Your Professional Field Guide to Be a Rockstar Introvert (Part 2)

Introvert Whisperer / Your Professional Field Guide to Be a Rockstar Introvert (Part 2) Your Professional Field Guide to Be a Rockstar Introvert at Work (Part 2) Change for the sake of change is pointless. Change to improve your life (and your career is part of your life) is vital. (Like this thought? Tweet it!) Previously, Ive explained that you can learn to adapt, and learn the skill of adapting, in order to create the best possible outcome. But where do you start? The best place to start is by looking at your own career goals against your current situation. If your current situation is problematic, then you have things to change, even if your issues aren’t all that big. Small issues tend to get bigger as time goes by, and its very easy to try to ignore those smaller issues until you wake up one day and you’ve got a huge career mess on your hands. The trouble I sometimes see is that people try to solve the  symptoms of problems, not the problems themselves. It’s like taking cold medicine for pneumonia. It might help with the symptoms, but it will do nothing for eliminating the pneumonia from your body. When you solve the symptom, you fail to solve the problem. You could also make your situation worse because  your actions really aren’t focused on the correct fix. I see this same problem when it comes to  solving business issues. Failure to get down to the root cause of a problem is fairly common. The reason it happens more in our careers is because the emotional component doesn’t exactly cause a person to think all that clearly. Let Me Give You an Example I had a former client return to me a few years after helping her land what she thought was a dream job. She wanted me to help her again with a job search, and since I had helped her land the job she was leaving, I wanted to do a diagnostic of her situation. I learned she had a history of going into a position  and doing an outstanding job, but being  seriously under-appreciated for her accomplishments. Her relationships with her bosses had consistent themes of poor communication, other people getting credit for her ideas and her leaving feeling unrecognized and under-supported. Her assessment was that her industry was full of flaky management and she needed to do a complete career switch. This was a huge undertaking, as her career skills were  directly linked to her industry. She was a specialist, and moving into another industry and career would mean retooling. She was addressing the symptom, not the problem. My assessment was that, like so many Introverts, she was falling short in areas others around her had mastered. Namely, she had the following real problems fairly common to Introverts: She was not self-promoting and helping management to utilize her extensive skills. As a result, they failed to recognize her for her skills and her results. She wasn’t reading the political landscape; in fact, she was avoiding it, which is always a perilous thing to do. You can’t avoid the dynamics that occur any time you get a group of people together. Politics happen, both negative and positive. If you don’t understand office  politics, you will pull a big career-limiting move. It’s not a question of if  it happens; its simply a matter of when and how big the political blunder will be. In her case, it was fairly big. She had great relationships with the people who worked for her but had no relationships with her peers, management or executives. In fact, she grew to feel contempt for those at her level and above. She had no support structure, and it was apparent almost no one was in her corner. Relationships are vital for almost every aspect of your career, and the fact that her career was in trouble was due in a large part to this missing element. The problem I had with this clients  proposed new direction is that she would repeat her history no matter where she pursued a job if she didn’t take steps to change how she managed herself in that job. To make it worse, she would potentially spend time and money that wouldn’t lead to a solution. She would simply have the same bad results in a new career and new industry. I did agree that she should start fresh elsewhere, but that she should do it with a new strategy and a few changes to her own behavior. The great thing about starting a new job is that you can change your behavior and have completely different results. But, you have to be changing the right behavior or adapting new behavior that will produce a better result. Adapting Behaviors Hopefully, I have illustrated by now why  you have to drill down on your own behavior  to know what to change. Certainly, we do work with people who can be problematic, but when you keep hitting the same walls repeatedly, you have to start assuming it’s you. Let’s say, for arguments sake, that you arent having career issues per se; youre  just not getting the traction you think you should. In this case, there are some very effective adaptation strategies to consider. The reason I call them “adaptation” strategies is that  as an Introvert, you are not changing your personality. You will mere be adapting some behaviors, with approaches that preserve the integrity of your personality and also take your inherent tendencies into account. In other words, you are adjusting your behavior to suit the situation (and doing it “Introvert-style”). You may discover that with enough repetition, you may permanently change your behavior. Keep in mind that changing your behavior is not changing your personality. Using the example from above, let’s look at each  adaptation strategy the client Ive discussed could  pursue: Strategy #1:  Self-Promotion 1.  Re-set your attitude about self-promotion. Sometimes I hear people who  think their work speaks for itself. It doesn’t, but you do. Some people think they are “above” self-promotion. No one is above self-promotion, including the U.S. President, Oprah and the Pope. If they can self-promote and make people think positively about them, so can you. 2. Know the difference between bragging and self-promotion. An easy way to tell is in the value of  the message. Bragging is self-centered and all about the person talking. Its heavily laced with words like “I,” “me” and “mine. The blather  is pointless and adds no value to the listener. Self-promotion provides useful information to the recipient. What is being said adds value to the other person. 3.  Be forthcoming with information. You perform a service of some sort to your company. Share liberally with those up, down and at your level what you are doing, your results, your breakthroughs and your observations. Your sharing does two things: 1) it reinforces what you do, and 2) it helps the other person learn about things that will help them. Most people fail to recognize that communication is always the weak spot in their  organization. You can be the opposite. Let’s pause here to look at just these suggestions. The first things youre doing with this strategy is putting your head in the right space. The next thing youre doing is not painful and  is fairly simple to do    being conscious of a  need and then applingy a straightforward approach to it. The approach works well for  Introverts  because  we tend to not speak without a reason or purpose. The  reason here is to  help others (and yourself) by keeping them informed of what youre up to. You can’t assume anyone knows  what youre  doing. Note that  I’m not telling you to be “more outgoing.” That is usually not good advice for us. But a specific process and reason is. There are many more things you could do under this strategy, but this is a start. Use these suggestions and then, when you feel good about the changes, expand to the next strategy. We Introverts can get  overwhelmed, so it’s best to start small, master one thing and then expand your skills. Strategy #2: Building Relationships 1.  Make a goal for expanding. One thing that helps Introverts is having a purpose or mission when  pursuing a relationship. Establishing a goal can help provide a basis for driving you forward, and also gives you a positive reward when you hit this goal. Again, start small. A good goal might be: 1) develop one new relationship at work per month, and 2) start approaching management 2-3 times per month to get to know them or their priorities. 2.  Go one-on-one. Introverts prefer more intimate settings rather than big blowouts. This is perfect, especially at work. Use those moments when you drop in to give an update or pick up something as an opportunity to get to know the  person youre visiting. Ask questions this is easier than normal small talk, as you won’t have to come up with pithy remarks, just good questions. Plus, asking about the other person shows interest, and thats always a good basis for a relationship. 3.  Get to know someone who’s doing something you’d like to do. If youre seeking a promotion or different position, what better way to do it than to get to know the person doing it right now? You can learn more about the job from this person, and it may also give you an opportunity to volunteer to help them. You will win points with this person and also get  more qualified (how good is that?) 4.  Get to know the boss. You don’t need to turn your boss into your BFF (but it could happen). By spending time with the boss, youll get more insight into their work and priorities.  Become  familiar with the demands and priorities on the boss, and you can gain insight into  how you could help them. When you have the bosss back, you become very valuable. See, that isn’t too painful! With these suggestions, you can start winning relationships that will support you along your path. Strategy #3: Reading the Political Landscape 1.  Don’t avoid gossip. I’m sure you’re shocked I suggested this. But before you skip over this one, think about these points. You can learn a lot from the gossip being shared in your group. While you don’t have to add to it and you do have to edit what you hear, you can still figure out how things work in a group. You can learn whos “in” and whos “out” and without sounding too cold-blooded you need to know that. If you overly align yourself with someone who is “out,” you will be perceived the same way. 2. Align with influence. This doesn’t mean you ignore the people you like and suck up to odious people. It means among the people you need to have strategic relationships with are those people who seem to hold more sway than others. These people can  eventually sway things in your favor, which is good. They can also help you  be noticed easier, which is also important. 3. Learn the management and influencers. One thing I will readily admit is that we  Introverts can be a bit “tone deaf to the interactions of others. That’s because we tend to be task-focused (it helps conserve energy) and, when were hunkered down on a task, we may miss the group dynamics. You need to pay attention to your management and those of influence. You need to figure out what’s important to these people and position yourself to deliver to those things; it will make you  invaluable. Also, by paying attention to those people, you will learn things like the best way to communicate with them, or sensitivities they might have on certain things. Modify how you do things with those people once you learn how they tick. 4. Offer solutions. I can tell you for a fact that while management needs to know about problems, they don’t want to hear them without also hearing proposed solutions. Don’t be overly committed to your solution in case they don’t adopt your suggestion. You will quickly become the least favorite person if you constantly use your expertise to point out flaws and leave the problem on the doorstep of others to fix. It’s just being politically astute to offer solutions. Some people are nervous about playing office politics. All you really need to know if that it’s all about who influences whom to make what decisions. And  the “who’s who” can change at the drop of a hat, so you need to be aware and react accordingly. You may  think you aren’t political, but if youre part of a group, you are. With that in mind, be smart and play it positively. Like the other two things I outlined above, there are many other actions you can take to help you with all three areas. I can tell you from my experience both doing these things and helping others that it only take a few well thought-out actions to make a huge difference for your career. Be a Conscious Introvert Now that you understand how you tick and where your Introvert tendencies are  most likely to show up, my last message to you is to be conscious of when you aren’t helping your career. Like everyone on the planet, we get used to our own behaviors, no matter how useful or problematic they might be. It’s easy to simply move past something we see ourselves doing and shrug it off, even when we know it’s not helping our own career goals. Start paying attention to your own weak spots. Many  Introverts share the same issues, and usually those issues have to do with interactions (or lack thereof) with others. Here are some questions to ask yourself to make sure youre not getting in your own way: Are you staying silent in meetings most of the time? Do you fail to offer up your opinion because it’s the same as others most of the time? Are your work relationships sparse or specific to the projects or work you do? Are you sought after for your expertise? By the boss or management? Are you noticing people with fewer  skills or less experience moving up faster than you? Do you believe most people at work understand your expertise? Are you treated with respect? Do you get recognition (not necessarily awards or bonuses) for your work or accomplishments? If your career situation changed this week, would your network be  strong enough to help you? If you needed to, could you influence others at work for something you felt strongly about? Do you have a clear sense of your personal brand and believe its consistent with how people at work view you? Does it support your career goals? If you aren’t clear about these things, you can  obtain feedback from a variety of people you work with. Be careful to ask people who will give you the unvarnished truth about you. Most people try to be polite or nice, and you need some straightforward information, not useless input. Steer clear of asking the people you know will struggle with being completely honest. All change models will tell you that you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge or realize is a problem. Being conscious of your behavior gives you that vital first step to making real changes that matter. In Summary Self-improvement is a lifelong endeavor, and I hope you are approaching your career improvement with the spirit of fun and adventure. After all, it’s about you and it’s about you going places, which is seriously exciting. If you’re in a poor job situation, I realize that isn’t fun. Know that you have the power to either change your situation or move on to a job where you can develop the type of behaviors that will dramatically accelerate your career. You can learn new skills until the day you die. You can learn to adapt to your various situations with some consciousness and a clear vision of what needs to change. Also, I’m a real person and always happy to help. Feel free to email me if you’d like guidance for your particular concerns I answer all my email. To help you gain additional insight about what’s working and what’s not working, you can also take a free  assessment to get feedback so you can be on your path to a career you love. Click here to take the assessment now. For additional Introvert insights, you can also check out my video series on The 5 Common Ways Introverts Commit Career Self-Sabotage and How to Avoid Them. Click here to view the videos. Go to top Do you know what your next career step is?  Many people don’t. I want to help you accelerate your career by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my eBook on how to construct your Career SMART Goals â€" that will help you put together your actions and keep you accountable. Get your copy now and start your action plan today! Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleashing your professional potential. Introvert Whisperer

Algebra 1 Word Problems Online Tutoring - Algebra Help

Algebra 1 Word Problems Online Tutoring - Algebra Help Various day-to-day mathematical problems or the real world problems can be easily solved by first converting the problem in the form of an equation and then solving it by applying the rules of algebra. Algebra 1 word problems tool helps in solving the word problem step by step. This can be illustrated by a few examples as below. Example 1: If the cost of 12 pens is $50, find the cost of 5 such pens. Solution: Here we cannot find the cost of 5 pens unless we find the cost of one pen, which is also not known, from the question. We start by assuming the cost of one pen to be x, So the cost of 12 pens would be 12 (x) = 12x.. (1) But according to the question cost of 12 pens = $50.. (2) So from the equation (1) and (2) above, we get 12x = 50 Dividing both sides by 12 12x/12 = 50 x = 4.16, i.e. the cost of one pen (3) Now, cost of 5 pens would be 5x. But x = 4.16 as per equation (3) So, cost of 5 pens = 5 X 4.16 = $20.8 Example 2: Find the cost of a bag which was sold for $200 at a profit of 20%. Solution: Let us assume the cost price (C.P) to be =x We know that, Selling price (S.P) = C.P + Profit Or S.P = C.P + P Or, S.P = x + 20% of x (because profit is 20% of the C.P) Or, S.P = x + 20x/100 Or, S.P. =120x/100..(1) But according to the question S.P = 200.(2) From equation (1) and (2) above = 200 Multiplying both sides by 100 Or, 120x/100 * 100 = 200 x 100 Or,120x = 20000 Dividing both sides by 120 120x/120 = 20000/120 X= 166.67, or the cost price of the bag was $166.66

How Social Media is Changing Our Brains - Listening Exercise

How Social Media is Changing Our Brains - Listening Exercise Is social media like an addictive drug? What is a phantom vibration? Can social media actually be good for relationships?a href=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC552Sd-3nyi_tk2BudLUzAAsap Science/a, a Canadian duo that has created a fascinating YouTube channel about science,  answers these and more questions about how social media changes  our brains.  Its fascinating, and is also a good way to work on your Ea href=/?page_id=16153nglish listening skills/a. Watch the video below, then try to answer the questions.iframe src=//www.youtube.com/embed/HffWFd_6bJ0?list=UUC552Sd-3nyi_tk2BudLUzA width=560 height=315 frameborder=0 allowfullscreen=allowfullscreen/iframestrongAnswer the questions in comments, and we will respond./strong1. Cant __ __?2. What does sentence 1 mean?3.  How is using social media like a drug?4. What is phantom vibration syndrome? Have you ever felt it?5. How is social media communication different from face to face communication?6. How is social media good for relat ionships?7. Do you think social media has changed you?Want to improve your English writing? a href=/?page_id=16153Click here/a.

Teaching Children English Using The Six Thinking Hats Technique

Teaching Children English Using The Six Thinking Hats Technique Finding the right way to teach English classes for children can be difficult. How do we keep them interested? How can we help them to remember information? How can we encourage them to want to continue learning?Six Thinking Hats, a teaching model promoting critical and creative thinking attributed to Maltese physician and consultant Edward de Bono, is a great way to get young learners stimulated. It is straightforward, versatile and popular with children, particularly around 8 years and upward, worldwide. So why not use it for teaching young  students English?The theory is that our thought processes (of both young and old) can be predicted in 6 steps and that classes be prepared in accordance with the structure of this 6-part thought processes.The six hats are:White: In this phase we think about the facts of what we are learning. We think about what facts we have and what facts we need to understand a given topic.Black: In this stage we use out judgment. We use our critical judgment. We think about problems, dangers, if we are wasting time with a topic, etc.Yellow: Here, we use our judgment again. However, now we are positive. We think about the advantages, benefits, hopeful side to what we are learning.Red: This stage is characterized by an emotional response to what we are learning. What do I feel about this issue?Green: This is the creative phase. What is my response to this?Blue: This is a development of the creative phase but here we consider the ‘overall’ picture. What are the consequences of what I am learning? What should I learn next?Diagram of The Six Thinking Hats model.How can this theory be applied to teaching children?Children can be given colored pages corresponding to the different hats and or even cut-outs of the hats in their different colors.Over a series of classes they can be taught the associations with each hat and how to express them in English:Objective terms (White hat):We know thatLet’s see what we have already learned…Creativ e terms (Green hat):I believe that…I think that…Positive (Yellow hat):I/We can…I/We shouldNegative (Black hat):I don’t think thatI wouldn’t doIntuitive (Red hat):I feelProcess (or Progress)I would continue by…We should proceed by…Then, present a series of questions for example:What would happen is the world was square?What would happen if your country won the world cup?What would happen if we were all grown up tomorrow?If you are working with a group of children, give them a different color hat each and ask each of them for their response based on the color of their hat.If you are working with an individual child you can rotate the hats and ask for responses to the question based on each one of the hats in turn.Watch this video to find out more:Did you find this lesson helpful? Feel free to share it on Facebook and Twitter. Also, contact us if you would like your child to take classes with us.Clases de inglés para niños

After Spanish, These Are 6 of the Best Languages to Learn

After Spanish, These Are 6 of the Best Languages to Learn Your Move: 6 of the Best Languages to Learn After Spanish Choosing a language to learn may not seem like a strategic move.After all, for many, Spanish is the obvious choice.But after you learn Spanishâ€"Wait, hold on. After?Well, yes.Spanish covers a lot of the world. English covers quite a bit more. But added together, you might still only get… about a fourth?There are still many, many places around the world where Spanish and English wont get you far at all. Besides, there are plenty of native Spanish speakers looking for additional languages to learn, too, and maybe youre even one of them!So whether youve already learned Spanish, you grew up speaking Spanish or you dont know Spanish but are still curious about what other languages are out there, its certainly worth considering your options carefully.From bustling cities to remote jungle villages, the world is absolutely full of languages. So why limit yourself?Even if youre English-Spanish bilingual, youve still only scratched the surface.Learning an extra language or two will definite ly give you a leg up in business, travel and even your day-to-day life. And looking into languages to learn aside from Spanish will give you a chance to weigh the advantages of each.So, out of the whole  vast linguistic landscape, here are six of the best languages to add on top of your English and Spanishâ€"or just to learn based on their own merits. Your Move: 6 of the Best Languages to Learn After SpanishThe languages below are highlighted for their overall usefulness but also for how they can benefit those who are learning or who have already learned Spanish.FrenchFrench might be the number one obvious choice.English is a Germanic language with huge numbers of Romance loanwords, most of them from French. Spanish is, well, a Romance language to begin with.If you already know English and Spanish, youll go into French basically knowing every other word. Plus, all that grammar that gives first-time French students nightmares? Youll have been over it.And once you learn French, youl l be able to communicate with millions of people all over Europe, Africa and North America  who have learned French as their first or second language.Tip: It’s a good idea to focus on listening from the beginning with French because there are some tricky sounds and the pronunciation isnt always clear from the spelling. Once your listening is strong, its smooth sailing.FluentU has a very robust collection of videos for learning French that you can start using to build up your listening and speaking skills with authentic language right away. FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language lessons. You can also check it out for German or Russian (below), and use it to learn Spanish along with any of the languages on this list.PortuguesePortuguese, of course, is already extremely similar to Spanish. Many Spanish speakers can start reading newspapers in Portuguese with little to no preparation.Des pite that, the approximate 220 million native speakers of Portuguese in the world are often quite proud of their own language. Many of them understandably somewhat resent tourists who only bother to speak portuñol (essentially Spanish in a Portuguese disguise).In fact, as Portuguese isnt as well known as French or Spanish, few Portuguese speakers even expect foreigners in their home countries to be able to say more than a few words.That means if you can speak good and correct Portuguese, theyll understand that youve really put in the time to understand their culture and their language, and probably appreciate it.Tip: Since Spanish is so similar to Portuguese, if you want to learn both, the best way to avoid mixing the two is to achieve a very comfortable level in Spanish first (unless you go for Portuguese first, in which case you can do it the other way around). Give your brain two or three years to really internalize Spanish.Then, when you begin learning Portuguese, translate fro m Spanish to Portuguese and vice versa to keep the rules for the two languages separate in your mind.Additional tip: If you want to learn European Portuguese, it can be tricky to find resources online, but this guide should give you everything you need to get started. If youre learning Brazilian Portuguese, here are some apps you may find useful.GermanLots of people say that German has hard grammar. In reality, it just has different grammar.If you already have substantial experience learning Spanish, that experience will have taught you about using the subjunctive as well as grammatical gender in general. Thats a significant advantage.Ordinary, everyday words in German tend to be more similar to English than Spanish, such as Buch for book compared to Spanishs  libro. As vocabulary moves up into higher registers, however, the German words tend to come from Latin roots that look an awful lot like Spanish. One example: To try is  probar in Spanish and probieren in German.Heres a more d etailed look at what learning the German language entails.If you know German, Spanish and English, pretty much every Romance and Germanic language becomes transparent. You could probably pick up Dutch over a summer or Italian in a handful of weeks.And although German speakers have a reputation for speaking perfect English to learners, thats far from a universal guarantee. Even in the most metropolitan cities, people will appreciate that you know their languageâ€"and that opens doors every time.Tip: One of the best free resources for starting out as a German learner is  Deutsche Welle. You can even explore some of their content  through Spanish!ArabicOkay, so none of the varieties of Arabic are related to either English or Spanish. Arabic is going to be a challenge.But if you know Spanish, you have a few tricks up your sleeve.Thanks to around 800 years of Moorish influence in Spain, the Spanish and Arabic languages actually share a deep pool of vocabulary. You cant describe food or a ccommodation in Spanish without tripping over Arabic-derived words like  azúcar  (sugar), alfombra (carpet), albahaca (basil)  or naranja (orange).The benefits of learning Arabic are manifold. The Arabic language covers an enormous swath of the Middle East and North Africa, including millions of people who arent comfortable speaking English or Spanish.Plus, with Arabic, Spanish and English, youll know exactly half of the official working languages of the UN!Tip: Spanish speakers, when it comes time to learn the beautiful Arabic script, you can actually start with texts in aljamiadoâ€"a way of writing Spanish using Arabic letters. Its far, far easier to get used to reading a new script if you already know what it says.IndonesianIndonesian (and its closely related cousin Malay) is the first or second language of millions in Southeast Asia, and thanks to a huge diaspora, people speak Indonesian all over the world, from Australia to the Netherlands. And have you ever dreamed of the whi te sands of Bali? Knowing some Indonesian will help you thrill the locals and make your trip an unforgettable experience.Its true, Indonesian isnt related to Spanish, either. However, as the Malay Archipelago has been a Muslim-majority region for centuries, youll find that quite a few Arabic words in Spanish also appear in Indonesian.And the grammar and pronunciation are extremely simple from a European language perspective. No tenses, no casesâ€"just some interesting verb features.All the time honing your Spanish accent will pay off here: Virtually all the sounds of Indonesian happen to be  found in either English or Spanish!Tip: The biggest hurdle is definitely remembering all the unfamiliar vocabulary. The best way to handle that is to take things slow when you start out and do a ton of review to really make those new words second nature.But theres a great surprise in store, because advanced vocabulary in Indonesian is frequently Latin-based and resembles English and Spanish quit e a bit! No prizes for guessing the meanings of ekonomi or multikulturalisme.RussianNow, Russian is a challenge for any language learner. Between the script and the grammar, its no cakewalk.And yet, although Vladivostok and Madrid are practically on opposite sides of the globe, there are several features of Russian that are quite similar to Spanish.Take the way you say I like it, for instance. In both Russian and Spanish, a construction along the lines of it pleases me is used.Someone who knows Spanish also already has a leg up on learning the sounds of Russian: Your old friends ñ and rr are along for the ride once more.Russian, too, has borrowed heavily from Latin for terms of politics and science. And French was all the rage in Russian aristocracy a few hundred years ago, which means another helping of Latin-derived terms for high society and luxury goods.Russian is spoken across pretty much all of Central Asia to this day. Its even still widely understood in much of Eastern Euro pe, not to mention among the enormous Russian diaspora all around the world.Tip:  Start by doing a lot of listening and reading to get a feel for how all the familiar sounds get rearranged and fit into Cyrillic letter shapes.If you learn another language after Spanish, youll almost certainly gain from some shortcuts like shared vocabulary or similar grammar.But the most important advantage youll have learning any language after any other language is knowing how to learn. Picking up a third language goes significantly faster than your second.But even if youre only starting on your second language now, you already have an advantage in that youre thinking consciously about your choices and considering your options. Why not set the bar high and consider learning multiple languages  so you can reap the benefits?If it takes you three years to get conversational in Spanish, dont be surprised if you reach the same level in Portuguese in less than 18 months.Not only can you quickly relate fe atures of any new language to other languages you know, but if youve previously learned languages you know yourself and you know that, lets say, you really dont like vocab flashcards. So just replace the flashcards with word lists or more reading work. Or focus on listening from the start, if it took you a long time to get used to native Spanish accents.Whatever language or languages you choose, it only gets easier and easier.The only question isâ€"whats next? And One More ThingIf youre digging these language recommendations, youll love using FluentU. FluentU makes it possible to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, news and inspiring talks.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that natives  speak them. FluentU has a wide variety of videos like movie trailers, funny commercials and web series, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse Screen.FluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples . Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover your mouse over the subtitles to instantly view definitions.Interactive transcript for Carlos Baute song.You can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs quiz mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.Start using FluentU on the website  with your computer or tablet  or, better yet,  download the FluentU app from  the  iTunes  or  Google Play  store.

Tuck EMBA students visit the italki office!

Tuck EMBA students visit the italki office! Earlier this week, Tuck EMBA students from the United States came to visit our  italki office in Shanghai.   We really enjoy sharing the italki  story with others.  Special thanks to these Tuck students who travelled so far to meet with us! Welcoming the @tuckschool #emba students who are #visiting #shanghai for their China tour. Kevin presenting #italki and the challenges of doing a #startup in #China. #bschooltalks #overseasguests A photo posted by Italki (@italki) on Apr 26, 2015 at 7:39pm PDT Tuck EMBA students visit the italki office! Earlier this week, Tuck EMBA students from the United States came to visit our  italki office in Shanghai.   We really enjoy sharing the italki  story with others.  Special thanks to these Tuck students who travelled so far to meet with us! Welcoming the @tuckschool #emba students who are #visiting #shanghai for their China tour. Kevin presenting #italki and the challenges of doing a #startup in #China. #bschooltalks #overseasguests A photo posted by Italki (@italki) on Apr 26, 2015 at 7:39pm PDT

5 online resources for 13+ (Common Entrance Exam)

5 online resources for 13+ (Common Entrance Exam) The last main gatepost of the entrance exam world is the Common Entrance Exam for children aged 13. Normally taken by pupils whose junior schools go up to age 12, this is also a very popular exam amongst boarding schools. Here are some resources to help you and your budding teen conquer the Common Entrance Exam. 1. Confused about the difference between the 11+ and the 13+? Gateway independent junior school, in Buckinghamshire, has some clues for you. http://www.gatewayschool-bucks.co.uk/NewParentGuide/AGuideToBritishEducation/11and13CommonEntrance/tabid/450/Default.aspx 2. Practise makes perfect, and with this huge amount of free to download revision lists and past papers, this site will give your child plenty to be getting on with. http://pdfdatabase.com/index.php?q=common+entrance+exam+uk 3. One educator's view of the Common Entrance Exam and its influence on Year 7 and Year 8 education - interesting reading for parents. http://www.attainmagazine.co.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=archive.contentcmid=62 4. Modern languages are a part of the Common Entrance Exam and the Times Educational Supplement has some French oral exams to practise. http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=3013678 5. First Tutors recommends a fine selection of textbooks and practise papers in the main Common Entrance subjects along with a Good Schools Guide to help you select the best school for your child. https://www.firsttutors.com/uk/learning-resources.php