What is Diplomatic History

What is Diplomatic History The History of Diplomacy ChaptersOf Marriages and MergersDiplomacy Through Gift ExchangesTreaties: the Bureaucracy of PeaceFeudal Diplomacy: the Game of ObligationAlliances and ConsequencesMutually Assured DestructionOf the many aspects of political history, diplomatic history focuses on the relations between political entities that don’t involve pointy objects or guns. Generally, the role of diplomacy is the avoidance of conflict and the safeguarding of boundaries by securing allies.We tend to think of diplomacy in terms of men in grey suits discussing foreign policy, but often forget that international relations are not merely a thing of the twentieth century. Here are a few of the many ways diplomatic relations have influenced global history. MarkHistory Teacher 5.00 (3) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JohnHistory Teacher 5.00 (8) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarjotteHistory Teacher 5.00 (4) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ErinHistory Teacher £15/h1st les son free!Discover all our tutors ChantelleHistory Teacher 5.00 (2) £17/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AndriyHistory Teacher £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors PeterHistory Teacher £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SerenaHistory Teacher £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsOf Marriages and MergersOne of the sad truths of diplomatic history is that important women were frequently bartered as commodities. In monarchies, a royal woman was an important asset if you used her correctly.Royal hostagesIn the early Middle East and Ancient Egypt, alliances were cemented by marriages. With polygamy a common factor among ruling families, it was common to send a daughter to the court of your new ally as a bride. The family would get regular reports through their embassy - usually a single official envoy with an entourage - and she could be held as a hostage against the opposite number’s good behaviour.In China, the occupied territories would, for much of its history, provide daughters from influential families for the Emperor’s household as either wives or concubines in order to curry favour.In Christian Europe, polygamy was officially condemned, meaning that while the mistresses of European kings definitely had influence, they came from the local aristocracy and were pawns in internal affairs more than international ones. The fact that they only had one official consort made the choice of partner all the more important. All the European royal families vied for each other’s sons and daughters as means of forging alliances.Though the women had very little say in these matters, many of them used their charisma and sexuality to pursue their own goals and influence politics both internal and external. Among the many influential queens of European history, some of the most famous is Eleonore of Aquitaine, a French princess who married an English king and became the mother of Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland in the Medieval Period for England or Catherine de Medici   - an Italian noblewoman who became queen of France in the sixteenth century.Eleanore of Aquitaine came from a French kingdom and married an English king. She was the mother of Richard Lionheart and John Lackland. Photo credit: tnchanse on Foter.comMarrying into the familyAs an early chief seeking to expand your territory, you had several options for expanding your territory. You could take it by force of arms, of course. But if you were lucky, your neighbour lacked a male heir - in which case you could offer him one by marrying his daughter. The resulting children would rule over both kingdoms, thusEarly ivory labels from Ancient Egypt show diplomatic marriages between chiefdoms that helped expand a small territory in order to encompass a large part of the Nile valley - changing North African history forever.Diplomacy Through Gift ExchangesOf course, not only women were exchanged. Many societies practised elaborate gift exchanges to cement relationships with other groups. Ancient Egyptian diplomatic correspondence mention the elaborate gifts exchanged between Egypt and Mitanni, including horses, golden chalices, weapons and statues.Throughout social history, some societies present gifts to other chieftains or kings during elaborate feasts in the expectation that there would be a return ceremony in the future with gifts of equal or increasingly higher value. From the point of view of economic history, gift-giving could represent the main form of economic exchange between one nation and another.Most people in the Middle Ages never saw an elephant - except maybe in Charlemagne's menagerie. Photo credit: peacay on Foter.comEven in societies where gift-giving was not the main form of international relation, it remained usual for a long time for diplomatic envoys to bring gifts from their respective nations. This is how, for example, Charlemagne received an elephant from the Caliph of Baghdad. The gifts were meant to show appreciation for the high status of the receiver while flouting the wealth of the giver and presenting them as economies to be reckoned with.Read more about Ancient civilisation history. MarkHistory Teacher 5.00 (3) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JohnHistory Teacher 5.00 (8) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarjotteHistory Teacher 5.00 (4) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ErinHistory Teacher £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ChantelleHistory Teacher 5.00 (2) £17/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AndriyHistory Teacher £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors PeterHistory Teacher £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SerenaHistory Teacher £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsTreaties: the Bureaucracy of PeaceOf course, the rise of literacy means that there was eventually a desire arose to write down the exact conditions of treaties and other points of foreign affairs. The earliest surviving recorded peace treaty of modern civilization dates to about 1276 BC and gives a point-by-point list of all the articles of the bilateral agreement between the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II and Hittite ruler Hattusili III.The Hittite version of the Treaty of Kadesh. Photo credit: Steven Tan (maethlin) on Foter.comThe text has survived in both Hittite and Egyptian versions and includes articles devoted to mutual financial/humanitarian aid (put into effect about a generation later when Ramses’ son Merenptah sent grain to help stem a famine in the Hittite Empire) and extradition of political criminals fleeing to one or the other country. The continuing relations between the two kingdoms are also interesting for the history of medicine, as the Hittite king asked for help from Ramses’ court physicians.Since then peace treaties have encompassed a number of different postulations, have been signed between equal partners and peoples that had no idea what they were signing, were signed between two co nsenting parties and under duress. Peace treaties have actually promoted peace and cooperation between two countries, while others have resulted in more war.When peace treaties go wrongMany “peace treaties” between European nations and indigenous people in the seventeenth century stole their self-governance from native populations leading to their disenfranchising and the spread of poverty and infectious disease. In some cases, the treaties of European imperialism condemned the natives to little more than slavery.And at least one peace treaty in modern history led to a world war. After the submission of Germany at the end of the Great War, the various diplomatic corps that sent a delegation to the summit to draft the Treaty of Versailles imposed extremely heavy sanctions as well as arms control on Germany, feeling threatened by its influence on world affairs during the war. Economic history shows that the sanctions led to rampant inflation, paving the way for the strategic rise of nationalism and a power play by an intellectual elite bent on the subjugation of Europe through questionable ethics and the rise of the imperial German regime.Feudal Diplomacy: the Game of ObligationOne of the most fascinating and complicated means of keeping an equilibrium of power is the complicated web of feudal obligation that characterised much of the Middle Ages. In some cases, the borders of countries changed depending on the allegiance of feudal underlords.The idea was that a smaller lord would put himself under obligation to a feudal overlord. He would provide men and resources, and the overlord would use his greater resources - expanded by the men and taxes of his other underlords - to defend his underlords from threats and help them in times of need. Everything from economics to agricultural labour was somehow embroiled in the feudal system.Though we tend to think of Europe in relation to feudalism, but other cultures had similar systems. Photo credit: Okinawa Soba (Ro b) on Foter.comOver the centuries, feudal obligations were passed on from father to son and the feudal hierarchies became more rigid.Absolute monarchies arose that put most of the aristocracy on the same level underneath the king, and the complex give-and-take of international affairs under the feudal system gave rise to single powers who dealt directly with each other through means of embassies and variations on the foreign service - until the wave of revolution in the eighteenth and nineteenth century introduced democracy onto the diplomatic stage.Alliances and ConsequencesFrom another perspective, some wars started from diplomacy in an indirect way. Any historian will tell you what an odd cascade of circumstances started the Great War. It has occasionally been compared to a bar fight between pub buddies. The actual crisis seemed at first to be a matter between two nations - or at least, between the emerging Serbio-Yougoslav nationalists and Austria - Hungary.But after the wars of the nineteenth century, countries began forming alliances to promote peace and trade. Unfortunately, by the twentieth century, this system of alliances formed two main blocks in Europe. When the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire was killed, their allies were drawn into the war, each of them bringing their own baggage and enemies, setting off a chain reaction of conflicts that would lead to one of the most gruesome wars in history - one in which even the Holy See took an interest. The Vatican tried in vain to initiate an attempt at negotiation between the international community.Delegates leaving after signing the treaty of Versailles. Photo credit: Archives New Zealand on Foter.comBut it wasn’t until the Vienna Convention in 1969 that an attempt was made to regulate the international law on treaties and provide rules as to how foreign relations should handle the breaking of them.Mutually Assured DestructionAny undergraduate of cultural history will tell you that possibly the mo st important war of the twentieth century was the one that never happened. The interesting thing about the Cold War was that a balance was achieved entirely without diplomacy, but instead with the constant threat of war between Russia / the communist nations and the US / the Western world. The threat of mutually assured nuclear destruction prevented all-out conflict for decades while making a contribution towards advancing technology at an astounding pace.However, true peace wasn’t achieved until the Cuban Missile Crisis forced the two factions to ignore criticism by their more strident members and re-establish lines of communication. Though the Cuban government under Cuban president Castro remained shut off and it only became possible to visit Cuba recently, the events of that day convinced both sides to actually sit down and talk. This is what gave the world a real hope for peace, proving the importance of negotiating versus simply having bigger guns.Read more about what studyin g History really is about.

Mollusca Examples Online Biology Tutors Tutorpace

Mollusca Examples Online Biology Tutors Tutorpace In general molluscs or mollusks are invertebrates that has hard external shells on their outer body.The various examples of Mollusca are Pila globosa, Unio, Mytilus, Pinctada, Teredo, Loligo, Octopus etc. Pila globosa: It is common fresh water.In water they respire with the help of gills and on land with pulmonary sacs or lungs. The body is divided into head, visceral hump and foot. Head has a pair of stalked eyes and two pairs of tentacles.The body is enclosed by protective shell. Unio or fresh water mussel: It is a common bivalve .The outer surface of the shell is marked by numerous concentric linescalled lines of growth. Head is absent. Foot is the locomotory organ. The respiratory organs are the gills. Mytilus or sea mussel: It is the common edible mussel. It is a sedentary form and remains attached to rocks and other solid objects with the help of bunch of adhesive threads called Byssus threads. Pinctada or pearl oyster: They are pearl producing bivalves commonly found in the seas. The valves of the shell are unequal and their free margins are characterized by finger like processes. The foot is reduced. Terredo: It has an elongated soft body covered by a tough mantle. At the anterior end is pair off reduced shells with which the mollusk bores into the wood, turning it into saw dust. Respiration through gills. Loligo: it is a marine edible mollusc.The body is narrow elongated showing two regions the head and the trunk. Octopus: It is a marine bottom dwelling mollusc.The mouth is surrounded by 8 long arms bearing two rows of suckers. Tentacles are absent.

Interview with an Educational Psychologist

Interview with an Educational Psychologist At Tutorfair, we aim to give people a really valuable experience in tutoring. We were introduced to Stephanie, an educational psychologist, and felt what she does would definitely be of interest to our readers. Here, Stephanie answers some questions for us about what she does, which we hope you enjoy. Please be in touch at sam@tutorfair.com if you’d like to hear more. So, Stephanie what do you do in your job? As an Educational and Child Psychologist I aim to understand the cognitive and educational development of children and young people within the context of their home, school and community. Through my in-depth knowledge of learning and teaching, I enhance understanding of how children and young people think, learn and behave. I aim to bridge the gap between theory/research and practice, so as to maximise learning for all pupils! Different modes of teaching and learning are most effective for different people. Working with you, your child and your child’s tutor, I aim to gain a clearer understanding of your child’s strengths and abilities, which will help us understand the teaching and learning strategies that are most effective for them. Using positive psychology, we will build upon your child’s strengths to maximise their learning and help them reach their full potential. When might I want to use one? You may want to use an Ed Psych in a number of different instances When you would like to learn more about your child’s learning style and how the environment (and their tutoring experience) can be adapted to maximise outcomes. When you have concerns about your child’s development and you would like to explore these concerns further so as to understand how to help them and adapt their environment to maximise their development. This could be related to their learning, cognitive, social, emotional and behavioural development. When your child has a specific difficulty and you would like to learn strategies to help them progress further, such as dyslexia, AD/HD or dyscalculia. How does the process work? Following an initial meeting, I will carry out an assessment of your child’s abilities and the current learning environment. This will in turn enhance our understanding of how your child learns best; what they can do to maximise their achievement, and what you and their tutor can do to support them. The above may take place within one meeting or may involve a more in-depth assessment, which would be tailored according to the situation. What is the cost of hiring an educational psychologist? All maintained schools in the UK have a link EP that works directly with schools; you may be able to request that your child sees their school EP. However, this can sometimes prove difficult, as schools may have different priorities. Tutorfair have tried to make this service more accessible to you so as to make the most of your child’s tutoring experience. You access my service through any of the following forms: What has been the proudest moment in your job? That is a tough one! I don’t have one particular moment… but I feel its the moments where I’ve realised that my involvement has had a positive impact on a young person’s life. It may be on their learning, behaviour or their wellbeing and enjoyment school, and/or learning. However I do feel a sudden surge of happiness and pride when a parent has turned to me and said “thank you” - thank you for a change that may be insignificant to the whole world but means the world to that family. Ultimately its when I’ve realised that through my involvement (in part or fully) the world of learning has come alive for that young person! Do you have an amazing hidden talents? I do! Its an amazing hidden talent of being able to sing off tune â€" unfortunately for my poor friends and family its not always that hidden! Stephanie is a D.Ed.Psy, Cpsychol HCPC registered.  To view her profile - please click here

Improve Your GPA by Training Your Brain

Improve Your GPA by Training Your Brain Improving Academic Performance Have you ever caught yourself being too critical of your abilities in a given area? Students in particular can be their own worst enemies. They don’t realize how powerful an influence mindset can be on day-to-day actions. In reality, what we think about ourselves and our abilities will determine what we can achieve, especially academically. In fact, there’s evidence that, if you believe you aren’t good at standardized tests, or aren’t very good at math, your brain is actually looking for ways to reinforce that belief, so that it can put the belief on autopilot, and spend more of its energy figuring things out that it’s not sure of. So, let’s talk about the power of thinking differently to improve your performance in class, standardized exams, or undergraduate and graduate institutions. We call this phenomenon the cycle of perpetual same-ness, which is a term and concept we borrowed from Dana Wilde, creator of the Mind-Aware brand. So-called facts and ideas that you think about yourself might very well be holding you back in ways that you don’t realize. Your thoughts may be reinforcing unsupported, mostly negative assumptions regarding your abilities that, paradoxically, your brain naturally wants to keep reinforcing, even though they negatively affect your performance. This occurs in a sequence of reinforcing steps over the course of months or years. Step 1: It begins with an event in the actual world. At some point, some specific event causes you to react and begin to believe something about yourself. For example, in second grade, you do a math exercise in class and get it wrong. Immediately, you wonder if you’re “bad” at math. You look around and notice that all of your friends in class are smirking, and you have trouble following your teacher’s explanation of why your answer is wrong. Step 2: This is followed by a reaction, and a conscious belief in your mind. You consciously think about the situation, and conclude that you must not be good at math. Not only did you get the question wrong, the teacher tried to explain it to you, and still you couldn’t understand. It seemed clear that everyone else understood. It seems apparent that the other students had an easier time with the question. They are better at math than you. Step 3: Eventually this belief enters your unconscious mind, and becomes part of the lens through which you view the world, affecting how you behave and reaffirming the belief. That initial run-in with math may happen a few more times. Perhaps by chance, or perhaps because your confidence with math has eroded a bit. Eventually, you decide that yes, you aren’t good at math, and that belief slips into your unconscious mind. It is just part of who you are. Being bad at math is a little frustrating, and uncomfortable to think about at first. But, you resign yourself to not being a math person. After all, you’ve been told we all have different talents, and people that are good at math may not be good at things in which you excel. After you come to believe that you’re just generally not good at math, your brain may try to fit its internal subconscious belief into the external world around you. So you’re going to find yourself automatically reaffirming your belief that you are bad at math again and again through behaving in a way that will endorse it (i.e., by not studying very hard or much, by avoiding difficult math problems that build math skills, etc.). The brain is trying to make sense of the world efficiently and effectively. Why would the brain work like this? Imagine the first time you rode a bike. Your mind was intently focused on every step of the process, putting your feet on the pedals, moving one foot forward, then the other, keeping your balance, grasping the handle bars. If you had to consciously go through all of that every time you rode a bike, it would get pretty overwhelming and you’d have trouble productively thinking about other things while riding that bike. The way our brains work, we have to constantly take a lot of information and put it into our subconscious to make room to bring in new observations. That’s why you can easily ride a bike or drive somewhere you’ve been a million times without thinking about it. Your brain has already catalogued it into your subconscious so that you don’t have to actively think about it to make room for new things. Why is this relevant to you or your child’s academic success? Let’s say, once again, you get a bad grade on that math test. We have the tendency to then say to ourselves, “I’m bad at math”, especially after witnessing other kids excelling. That opinion sticks with you until it becomes a fact. You do poorly on another test because of your already existing low confidence, and the cycle perpetuates itself. You need to break that cycle. Just as you stop thinking about how to ride a bike after the first few times, you stop thinking about how badly you believe you are at math and it becomes a part of who you are. From now on, your brain rejects any thoughts that you would rather be good at math or the possibility that you could be a natural with numbers. Your brain rejects these ideas in an attempt to make your daily life easier and go about it with as little stress as possible. You continue believing that you are lousy at math because it’s effortless. You form these beliefs early on in life, they influence your personality, your personality influences your behavior, and you grow old always ‘knowing’ you were never a math person. And, surprisingly, you’re completely comfortable with that because your brain automatically accepts it as fact due to your early experience and observations of others’ experiences around you. However, in reality, you can train your brain to behave differently by breaking that cycle. How can you do this? There are a variety of ways to go about breaking this cycle. Here are some options: Actively question your own assumptions about your abilities. Use positive “self-talk” in place of negative self-talk. If you catch yourself saying “I’m horrible at math” consciously stop yourself and just say “I have the potential to become much better at math than I currently think I am” Choose one academic area that you don’t consider a strength, and devote an extra hour per week to practicing in that area. All you need to do is apply practice - the right kind of practice - to a new belief that you can improve your math skills, or English skills, or creative skills, or whatever it may be that you seem to lack natural talent in. It is up to you to decide whether you are going to be a math person or not. It is up to each of us to decide where we place our passion and our focus and our hard work; don’t let your brain’s attempt at efficiency stop you from becoming great at something, or just getting generally better grades in school and higher scores on standardized tests.

Thinking in a Foreign Language Made Easy

Thinking in a Foreign Language Made Easy Thinking in a Foreign Language Made Easy We’ve all heard that thinking in a foreign language is a sign of  real fluency.But I bet you havent heard that its the  fifth key language skill  that all learners must developâ€"falling right in line with speaking, listening, reading and writing.But is thinking really a skill?Yes, yes it is.After all, thinking is a constant and intimate process. If you can think in a language, surely you must have assimilated the language to such an extent that it’s now a part of you.You’re no longer translating from your native language to the new one. Thats why someone who thinks in their target language will speak faster  and more smoothly, and they won’t have any lag when they’re trying to understand something.Sure, all of that is true, but what people don’t often realize is that thinking in a foreign language can be its very own path to fluency, not just a result of fluency.What does this mean for you?It means that thinking in your target language is absolutely learnable. Its someth ing that you canâ€"and shouldâ€"start working on  right now. All it takes is some practice! Just like speaking, listening, reading and writing. And the best part? Thinking is naturally the root of all those other skills, so you’ll see them all improve drastically in turn.Here, were going to show you how to make this happen. Thinking in a Foreign Language Made Easy1. Translate Your ThoughtsYou could have thought of this one, right? Sure, it seems like the most obvious step to take, but not everyone does it. Some people are very visual or quantitative, meaning they dont have streams of words constantly going through their brains.If you don’t already narrate your life in your head, then start doing it consciously! This kind of active exercise is where you’ll get the most practice.When you remember conversations, translate. When you think about your daily schedule, translate. When you’re cursing the weather, your neighbors, the long line at the grocery store… translate!Pract ical StepsIs this easier said than done? Here are some mini-steps you can take to start working toward narrating your life in your target language.If you’re a beginner, try simply taking some time out of the day to describe what’s around you. When you see a tree, you could think “tree” in your target language. If the correct word for tree isnt coming to you, think “green,” “wood” or anything else that can describe it. Same goes for buildings, animals, clothing, whatever. If you’re really limited in terms of vocab, you could even count people, animals or objects in your head. Anything helps!Soon enough, though, you’ll graduate to wanting to translate two-word phrases and beyond. When you’re able to start doing this, you’ll want to double check everything you’re translating, either with a native speaker or by googling the phrase with quotation marks to see if lots of native speakers are phrasing it just like you are. (Hint: If you get less than 1000 hits or h its that include only learners’ dictionaries and forums, you probably have something funky going on.)If you can’t figure out how to say what you’re thinking, make up an approximation that you’re still absolutely sure is 100 percent correct. Because you’re thinking much, much more than youre speaking or writing, it can be easy to fall into bad habitsâ€"thats why double checking your language usage is still key. Concrete nouns, verbs and adjectives are quite easy to translate, but idiomatic phrases get trickier, so youll want to  be especially sure that you’re using the correct idioms and expressions all the time.2. Start Using Monolingual DictionariesNow we’re getting to less direct but oh-so-essential steps to making the language yours.A monolingual dictionary is just what it sounds likeâ€"instead of translating your target language into your native language and  vice versa, you’re looking up a target-language word and getting a target-language definition, just like when you pick up a dictionary to check a word in your native language.Using a monolingual dictionary can mark an important step in your language learning journey because it means that you’re using the language itself to learn.A small caveat, however: Monolingual dictionaries are most useful if you try them out at the mid- to high-intermediate stage when you can already understand a mainstream novel or follow formal news radio. Otherwise, youll spend a lot of time looking up words in the definitions of other wordsâ€"though that can be a valuable exercise, too.You’ll be pretty amazed at how monolingual dictionaries help you think in the language. While studying, you’ll no longer be translating back and forth. Consciously using a monolingual dictionary while filling out SRS flashcards,  reading novels or working through a textbook will pay off in all your other skill areas. Youll even start to think in terms of the language itself, rather than  only within the framework of your n ative language.Practical StepsFirst of all, find a good monolingual dictionary! WordReference has a great online Spanish-Spanish dictionary (plus monolingual options in many other languages).  I’ve personally used Larousse for French. Guoxuedashi is a good example for Chinese. Searching “dictionary” in your target language will land you with something, but quality is pretty important, so try asking other learners on sites like Quora or Language Learners’ Forum.Now what? Monolingual dictionaries work great when paired with sentence flashcards on SRS. Thats rightâ€"each flashcard will have a whole sentence on the front, and then you can use  your monolingual dictionary to define words you don’t know on the backs of your cards. You can embed definitions if there are words you don’t know in the original definitions.  Check out the blog  All Japanese All the Time  for a  complete explanation  (and a great post on monolingual dictionaries!).  This unconventional approach to fl ashcards  is a great way to learn vocabulary and grammar in context.If the definition is impossible to understand (think: definition for “oak” or “ladder”… simple concepts with confusing, convoluted definitions), paste in an image so that you get the meaning without any interference from English!3. Write in a JournalBecause journaling is writing down your thoughts, it gets you into the habit  of thinking in your target language, especially if youre finding thinking itself to be difficult at first.Basically, it’s just another way to practice Step #1, but it’s slower and you’re in one spot so you can look things up. Its also a good option if youre busy most of the time and dont have the freedom to glaze over and think purposefully in your target language. It doubles as writing practice, too!I discovered this myself when practicing writing in Spanishâ€"I found myself thinking in Spanish for some time after I completed a quick writing session and put down my pen. Spendin g some time deliberately formulating thoughts in Spanish definitely got me into that “zone” of thinking in my target language.Practical StepsTry writing a daily monologue. This can include whatever’s on your mind! Stuff about your work, about your familyâ€"it doesn’t matter. Opinions work well, too, because you might have a lot to say about them. You can just keep a diary in your target language!Get corrections and feedback from natives and learners on  services like italki. On italki, you can even hire a private tutor to work with you one on one, to get the best feedback possible. No matter how you get them, corrections will help you avoid writing things down wrong and cementing bad habits in your mind.Despite the importance of staying away from bad habits, I recommend keeping a private, hard copy journal on good stationery. It’s a great break away from Internet-heavy language learning, and the privacy gives you free reign to write about whatever you want!4. Read More Fir st Person LiteratureReading is so important when it comes to learning a language. If you read books written in the first person, you’ll see direct benefits when it comes to thinking in the language.Obviously, first person books give you the main character’s thoughtsâ€"you get to read someone else’s thoughts so that you can think your own! How cool is that?For all those hard-to-translate idioms and phrases from Step #1, you’ll get solutions from books. You’ll learn how native speakers express abstract concepts, which vocab they use and how they use it.Practical StepsGet some young adult fiction, stat!  Why young adult? Because fiction aimed at that age group loves first person perspective right now, and the language is casual and very realistic. Even if you’re not into reading in that age group normally, I highly recommend you check it out for this purpose (and you might find some new favorite books while you’re at it).As always, translations of books you’ve already r ead work wonderfully because you already have that crucial context that makes understanding a target language so much easier. But if you’re at a loss for what to find, I recommend translations of the Percy Jackson  books or The Hunger Games.  Both are popular (and thus widely translated) and both have fun stories that will keep you engaged.To find the translated titles of these books, simply translate the Wikipedia page into your target language. Then you can search for the title on Amazon!Commit to reading 20 minutes a day to get into the habit of thinking in your target language. It won’t be long before you start remembering phrases you see over and over, but to speed things up, dust off that SRS once again. Enter the sentences or phrases you think you might want to use in your own thoughts, and over time, you won’t forget them!And that’s that! With these four steps, you’ll get past all that clunky translating you’ve been doing in your head.You’ll be well on your way to thinking in your target language and making it your own.Once you’ve gotten the hang of thinking in your language, the rest is smooth sailing!

Sharpen your study skills

Sharpen your study skills It's one thing knowing that you need to study, but do you actually know how to do it? Study skills are a relatively new addition to the curriculum, and indeed they may still not be taught in all schools. If you went to school some time ago then you may not even know what they are. Study skills are the techniques that everybody needs to learn effectively and to manage their own learning. Study skills can be applied to any sort of learning and by learners of any age. Whether it's a five year old doing their first piece of homework, or a 30 year old revising for professional exams, everyone can benefit from study skills. It is particularly important to learn study skills in this day and age not just because of the huge amount of information that we are presented with: we are also given this information in many different formats, and we need to know how to process and organise this. For example, you may be learning a language and this would involve watching videos, doing written exercises and reading newspapers in that language on the internet. These are three different multimedia ways of learning and can all be approached in various effective ways with the help of a study skills tutor.

5 Ways to Learn about Art this Summer - TutorNerds

5 Ways to Learn about Art this Summer - TutorNerds 5 Ways to Learn about Art this Summer The summer provides a great opportunity to experience local arts and culture throughout California. Students will primarily focus on academics during the school year so they should have a chance to open up their imagination and be creative during the summer. There are tons of different places for kids to learn about art ranging from traditional art history to interactive arts and crafts. Many young students who have a chance to maintain a creative outlet will end up lowering their stress and improving their concentration, which can help them immensely once the school year starts up again. 1. Take a class at a craft store There are several arts and crafts stores throughout Southern California that offer fun activity classes for kids. In addition to being creative, kids will get to take home their creation and share it with the whole family. Arts and crafts classes can serve as an excellent alternative to a full day camp because it allows younger kids the opportunity to socialize and learn something new during their summer break. Some stores that offer classes include Michaels and Jo-Ann Fabrics (READ: 5 Great Reasons to Volunteer this Summer). 2. Have a ceramics party Another popular hands-on art activity is to paint ceramics. Southern California has several places that have pre-made ceramic sculptures that kids can glaze to create a fun and imaginative object. Families can get together and have an impromptu party where everybody can socialize and just have fun. Additionally, local art centers offer kids a chance to build a vase or sculpture from scratch. Some local options include the Irvine Fine Arts Center and Color Me Mine. 3. Visit a local art museum Another great way for kids to experience art over the summer is to visit one of the many local art museums in Southern California. Many art museums have family-friendly exhibits that are interactive and encourage a kids imagination to soar. Older students can learn about art history as well while they tour the galleries and view art from medieval times to present. Also, some art museums offer group tours or summer day camps where kids can enjoy the atmosphere of the artwork but also participate in creative hands-on activities. This is a great opportunity for a young artist who doesnt have as much time as they would like to participate in art during the school year. Local art museums include the San Diego Museum of Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (READ: 5 Awesome Educational Activities to do on a Summer Road Trip). 4. Get out the sidewalk chalk Playing with sidewalk chalk is one of the easiest forms of summer art. Kids only need a pack of chalk and a friend to create a gigantic and wonderful masterpiece in the comfort of their driveway. This has been a summer activity for kids for generations, and it encourages unstructured socialization, sharing, and working as a team. As an bonus the sidewalk chalk is very easy to clean up with just a little bit of water. 5. Have a picnic in the sculpture garden Several Southern California area art museums have a sculpture garden as part of their exhibit. Sculpture gardens can transport a young kid’s imagination to a whole new world of play and creativity as they tour these huge structures. Sculpture Gardens provide an excellent opportunity just to sit back, relax and have a picnic in this creative atmosphere. Kids dont always have to be creating something to enjoy art. Simply absorbing the artistic atmosphere can lead to an increased imagination. Balboa Park in San Diego offers a great Sculpture Garden. All blog entries, with the exception of guest bloggers, are written by Tutor Nerds. Are you an education professional? If so, email us at pr@tutornerds.com for guest blogging and collaborations. We want to make this the best free education resource in SoCal, so feel free to suggest what you would like to see us write.