Get a Writing Tutors Online Now Tutorpace

Get a Writing Tutors Online Now Tutorpace Get a Writing Tutors Online Now For some students, the writing process is long, difficult, and confusing. For others, it comes easy but they still want direction and guidance in the planning, writing, and revision process. Tutor Paces online Writing tutoring makes it easier for students of all comfort levels write better essays, papers, and lab reports. Because writing assignment deadlines often sneak up quickly and without warning, our Writing tutors are available 24/7 to walk you through the process. More than just Editing Our online Writing tutors dont just read your finished paper. They can help you research your topic, plan your paper, and give you beneficial tips for improving your writing process. For every draft you can get detailed feedback that will allow you to create well-written papers. In addition, they can: Help you improve your vocabulary usage Teach you grammar tips for better grades Guide you through improving the flow of your paper Give you ideas for becoming a better writer Whether you are in high school or college, Tutor Paces online Writing tutoring can assist you in crafting a paper that pleases your professor and earns the grade you want. Get a Writing Tutors Online Now Tutorpace Tutorpace online Writing tutoring can assist you in crafting a paper that pleases your professor and earns the grade you want.

What is Ashtanga Yoga

What is Ashtanga Yoga What Are the Principles of Ashtanga Yoga? ChaptersThe Origins of Ashtanga YogaThe Specificities of Ashtanga YogaThe Effects of Ashtanga Yoga“We are spiritual beings born for human experience; we are not human beings born for spiritual experience.” - Yogi BhajanYoga is becoming increasingly popular in the UK. It’s becoming popular because it helps you to let go, relax, master your breathing, as well as get into shape. Vinyasa yoga, Iyengar yoga, prenatal yoga, Ashtanga yoga, online yoga and even Bikram yoga are becoming more popular and yoga teachers are popping up in gyms, sports centres, and online as private yoga tutors.In this article, we’re going to be looking at Ashtanga yoga. Ashtanga yoga is one of the most popular styles of yoga because it’s quite simple to do if you’re in decent shape. In the grand scheme of things, this type of yoga philosophy is quite accessible.Let’s have a look at what makes it so special!The objective of Ashtanga yoga is to bring together your body and mind.You’ll start toning u p and building muscle after a few sessions. Ashtanga yoga, with its poses, sequences of movements, etc., is often what people think of when they think of yoga in general. Each student will progress at their own speed. However, they’ll all improve physically as well as spiritually.Ashtanga Yoga: A Sport for the MindWhile there’s no doubt that your body plays an important role in any physical activity, your mind also plays a huge role in Ashtanga yoga. In fact, your mind constantly plays a part in Ashtanga yoga because you have to stimulate both your body and mind. Your body, mind, and spirit all harmonise in order to create your life energy which needs to be stimulated on a daily basis with Ashtanga yoga.Check for yoga classes near me here.Once you've learnt a few poses, you're ready to go. (Source: lograstudio)Breathing (pranayama) is one of the main tools of Ashtanga yoga because it allows you to align the different part of your body. In fact, if you’re not breathing correctl y, you’ll limit the effects of each yoga pose. This is why it’s important to practise your breathing exercises and adopt the right technique.In Ashtanga yoga, this technique is often linked to focusing on a certain object so that you don’t lose your focus or forget what you’re trying to do. This is a lot of work for your mind which, with the right breathing, is an essential part of every one of your yoga sessions.After all, what would a yogi be without mindfulness of what’s going on and a broad view of the physical, mental, and spiritual progress you’re making?In Ashtanga yoga, just like yoga for children, you have to bring together the different parts of your being in order to make the most progress.Whether you’re with a yoga tutor or not, Ashtanga yoga promotes pacificism and respect for others and yourself, all while working on your mind, body, and spirit.Is it the perfect type of yoga?If you're not sold on Ashtanga yoga, don't forget that there's also Bikram yoga, Hatha yoga (Traditional yoga), and Vinyasa flow yoga for you to check out, not to mention yoga classes for beginners, infants, pregnant women, and healing yoga therapy, every yoga class is different!For those new to yoga, the best thing to do is have a look online for the different yogis who live in your area, see what he or she teaches, and get a deeper understanding of the yoga practice before you dive in.If you have any pre-existing medical conditions or past injuries, make sure that you speak to your doctor about whether you're able to take up yoga. While yoga can seem like gentle exercise, it can put a lot of strain on certain parts of the body and it would be awful to take up a new hobby only to exacerbate an old injury or end up hurting yourself more than you heal yourself.You can always tell your private yoga tutor or yoga teacher about your injuries or conditions in order to allow them to adapt their sessions to you. You might still be able to do yoga as long as you choose the right sequences and asanas.Don't forget that yoga is for everyone. There are classes and sessions for all ages and levels and you're never too old nor too young to take up yoga. In fact, don't forget there are even pre-natal yoga classes for expectant mothers. Just make sure you show up to the right class as going to the wrong one could be embarrassing!Find out how a search for yoga near me yielded my ideal yoga teacher!

Probability tutoring can be beneficial for every student if TutorPace is the tutor

Probability tutoring can be beneficial for every student if TutorPace is the tutor Throughout my academic career I have gone through various types of subjects. Every subject has helped to get a bit of knowledge and to know something useful and better. I have liked or loved every subject easily. Among the long list of subjects that I have known, mathematics has been the toughest subject as per my knowledge. The subject is combined of so many layers that unfolding each layer seems to be impossible and hard even. The subject never attracted me at all and I was scared to deal with the subject. As the subject is related with equations, theories, sums and so on, thus being intelligent is one of the important factors for any student who wants to think of going further with the subject. Mathematics has some of the interesting topics that can attract only an intelligent student, but for the ones who are average student, they need the help of teachers so that they can also get a grip over the subject. School is not enough for today’s date, you need an external help as well to know the tough subject deeply. Private tutors can help you, but searching a good one seems to be a tough job. The last option which never fails at today’s date is online tutoring. Online tutoring is effective largely For the new comers, it will be a problem as to think about if online tutoring can be helpful or not. Online tutoring is highly recommended for those students who are unable to grasp in some of the important things due to lack of intelligence. They are the average or weak students. Online tutoring takes special initiative in making the students learn every bit of the subject. They provide various types of services that help the student to lead further with the subject. Mathematics is a huge subject so online tutoring institutes make it a point to provide the students with the chapter wise help so that the learning process can be easier and also better for any student.   The first help that they provide for the chapter is probability help. Probability tutoring- Can be effective way of learning the topic Yes, it is an effective way of learning the entire subject or the chapters as some of the efficient teachers are involved in the world of online tutoring institutes. Probability tutoring is a part of services that online tutoring institutes provide to its student for vast subject like mathematics. Probability is a topic that makes a student gets to know about the possibilities of a thing. This is a chapter included into the mathematics section. The online tutoring services provide the subject or the topic’s guidance in such a way so that students can get a grip over the subject and know it well enough. The teachers who are involved in this service are highly efficient in regards with the subject. They can very well guide the student in such a way that helps the student to learn the subject with ease. The qualified teachers are only appointed for such work.  Statistics tutoring online- Is a good way of help for Statistics section In the vast world of mathematics, statistics section is one of the best and the most interesting part that will help you to score high. It encompasses graphs and sums and is beneficial for those students who cannot learn other tough topics easily. Statistics is based on the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation and presentation of data. The surveys and experiments help the process to carry on further. Getting a good Statistics tutoring online is one of the best way through which learning can be easy. The tutor will guide you through the ups and downs related with the subject and will help you to know the topic better. It does not have time limitation which is one of the best way through which students can utilize their comfortable time in learning. The concentration is high in such cases and students can learn in a good manner. Not only this, but with the help of teachers available all round the clock, the students can also clear their doubts whenever possible. This is possible through online tutoring only. Once the doubts are cleared they can easily come across some of the other chapters revolving the subject as well. Trigonometry tutoring- Helps students learn the chapter better This is not the last one, but the online tutoring institutes have various other services as well. Trigonometry tutoring is a service that helps in learning Trigonometry well. As per dictionary, trigonometry is a branch of mathematics that is engaged into study of relationships involving triangles and angles. Online tutoring or e-learning helps in making the work to be easy and accessible. They have a service as off one on one in which a single student is accustomed with an individual teacher so that the learning process can be faster and better. This is highly adaptable for weak and the introvert children who cannot open up with their problem in front of others. This can be helpful for them. Many such other advantages are there that are involved in this process of online tutoring. But the fact is that among the long list of such institutes, which institute will be beneficial is not known. For this I can help you with a new name and that is TutorPace. TutorPace can be helpful for newcomers For the new ones who do not have any idea about what online tutoring is about, TutorPace can be a good option in regards to the institutes providing online tutoring services. The institutes have good teachers, better services than other and the most important part is that the institutes have all the services offered at a very affordable price. The charges are less as compared to other institutes, helping the middle class family to get help and also not run of their budget. Thus, check out the site for details.  

The Joy of a Clean Up Job Assignment - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / The Joy of a “Clean Up” Job Assignment - Introvert Whisperer The Joy of a “Clean Up” Job Assignment Recently, a person wrote to me fairly distressed that the CEO had personally moved them into an assignment they didn’t want, working in a group that was fairly dysfunctional.   Despite her outstanding performance, the move felt like being put into the penalty box.   To make the situation worse, she was being given assignments from the boss of this dysfunctional group that wasnt really that beneficial to the company.   The new boss was doing strange things in an attempt to avoid getting fired and poor choice of projects was one of them.   Up to this point, the company, job, and pay were great. Now what? I thought it was time to celebrate which was a puzzle for this person. Over the years, I have found that being tossed into a train wreck was one of the most career-enhancing situations.   The reason:   It can only get better and you can be the one to make it shine.   “Turn around” expertise is a highly sought after skill which can also be paid substantially higher than the everyday equivalent job.   A person with that kind of talent is like finding a red diamond (which there are 5 of in this world) I’d like to outline the various things I saw in this situation that is reason to be excited.   I hope it fuels your thinking about how to handle things like this when they come along â€" or go after them in a big way. (!) This person had the attention of the CEO Some people I know would assassinate their own grandmother for this type of situation.   Somewhere along the line, this person performed well enough that the CEO either noticed or was made to notice her.   She was the solution to a problem the CEO personally found important enough to get directly involved.   When you are part of a solution the CEO thinks is important, you have a God-given opportunity to use that visibility to your personal benefit.   Of course, you have to perform but that should be no problem for a person with a proven track record. Its time to assert your leadership Not having a title or position is totally a non-issue for driving the results that need to take place within a group.   Some people get very hung up that without those credentials, you can’t do the work.   Hogwash!   Have you ever heard of leading from behind, or leading without a title?   Those aren’t philosophical terms; they exist because some situations require that someone do just that.   Initiative is a big characteristic of leadership as is taking responsibility for yourself and others. Pursue value-added work People who are running scared tend to make poor decisions, especially when protecting their ego.   This dysfunctional, poor performing manager could actually look better to the CEO if work was being done that had real impact to the company.   By using those great skills all this person had to do was to figure out a couple of dynamite projects that will turn them into a rock star.   If positioned correctly with the existing boss, that boss would come to their senses and fully support it.   It also holds the possibility of slowing down the stupid projects being assigned.   Even if it doesn’t slow down those requests, it can give this gal a reason to negotiate a delay of starting one of those assignments. Develop your own job description  Among the concerns of this gal was the fact that she was unsure what her job really was or how her performance was going to be measured.   This is another area where taking leadership will not only help her but also the boss and possibly her work peers.   She can develop what she thinks would be the best use of her skills combined with the work that desperately needs to be improved to create the framework of the job.   From there, then apply what good performance would be.   She can set down with this boss and probably the CEO to ratify her recommendations.   Taking this approach is like how you would approach work if you were a consultant.   Oftentimes the work isn’t well defined; they just know they have a problem for a consultant.   The first order of business is for the consultant to figure out where the improvement opportunities exist, pull together a work plan and ratify. Stay in touch with the CEO In a situation like this, there may be no need for accountability back to the CEO but you should act like there is.   Keep this person updated on your progress and accomplishments without going into too much detail.   Maintaining some amount of contact will confirm that you are worthy of their trust by being mature enough to provide communication.   This doesn’t mean you are throwing the current boss under the bus â€" in fact, don’t say anything negative about your boss.   Also, keep the boss in the same communication loop.   By being upfront and transparent, you keep demonstrating your leadership. By maintaining some contact with the CEO you keep the visibility that will be crucial in the future. I hope you can see, that a situation like this could define how fast and how far you could go in your career. Power-Influence-Office Politics: it comes down to your Strategic Relationships and understanding of how you build each one of these elements. I want to help you accelerate your career by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my video that outlines all of this and meaningful actions you can take today! Start watching now: CLICK HERE Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleash your professional potential.

Good Books III Even More Reading Recommendations for High School Students

Good Books III Even More Reading Recommendations for High School Students With the success of our last lists, we’ve added even more recommendations from AJ leaders. As a reminder, here are the ground rules: the only requirements were that the books be appropriate for high-school-aged readers, and that they not be books that regularly show up on high school reading lists. Fiction and nonfiction, memoir and sci-fiâ€"it’s all here.Happy reading!Ishmael by Daniel QuinnRecommended by Aaron AndrikopolousA great and eye opening read! A true spiritual adventure!Naive. Super by Erlend LoeRecommended by Jacob SchottI think the title says it all. A bored, slightly naive young adult in Norway navigates their way through daily life before taking a trip to New York to confirm or disconfirm whether or not it is true that time moves slower at the top of the Empire State building than at street level. Trust me, this blurb doesnt do the book justice…Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David EaglemanRecommended by Mark LiveringhouseIncognito is a wonderful choi ce for anyone interested in exploring the hidden recesses of the mind.Pale Fire by Vladimir NabokovRecommended by Sebastian von ZerneckA renowned poet, John Shade, dies and leaves behind a final manuscript for his poem Pale Fire. A neighbor and colleague, Charles Kinbote, recovers the poem and publishes it with a forward and line-by-line analysis. Together these elements form a narrative in which both fictional authors are central characters. Kinbote, we soon realize, is completely deranged, and his analysis of Shades manuscript, which is being held hostage from all other publishers and scholars, is wildly convoluted and entertaining.Resurrection by Leo TolstoyRecommended by Matthew DownhourResurrection is shorter and more readable than Tolstoys more famous books, War and Peace and Anna Karenina, so its a good introduction to one of the giants of the classical literary canon. It is also a strong book in its own right, delving more directly into Tolstoys unique social and religious p hilosophy, which would inspire such historical figures as Mohandas K Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.Oryx and Crake by Margaret AtwoodRecommended by Keith TippmanThis dystopian masterpiece from Margaret Atwoodauthor of the The Handmaid’s Taleâ€"is an eerie exploration of the type of future we may currently be creating with the modern state of politics and capitalist systems as we continue to degrade the earths environment. Set in the not-so-distant future, survivors of a devastating pandemic seek to create a new better world from the husk of our destroyed civilization and planet.The Machine Gunners by Robert WestallRecommended by Andrew HoughtonSet in a fictional English town of Garmouth shortly after the Battle of Britain, The Machine Gunners follows the life of a gang of school children during the Second World War. They find a crashed German bomber, complete with machine gun and 2,000 of ammunition. The children decide they are going to defend their homes and families, and so they build a fortress with their machine gun atop to defend themselves. This book is written by my dads old art teacher, who also taught my mum English. It won the Carnegie Medal for writing when it was published and was named one of the top ten medal-winning works ever. Not a long or a new novel, but absolutely gripping to read!Shoe Dog by Phil KnightRecommended  by Nisha GabbiEver wondered how those cool sneakers on your feet came to be? This book chronicles the journey of Phil Knight, founder of Nike. Full of life lessons with surprising twists and turns, this book is for the budding entrepreneur and fashion curious.Frankenstein by Mary ShelleyRecommended by Noah LarsonThe original monster horror novel and note the tale most people think they know. Its a classic with a twist you won’t see coming.

Are Narratives Superior to 5-Paragraph Persuasive Essays

Are Narratives Superior to 5-Paragraph Persuasive Essays 1. We need an alternative to the 5-paragraph persuasive essay Many teachers believe that the 5-paragraph persuasive essay is the only appropriate writing task for college-level students. Almost all of the college-level ESL textbooks published for the Quebec market include units on the so-called 5-paragraph persuasive essay, but units on narrative writing rarely appear.  This dearth is unfortunate since there are some very good reasons to switch to narrative writing. 1. We need an alternative to the 5-paragraph persuasive essay Why would anyone want an alternative to the 5-paragraph persuasive essay, you ask? For starters, over-reliance on this standard writing model does considerable harm to both students and teachers. When you ask teachers why they teach the 5-paragraph persuasive essay, they invariably tell you that it teaches students how to think and how to express themselves. However, there is evidence to suggest that, in fact, this standard writing model does exactly the oppositelimiting thinking, stunting expressiveness, and persuading no one of anything. Structure displaces meaning Rorschach (2004)  reports in a case-study of three college ESL students in a remedial writing course that pressure from the writing teacher to adhere strictly to a proscribed form interfered with the students development and organization of their ideas. One student had been taught in her ESL writing class to focus solely on the formal features of the model and ignore critical issues with content. As a result, her paragraphs remained a series of unconnected vignettes, bound together by a highly-formulaic thesis statement. Rather than to help the student organize and express her own ideas, the imposed structure suppressed personal expression and produced non-thinking conformity. A deskilling effect Another teacher phrased the problem this way: The five-paragraph essay is not an inherently incorrect form. However, it is destructive in that students are not ever allowed to discover if the form fits the meaning they seek to make”  (Duxbury, 2008). Since the form is always set in advance, meaning suffers. Part of the blame belongs to the thesis statement, by controlling what you are able to say and how you can say it. Berggren calls persuasive essay writing profoundly anti-intellectual in this respect because the students only question becomes, What can I say that I can support? (Berggren, 2008, p. 60). Students begin with an opinion and cast about in search of support for it, instead of looking at the evidence and formulating a position by induction. Moreover, the epistemology thesis statements reinforce is exactly the style of knowing we want learners to outgrow, namely that of absolute knowing in favour of contextual knowing. The absolute claims of the conventional thesis statement preclude nuanced thinking. Not only does this rhetorical straitjacket have a negative effect on students ability to think and express their meaning, excessive focus on this one rhetorical model to the exclusion to all others,  Moss (2002)  argues, has left students under-prepared for the range of critical thinking and writing tasks they will face at university. Concomitantly, Moss (2002) found that adopting a single, standard academic writing model has devalued teacher innovation and development, with school administrations claiming that in the context of a single, universal writing model, funding teacher training for writing instruction is no longer necessary. The 5-paragraph persuasive essay is having a deskilling effect on teachers, as well. Virtues Overstated E. L. Thorndike, the first educational psychologist The virtues of the 5-paragraph persuasive essay are almost always overstated. Many teachers will tell you that this type of essay promotes proper habits of mind, helping learners organize their ideas, no matter the subject. This is called the Doctrine of Formal Discipline and is based on the idea that learning to do one task can have a positive effect on a learners ability to do another unrelated task. In the early 1900s, the dominant view was that learning Latin and Geometry would have an improving effect on learners, so  E. L. Thorndike, the first educational psychologist, set out to test  whether learning one cognitive task would result in an improvement on a different task. It did not. The theory of general transfer has been abandoned in favour of theories of specific transfer (where learning one task will help you do a similar task in the future) or specific transfer of general principles (where learning to apply specific strategies to one situation can transfer to a new situation). Essay writing may provide an organizational model for arranging arguments into an essay form but it is very unlikely for it to cause a general improvement in thinking skills. Inauthentic task The persuasive essay is an inauthentic task since it is never used outside of instructional contexts. Horowitz (1986) in a survey of writing assignments across disciplines found that the persuasive essay does not resemble any of the actual writing tasks usually given by university professors. Defenders of the essay claim that persuasive essay writing is nevertheless an essential academic skill, without which advancement in academia is impossible. Proof of this is that the universities use persuasive essay writing tasks as entry tests. Therefore, the reasoning goes, teaching the persuasive essay in English will help students gain access to and succeed in English language universities. According to Statscan, 64% of the population in Quebec attends CEGEP. Only 38% go on to university. But from there, according to  Lamarre (2008), only 20% of francophone graduates attend English language university. That means that only 8% of all the francophones in all CEGEPs will go on to English University. Assuming that learning to write the persuasive essay is, as claimed, useful for students attending English universities, a class of 30 CEGEP ESL learners will receive instruction in a writing task which might be relevant for only about 2 students in the group. How relevant? is another question since a growing number of undergrads enter Business and Engineering programs where report writing and case studies (i.e., narratives) will be required of them. Of the English L2 speakers who do arrive at English language universities, irrespective of academic discipline, the biggest hurdle, according to the Vice-Provost of Concordia University, is their low English proficiency. It is for this reason that the  University Writing Test has been suspended at Concordia University for all undergraduate students in favour of preparatory ESL courses that focus on writing, listening, and speaking components of language training. To what extent, do academic writing tasks support listening and speaking skills? To answer this question, we should look at the corpus data. 2. Narratives and ultimate attainment Writing tasks that support oral skills should be a priority for ESL teachers since speaking is the most anxiety provoking form of communication. Anxiety has been shown to have a negative impact on willingness to communicate, which has a concomitant impact on frequency of communication, reducing contact with the target culture and ultimate attainment. Preparing learners for the demands of social situations should have the opposite effect, reducing task anxiety, increasing perceived competence and causing a direct positive effect on frequency of communication and commitment to integrate with the target language culture    (MacIntyre and Charos, 1996). One way to help learners with the demands of informal oral communication is to support the development of informal spoken registers through the use of narratives in ESL. Over-emphasizing formal registers reduces integrativeness College ESL courses tend to over-emphasize formal registers because of a concern that college-courses should be college-level and academic. This aspiration while noble in intent has unintended negative consequences for learners. One study (Segalowitz, 1976) found that non-fluent second language learners believe themselves to appear less intelligent, less self-confident, and less friendly during casual speech situations than formal speech situations. These same learners also evaluated their native speaker interlocutors less favourably in situations demanding casual speech than formal speech. The reason was that the language instruction these learners had been given had emphasized formal registers to the exclusion of informal registers, leaving them unprepared for situations involving informal social interaction. What these findings suggest is that an overemphasis on academic English will reduce learners’ motivation to integrate with the target language community. Since integrative motivation is needed to achieve moderate levels of second language proficiency (Dornyei, 1990), emphasizing casual registers in language learning classes should have a positive influence on ultimate attainment. Narratives encourage contact with the target culture Since narratives capture the closest approximation to the vernacular of unmonitored speech (Labov, 2010) and since speaking is the most anxiety-provoking form of communication (MacIntyre Gardner, 1991; McCrosky Richmond, 1982), it follows that switching from academic reading and writing tasks in the college classroom to narrative tasks should support the development of oral communication skills. It is very important that language teachers make efforts to reduce anxiety associated with speaking the second language because of the impact of anxiety on ultimate attainment. To explain, we know from research into anxiety and language learning that the anxiety speaking produces reduces willingness to communicate (Baker MacIntyre, 2000). We also know that reduced willingness to communicate has been shown reduce the frequency of communication (Hines Barraclough, 1995). Where contact is minimal or non-existent, there is less commitment to integrate with the target culture (Dornyei, 1990) and integrative motivation is needed to achieve moderate levels of second language proficiency (Dornyei, 1990). Supporting oral skills in non-fluent bilinguals through narratives should have an overall positive effect on ultimate attainment and help mitigate the negative effects of the current overemphasis on formal registers in second language instruction at the college level. Narratives support the development of register-appropriate oral communication Narrative writing instruction is more likely to prepare learners for informal social interaction for a number of linguistic reasons, also. Most importantly, it should be noted that academic and conversational registers involve a complementary frequency distribution of vocabulary and grammatical forms (Biber et al., 1999). However, because fictional narratives contain quoted speech, narratives contain many of the features of conversation English, making them particularly helpful in the development of the grammar and vocabulary needed in conversational registers. Some of the stark differences between academic English and conversational English are revealed in the corpus research given in Biber et al. (1999). Here are some examples of the differences between the registers with page numbers: Nouns Conversation has a lower density of information and therefore fewer nouns (Biber et al, 1999, p. 66). 60% of lexical words in academic prose are nouns (p. 65). Plural nouns are used 3-4 times more in academic prose than conversation (p. 291). Nominalization is much more common in academic prose than other registers, especially â€"tion and -ity (p. 322). Adjectives Adjectives are least common in conversation and most common in academic prose. The comparative form is used three times more often in academic prose than in conversation. Conversely, superlatives are more common in conversation than in academic prose (p. 65). Pronouns Conversation is marked by a high frequency of pronouns and a low frequency of nouns (p. 1042). Words like  everybody, everyone, everything, somebody, anybody, anyone, anything,  and  nobody  are common in conversation but rare in academic writing. Conversation uses pronouns in anaphoric expressions (to refer to an already established idea), whereas academic writing uses definite noun phrases in anaphoric expressions (p. 266). Preposition+which relativizers are only common in academic prose (p. 625). Determiners The determiner  that  is 11 times more common in conversation than in academic writing, where it is relatively rare.  This, used as a determiner, is more common in academic writing than in conversation, occurring 2500 versus 1500 times. The big exception is with the phrase  this one  which occurs 3000 times in the conversational corpus and not at all in the academic written corpus. Verbs Conversation has shorter clauses, and so verbs and adverbs are much more frequent in conversation and fiction (because it contains quoted speech) and much less frequent in academic prose (p. 65). Certain verbs are particularly common in conversation and particularly rare in academic prose:  try, buy, put, pay, bring, meet, play, run, eat, watch, pick, wear. Negation is most common in conversation and least common in academic prose (p. 159). Only in conversation is the progressive used to emphasize the reported message itself as in, “She was saying…” (p. 1120). Across all registers, 85% of verbs are tensed, while 15% of verbs are modal constructions (p. 456). Modals are most common in conversation and are about half as common in academic prose (p. 456). The progressive aspect is more common in conversation than in academic prose. The present perfect is about 30% more common in conversation than in academic prose (p. 461).  Have/has got is the most common present perfect verb in any register, occurring over 1000 times per million words in conversation, but less than 20 times per million words in academic prose (p. 465). Coordinators “But” is more frequent in conversation and fiction, and less frequent in academic prose. “And” is more frequent in academic and fiction than conversation and news. In conversation, “and” is used as a clause level connector. In academic prose, and is used as a phrase level connector (p. 81) . Contractions Verbs and not are contracted most frequently in conversation and fiction. Verbs are contracted less than 2.5% of the time in academic prose, and not is contracted 5% or less. (p. 1132). Adverbials The word  since  is used to introduce a reason in academic prose 95% of the time, but it is used to indicated a point in time in all other registers. The word  while  is used for concession in 80% of occurrences in academic prose, but it is used for time references 100% of occurrences in conversation. The word  though  is used primarily as a linking adverbial in conversation but as a subordinator in written registers. Clauses Expressions like  see if, wonder if, know if  and  ask if  are common in conversation and rare in academic prose.  Know whether  is 8 times more common in conversation than in academic writing.  Determine whether, the most common post predicate wh-clause in academic prose, occurs 20 times in academic writing and not at all in conversation. Technical Writing Some college teachers ask their ESL students to read and write technical reports, believing that the more challenging the text to read or write, the more students will learn about English. For these teachers, there is an unspoken assumption that conversational English can be acquired by implication. In fact, technical writing has certain features which cannot be generalized to everyday English. Trimble (1985) in his book on technical writing for second language teachers reports three key areas of difficulty for non-native students: descriptions, instructions, and literature reviews. He attributes much of the difficulty to grammatical elements found within them. Descriptions make unusually frequent use of passive and stative verbs. In instructions, the definite article is often left out (e.g.,  remove puncturing object from tire) or used on first mention in generalizing statements (e.g.,  The gas turbine fires continuously). In literature reviews, modals and modal passives are very common, and in certain instances, the modal should is used with the same force as must (Trimble, 1985, pp. 115-120). In all these cases, non-native learners who do not have full command of English will have difficulty learning these specialized uses of English and must learn not to generalize these specialized rules to everyday English. Summary With fewer verbs, fewer negatives, fewer modals, fewer contractions, fewer progressive forms, academic English is less suitable for supporting oral interactions than narrative writing. Furthermore, technical writing offers such an eccentric model of English grammar that learners will have difficulty generalizing its grammatical forms to any other communicative context. Finally, because of its effect on integrative motivation and ultimate attainment, ESL teachers should be very careful not to overemphasize formal registers in the instruction of non-fluent bilinguals. 3. Narratives promote the use of a wider range of grammatical structures The verb density of narratives should be of special interest to ESL teachers. Narratives are the principle way in which our species organizes its understanding of time (Abbott, 2008, p.3) and verb tense choice signals how events relate to each other in time. Since “narratives frequently contain irrealis clausesâ€"negatives, conditionals, futuresâ€"which refer to events that did not happen or might have happened or had not yet happened.” (Labov, 2010, Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Language Sciences), narratives are best suited to teach these linguistic features to second language learners. Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase It is important to note that narrative writing involves a default tense. As such, narratives create an obligatory context for eliciting and measuring mastery of past tenses.  Primarily, narratives employ the simple past (Smith, 2003; He, 2011), and “more complex tense selections involving a secondary tense are then used to relate some other time to the main storyline â€" as simultaneous with it (present), as a flashback (past), or as a flashforward (future).” (Matthiessen, 1995, p. 741).” Argument, on the other hand, does not have an obligatory tense. Take a look at this short excerpt from  The Case of the Hidden Staircase, a Nancy Drew novel for young adults.        The weary workers  had just finished  their job when the phone  rang. Nancy, being closest to the instrument,  answered  it. Hannah Gruen  was calling.      Nancy! What  happened? she  asked. Ive been waiting  over an hour for you to call me back. Whats  the matter? While there are three times as many Simple Past verbs than any other verb tense, this narrative is hardly limited to the Simple Past, containing examples of four other tenses.  In just 44 words, this short text contains verbs in the Past Perfect, Simple Past, Past Progressive, Present Perfect Progressive, and the Simple Present. Looking at corpus data on word frequency, we observe that this passage contains no  academic words  and two  conversational words  that are very rare in academic prose:  asked,  and    just.  The eight sentences are short with an average of only six words per sentence. ESL teachers will recognize that comprehension tasks involving narratives suggest an efficient way of getting learners to notice the tense and aspect system of English verbs in a meaningful way. Narrative writing should also offer an efficient way of eliciting a variety of verb tenses. How to structure a narrative to elicit and rehearse specific structures is the topic of another blog post. References Abbott, H. P. (2008). The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Baker, S. C., MacIntyre, P. D. (2000). The role of gender and immersion in communication and second language orientations.  Language Learning, (50), 311â€"341. Berggren, A. (2008). Do thesis statements short-circuit originality in students’ writing? In C. Eisner   M. Vicinus,  Originality, imitation, and plagiarism: Teaching writing in the digital  age. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Biber, D., S. Johansson, G. Leech, S. Conrad and E. Finegan (1999), Longman grammar of  spoken and written English. Harlow: Pearson Education. Dornyei, Z. (1990). Conceptualizing Motivation in Foreign-Language Learning.  Language Learning, 40(1), 45â€"78. Duxbury, A.R. (2008). The tyranny of the thesis statement. English Journal, 97(4), 16-18. Hines, S. C., Barraclough, R. A. (1995). Communicating in a foreign language: Its effects on perceived motivation, knowledge, and communication ability. Comrnunication Research Reports, (12), 241â€"247. MacIntyre, P. D., Charos, C. (1996).  Personality, attitudes, and affect as predictors of second language communication.  15, 3-26.  Journal of Language and Social Psychology, (15), 3â€"26. McCrosky, J. C., Richmond, V. P. (1982). Communication apprehension and shyness: Conceptual and operational distinctions. Central States Speech Journal, (33), 458â€"468. Moss, G. (2002). The five-paragraph theme.  The Quarterly,  24(3), 23-38. Retrieved from http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/download/nwp_file/467/The_Five-Paragraph_Theme.pdf Labov, W. 2008. Oral narratives of personal experience. http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~wlabov/. (13 December 2008.) Rorschach, E. (2004). The five-paragraph theme redux.The Quarterly,  26(1), 16-25. Retrieved from http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/download/nwp_file/970/Five-Paragraph_Theme.pdf Segalowitz, N. (1976). Communicative incompetence and the non-fluent bilingual. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 8(2), 121-131. Statistics Canada, (2008).  Youth in transition survey. Retrieved from Statistics Canada website: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-595-m/2008070/t/6000006-eng.htm Trimble, L. (1985).  English for science and technology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Please follow and like us:

Al Akhawayn School

Al Akhawayn School Al Akhawayn School Al Akhawayn School of Ifrane was founded in 1995, and is an American Curriculum, co-educational K-12 school located in Ifrane, Morocco. The school is located in a beautiful Swiss Style holiday town of Ifrane, in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa where there are 4 beautiful seasons, nature, biking, hiking, skiing, and running trails. Al Akhawayn school of Ifrane is part of the the prestigious, Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco. ASI enjoys access to the university campus and its state of the art facilities. We are at a very exciting time as the school is rapidly growing and seeking accreditation. Over the years, the school has developed into a learning community characterized by a balanced program of academics, arts, sports, and community service preparing our students to have diverse skills and knowledge in a fast changing world. Most important, we strive to graduate well rounded and prepared students for University and beyond. The school is currently going through the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) Accreditation process. Under the leadership and guidance of the senior leadership team, and the professional learning community, it is an exciting time to join ASI!

6 Things You Shouldnt Wear to an Interview

6 Things You Shouldn't Wear to an Interview Image via https://pixabay.com 1. Flashy Jewelry When going for an interview, it’s a good idea to dress on the safe, conservative side. You don’t want your interviewer to be distracted by your appearance, so try to avoid anything that can take their attention away from your actual conversation. One potential distraction is any showy jewelry. Anything oversized or flashy should be kept at home. If you do opt to wear jewelry for your interview, keep it to a minimum and make sure that whatever you do choose to wear is classic and won’t draw unnecessary attention. After all, you don’t want your interviewer to be busy thinking that your necklace is tacky when they should be focusing on you! 2. Wrinkled Clothing While this probably goes without saying, it’s always good to be reminded that before you step out the door for your interview, you should be checking to make sure that your clothes are fresh and unwrinkled. Check out how your outfit looks in the mirror before you head out, as there may be some wrinkles on your clothes that you didn’t notice when they were hanging up, but which suddenly become apparent when you’re walking around. It’s also a good idea to make sure that your outfit is neatly ironed and ready to go the night before your interview, so that you’re not rushing around to get ready the next morning, and so that you have time to rethink your outfit if anything goes wrong. 3. Short Dresses or Skirts It’s always best to dress on the conservative side when you’re going for a job interview, so you should definitely avoid wearing any dresses or skirts that could even potentially be perceived as too short. Remember that you’re not dressing to look cute for your interview; you want to look professional, and you want to look like someone who would easily be able to fit into the relevant office environment. Wearing something too revealing will definitely be a turn-off to a recruiter, especially if the job that you’re applying for will involve interacting with clients. If you show up to an interview wearing something potentially inappropriate for the office, your interviewer may worry that the way you dress for the job will turn off the business’s clientsâ€"which is definitely going to get you started off on the wrong foot during an interview. 4. Open-Toed Shoes In general, it’s not a good idea to wear open-toed shoes in the workplace. For this reason, it’s also best to avoid them in when you’re going for an interview. Because they can sometimes look informal, they can be a turn-off to your interviewer. In addition, some offices don’t allow their employees to wear open-toed shoes to work, so if you come in for an interview wearing them, that could be an immediate red flag. 5. Perfume or Cologne If you’re going to wear perfume or cologne to a job interview, be very careful about how much you’re going to put on. Wearing too much perfume or cologne might distract your interviewer, and, even worse, might make them uncomfortable. Not everyone enjoys strong scents, and you definitely don’t want to run the risk of giving your interviewer a headache. While it’s not necessarily something that you need to avoid completely, make sure that you keep it very subtle if you choose to wear a scent. 6. Jeans Even if you’re interviewing at a company that’s fairly casual, you don’t want to take advantage of a laidback dress code during your interview. Avoid clothes that can come off as too informal, such as jeans, even if you think they’d be appropriate to wear to the job itself. It’s always better to overdress for an interview rather than underdress, so stick to dress pants or skirts to be on the safe side. Wearing jeans can make it seem like you haven’t put in much effort to prepare for the interview, as you haven’t bothered to present yourself professionally. Especially when you’re up against a number of other well-qualified applicants, the way that you present yourself during an interview is crucial. Since your interview is potentially your only chance to create an impression on a recruiter, every little thing matters down to the clothes that you’re wearing. Before your next interview, make sure that you plan your outfit carefully!