Friday, March 23, 2012

Message from Alise--Cool Resource for YOU!

Hello Readers,

Happy Friday! Hope that you are enjoying this Spring weather! We are on Spring Break here in Texas and the weather is fabulous (minus this past Monday).

I just wanted to drop a few lines to let you know about this really cool website that I stumbled upon about the iPad curriculum and how it relates to Bloom’s Taxonomy. I think that this will be a starting point to help decide which iPad apps would help during tutoring sessions. In any event, I am a huge advocate for effective tutoring practices and thought that this would be helpful to you.

The URL is the following: http://www.ipadcurriculum.com/. Let us know your thoughts about this resource. Was it helpful or not?

Last but not least, I have a very important announcement to make regarding the future of this blog and how to take YOUR tutoring business to the next level. This announcement will take place sometimes in April.

This information will only be disclosed to individuals who have signed up to receive exclusive information. If you want to stay “in the know”, sign up today to learn the secret that will take YOUR tutoring business to the next level.

As always, happy tutoring!

Have a great weekend,
Alise

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Guest Blog Post from Alla Sobirova-- The Power in Teaching with Film and Video

By Alla Sobirova

In this blogpost, Alla shares how she teaches with film and video to learn new languages.

I have taught video in the university for almost 2 years and noticed that my subject was one of the most popular among students.  It happened not because there was something special about me but because all students love to watch films! Even those who did not want to study very much were doing great at my lessons.

English is called so called a “global” language for “international communication”. And my students often asked me a question: “How would I understand, for example, an Indian accent if I have never heard it before?” The duty of a teacher is to help solving this problem. 

Watching films is a great solution that also kills two birds with one stone. I not only help with listening problems but also enlarge the general knowledge on such subject as country study. Students also develop their critical thinking and learn how to distinguish what is true and what is false. Listening to the everyday language helps learners to start speaking faster and with better pronunciation. After talking about the advantages of teaching with video, I would like to give an example on one film.

National Treasure - The Book of Secrets

The summary of this film you can find here: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Treasure:_Book_of_Secrets)

 I would also like to share what my students learned after watching this film. They learned the following:

  • Found out in details about Civil War (1861-1865)
  • Read (voluntarily on their own!) the book “Gone with the Wind”
  • Learned about Buckingham Palace and White house
  • Got to know American Presidents more
  • Learned that there is more than one Statue of Liberty (!)
Found out about the Library of Congress (the largest library in the world)All this information was discussed as lessons and we learned that some facts in the film were not real. Most importantly, students were able to find the facts on their own and they expanded their vocabulary with words that were easily memorized after watching the film.

Of course, there may be disadvantages in watching films, but no doubt, it does help students learn. Best of all, our classes not boring!

How do you use film and video in your tutoring sessions or classroom? Please share your strategies with us. 

Alla Sobirova started to teach English on-line after she delivered her baby in 2009 and could not teach English in traditional face-to-face  way. It was a new field for her and she had to read and learn a lot in order to organize oral practice lessons that helped her students.

You can find some examples of my work at www.allasobirova.com.


Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Guest Blog Post from Alla Sobirova--Six Strategies to Teach English Idioms and Their Meanings

By Alla Sobirova

In this blogpost, Alla shares strategies to teach English idioms and their meanings.

To make sure that the time spent on the study of idioms was not in vain, do the following:

1.      Elect from 5 to 8 idioms that can simply be grouped.

Most idioms are divided into common categories such as idioms with animals or body parts. Elect 5-8 idioms of any category, for example, time idioms. If you choose more than 10, you will be successful only in your overwhelming students, and they will not keep in mind at least some of the idioms they learned in their class. So, to teach idioms of time, you will find eight idioms in the list (prepare the list of all idioms you want students to know).Before presenting idioms, make sure that students understand that they are commonly used in spoken language, and occasionally in writing, by some of the exceptions (they are extensively used in the Web, blogs, newsletter articles, etc.) but students should realize that makes their style informal).

2.     Teach the idioms in context, never in isolation

Some ESL teachers simply hand out the list of idioms and their definitions or explanations. But in order for students to not only understand them, and learn how to use them, give examples of the idiom in the context of, for example, in the usual discussions where the meaning of idioms is clear. Make a conversation (a dialogue) where the meaning of the idiom is clear.
Ask students to guess the meaning of idiom. Correct if it’s necessary. Ask them to give other examples of that idiom. Then go other conversation with another idiom.

3.     Students write dialogues with idioms themselves.

Remember, the goal is to get students not only understand the idiom but figure out how to use it perfectly. Divide the class into pairs. Each pair of students receives one or two idioms to work. They should write the conversation, and use these idioms in it. Walk around the classroom, to assist students and check it for accuracy.

4.      Students act out their discussions (spontaneous role-plays)

A pair of students acts out their dialogue they had written in front of their classmates. So, they do not only practice using the idioms but they also hear other examples of their classmates, and other ways how these idioms can be included in a dialogue.

5.     Practice with games and activities

You can find matching games, filling the gaps exercises to practice more. There are many ready-to- use idioms worksheets in Internet.

6.     The introduction of real-life, authentic material

Show students how some of these idioms are used in  media, newspaper and magazine articles, songs, cartoons, videos, marketing ads, etc ... Thanks to Web, all you need to do is Google the idiom, and you'll find a lot of sources!
Just remember to keep it real. Your students should know that there are real people out there that are actually talking like this. Pretty soon, they may feel ready to start using some of their own.

 
How do you teach English idioms? Please share your strategies with us. 

Alla Sobirova started to teach English on-line after she delivered her baby in 2009 and could not teach English in traditional face-to-face  way. It was a new field for her and she had to read and learn a lot in order to organize oral practice lessons that helped her students.

You can find some examples of my work at www.allasobirova.com.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Guest Blog Post from Alla Sobirova-- Strategies to Help Learners Memorize Foreign Words With Sound Associations

By Alla Sobirova

Many of you met Alla last year when she was a Guest on our blog, she is back and we are so glad to have her!

In this blogpost, she would like to share some words of wisdom of how to memorize foreign words with sound associations. As you are reading this, please think about the following question: What type of strategies do you use to help learners memorize foreign words?

The method of phonetic (sound) associations (MPA) has emerged because of a variety of languages ​​in the world have words or parts of words that sound alike but have different meanings. Moreover, in many languages ​​there are words that have a common origin, but over time got a different meaning. Most people use this method, not realizing that they are using it.

The first mention of the effectiveness of methods similar to the MFA was already in the literature of the 19th century. In the 70-s of 20th century, a detailed study of associations in the process of mastering the language was conducted by a professor of Stanford University, R. Atkinson. He and his colleagues suggested that a group of students studying Russian language, memorize words by using "Keyword method", while the control group memorized the same words by traditional methods. "Keywords" in Atkinson are the words that are phonetic (sound) associations to the memorized words, similar-sounding words. Numerous experiments of Atkinson and his colleagues proved the high efficiency of this method for memorizing foreign words. The method of phonetic associations as a method for memorizing foreign words becomes more and more popular in the world.

Now let’s look at the details of what exactly a method of sound associations is. To remember a foreign word, you need to find a word that sounds the same or similar in your native language or the language you know well. Then you need to make a small story from the word that sounds similar and translation. For example, for the Russian word лук (which means “a bow” or “an onion”) there is the English word “look".  The story might be: "I cannot look when I cut лук (onion). The story is necessary to help to remember. The word does not need to be identical with the foreign, even partially will suffice. It is important that words in the story were as neutral as possible, without causing vivid images.

With the MPA method you can remember a lot of words in one sitting. And what is the most important; this method will help you get rid of the endless repetition of memorized words. Just one time you need to find the word’s sound association and make up a story. It is important to always say out loud the memorizing word and a sounding similar word. First of all, it must be done to ensure that your memory captures both of them in natural way. Usually it is enough to say both words 2-3.

Here's another example: ARRESTO means “a bus stop” in Italian. The similar-sounding word can be “to arrest”. The story can be this: At the bus stop someone was arrested. It is better not to specify who exactly was arrested not to not to confuse the similar-sounding word with the odd word. In such cases it is possible to use pronouns, and for the revitalization of the plot is good  to imagine that it happened to someone you know at least a little, and even better with yourself. However, if you make the story about yourself: "At the stop I was arrested" - then it would be easy to apply the method of “co-feeling” to improve memory.

Surely, to remember words, sound-similar words and stories you will record on paper. In this case, do not be lazy to underline the to-remember word, its translation, and that part of the sound-similar word that reminds the memorized. To do this, you can use different size, italics, underline, etc. It also contributes to memorize better (due to the interaction of visual and auditory memory).
In general, the best effect is reached when for memorizing MPA and “co-feeling” methods are used together.

Often for memorizing foreign words you have to find not one but two sound-similar words. This is necessary when the word is long enough, and in the native language is not like the word. In this case, a foreign word must be broken into two parts and to find a word which conforms to each of its parts (words should be as short as possible and contain as many the common sounds with memorized one as possible).

It should be noted that this method is called phonetic or sound associations not without reason. Association is necessary to select a sound, not spelling of words (indeed, in many languages, the sound and spelling of words are very different). So first of all, before the selection of harmonies, make sure you pronounce the word correctly. To memorize the spelling of words, there are other methods.

The method of phonetic associations is indispensable in a lack of time: in preparation for the exam, a leisure trip or a business trip, that is, in any situation where within a short period of time to remember many words. With its help it is easy to memorize 30-50 words a day (it's at least 11000 words per year!). At the same time the most important thing is that this method avoids the tedious memorizing (which is simply impossible with traditional methods of learning foreign words) and can even make memorizing foreign words in a fun, creative process.

If you liked this method and you want to practice it, try the following exercise.

Exercise: Here are words in different languages. Find sound associations for them and make stories to remember.

a) There are 8 Italian words. They are read just as written.
01.ARIA - AIR
02.FAGOTTO – KNOT
03.BURRO – OIL
04.FRONTE – FOREHEAD
05.GALERA – PRISON
06.GARBATO – POLITE
07.LAMPO – LIGHTNING
08.PANINO – BUN
Possible associations:
01. an aria from an opera
02. to forget
03.  a bureau
04. in front of
05. golly’s
06. Garry Betty
07. a lamp
08. piano


Please share your strategies with us. 

Alla Sobirova started to teach English on-line after she delivered her baby in 2009 and could not teach English in traditional face-to-face  way. It was a new field for her and she had to read and learn a lot in order to organize oral practice lessons that helped her students.

You can find some examples of my work at www.allasobirova.com.


Friday, March 9, 2012

Message from Alise--Special Offer for Tutors!

Happy Friday! Hope that you doing well with lots of tutoring sessions booked.

iGlobal Educational Services has two online courses that will help you with your tutoring business needs. You can enroll now and work at your own pace.

Tutor 104 Marketing Your Tutoring Business: A Data-Driven Approach to Pricing Your Tutoring Services

For a limited time offer, you can take this course for only $19.99.

The first online tutoring business course, Tutor 104 Marketing Your Tutoring Business: A Data-Driven Approach to Pricing Your Tutoring Services, is designed with professional tutors, like yourself, in mind. This course focuses on helping tutors find clients by using both basic and advanced marketing strategies. Also, you will have the opportunity to create marketing tools and develop an effective marketing plan. 


Tutor 105 Conducting Tutoring Sessions: Strategies to Help Conduct Effective Tutoring Sessions

For a limited time offer, you can take this course for only $29.99. 

With either online course,  you will receive a personally autographed copy of "Becoming a Better Tutor" by author and successful entrepreneur, Dr. Alicia Holland-Johnson.  

 The best of all is that you can file these online courses as professional development on your tax return at the end of the year. So don't delay; Register Here and sign up for your free account to begin investing in your financial prosperity.

To Your Tutoring Success,
Alise

Thursday, March 8, 2012

11 Books To Help With Your Tutoring Business

f you’re looking for some guidelines and tips to check out before starting your tutoring service, here are eleven books that you should look into! They can be found in your local library or at the bookstore.
  1. Becoming a Better Tutor: A Data-Driven Approach to Tutoring
This book written by Dr. Alicia Holland-Johnson introduces the fabulous world of tutoring and how to start or grow your tutoring business with step-by-step data-driven strategies to help your clients. Firsthand experiences and helpful business tips and forms are included in this book. 
  1. Tutoring Matters
This book written by Jerome Rabow, Tiffani Chin, and Nima Fahimian offer the basics on how to establish your tutoring career. Firsthand experiences documented in this book will give you an in depth guide toward tutoring.
  1. Tutoring adolescent literacy learners
This book written by Kelly Chandler-Olcott and Kathleen A. Hinchman introduce a tutoring scheme for adolescent learners. You can find practical solutions to tutoring teenagers.
  1. The complete guide to service learning
This book by Cathryn Berger Kaye takes tutoring to a practical approach where you can learn how to integrate community values with your teaching.
  1. Tutoring as a successful business
Written by Eileen Kaplan Shapiro, you can learn how to promote and set up a tutoring business.
  1. How to start and run your own home tutoring business
This book by Gillian Stellman and Vivienne Howse talks about running your tutoring business to earn you a living.
  1. How to Start a Home-Based Tutoring Business
Beth A. Lewis introduces different prospects in starting your tutoring business: all the way from promotion to retaining your customers.
  1. Teaching Knowledge and intelligent Tutoring
Peter Goodyear shows how tutoring can be used to convey knowledge. Through the context of this book, you can learn how to integrate the knowledge you have with tutoring techniques.
  1. Start Your Own Tutoring and Test Prep Business
Rich Mintzer writes this book to teach prospective tutors how to start up their business, especially in line with test preparation.
  1. Tutoring Adolescent Readers
Deborah Berill, Dirk Verhulst, and Laura Doucette incorporate the language arts portion that tutors may wish to engage in. With this book, you can learn some techniques in tutoring those with learning disabilities or those having difficulty in the English language.
  1. Online Tutoring Step-by-Step
The Teachers Wallet provides you an insight on tutoring online, a service you can engage in through learning the ropes. You can check this one out at Google Books.



Wednesday, March 7, 2012

10 Strategies to use with ADHD Clients during tutoring sessions


ADHD stands for--Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder--is basically a developmental disorder that is a coexistence of lack of attention as well as hyperactivity. This is a kind of disorder which is carried out by the children into their adulthood as well. It is more commonly found in boys as opposed to girls. It is diagnosed mainly in children below seven.

There are a number of strategies and things that a good tutor must follow in order to impart the best possible tutoring to the students.


Here are the 10 major strategies that a tutor must use with ADHD clients during tutoring sessions.

1.      Maintain eye contact: It is important to maintain eye contact while delivering a tutoring session to the clients who suffer from ADHD disorders. This will help them maintain their attention for longer and your pace will ensure that they do not feel the need to go fast.

2.    Give out only one task at one time: You should understand that the psychiatric disorder such as this requires lesser burden. Hence you should always ensure that you give only one lesson at a time.

3.    Support them: Your support as a tutor would go a long way in shaping their mindset and subsequently their life.

4.    Be flexible with the tasks you assign: You may want to modify the assignments or tasks that you allocate an ADHD client. Because the mental levels may be different and if you are flexible it will boost their confidence.

5.     Give out clear instructions: You need to be clear in your instructions and ensure that the clients understand your instructions before they begin working on them.

6.    Maintain your calm: You need to understand that the AHDH clients are different. So you need to ensure that you maintain your calm in any adverse and difficult situation.

7.     Patience is a virtue: You need to be patient while working with the ADHD clients.

8.    Customize the program as per the individual: You as a tutor must understand that all the students are not the same, so stay flexible enough to mould your program as per the student.

9.    Be generous with time: Some tasks may take longer to finish. So always keep a buffer.

10.                        Keep the parents in the loop: You should regularly update the parents about the progress of the child and ask them to cooperate as much as they can in the betterment of the child.

What are some strategies that you use to work with clients who have the ADHD?

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

10 Resources to Help the Online ESL/EFL Tutor


English language is spoken in the whole world. ESL which stands for English as a Second Language and EFL which stands for English as a Foreign Language are the two popular tests that are taken by the non-native speakers of English language. These tests are required for admission into various universities that are located in English speaking countries. Hence the importance of these tests is quite huge among the non native speaker countries.

When it comes to learning or preparing for ESL and EFL there are a number of ways. One can prepare on his own self with certain books, one can approach a tutor or one can go through an online tutoring program. If you have chosen the online learning path, you would find a number of resources that can help you achieve the required knowledge.

We have listed down the 10 most important resources that would go a long way in improving your skills with ESL and EFL:

1.      English Idioms: There are a number of websites that can help you gain a better grasp on idioms. This will go a long way in preparing you for the final battle.

2.    Phrasal verbs: You can easily find some websites on the internet that would help you gain knowledge in phrasal verbs.

3.    Quizzes and test websites: The test and quiz websites will improve your general English proficiency and it will also let you gaze yourself and your knowledge in a particular field.

4.    Articles: There are a number of website which have articles and coverage about various things. As you can read and improve your reading and understanding of the language easily.

5.     Tutor material: Some websites would also provide you teaching material which will go a long way in improving the knowledge of the client such as The Becoming a Better Tutor Group Site.

6.    Forums: There are a number of forums. These are the platforms where you can talk with the likeminded people around the world and share your ideas. You can also get your doubts cleared with the other people if any.

7.     Grammar tools: A lot of tools are available online that can inform you if you have used wrong grammar in your sentences.

8.    Software downloads: A number of software are available which can improve your understating of the subject matter of ESL and EFL with ease. Most of the software available in this segment have interactive approach.

9.    Flash Cards, Excel Sheets and Accessories: A number of websites would provide you flash cards and other material that you can utilize during your session.

10.            Internet Ideas: As far as the effectiveness of the lessons are concerned, you can get some really good teaching material and ideas from the internet. A great site to visit is Alla Sobirova's Blog; she has some great resources available.

What are some resources that you have found to be helpful with language tutoring?