Archive for May, 2009

Langua World voted Best Language School in Manhattan 2008

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

Since 1994 Langua World has been teaching New Yorkers how to talk to the world in different languages! If you live in New York City and want to learn French, Farsi, Fulani or 45 other languages, then you need to know more about Langua World!

They place the highest premium on student comprehension and proficiency. In fact, their commitment to excellence was recognized in 2008 when they were awarded the Best of New York 2008 in Language Schools by the U.S. Local Business Association.

This quality of service is delivered by a number of factors. Highly skilled staff, small classes, enormously wide language selection, and a personal approach to learning make for a client centric experience.

All Langua World teachers are fully certified, and native speakers of the language they teach.

And get this ” they dont believe in lectures. They use interactive projects and application-based games to rapidly increase learning and understanding.

They also limit your class size to no more seven students to ensure an intimate learning environment.

This intimate approach is additionally galvanized by monthly gatherings of students of all levels. Again, the emphasis is on application through interaction. This is a working process more than an academic one.

With 48 languages to choose from, Langua World can help you learn a new language quickly and enjoyably. Their application based methods and personal approach to your individual needs will deliver you the best of New Yorks language schools.

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Ready for Online Distance Education? Read these 10 Rules first

Saturday, May 30th, 2009

Accreditation - this is perhaps the most important of the rules. Accreditation confirms that the college meets certain educational standards that are set by the accrediting education agencies. If you earn credits from an accredited online distance education college, chances are you can transfer them to another accredited institution of your choice. Your chances for acquiring a new job or getting a promotion are greatly enhanced if your degree is accredited.

Be on the look-out for unaccredited online distance education colleges otherwise known as “degree mills”. There are many fake institutions granting “accreditation” to any organization willing to pay some money for it. Before you pick your college, make sure you research that it is accredited by a legit body. If you are not sure the college you wish to attend has a legitimate accreditation, consult with the United States Department of Education or CHEA to confirm.

Before you choose an online college, it’s also important to think about what your long-terms plans and goals are as far as your education is concerned. Incase you intend to pursue further education, think about if you’ll need to transfer credits from one college to another. With this knowledge you’ll be able to choose a college that allows and accepts credit transfers.

Just like in a traditional classroom, class size is important. You want to be in a class where your voice can be heard. So check the class size of the college you’re considering.

How about the qualification of the faculty in the program that you’re interested in? What degrees do they hold? From which institutions? What experience do they have in the subject they teach? Do they have experience teaching online classes? Do your homework and get answers to avoid been taught by other students like yourself.

Find out if it easy to contact your instructor or administration should you have questions or need help. The level of support offered to students varies considerably from college to college. Choose one in line with your needs and expectations.

Most colleges have their online classes rolling out all the time. This is a great thing and makes learning flexible. As such you should not feel pressured by the admission office or anyone else to start your program right away. You should start only when you feel your mind is set to it. This will ensure you stay motivated and put the effort you need to succeed with your classes.

Check out if your program will be offered entirely online or if it will require residency at some point in the course. Some online courses have site projects and require residency so let this not come as a surprise to you.

Most online colleges offer financial aid and tuition assistance. You’ll be pleased to discover how much financial help you have available inform of loans, scholarships, financial aid and other federal loans. Some institutions even have tuition payment plans and employer-reimbursement programs. Find out if your college of interest offers such programs.

Your research for a good online college should not be a hurried task. Invest time in it and ask lots of questions. Quality education is crucial to your career advancement thus you should not get less than you deserve. New and traditional colleges are coming up with online programs every day. You have more choices than ever before to get your best education online.

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Online Dating for the 30 Something Woman

Saturday, May 30th, 2009

Life isn’t fair, is it? Men get all the good luck. You have devoted all of your 20’s to establishing your career. It is not that you haven’t been dating you have, just not seriously. Now here you are 30 something and there is no long term relationship in sight.

You can actually hear your biological clock ticking. You have precious few years to find a man to fall in love with, make him fall in love with you, get married, and have a baby or it’s lights out. You already know all of the men in your social circle. Not that they aren’t nice guys, some of them, but none of them is your soul mate. What’s a girl supposed to do?

Think about dating online. You have the opportunity to read hundreds of profiles and look at hundreds of pictures in search of that someone that will be right for you. Maybe he lives in the same city you do, maybe he will live across the country or even across the sea! You aren’t restricted to just those men that you come in contact with personally. The possibilities are endless.

Is online dating safe, you might ask? Aren’t the online dating sites made up entirely of perverts, sexual predators and crazies in assorted shapes and sizes? the short answer is, no they aren’t - not any more anyway, if they ever were.

(Maybe|Perhaps that was true when online dating first started but now it is above board. It’s as safe as you make it using common sense and sound judgment. Use the same caution that you would when meeting any stranger: ie don’t give him your full name, address or cell phone number until you feel quite comfortable doing so.

Nowadays, the Internet is more regulated than before. It is still very open, but there are many honest business owners on the net who police their websites, including dating agencies, in order to weed out the trouble makers. You can help make online dating safer too by informing the online dating agency if one of the members acts unpleasantly online. I’m sure he will be banned.

Don’t rush into a personal meeting until you are certain and then make the first meeting in a public place and during the daytime. Give it a try! Mr. Right just might be only a few mouse clicks away

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Bogus Online Bachelor Degrees - How Can You Tell?

Saturday, May 30th, 2009

Along with the growing popularity of obtaining an online Bachelor degrees, many bogus schools have cropped up to cash in, taking advantage of potential students seeking a genuine education to maintain their current level of employment, or achieve specific career goals. Unfortunately, the sales pitch attracts many students who do not possess the time, or the finances, to gain a college education. The main selling points may include easy graduation, no tests or end of semester exams, credit for life experiences, and lower tuition fees. Some diploma mills even have the audacity to make money through bulk emails offering to sell university degrees.

Therefore, with all the confusion generated, how can students sieve out the genuine from the bogus? This may be especially difficult for distance learning programs when students practically make their choices based on what is shown on a website. In many cases, especially for international students, it may not be feasible to visit the physical site of a college before enrolling. With this, making choices will really depend on the appearance and content of a website, which sometimes may not be an accurate judge of the creditability of a college.

The first thing to do is to verify the type of accreditation the college claims to have. Only 6 government agencies have been given the authority by the U.S. Department of Education, to award accreditation to colleges and universities offering online Bachelor degrees. Therefore, if a site brags about worldwide or nationwide accreditation, beware. Unless they specifically name the agency, chances are they are not a legitimate institution of higher education.

Six accreditation agencies have been given the authority to award college accreditation. The agencies are divided by geographic location, so it is possible to contact the appropriate office to determine whether a college or university has legitimate standing and been registered in that district. The agencies are all appointed by the National Board of Education and include: New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), North Central Association of Schools and Colleges (NCA), Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges (MSA), Southern Association of Schools and Colleges (SACS), Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges (NWCCU).

Another tell-tale sign of bogus online bachelor degrees offered is when the university advertises itself through mass-mailing email featuring university degrees for sale. Many bogus distance learning institutions prey on people who are desperate for a degree, but don’t have the time and money to go for proper education. That is why these colleges boast of degrees without any examinations, classes, studying or even waiting. There are even websites that offer online bachelor degrees for just a few hundred dollars which can be ordered and received within 7 days. Furthermore, some of them also have dubious accrediting links, stating accreditation from agencies which are not any one of the six listed above. Additionally, they offer fixed prices for their Master’s, Bachelor’s, and even Doctorate Degrees. Their justification for awarding degrees will be for giving credit to life experiences such as any type of work experience, any educational background, any workshops or community services attended as well as travel experience, hobbies and even on the number of books that a person has read!

In short, with the plethora of bogus degrees already causing employers to question online education, make sure your online Bachelor degree is earned from a college or university accredited by one of the six agencies endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education.

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Is Knowing the Language the First Step to Success in an English-Speaking Country?

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

For many immigrants, language barriers often make life even more challenging than it ought to be. Its difficult enough to leave ones home country, family, friends and lifestyle in order to try something new. For many, immigrating to an English-speaking country is vital to their own survival. Fortunately, the United States is the “Land of Opportunity”, where entire eras of immigrants have been able to get ahead and succeed, even despite the language barrier. Other English language countries offer much opportunity for immigrants as well.

Simply put, knowing the language is not the only way to succeed in an English-speaking country, but it definitely helps tremendously. Below is an outline of some of the ways knowing the language can help you succeed in an English-speaking country.

Getting a Job The process for finding work is difficult enough as it is without having to worry about doing everything in a language you dont understand. Having a basic knowledge of the English language will help you navigate the process. First, it is important to be able to understand what job advertisements and position descriptions say.

If you cannot understand what the requirements for any given job are, you will not know if you are qualified for candidacy. Next, you need to have sufficient English writing skills in order to prepare a resume or CV. You should be able to summarize your experience and qualifications in a way that is pertinent to whichever position you are applying for. Your English writing skills should be developed enough to be able to write an effective cover letter as well, as this will serve as your personal introduction to hiring companies. Finally, you must be able to speak enough English to communicate your skills and strengths during a job interview.

Getting Housing Finding a place to live is another task that is much easier to accomplish if you have English skills. First, youll need to be able to read classified ads announcing available rentals or homes for sale. Next, you should be able to speak enough English to be able to call for an appointment and discuss simple matters such as how much the rent is, how many bedrooms and baths the place has, whether pets are accepted, etcetera. You will also need to be able to read enough English to be able to understand and complete the rental application. If you are buying a home, youll need to understand much more complex paperwork, (if you do not have the necessary English skills and are buying a home, you should use the services of a translator.)

Getting Ahead Anyone can live in an English-speaking country and never learn the language. To truly succeed, however, learning English is crucial. Having the language skills will not only help you secure work and housing, but also education for you and your children. Learning English will also help you feel confident and allow you to stand up for yourself and speak up if ever your rights should come into question.

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Personalized baby books make wonderful baby gifts

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

The arrival of a new baby means another milestone in the life of its parents. Newborns come with immense responsibilities. These include watching over the childs development and taking care of its education, which starts as soon as the baby takes its first breath. It will soon learn how to react to sounds, mimic movements and feel emotions.

Reading to a baby is one of the most valuable things parents can do. It will help the baby to familiarize itself with languages, rhythms and sounds. Choosing the right book to accomplish that goal is vital and many child experts will therefore recommend personalized baby books. Babies need to hear their name as often as possible so they start to understand that the word they are hearing is associated with them. In addition, it is a great way to bond with them.

Babies love being read to. They like the sound of your voice and will take pleasure in having you close for some special, relaxing together-time. When you are comfortably seated and start to read, remember:

Point to the pictures you see

Say the names of things you see in the book

Speak in a calming voice

Be entertaining and adjust your voice to different characters

Say the babys name frequently

Ask the baby to point at specific objects in the book

Give praise whenever the child correctly points out a requested item

Babies lack certain motor skills when they are born. They also still need to develop certain eye functions and focusing on a set of personalized baby books will certainly help them to perfect that skill. Furthermore, their brain can be compared to a clean slate that needs to be filled with images, sounds and even emotions. Creating a stimulating environment will definitely speed up the process, as well as mentioning the childs name frequently. Hearing its name often will help the infant to connect more easily to its surroundings.

To stimulate babies and toddlers, books have to be fascinating. Personalized baby books should be oversized, colorful and printed in big, bold letters. At mychildbook.com you can choose from many unique gifts. This supplier also offers a tremendous selection of wonderful stories and whimsical tales, and each and every single one can be personalized, in CD or book-format, with your childs name. Hearing their name several times over speaks to the imagination and, in some stories, will even make your child believe he or she is climbing aboard a little red truck, driving around the country to meet all kinds of funky farm animals. That would be quite an unforgettable joy ride, dont you think?

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How to Improve Your English Skills

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

Learning a new language is not easy. Each person has their own learning style and learns at their own pace. Once you have decided to take on learning a new language (such as English) there are many different activities you can engage in that will support and reinforce your efforts. Enrolling in an English as a Second Language (ESL) course can help you lay the foundation for developing your English skills. In this case, a trained instructor will guide you through the curriculum and help you by assigning practice assignments and helping you with pronunciation. Below are some tips and ideas that you can use to further help improve your English skills.

Hear English It seems logical, doesnt it? In order to know how certain words are said, we must hear them being spoken. Hearing them, is actually not enough, you must listen to the sounds and mentally (or orally) repeat them in order to internalize them. The more dialogue in English that you are actively engaged in listening to, the easier it will become to recognize and repeat certain words. Below is a list of good listening opportunities for you: Eavesdrop on conversations at a caf or in line at the supermarket Watch movies and television in English Borrow childrens books accompanied with cassettes from your local library, then listen to the story on the tape while following along in the book Listen to talk radio or news on your way to work English is all around you. Everywhere you go you can overhear people talking to each other in English. Instead of tuning it out, listen closely and try to recognize words or identify new ones.

Read English Another great way to reinforce your English skills is to read in English. Reading helps your mind grasp how words work together when in context. Read the morning newspaper in English. Borrow a book in English from your local library. You can check out the English version of a book you may have read in your own native language so that youre already familiar with the story and can concentrate on the language in the text. Wherever you are, read the signs and imagine the words you read spoken out loud.

Speak English As they say, practice makes perfect. In order to truly improve your English language skills, you must practice speaking in English very often. This can be a bit intimidating, especially if you feel as though you have an accent. The truth is, the world is full of people who are working on learning a new language. Have patience with yourself and realize that others will be patient with you too. Consider joining an English language exchange group where youll have discussions in English. Talk to yourself in English in the shower. Practice speaking in English at home with your family. When you are alone, repeat words you have trouble over an over again to yourself until you feel you have gotten it right.

With practice and dedication, you can improve your English skills!

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How To Learn Spanish Quickly

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

If you are in the business world, you will notice that learning Spanish quickly is a good way to increase your business. Spanish is becoming one of the most popular languages that are spoken in the world today. For those who are trying to bring in customers, learning Spanish is one way that you can reach a segment of the population that was unreachable previously.

If you have your own business, you are sure to realize that it is important to make your business stand out from the pack. The more customers you can talk with, the more customers you will have. Its as simple as that. Greater communication means more business.

To learn Spanish quickly, there are a lot of options. You could always take a class. But what if you dont have the time or the inclination to add a class to your busy schedule? Well, what about learning Spanish quickly from a CD course? Think about it. There are lots of places you can listen to a CD. In your car, on the bus, at the gym, while taking a walk, run, or jog. Really, anytime you could be listening to music, you could be listening to a Spanish lesson on CD.

Of course, getting the pronunciation just right might be a challenge with these methods. If there is no one to teach you, how will you know if your pronunciation is accurate? This is the perfect opportunity to begin reaching out to the Spanish speaking community. Get a native speaker to practice with you and help you with your pronunciation.

The fact that you are taking the time to learn a new language is a feather in your cap with your potential customers. To make that effort causes you to stand out. This will attract customers. In todays market, we do business and associate with people of many different cultures on different parts of the globe every day. As the world shrinks due to the influence of the internet, it becomes more and more important to be able to communicate well with people the world over.

Just think! If you can learn Spanish quickly, perhaps you can learn another language quickly, too!. If you do that, you will increase the circle of people with whom you can associate and learn even more.

Learning is a lifelong process and you should never feel as though you have learned everything there is to know. Continue to grow for yourself and for your business. It will make a difference in the way that you are able to live your life. You will also be able to have a wider circle of friends when you learn Spanish quickly. Take a look online to find some of the programs that are available. You will find that they are a worthwhile investment in your future.

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Learning Spanish on the Web (with Videos and Audios)

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

As the web and bandwidth have multiplied, learning Spanish online has advanced to new levels. My first experience learning a language outside of a formal school setting was with Foreign Service Institute (FSI) tapes ordered by mail in the 80s. After that, I discovered Pimsleur which was a big step ahead. FSI had more tapes, more lessons, and more grammar, but it required the book and was hard to learn in the car. Pimsleur is more of a “book-less” system, perfect for learning in the car.

Now, with wireless and high-speed internet in many homes, students have more options than ever. Audios used to be slow, and vidoes next to impossible, but today, both are available to anyone with good internet access.

Some companies are offering connections with live teachers, often with 2 to 4 students onlien with the same teacher. These classes tend to be more expensive, because they obviously have to find, interview, select, and pay the instructors. Personal one-on-one tutors are even more expensive. Scheduling is another difficulty with these classes; you typically have to meet at the same time, once or twice per week. If you travel, or have a job that keeps you late, you wouldn’t want to miss your classes.

With an online class, another possibility is the ability to click on a word to hear it pronounced. The computer with patiently play the sound file over and over again, as many times as the students like. The student can also skip around, and click on words that are interesting or troublesome to him. This is a big advantage over tapes and CDs which both lacked true “random” access.

In 2008, I set out to build my own Spanish course, using primarily video and audio. The lessons were written around typically conversations you might have when meeting someone. Even after taking three levels of other popular courses, there are so many typical conversational elements I found lacking. The course I created includes talking about your job, where you are from, where you have lived, your flight, family (number of brothers, sisters, children, and status of parents), and lunching while on a diet.

Each dialog has a video under two minutes, and was created by various Spanish speakers in South America. It’s a good idea to listen to the video to get the idea of what’s going on, but to really learn the dialog, you will listen to an audio lesson that is typically thirty to sixty minutes. This audio uses well-test principles of language learning, to emphasize certain words and grammatical principles over and over, as you learn them naturally, by repeating and creating your own sentences in the pauses provided.

Another feature, often requested by students, is the ability to print out the dialogs and even the entire audio lesson. Students often want to study the material offline, and even highlight it. It’s fun to learn at the computer, good to practice reading skills and review when not connected.

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The Right Learn Spanish CD Set Can Mean The Difference Between Failure And Fluency-You Need To Know How To Choose Correctly

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

No doubt, you’ve seen the endless advertisements for audio Spanish lessons, and I am sure you have wondered what the real skinny is, because they can’t possibly all do what they say they will.

The truth is, not all language learning courses are the same. When you are finished reading this article you will have with more than enough knowledge to determine if a learn Spanish CD program is right for you, and how to choose one.

1. Figure Out The Way You Like To Learn, And Set Goals. This is where knowing yourself or at least being willing to learn about yourself comes in really handy. How do you learn best? what grabs your attention? What things manage to keep your attention? How do you process information?

2. A Positive Attitude Can Influence Learn Spanish CD Outcomes. So too, can a negative state of mind. Believe in yourself and your abilities, persevere and don’t throw in the towel and soon you will have a decent handle on the Spanish language which can be built on. If your goals are only for a basic level, then the mission is accomplished quite easily. If your goals are more specific, then when combined with other intensive language opportunities, learn Spanish CD’s still do a fine job.

3. Find The Shoe That Fits- CD Spanish Lessons Like Shoes Come In All Shapes And Sizes. In order to find the program you like that fits you, you have to research, and ideally try them on. Each package is going to have a slightly different format and function in a slightly different way.

Generally speaking, CD packages that help you learn Spanish are at their best when they are used as a part of the whole language learning process, and they can provide much needed feedback for a new language learner, however it is vital that a consumer choose the best program for their needs.

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