* Audio Modification

Many companies produce software packages that enable you to transform your voice (or someone else’s). You can make your voice feminine, masculine, or robotic. It can be raised to a high pitch or lowered to bass tones.

So how does this help you learn a new language?

Many foreign languages (French and German, for example) assign gender to nouns. When learning new vocabulary, why not record feminine nouns in a female voice, masculine nouns in a male voice, and neuter nouns in a robotic voice? This approach can also be used with other types of vocabulary learning. Perhaps you could record a list of German dative verbs in a woman’s voice and a list of German accusative verbs in a male voice. You can even take audio files that have been recorded by other people and make them more interesting by morphing voices or adding sound effects.

An internet search for ‘voice cloaking’ or ‘voice modification software’ will provide numerous resources to choose from.

* Don’t Just Print

If you own a color printer you can spice up your vocabulary lists with bursts of color – perhaps feminine nouns in red, masculine nouns in blue, and neuter in dark grey. You might want to highlight irregular verbs in another color – or perhaps apply bold or italics to make them stand out on the page. Experiment with various fonts and weights.

* Websites and Online Sources

Every language student should have at least one online dictionary bookmarked (preferably several). Each dictionary will work a little differently. Some provide audio clips. Others will allow users to submit new words and expressions. (Be aware that not all user submissions will be 100% accurate.) The best dictionaries will clearly indicate ‘verified’ user submissions and will mark colloquial and dialect expressions appropriately.

Are you a poet? Help is as close as your computer. Online language resources include helpful rhyming dictionaries. An internet search for ‘rhyming dictionary French’, ‘rhyming dictionary German’, ‘rhyming dictionary Spanish’ etc. will give you good results.

Try to rely on accredited educational sites (domains ending in .edu) when doing grammar research. For instance, if you are looking for Hungarian verb conjugations, try a search like ‘Hungarian verb conjugations site:.edu’. Although at the time of writing the previous search doesn’t work at MSN, it does work at Google, Yahoo!, Ask.com, and many others. The ‘site:edu’ portion of the search restricts results to domains ending in ‘.edu’ – which are usually universities and other similar educational institutions.

* Online Chatting and Video Conferencing

Video-cams, VOIP, microphones . . . put them all together and talk with foreign friends from all over the world. Using a language in conversation is probably the quickest way to learn.

Whatever you do, remember that the more senses you stimulate during the learning process, the more firmly imprinted the learning becomes. Turn your language education into a fun-filled sensory experience and you will probably stick with it. If it becomes monotonous, you may lose interest.

* Co-Workers – Friends – Family

If you are fortunate enough to have people around you who speak the language, spend as much time as you can with them. Be forewarned, though. Daily conversation with friends and relatives will probably be filled with idioms and grammar that would make your foreign language teacher nauseous.

* Internet Broadcasting

There are many free internet radio stations. They broadcast day and night, 7 days a week. All you have to do is find them. Try internet searches like the following in your favorite search engine:

- free internet radio German

- free internet radio Norwegian

- free internet radio French

- internet radio stations Spanish

- internet radio stations Portuguese

Disc jockeys and talk show hosts may not use perfect grammar. However, news broadcasts are usually correct.

* Books on Tape or CD

You can purchase audio books online at sites like Amazon.

Unfortunately, not all audio books are created equal. Sometimes the narration is cluttered with distracting loud sound effects and music. The volume may vary from horrendously loud to whisper-soft. If you can listen to a sample before purchase, do so. Never purchase more than one audio book from the same publisher or narrator until you are sure that they produce acceptable recordings. Sometimes the narrator’s volume will vary so much during a reading that it makes the book almost useless.

Be on the lookout for audio bundles that include a printed copy of the book – excellent for learning purposes!

* TV Channels

Check your cable or satellite TV lineup. You may find one or more channels in the language you are trying to learn.

* Movies and Television Series on DVD

Most larger centers and internet sites like Amazon have foreign language productions with English sound tracks and subtitles. Try to watch everything at least once without subtitles. Pay attention to the lips of the speakers as they pronounce words. Lipreading is part of the language learning process.

If you prefer to buy English productions that have been remastered for foreign language markets, you will lose the lipreading advantage – and you may have to purchase or hack a DVD player so that it will play DVDs from other regions. There is a link at the bottom of this article that goes to a page with more specific information

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North American TV series like M*A*S*H and Golden Girls have 1/2-hour episodes. Omit the intro and closing credits and you are left with about 20 minutes of material. Try to learn a few new words of vocabulary each time you watch an episode.

* What are You Waiting For?

Take advantage of all the opportunities that technology has to offer!

Once your kids begin their educational life outside of the public school, there will be a transition time for them; as there would be a transition time for anyone undergoing change in their life and their routines. If this is about to become your homeschooling scenario you should understand that the time after the public school, yet before you begin homeschooling is a good time to help your child through this period and prepare for their upcoming new educational experience. It’s important to use this time to help your child understand that learning and their education can take place with their home and their family unit.

Even once your homeschooling year begins it’s important to understand that your child will probably still need some time to adjust to the new routine and the new freedoms of education at home. Early on, let your child dip their toe into the water of homeschooling before jumping in. Remember, aside from the teachings, the lessons, and the learning, this will indeed be quite a different environment for your child as opposed the the bells, the crowded halls, and all the noise and distractions they have become accustom to in their previous learning environment. So, some decompression time may well be in order for them.

During this time, don’t worry about setting expectations too high, or feel as though if you don’t get started ‘doing’ something you will soon fall behind schedule. Remember, flexibility and scheduling is one of the great benefits to homeschooling. Relax. Besides, I truly believe you’ll soon find that once you do get into the rhythm of your schedule, you’ll find that with the individual attention that your child receives with each subject, they’ll soon not only make up for any early lost time, but they’ll probably surpass what you even had scheduled initially!

Use the transition or decompression time to talk with your child about what it is that they are really interested in and what they like to learn about and dream about. Talk to them about setting little and longer term goals and how by reaching each little goal one at a time they are on their way to realizing their dream. Let them know that they will be able to learn and study subject matter that they are interested in much greater detail than they have ever been able to before. Get their mind jump started on all the great projects and subject that you will cover with them in your new homeschooling environment. If you do this, you’ll find that your kids will make it through the transition from traditional education to homeschool education excited and energized about these wonderful possibilities to learning.

There are four important reasons why parents opt for home studying for their children, a) social reasons, b) academic reasons, c) family reasons, and d) religious reasons.

Social Reasons

By joining the community cycle, parents fee that their children are more comfortable in dealing with different kinds of people. They feel that their kids have a lesser tendency of becoming dependent with peers. By introducing the kids more to church and community programs, these home-schooled kids do not feel self conscious and recognized, as kids are easier to talk to.

The catalogue, Growing Without Schooling publisher Pat Farenga wrote: “Group experiences are a big part of education, and home schoolers have plenty of them. They write to us about how they form or join writing clubs, book discussion groups and local home-schooling groups. Home schoolers also take part in school sports teams and music groups (in nearby public schools), as well as in the many public and private group activities our communities provide. These young people can and do experience other people and cultures without going to school.”

The home-school setting deviates the child’s attention from alcohol, premarital sex, drugs, violence and gangsters that could destroy his future. And since home-schooled children are free from peer pressure, they are more likely to have more friends from the church and community activities. Some communities created a special group for home-schooled children where field trips, social recreations and team building games are organized. This builds respect and opens channels for communication.

Academic Reasons

Parents believe that the less students handled by the teacher, the more focus is provided each of the learners. They thought that the personal tutoring of teachers is the most fruitful way of helping the kids learn successfully. The most famous home-schooled personalities of all time are: Thomas Edison, Charles Dickens, Winston Churchill, Agatha Christie, Florence Nightingale, Woodrow Wilson, Woodrow Brothers, and Benjamin Franklin. One parent got more of his children’s academic training in home schooling through the process of exchanging skills with other home schooled children. Being an English degree holder, he teaches three of his colleague’s sons, while his colleague teaches his kids math.

Although home schooling is, as derived from its own name “home”, this special education also developed into a more organized and planned instrument of teaching. One example is the High Plains Christian Home Educators that was established in Colorado Springs who has its own administrator who sees to it that all 200 of their home-schooled children are given enough classes. Unlike a normal school setting, home based studying allows each of the subject areas to be taught separately making the approach cross disciplined.

Each of the students is given their own set of action plans so they can have the freedom to continue their passion. Quality time is provided for each so that more focus can be attributed to their learning success.

Family Reasons

Parents of home-schooled children feel their presence felt by their kids. Family relationship is strengthened and ties are intact. A child’s self esteem are more boosted because of the parents’ full support. Based on the American League of Research Studies, kids that are home schooled are mo re loving and confident.

Religious Reasons

Schools in the US have kept away from any religious and political issues for fear of influence from the two, this is because many organized civil liberties even brought the issue of religious illegality in courts.

For that same reason, parents find teaching their children at home a worry free place for spiritual and religious growth. Religion can be inculcated as much as the parents would want to bring the whole belief to their kids in home schooling and they believe that it’s impact can greatly affect the spirituality of their developing children.

To help college-bound students manage their budgets, Chase offers resources to guide students on how to manage their finances responsibly from the first day of class to graduation, and beyond.

Financial Management 101

Before they fill their schedules with biology, economics and philosophy, encourage your college-bound students to make room for Financial Management 101, an important life “curriculum,” as they go through the school year.

These tips from Chase will help your students get a passing financial grade and may even land them on the financial honor roll:

1. Create a budget for the school year-and stick to it.

A-List out all your income/ loan disbursements

B-List out all your expenses

C-Make sure A is greater than B.

Check this on a monthly basis to make sure you’re on track.

2. Know your budget and credit limit before you spend.

3. Keep track of all purchases and plan your use of credit cards.

4. To avoid late fees and build a positive credit history, always pay all your bills on time.

5. Learn about and track your credit bureau information and rating. Go to www.annu alcreditreport.com for more information.

Learning to handle their own finances can be one of life’s most important lessons for your students.

Students are called “cadets” when attending military school, as all life, activities and education emulates the military structure. In the past, military schools were only for the sons of the well-off families with the intention of developing character and high educational values.

Over the years, military schools turned into modern day schools for rebellious teenagers. However, kids aren’t placed in a military schools in order to be punish them; on the contrary, they’re placed there in order to correct their behavior. Military schools have garnered negative publicity over the years, particularly during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, significantly lowering enrollment. To compensate, many military schools turned to offering structured environments for troubled teens.

As with any school, military schools are not without problems, but unlike ordinary schools, military schools have a better approach in correcting rebellious behavior. They work to ensure that cadets will show improvement for the duration of their highly structured programs, using emotional, physical, and other means to teach cadets to respect themselves and others.

The schools’ progressive academic programs help each cadet improve as they strive to attain certain goals in their program. The boys enrolled in military schools undergo rigorous training that aims to teach boys on how to better understand themselves. This training also helps young men understand their own weaknesses and strengths. Evaluations are conducted during the first weeks of training to provide an overview on what areas need improvement.

Military schools offer an effective emotional growth program, with personal development courses, educational videos and tapes. The objective of this highly structured program is to help create responsible young adults by changing negative habits and choices. Military schools have been perceived as a interdisciplinary programs and, to a large extent, this is true. With ever increasing numbers of troubled teenagers, military schools fill an important role in the education.

The New York schools have student academic intervention programs that provide the needed tutoring, counseling and teaching of skill sets. The New York schools services are a supplement to the general teaching curriculum.

New York schools students who are academically at risk and need assistance in the areas of English language arts, mathematics, social studies, and/or science are candidates for intervention. The New York schools support may address the areas of guidance, counseling, attendance and study skills, all of which affect a student’s ability to perform well academically.

The New York schools academic intervention may be offered during regular school hours or during an extended school day or year, depending upon the school. New York schools educators determine the need for intervention. It is not something that may be requested or refused by parents, though their cooperation can make a difference between success and failure of the program.

If a child in the New York schools is determined to need such intervention, the parents are notified in writing, telling them of the commencement of the program for their child, what services will be provided, the reason intervention is required, and the consequences for the student of not achieving the expected performance levels. New York schools communication with the parents is ongoing and encourages their cooperation and participation in the program. There is at least one consultation a semester with the classroom teacher and other New York schools professional staff, who are assisting their child. Progress reports are given the parents at least on a quarterly basis. Additionally, information is provided to the parents on how to work with their child to improve academic achievement, how to monitor the child’s progress, and how to work with New York schools educators to improve their child’s achievement.

New York schools student academic intervention is determined as follows:

• Kindergarten through grade three —
1) Student lacks reading readiness, including knowledge of sounds and letters, and is based on appraisal by the New York schools; OR
2) Student is at risk of not meeting the New York schools’ required performance level in English language arts and/or mathematics. This may include diagnostic screening or vision, hearing and physical disabilities; and limited English proficiency determination.
• Grades four through eight —
1) Student scores below the state required performance level on one or more New York schools elementary assessments in English language arts, mathematics, social studies or science; OR
2) Student is at risk of not achieving New York schools standards in English language arts, mathematics, social studies and/or science. This may include diagnostic screening or vision, hearing and physical disabilities; OR
3) Student is limited English proficient and at risk of not achieving New York schools standards in English language arts, mathematics, social studies and/or science by using English or their native language. This may include diagnostic screening or vision, hearing and physical disabilities.
• Grades nine through twelve —
1) Student scores below the New York schools required performance level on one or more state intermediate assessments in English language arts, mathematics, social studies or science; OR
2) Student scores below New York schools required performance level on any one of the state examinations that are required for graduation; OR
3) Student is at risk of not achieving New York schools standards in English language arts, mathematics, social studies and/or science. This may include diagnostic screening or vision, hearing and physical disabilities; OR
4) Student is limited English proficient and at risk of not achieving New York schools standards in English language arts, mathematics, social studies and/or science by using English or their native language. This may include diagnostic screening or vision, hearing and physical disabilities.

The New York schools student academic intervention is ended, when a student successfully meets the state’s required performance level in the areas he or she was having difficulty. Though school standards are now the norm across the nation, the New York schools are going one step beyond to ensure students meet those standards.

While options exist in Sevilla for Americans to take courses in English, it is either at facilities where there are no Spaniards or at a university on the outskirts of the city.

“Taking course only with other Americans defeats the purpose of going to Sevilla, especially when opportunities exist for taking courses at a Spanish university. We at ASA are proud that our students who are not advanced at Spanish have the option of taking courses in English at a Spanish university,” said Lee Frankel, Director of Academic Studies Abroad.

Students on the ASA program in Sevilla live with a host family, attend both day and overnight excursions throughout Spain, and have tutoring available from on-site staff. These three things help students not only improve their level of fluency, but also help them gain a better understand of the Spanish culture.

Located in the south of Spain, approximately three and a half hours south of Madrid by high speed train, Sevilla is home to one of the most famous cathedrals and bullrings in Spain. A laid-back lifestyle and typically beautiful weather is what attracts so many students and tourists to Sevilla.