-clinical (traditionally years one and two) and clinical years (three and four). Note, however, that each medical schools schedule is unique. The Pre-Clinical Years 8:00-9:00 a.m.: Wake up at the last possible moment, frantically shower, dress, and eat a poor approximation of breakfast before you drive to school (despite understanding the metabolic basis of why breakfast really is important). 9:00-9:50 a.m.: Attend your first lecture of the day. If you are a first-year medical student, lectures likely cover basic biomedical topics like anatomy, biochemistry, cell biology, physiology, and neuroscience. If you are a second-year medical student, lectures typically describe diseases according to organ systems (e.g. pulmonary, gastrointestinal, or cardiovascular). 9:50-10:00 a.m.: Realize your breakfast was insufficient. Scramble to the campus cafeteria to purchase a snack, along with almost every medical students true best frienda cup of coffee. 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.: Listen to two lectures back-to-back. Absorb as many details as possible about disease epidemiology, symptoms, physical exam findings, laboratory results, imaging, and treatment modalities. 12:00-1:00 p.m.: Ah, lunchtime. If this is a particularly intense week (i.e. final exams), you may consider heading to the library to review your notes. Otherwise, you spend an hour eating with friends. 1:00-4:00 p.m.: The remainder of your day is variable, depending upon your schools specific curriculum. You may dissect cadavers in the anatomy laboratory, work through patient presentations in small groups, examine slides for cell biology and/or microbiology, log early clinical exposure seeing patients with a mentor, or attend additional lectures. The Clinical Years Your schedule (and life) during years three and four can vary dramatically depending on your clinical clerkship (family or internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, etc.). The outline below is reflective of a non-surgical inpatient rotation (like internal medicine). 6:00-7:00 a.m.: Wake up at the last possible moment, frantically shower, dress (including your white coat!), and eat a poor approximation of breakfast before you drive to the hospital. 7:00-8:00 a.m.: As a clinical student (or clerk), you have responsibilities and expectations at the hospital. Before your supervising resident arrives, you complete your initial rounds. You visit with your patientsusually from one to five individuals. You ask them how they are feeling, examine them, update them on their status, review their chart and lab work, and enter your note into their medical record, along with your assessment and proposed plan. As a student, you have fewer patients to follow than the residents have, so you devote extra time and care to each patient. Patients sometimes even view you as their doctor on the team. 8:00-9:00 a.m.: Now that your supervising resident is present, you see your patients once again. This time, your resident does the majority of the examining, either confirming or denying your earlier findings. You discuss your assessment and plan with your resident, and you change your note, if need be. 9:00-11:00 a.m.: The attending (who is a faculty member) arrives, and you begin rounds as a team. The team (attending, resident, medical students, and sometimes nurses and/or pharmacists) sees all of the patients they are caring for one-by-one. As the team reaches your patients rooms, you present your findings, impressions, and proposed treatment strategies to the attending physician. This is where the majority of teaching occurs. The attending questions you regarding your patients illnessin front of the entire teamand expects you to give your best answer. Several questions will be well beyond your current knowledge level, but the attending will be sure to educate you on these topics. As a clinical student, you may realize that you learn far better when correlating information to a patient you are caring for, rather than passively taking knowledge in as you did in your pre-clinical years. 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.: You finish writing and/or editing your notes, and you assist your resident with any miscellaneous tasks that must be done in order to help your patients improve. 12:00-1:00 p.m.: Lunch! Occasionally, there will be departmental educational conferences during this hour that include free food. This is also an excellent opportunity to refresh your coffee mug. 1:00-5:00 (or 6:00, or 7:00, etc.) p.m.: Depending on your rotation and whether or not your team is on call, you will be dismissed early or late in the day. If your team is not on call, you will work with your resident to follow up on patients who need to remain in the hospital. You will also help to discharge patients who are ready to leave. If your team is on call, you will continue to monitor patients, as well as participate in consultations and new admissions. The transformation students experience during medical school is nothing short of amazing. We often start our journey nave and optimistic. The massive amount of information we must commit to memory occasionally overwhelms us. Many times, medical students struggle with frustration and intimidation as they go through the seemingly never-ending pre-clinical years. Students may think about their peers who graduated college and started lucrative careers. However, once we reach the clinical years, we are often rejuvenated; we finally learn what it is like to be a physician. We begin to make clinical decisionsfirst timidly, then assertively. Yes, a day in the life of a medical student can be rough. We are burdened with debt, and we are at the bottom of the proverbial totem pole but we begin to realize why we chose medicine in the first place. It is not about getting rich quickly, it is not about prestige, and it is not about feeling like you are on top of the world. There is one thing, and one thing only, that drives us: to make a positive difference in the lives of our patients. Check out Sunny's tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

Online Rational Exponents Tutors

Online Rational Exponents Tutors Exponent is the degree or the power of a given number or variable. If the exponent or the degree of a given variable or number is a fraction then it is called as rational exponent. There are many algebraic and numerical questions which involve solving rational exponents. If there is an expression x1/n here x is the variable and 1/n is called the nth root of x. For a given expression xm/n, m is the whole number and 1/n is the nth root of the variable x. Example 1: Solve the given equation (x1/4 )*(x3/4) = xy/2. Find y? Solution: Given is the equation (x1/4 )*(x3/4) = xy/2 Using the power rule for multiplication xm * xn = xm+n This gives (x1/4 )*(x3/4) = x (1/4 + 3/4) = x1. Now x1 = xy/2 Since the bases of the equation are the same equate the exponents of x. 1 = y/2 (Multiplying both sides by 2.) This give y = 2. Example 2: Solve the given equation (x2/3 )*(x)/x7/3 = xy/3. Find y? Solution: In the given equation (x2/3 )*(x)/x7/3 = xy/3 Using the power rule for multiplication xm * xn = xm+n This gives (x2/3 )*(x) = x (1+ 2/3) = x5/3. Using the power rule for division xm / xn = xm-n (x)5/3/(x)/x7/3 = x5/3 7/3 = x-2 Now x-2 = xy/3 Since the bases of the equation are the same equate the exponents of x. -2 = y/3 (Multiplying both sides by 3.) This give y = -6.

How to Prepare a Portuguese Course

How to Prepare a Portuguese Course Getting Ready for Your Portuguese Class ChaptersWhat Will You Teach?What Materials Will You Use in Your Portuguese Courses?Using Media in Your Portuguese ClassesHow to Build a Lesson Plan for Every Portuguese Class You TeachI think we’ve all suffered at the hands of lackadaisical teachers; ones who seem to only care about calling the roll and then letting students do as they please.Conversely, we’ve all most likely had experience with a micromanaging teacher; one who breathes down students’ necks to make sure no lesson time is wasted.Either of those pedagogies may have gotten the job done â€" don’t we remember especially those teachers who made our class time uncomfortable?However, modern educational science supports the idea of teachers being ready for their charges, and being in charge at all times, with no discomfiting tactics allowed.What about you? How will you get ready to teach your Portuguese language classes?Whatever your methodology, let your Superprof give you a hand in planning your language course  and imparting vocabulary in such a way that your students thrive and learn under your guidance.ühl, a German word meaning ‘the feeling of the language’.It is true that any language’s native speakers give little thought as to why their grammar and vocabulary works as it does.Go ahead, put it to the test: ask any native English speaker why ‘would’ is pronounced ‘wood’ instead of phonetically â€" ‘woe-oo-l-d’?So, if Portuguese is your native language, you may have to slow your natural inclination toward rapid-fire Portuguese speaking down, and give a thought on how you will explain how to speak difficult words.Furthermore, you should take extra time going over verb conjugation, especially for irregular verbs!Textbooks are great classroom tools provided your students know how to learn from them! Source: Pixabay Credit: HermannWhat Materials Will You Use in Your Portuguese Courses?Here again, we recall those teachers whose over-reliance on textbooks left us vaguely hungry for better answers.Have you ever heard a teacher say: “Read your book! The answer is in there!”?Although there is nothing wrong with teachers insisting that their students make use of any phrase book selected for them, there is something so painful about a teacher with so little spontaneity that a question will throw the entire lesson off track.Thus it would behove you to not only choose your teaching materials well but to know them inside and out.Textbooks: do you have a few titles in mind?They should work as a tool to study, but not be the entire lesson. Otherwise, your students would soon get bored, reasoning that they don’t need any language classes if reading a book will give them the knowledge they seek.Language courses should generally be interactive and have a good balance of active and passive skills exercise.Except for Conversational Portuguese classes, where the focus would be on listening and speaking skills, all other classes should be fairly evenly divided betwe en reading and writing, listening and, of course, provide ample time for students to speak.Besides textbooks and worksheets, you may consider other classroom tools such as flashcards, posters and, if your teaching space is equipped with a computer and projector, you might design some Powerpoint presentations.Using Media in Your Portuguese ClassesGenerally speaking, it is not people under duress who undertake to learn a language. Most often, people seek to diversify their linguistic ability out of sheer desire.Thus it is a good idea that you, their instructor, to make the class as engaging, lively and fun as you can. One way to do so is to play Portuguese music â€" perhaps at the start of class, or you could build an entire lesson around music!Language and culture are intrinsic to each other. Therefore, as a Portuguese teacher, you must bring Portuguese culture to your students at every opportunity.You might build an entire class around the concept of Fado, for example, culminating i n students penning their own Fado lyrics to share with the class.Most emotive song wins!You may incorporate Portuguese movies into your curriculum. What a great way for your students to enjoy a slice of Portuguese culture all while being exposed to native speakers’ dialogue!What facilities can accommodate the noise and excitement of this type of Portuguese teaching methods?Naturally, you cannot simply show films every class, nor can you let everyone dance around and play music all of the time.You have to budget your lesson time carefully in order to meet learning goals.You may use such a planner or a formal lesson plan template to map out your Portuguese lessons Source: Pixabay Credit: Free-PhotosHow to Build a Lesson Plan for Every Portuguese Class You TeachA lesson plan is a teacher’s guide to each and every teaching session; one s/he drafts him/herself.Far from being static, a lesson plan should be a dynamic document, flexible in every way.That sounds rather counterintuitive â€" planning a lesson whose plan might change at any second, but every experienced language teacher will tell you that rigidity has no place in the classroom!Your basic lesson plan template comes with a header, which should include information such as: how many students for that lesson, what level Portuguese are they learning, what the topic of the lesson is and what teacher and student expectations are.There may also be a segment allotted to expected difficulties and how you might overcome them.The greater part of your lesson plan should be devoted to a minute by minute breakdown of classroom activities.Let’s say your lesson is scheduled to last 50 minutes; here is how to give a complete lesson in Portuguese in that time.For the first five minutes of class, you may engage in an icebreaker â€" a conversational activity designed to put your students at ease.A few rounds of ‘I spy’ would be effective if you have been studying colours: “I spy, with my little eye, something red! ” (spoken in Portuguese, of course!) and all the students should call out red objects, using only Portuguese words, until the correct one is guessed.The next portion of your lesson plan should indicate study time. This is the time that you would talk the most, imparting new language. This ‘study’ action may take up to 15 minutes but no more than 20.Once you’ve given your students that dose of new information â€" shown a film segment perhaps, or shared a song, it is time for them to get busy. There may be writing involved, either in groups, pairs or individually, after which they will do the talking.You may plan on 7-10 minutes for the writing portion, depending on the assignment given.So far, you have spent more than half your class time.For the next 15 minutes, it is your students’ turn: they will demonstrate their proficiency with the new knowledge when they speak Portuguese, incorporating the language instruction you have just imparted.You get to hang back. Listen, smil e, nod... correct mistakes?A word of advice: unless a mistake is severe and recurring â€" maybe someone consistently using phrases or verb tenses incorrectly, it would be best to not step in when an error is made, lest you dam the inspiration, confidence and competence.Unless it is a fantastically glaring mistake, you can safely wait till the last few minutes of class time to communicate those corrections.Besides possibly correcting any mistakes of Portuguese pronunciation or conversation, the last 5 minutes of the class should be dedicated to wrapping up this lesson with a teaser of the next one.A good wrap-up would be a word game, using just-learned vocabulary, or maybe serial conjugation: each student takes a pronoun until everyone has had a chance to shout out a verb ending.And then, it’s a cheerful ‘vemo-nos a próxima aula!’ as your students file out the door.Being well-prepared, knowing what you want to include in your curriculum â€" textbooks, films, podcasts and the l ike...If you have your activities well balanced and ways to ensure comprehension, you may confidently step in front of the class and give your students their best learning experience ever.Now discover how to set your rates for your Portuguese lessons...

How to Approach Learning Music 3 New Exercises to Try

How to Approach Learning Music 3 New Exercises to Try Suzy S. Whether youre learning Spanish or learning piano, youll find that both are complex  languages with lots of history and unique  jargon. In this guest post, Mike Lowden from Falls Music School  bridges the gap between music and language by explaining just how similar they really are As a music teacher, I spend a good amount of time explaining to my students how learning music should be approached in a similar style to learning a language. Most professional musicians and music teachers consistently refer to “the language of music,” as this is a parallel thats accepted worldwide. Musicians Learn to “Talk” Music Like How Toddlers Learn to Speak How do infants learn to speak their  first words? They listen to what’s around them and do their best to copy it. As they grow older, they learn how to speak full sentences just as theyre taught. As they grow older still, theyre influenced on how to speak by  friends and other social groups (e.g. a group of teenagers repetitively using the same slang) and use all of these different resources to eventually sound like themselves.” People don’t put very much thought into it. Listen to anyone talk; even though there might be  individual nuances, language is actually a culmination of sayings from ones  parent(s), friends, teachers, and other social influences. People learn to talk by blending their social experiences together. Why do you think accents exist in certain regions and someone who moves there might eventually develop an accent? It all depends on whats around you; we humans like to absorb what we hear. Defining Your Musical Influences This is exactly the same process that musicians go through; we listen to players we like and end up emulating their style. If you’re really into B.B. King, you’re going to do your best to play just like him. But maybe later you get into another player, so you learn how they “talk.” Eventually, everything you’ve learned from the music you’ve played goes into your tool belt of  self-expression. There are many artists out there who are known for their own unique style, but all of them had  influences that shaped who they became. Put it into practice: Find a musician you really enjoy and see if you can trace back their musical history, almost like a family tree. If you have trouble tracing the history yourself, you can usually find interviews where they discuss their musical influences. Take note of some of their signature licks or musical tricks and see if they can be traced back. Its fun just to see how far back you can trace! This can be an extremely enlightening exercise. Bonus points if you do this with your own playing. Building Your Vocabulary Having an extended vocabulary is extremely important when you’re trying to express ideas through both your native language and the language of music. “Bad” and “egregious” both essentially mean the same thing, but those two words have different connotations; choosing one over the other can be vital to  expressing a story or idea. Building vocabulary in music is just as important. Not only does it help culminate your overall style, as stated above, but it also can be the difference between a good solo and a great solo. Having a limited vocabulary means you can only say so much in a particular way. The last thing an artist wants is to be limited. While one lick might fit and work well in a part of a song, there might be another thats able to display an emotion even more perfect. Composers and improvisers agonize over these nuances just as much as poets and novelists agonize over their word choices. A musician decides on music ideas just as a poet might decide to say “glorious” rather than “cool.” Put it into practice:  Listen to the same song done by two different artists. Choosing some unexpected covers to compare is a fun idea. See what differences of “vocabulary” they each end up choosing. Often, an artist may choose to express an idea thats exactly the same basically reciting what the artist before them did. If you pay close attention, many artists will choose subtle differences in licks or chord voicings to show how they think the song should be played. Learn both versions and compare! Speaking With the Right Nuances Another thing musicians spend a fair amount of time on is contemplating the “interpretations” of composers. This means that it’s not only important to play the notes correctly, but to express them in a very specific way. Think about it the way we say things in  our spoken language can sometimes be even more important than the words we’re actually saying. If you were speaking to your child and asked him or her  to make their bed very nicely, that might get the job done. If the child  still didn’t make the bed, however, you could repeat those same exact words but say them in a much sterner manner. Its likely that this change in tone will elicit a different response. Similarly, musicians focus on a lot of nuances with their music how to attack each note, how loud or soft to play (dynamics), how to phrase musical ideas, and so on. The list of nuances is almost endless! Understanding the Details This same idea can cross over to styles of music. I had a jazz professor who would consistently tell students who had trouble swinging, “You’re saying the right thing, but you’re speaking French with a Russian accent it ain’t right!” This meant that even though somebody was playing the right notes for it to be considered jazz, the nuances didn’t quite fit with the style, and, therefore, sounded funny. This is exactly why someone who speaks the native tongue of a country can always tell if someone else hasn’t learned it as their first language. Sure, the words are right, but it sounds forced and foreign. It takes a lot of learning and practice to sound natural. A lot of people don’t realize that these subtleties are what make a piece of music so powerful. Put it into practice:  Start actively listening to ways people approach certain musical phrases and try to identify what makes one style different than another. If you’re a musician, try this with your own playing. What are other ways you can interpret the same phrase? Do you have trouble playing a particular style of music even though you can technically play the notes correctly? Look at what nuances you might have to add! The Takeaway These concepts are only the tip of the iceberg! All of the world’s best musicians are great because they have become so fluent in the language of music. If you’re learning music, use these approaches to improve your skills.  If you’re a seasoned pro, you can always improve your musical fluency.  Happy practicing! Guest  Author: Mike Lowden Mike Lowden has been playing the guitar for as long as he can remember, and enjoys playing every type of music that he can get his hands on. Mike has education from the Berklee College of Music, and studied Jazz at the University of Akron. Now the guitar instructor and co-owner of Falls Music School, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, his mission is not only to teach music students at the school, but also through online content. Photo by Nic McPhee 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

3 Secrets to Getting Better at Your Job (While Also Preparing Yourself for the Next Level) - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / 3 Secrets to Getting Better at Your Job (While Also Preparing Yourself for the Next Level) - Introvert Whisperer 3 Secrets to Getting Better at Your Job (While Also Preparing Yourself for the Next Level) What the heck are you supposed to do? The job you have now is fine?it pays pretty well, pushes you, and is somewhat enjoyable?but you really want to move up to the next level. Problem is: some of the skills you need to continue honing for your current job won’t necessarily help you get that promotion. And unfortunately, you don’t have enough time to give 100% of your focus to developing skills for both jobs. Is there a way to have the best of both worlds? Luckily, there is:   By being intentional about your professional development schedule.   I learned this the hard way when I found myself in this exact position earlier this year. I wanted to improve my digital marketing skills so I could take on more clients at my agency, but also wanted to dive into the world of data analysis. After nearly 6 months of frustration, I found a formula that allowed me to do both. 3 Secrets to Finding Balance with Your Professional Development 1. Set a strict schedule for learning (either in the morning before work, or late at night). It’s obvious that you need to schedule time for professional development outside of work if you want to reach your goals, but most people miss one really important thing… You have to be strict about what you do during this time. If you don’t know exactly what you’ll be doing and when you’ll be doing it beforehand, you’ll get distracted and overwhelmed. So, it’s important to: Set a strict schedule as far as what you’ll be learning during your professional development time. Example: I’ll spend 30 minutes reading a book on marketing and 30 minutes doing coding exercises. Put your phone away and ignore emails?give 100% of your attention to learning during this time. Build this time into your schedule. Whether you do it every weekday or once a week, put it in your calendar and it will soon become a habit. 2. Focus on developing overlapping skills. Some skills you’ll need for that next-level job will also apply to your current job. Identify and focus on those. Often, these overlapping skills will be broad and include things like: Project management Strategy Business Admin Once you’re confident in these skills, move on to the specific skills you’ll need for the next job. This allows you to approach the expert level with your current job so you can eventually shift the focus of your professional development. 3. Realize that most of your learning will come from experimentation (not reading books or taking courses). A lot of people have a misconception when it comes to learning new skills. They think that in order to acquire new skills, they have to: Go back to school Read books And go to workshops These things are great, but they can only get you so far. The majority of learning and skill development comes from experimentation. “For the things we have to learn before we do them, we learn by doing them.” Aristotle Think about learning how to play a sport, or even how to ride a bike… You can listen to instructions, read books, and even get coaching, but you’ll only get so far before you have to do something. So, how can you apply this to your professional development? I recommend either: Taking on new projects at work that you’re interested in (that require the skill you want to develop). Creating your own project outside of work that allows you to apply the skill you want to learn in a context you love (example: doing a data science project to figure out how to craft the perfect fantasy football team). The process of trial and error is often the best teacher. You Can Have the Best of Both Worlds You don’t have to sacrifice getting better at your current job to prepare yourself for the next step in your career. You can structure your professional development in such a way that allows you to do both at the same time. It’s amazing how much even 30 minutes of learning and experimentation each day can do for your career. Author Bio

4 Classes Most Middle Schoolers Will Take

4 Classes Most Middle Schoolers Will Take During middle school, your child will likely start having more options in their academic schedule. They may get to choose a foreign language, in addition to electives like art, home economics, music, and technology. Their core classes are likely to stay the same, and are usually less flexible than, for example, in high school and college. While there may be some variance depending on the school, there are four classes that your middle schooler can generally expect to takealgebra, language arts, biology, and social studies. It can be beneficial for your student to know what they can expect to learn during their middle school years. Keep reading to learn about the four classes most middle schoolers will take. 1. Algebra Algebra (a branch of mathematics) refers to the use of symbols and is the foundation for many math- and science-based areas of study, including engineering and medicine. In this course, your middle schooler will learn items like the following: Solving for x The FOIL method Your middle schooler may need a graphing calculator, but be sure to check with your childs teacher or school before purchasing one. Note, too, that some middle schools offer pre-algebra in addition to algebra courses. [RELATED: Whats Going On In Your Middle Schoolers Head?] 2. Language arts A middle school language arts course will continue to build on the skills, concepts, and genres your child has already been exposed to in elementary school. Theyll likely learn how to write longer essays, learn how to more deeply analyze a character and sustain a longer argument, and learn how to use resources to support a thesis. Theyll also likely learn how to use citations. Continue to encourage your child to read material they find interesting, like a topic that relates to one of their hobbies or other passions. Graphic novels, podcasts, and audio books at this age are great as well. Reading aloud together is an excellent activity for middle schoolers too. 3. Biology While most elementary schools generally teach science, a lot of middle schools may offer biology as a specific course or have biology as a major unit within a general science class. In a biology unit or course, students will learn more specifically about life and living organismseverything from insects, to plants, to people. Theyll learn about genetics and the human body. Theyll also learn about how living organisms interact with the earth, using and transforming energy. In biology, your middle schooler may also experience their first dissection. [RELATED: 5 Tactics to Encourage Academic Confidence in Your Middle Schooler] 4. Social studies Social studies is a broad term that many people use synonymously with history, but it actually encompasses geography, sociology, civics, anthropology, government, and economics, in addition to history. Expect your child to learn about local, state, national, and international aspects of each of these studies. Social studies assignments are sometimes connected to a community service project or other kind of civic engagement. Discussing the news and current events with your child is a great way to engage with what theyre learning in social studies. [RELATED: How Parents Can Help Students Setand AchieveAcademic Goals] These four courses will help your middle school student practice foundational skills and set them up for success in high school and college. Any topics you want to know more about? Let us know! The Varsity Tutors Blog editors love hearing your feedback and opinions. Feel free to email us at blog@varsitytutors.com.

English Learning Resources for Kids

English Learning Resources for Kids Online English Tools Activities for Kids ChaptersHow to Learn English for KidsMake English Learning FunEffective Methods for English Lessons for KidsAs soon as a child is born, you become full time parents. Have you already been thinking about teaching your children English as a second language?Do you think they’ll be bilingual by the time they start nursery?Don't start teaching them vocabulary, verbs, and English grammar just yet. You don't need to rush things. There’s plenty of time to teach them English as their second language.However, it’s highly recommended that you start learning the English language as soon as possible as it can give them an advantage at school and in their future career. If you're not up to the task, you'll probably have to improve your English language skills with some english lessons first. Don't forget you can also learn English online with online English courses and Skype conversations with a native English speaker.Learning foreign languages can improve comprehension and cognitive develop ment, not to mention their cultural awareness.When children learn English from a young age, they tend to master the language.  Many of them will end up speaking English better than most native English speakers!How can you encourage your child to want to learn a language?How can you make sure they don’t get sick of learning English?How can you teach children English? Do you need an English teacher?How can you start teaching English to your child? (Source: Pxhere)Teaching English to children requires the use of particular techniques. You need to take an interactive and fun approach to learning languages.A child aged between 4 and 12 is still learning about social interaction and societal values.  This is the best time to get them used to English learning.That’s because their brain is very malleable at this stage and new words will be completely ingrained into their memory. You can practise phrases, adjectives, tenses, and English pronunciation with them.There are plenty of resourc es for parents or teachers to use when they’re teaching their children English.Here are a few interesting resources you can use to help your child get better at English when they’re at primary school, for example. JulianESOL (English) Teacher 4.00 (1) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EugeneESOL (English) Teacher 4.90 (58) £22/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors HelenESOL (English) Teacher 5.00 (20) £32/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SuzanneESOL (English) Teacher 5.00 (2) £45/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NatashaESOL (English) Teacher 5.00 (8) £55/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SamuelESOL (English) Teacher 4.83 (41) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JoanneESOL (English) Teacher 5.00 (43) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkESOL (English) Teacher 4.76 (17) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsHow to Learn English for KidsIt’s important that a child is comfortable when they learn Englis h otherwise they might reject the whole idea altogether.When teaching your child English, try to keep as far away from the methods they’re using in school. Make sure that it remains fun and interactive.Studying English is fun with modern technology. (Source: Expertiger)There are plenty of educational resources that can help your child learn their first words in English.The child needs to get used to their new language as if it was their own. Just like a guitarist would when it comes to learning a new genre of music.Where does the fun come into it? If learning English becomes a bore, the child will lose interest and they won’t learn as quickly.When they first start learning English, the parent or teacher can teach them songs or play games with them, for example. This is very easy nowadays where digital devices are commonplace.Learn English with Music and SingingMusic and singing can put you in a good mood. This helps you learn a language quicker. Learning a foreign language with music can make the whole experience very enjoyable.Songs and lullabies are very effective and don't forget that there are plenty of free English resources online.Even as adults we still learn the songs we learnt as children. Take the alphabet song, for example. You remember how it goes, right? A, B, C... etc.A child could very easily learn the alphabet in English by singing the song.It’s also possible to find English versions of common lullabies from other languages such as Frère Jacques, for example.  Don’t forget that English-language music has been dominating the world since the second half of the 20th century. There are plenty of English rock, pop, and blues songs that your child might really enjoy singing along to.Since globalisation is also helping spread even more English around the world, your child will probably grow up hearing songs in English and copying their favourite English-speaking pop stars.While they won’t understand the lyrics straight away, they will get u sed to hearing English which will help them further down the line once they start writing or speaking in English.You can also have fun with learning English this way.Learning English in music workshops is very popular. It’s original, simple, and fun, and, above all, kids love it!Learn English by PlayingPlaying is the quickest way to learn a language since having fun makes the whole learning process not seem like work at all!Thanks to the Internet, everyone can become “fluent” just by playing a few games.Children nowadays don’t know how good they’ve got it.There are so many digital resources available for those wanting to learn a language and the Internet brings them directly to us with a simple click of the mouse.  There are games where children can learn to count up to 100 and beyond in English.A quick search will bring you thousands of results for different games you can play with your child to help them learn English. You can download worksheets, work on their pronuncia tion, and do English-language crosswords, for example.Make English Learning FunEnglish WorkshopsHave a look for events in your community where parents and their children get together to learn English. Workshops often blend learning English with other activities like music or art.These are great ways for your children to learn English without even realising that they’re studying.English lessons over SkypeWhether with a pen pal or a private tutor, Skype is a great way to get your child studying and practising English.There are thousands of great native speakers who offer private tutorials to children (and adults) over Skype.When it comes to younger children, you can always set up a virtual “play date” with an English speaking friend. They can play games on-line and talk to each other.Most very young children don’t tend to care whether their friends speak the same language as them or not, after all.Effective Methods for English Lessons for KidsOnce you start learning a foreign language, you should make sure that you’re doing so effectively.It might sound obvious. However, there are so many resources for learning English that choosing the right one might be difficult.There are plenty of different ways to learn. (Source: Urane)Here are a few of the methods that work:English AcademiesYou can send your children to a private English academy where they’ll learn English with other children their age. The approach is normally different to school and they can spend time singing, dancing, and playing, all while learning.Little PimLittle Pim provides videos for children up to 6 to learn English. Why only up to 6?This is because Little Pim wants to teach children English at the optimal age when their brain is geared towards language learning.It’s an interesting concept that gets a child used to hearing English even though they can’t read, write, or count yet. This is English teaching that focuses on listening skills.If you want your child to be bilingual in E nglish, you’ll have to start them on their way as soon as possible!There you go. They’ll be speaking English before they even learn to read. Before you know it, they’ll be wanting to study abroad.Travel to an English-speaking CountryHeading to an English-speaking country is usually the quickest and most effective way to learn the language. The countries that encourage study abroad programmes tend to have better abilities when it comes to speaking English.The English you learn in secondary schools isn’t normally enough to speak like they do in London or New York. If you want to practise your spoken English and listening skills, it's a good idea to do so with another native English speaker. It just so happens that London and New York are full of native English speakers!It's very easy to become bilingual at a young age in an English-speaking country. (Source: Culture Corners)Your child will learn so much on an English course if they’re also immersed in an English-speaking cul ture and living with an English-speaking host family.How does that sound?There are plenty of different organisations offering exchange programmes.Your child will have the unique opportunity to spend time in English-speaking countries like the UK, the US, Canada, etc.  After spending every day speaking to native speakers, your child might come back home speaking English like a native!It’s recommended that you don’t send younger children to the other side of the globe.  The UK is still one of the most popular destinations for Europeans when it comes to language exchange programmes.Older students can travel further afield to places like New Zealand or Australia.  There are so many wonderful places around the world where they speak English that they could go to!If you’d like to learn about teaching dyslexic children English, read our article on the subject!

5 English Phrasal Verbs with Look

5 English Phrasal Verbs with Look Learning English phrasal verbs is one of the most difficult, and most important, parts of learning English. Phrasal verbs are verbs made of two or more words, usually a verb and a preposition or a verb and an adverb.Below youll find a video that include 5 common English phrasal verbs that use look. Watch the video, then see if you can answer the questions at the bottom.You can find more of our videos here. Fill the gaps with look for, look forward, look down on, look up, or look after. Use the correct tense. If you write your answers in comments, we will correct them.This weekend I am _____ ____ my 5-year-old nephew.Were really _____ ____ to visiting Brazil someday.Some people ____ ____ on people that have less money than them.My wife has been _____ ___ her keys for an hour.I hope youre _____ ____ to your next Skype English lesson.A lot of people ___ __ to President Obama.Were trying to find someone to ____ ____ our cat while were gone.I try not to ____ ____ on people.Are you ____ __ __ to your next English class?We are ____ __ a new place to live. Thaisa Pedron 1-looking after 2-look forward 3-down on 4-looked for 5-looking forward 6-look up 7-look after 8- look down   9-looking forward 10-looking for SkypeEnglishClasses Very good Thaisa! Number 4 should be looking for, (past continuous) but all the others are correct.   learn english online Nice post I understand many phrases and learn more verbs like this to improve English.Thanks for sharing Giuseppe Perna 1) This week end Im looking after my 5-years-old nephew. 2) We are really looking forward to visit Brazil someday. 3) Some people look down on people that have less money than them. 4) My wife has been looking for her keys for an hour. 5) I hope youre looking forward your next Skype English Lesson. 6) A lot of people look up to president Obama 7) We are trying to find someone to look after our cat while were gone. 8) I try not to look down on people. 9)  Are you looking forward to your next English cla ss? 10)  We are looking for a new place to live. LOIEnglish Giuseppe,Very good! You used all of the phrasal verbs correctly. But you did make some mistakes when you re-wrote the sentences. Can you see how you changed sentences 1, 2 and 5 to include errors that are typical of English learners? LOIEnglish Good work! susana gonzalez This weekend I am LOOKING AFTER my 5-year-old nephew. We’re really LOOKING FORWARD to visiting Brazil someday. Some people LOOK DOWN on people that have less money than them. My wife has been LOOKING FOR her keys for an hour. I hope you’re LOOKING FORWARD to your next Skype English lesson. A lot of people LOOK UP to President Obama. We’re trying to find someone to LOOK AFTER our cat while we’re gone. I try not to LOOK DOWN on people. Are you LOOKING FORWARD to your next English class? We are LOOKING FORWARD a new place to live LOIEnglish You had a problem with the last question: we are looking FOR (to search) a new place to live.