Hello, readers and visitors, let me introduce myself. I am a retired American of Russian origin, now working in the position of “International Principal” at ....... Indonesia. Before my retirement in 2003 I worked in USA for several high-tech companies, the last of which was “Maxwell Technologies”, a semiconductor manufacturing company in San Diego, California, there I had a position of Radiation Testing Analyst/Engineer. I hold a Ph.D. degree in Engineering from the Academy of Sciences of Russian Federation, where I used to work many years in the area of design and testing of geophysical instruments – magnetometers, seismometers, data acquisition systems, etc. With these instruments I have traveled all over the Earth, including many countries in Europe, Asia and America, as well as 2 trips to Antarctica. I have 24 scientific papers published in international scientific magazines, and 2 scientific books translated by me from English into Russian. "The topic in question is LAPTOP COMPUTERS" "There is no lack in emotional words about modern high technologies, about how computers will help children learn easily the most complicated subjects, how the young generations will be prepared to enter the modern world, equipped with high skills and deep knowledge of every possible science and industry. It was said, that children will learn straight from kindergarten the internal structure of computers, that Internet access will help them to find quickly all necessary information, etc, etc… However, the reality is quite different, almost to the opposite. There is no need to explain that laptop computers inside the school are used almost exclusively for gaming, which occupies 99% of the laptop working time. Students play different active games – they fight with monsters, they defend Earth against alien invaders, they race cars, planes and other shooting and screaming machinery, they crawl in the caves in search of diamonds or win championships in space adventures. All this games have very bright graphics, they are accompanied by sounds, and the imagination of an 11-15 year old child is completely captured by the excitement of the game. But when the break ends, and the student must return to the real world for a lesson, some interesting things happen. First, the student is angry, because the gaming excitement was interrupted for the sake of a dull boring lesson. Naturally, this anger turns towards the teacher. The brain and the soul of the student are still fully there, in the game, and the student is absolutely incapable to think about any information related to the lesson. This mental state lasts from 10 to 30 minutes"

The Benefits Of Distance Learning

Distance Learning or ‘Home Study’ has come a long way since Isaac Pitman taught shorthand via correspondence courses in the 1840s. However the huge benefits of studying from home, or from the workplace, remain the same.

First of all, with a Distance Learning course you enjoy the freedom of being able to study in your own time and at your own pace. That’s because Distance Learning courses are carefully designed to fit in with your life.

Whether you wish to improve your life, increase your job prospects or simply study a hobby that you are interested in, more and more people are choosing to study from home as it fits in comfortably with their lifestyle.

There are many fully-accredited Distance Learning providers in the UK today (type ‘distance learning’ ‘home study’ or ‘distance education’ into Google.co.uk and you’ll find most of them), offering a huge range of interesting, educational courses available for study.

Distance Education courses available for home study can include anything from Airline Training to Art Studies, Book-keeping to Business & Management, Counseling to Child Care and Writing to Web Design. You will find courses on things like Wedding Planning and Event Management, Nail Technician, Animal Care and Behaviour…even courses such as Diet & Exercise, Forensic Science and How to Start Your Own Business. On some vocational courses you may even qualify for a career Development Loan from the government.

But you are not alone when you study from home. Distance Learning providers (or Home Learning agencies as they are sometimes called) employ professional student advisors and fully qualified tutors to mark and help you with your coursework. Most Home Study courses provide learners with an accredited diploma which helps them increase their job prospects, change their lifestyle or even start their own business.

Many Distance Learning providers offer interest free credit schemes to help students spread the cost over a period they can afford. Also look out for special discount offers.

Looking for a better job, a better future, a better life? Then take up a Distance Learning course today and change your life forever!

Course Author

Shaun L Bird
http://www.uk-open-learning.com/

by: Shaun Bird

Learning German Language: Basic Tips

There is no quick fix for learning to speak German, but there are some basic things to keep in mind that will greatly improve the pace at which you learn the new language. Learning the language in this way, you will not only learn how to communicate in German, but you will also experience the vibrant German culture. Learning to speak German will open your eyes to this incredibly interesting culture that you can only truly access by learning the language.

Who has the time or inclination to spend months learning Spanish/French/German or any other language when planning a three day visit. After learning well enough how to speak at least conversational German, my next target language is French. If you are interested in learning the German language for professional reasons, you have several options from which to choose.

What is more, there are far fewer materials available on the Internet for learning German for free, than there are for other language such as Spanish, so what you have to work with will be somewhat limited. So no matter your age, lifestyle, and potential; German is taught at all levels and Learning and mastering the German language is an investment in lasting and solid values. You can find frequently-used word lists on the internet for any language by performing searches like the following:, 1000 most used words Spanish, 1000 most used words German, 1000 most used words French, 1000 most used words Italian, 1000 most used words Portuguese You will find thousands of websites offering software, books, audio files, CDs, crossword generators, flashcard software, and other types of language-learning materials.

Learning to speak German can be one of the most enriching learning experiences that will give you so much more than just another language to converse in. Whether you are interested in learning the German language for academic reasons or professional reasons, or you are interested in learning how to speak German for a vacation, knowing another language is an intellectually and personally stimulating achievement that will open your eyes to a new culture.

by: Soli Katir

Learning German

After learning well enough how to speak at least conversational German, my next target language is French. In Swedish, word order and verb conjugation is mercifully similar to English, which makes learning it much easier than say German, which has a notoriously more complex word order and verb conjugation. Did you find those tips on learning German at home useful?

There are many excellent courses available online that utilizes some of the new learning technologies that can greatly enhance the speed at which you learn German. Everyone who wants to learn to speak German wants to learn as quickly as possible, so quick learning is a selling point for most products offered online and in stores as well. But, by using these three tips, you can incorporate learning German at home into your everyday life.

I myself spent 5 years in high school learning Japanese; however, I was able to speak much better German after just spending maybe 20 hours listening to audio cds. If you intend for your future to be in a Foreign Affairs, International Trade, Communication or National Defense role then learning to speak German is an absolute must. Who has the time or inclination to spend months learning Spanish/French/German or any other language when planning a three day visit

So no matter your age, lifestyle, and potential; German is taught at all levels and Learning and mastering the German language is an investment in lasting and solid values. As such, learning to speak German can be particularly useful when negotiating agreements or applying for jobs where speaking German will be beneficial in liaising with offices in other locations, seeking out new markets and clients or traveling and negotiating with business partners. Because Germany plays a major role in international relations, trade and commerce, politics, tourism, medicine and the Arts, learning German may lead to greater employment options including tourism, trade and commerce, the hospitality industry, medicine, diplomacy, journalism, teaching, translation and interpreting.

If you are learning German, for example, you might produce a "poem" like this:the dog - der Hundthe mouth - der Mundthe air - die Luftthe scent - der Duftto buzz - summento growl - brummenlittle - kleinclean - reinto brood - grübelnto iron - bügelnYou don"t have to worry about grammar - just definitions, pronunciations, gender, and spelling.

by: Soli Katir

Online Spanish Learning Tools

To make learning the language even easier, some web sites that offer Spanish lessons online have real audio. You can receive many of the same benefits of the other natural methods of learning Spanish with a good online course. Learning Spanish Online - Buy effective online course this is also a vital step.

Also, with online Spanish language learning programs, there is less opportunity for interaction with other people in Spanish. Learning Spanish online means less cost but still a great education. Learning Spanish Online - Find some Spanish-speaking friends on the Internet this is where all the fun starts.

There are several key benefits to learning Spanish online. Learning Spanish online is a simple process, though it does require excellent reading skills. The fact that you are learning Spanish online means that you can learn from home and you can structure your lessons to when you have time available.

For a very low cost, companies can purchase language-learning audio books online that quickly teach key employees how to speak Spanish. Ok when you start learning Spanish online you are motivated and enthusiastic. There can be mainly three reasons for learning Spanish online.

There are certain key benefits to learning to speak Spanish online. So join any of the option available to you and enjoy learning Spanish online. Learning Spanish online is very easy for all of us and we can learn the language of our choice and that too in our spare time.

In any case, when are learning Spanish online, you are better able to study at your own pace. If you want Spanish learning materials, new furniture for the den, out-of-print books, all you have to do is look online. Learning Spanish online means that you can easily and effectively learn the language right from your home yet get all of the benefits of a traditional school education. With this approach, online students build the foundation, attitudes, habits, skills and learning strategies that will help them to learn quickly the Spanish language.

by: Soli Katir

A Few Steps in Learning Spanish Online

Learning Spanish Online - Step 1: Make a plan if you really want to learn to speak Spanish you need to have a master plan which tells you exactly how you will do it. So if you’re learning at home or online, here are seven top tips to get you learning Spanish faster than you may ever have thought possible: Try to learn a little, often. Well, thanks to the Internet and all the possibilities it brings, these people can now use one of the many programs that make Spanish learning online relatively easy.

If you want Spanish learning materials, new furniture for the den, out-of-print books, all you have to do is look online. To make learning the language even easier, some web sites that offer Spanish lessons online have real audio. Expert language tutors administer all the courses online so you can be sure that you are learning correct Spanish.

You just have to trust your source though, with the tight competition online, there are already many website willing enough to give away learning Spanish techniques. Save time - While learning to speak Spanish online you save a lot of time. The Internet truly makes the learning of Spanish online a pleasure.

Another advantage to Spanish learning online is that there are tremendous resources available on the Internet and many of these programs use these resources, including video, audio, and chat, that can be beneficial to improving your language skills. Learning to speak Spanish online is very easy. Learning to speak Spanish online can be to your advantage if you are planning a trip to Mexico, Spain or another Spanish-speaking country.

While you might find some free initial lessons online, you must take note of the fact that learning how to speak Spanish is a prized and sought-after skill, and therefore you cannot expect to find a free resource that will really give you everything you need to know in order to learn Spanish. Many people are afraid of making mistakes when learning Spanish online. Because of the interactive nature of the Internet, learning Spanish online offers many of the best parts of other choices for learning Spanish.

by: Soli Katir

At First For Learning Mandarin Chinese Language

In the business world needless to say, speaking and listening are the most important skills in order to share your idea.

Let me put my concept straight if you know what you want to converse and you know lots of Chinese words, then you can easily create sentences in Chinese!

Well that's what you will be getting from this website

Free learning more with sound at http://www.easy2chinese.com

You might be asking yourself this question How can I read and learn Chinese without knowing any Chinese's letter? My answer is "You can start by reading PIN YIN language. PIN YIN is the language which is used by people who learn Chinese around the world.

My piece of advice is First of all, you should know about 3 things in Chinese. They are Grammar, Alphabet, and Vowel and Pitch Tone .

Somehow, if you're bored out of your brain with the Grammar, you can just pass the step and get straight to the conversations. By clicking the sound buttons which will show you every word, you can try memorizing them all. This way is the easiest and most enjoyable way to learn Chinese. And at any certain time in the future where you feel that you want to learn it profoundly, you can come back to the Beginning. Make your own choice of learning! learning Mandarin Chinese free at http://www.easy2chinese.com

by: Wang Liguang

Learning Tips for Students

Long ago, there was a time, when parents told children to read slowly and loudly to understand everything they read.

A lot of things have changed. Today's children have bigger syllabi to learn. Now, learning experts and teachers ask students to read faster and grasp important points.

Here are a few tips for students who have a lot to learn, but very little time.

Make a Timetable

Your timetable should have separate time for eating, playing games, exercise, reading newspaper and study materials. You should not only make a timetable, but also should stick to it.

Give priority to leisure and games in the afternoon, but separate early morning time for studies. Make sure you read all the class notes before you go to bed.

While allotting time to different subjects, allot more time to difficult subjects. You need only less time for the subjects that are easier for you to learn.

Taking Notes

Taking notes is an important part of learning. You need to take lecture notes (classroom notes) and notes from your textbook.

- Go through the lessons on the day before your teacher would teach it in the class. This gives you an idea of what to expect.

- Write down important ideas as bullet points. One word or a phrase is enough to include an idea.

- Give prominence to important ideas by underlining them in your notes.

- Leave lot of space in each face of paper. This will help you add new points later.

- Organize your notes into separate files. Each subject should have a different file. Label the outer page of the file with name of the subject and your teacher. You should also neatly organize each file according to chapters and topics.

- Read the notes (important points) in the night, before going to bed. Read only once. This helps you memorize the lessons clearly.

- While taking notes from a book, label the name of the book and author. Also, note the page number next to your notes. It makes it easy for you to refer to the book three or six months later.

Reading Techniques

You need to read fast and grasp more things. Here are some pointers to fast reading.

- Note the name of the book and its author in the reading log.

- Take a quick look from cover to cover to identify the important chapters.

- Take a quick look over the chapter, identify the important points, and note them down.

- Read the lesson fast. To increase the speed of learning, pass your eyes through the top of the letters and not through the centre. For example, while reading, pass your eyes through the area where the dot above the letter i appears and not through the loop of the letter o.

- Don't take notes while reading.

- Don't go back to read a word or a sentence. If you don't get the idea of the subject, you can come back to the sentence after you finish reading the chapter. Never look up a dictionary while in the middle of reading a chapter. Refer dictionary only if you don't automatically understand the meaning of a word after finishing the paragraph and the chapter.

- Note down the points you remember. Now check if you have taken all the important points, with another fast reading.

How to increase memory

Try to understand completely what you read or hear.

Repeat what you hear or read in your mind.

Make notes of what you learn at school or read from books. A single word can help you remember a whole idea.

Give number to the points.

Don't try to bring to memory all the things you have learned. Learn the technique of bringing to memory one thing at a time.

How to increase concentration

Mental concentration is important to memory and better learning.

Stick to your reading timetable. You should separate a specific place and specific time of the day for reading.

Sit erect. It increases your concentration.

Don't allow disturbances like phone calls, music etc while reading.

Concentrate on the lessons you read. Don't think about the next book you have to read while you are reading a book. A better way is to make an order of the books and lessons to read and arrange them in order before you start reading.

Immediately after reading a paragraph, try to recall the idea from that paragraph. This helps you concentrate more on your reading.

Ideal conditions for reading/learning

A silent location that you don't use for sleeping, eating or leisure purposes is the most ideal condition for reading.

Install a fluorescent tube light in the reading room. This helps mild light to fall evenly all over the room. Don't sit in the darkness while reading. If you use table lamp, arrange it towards your left if you are a right-hander.

Arrange the papers, pencils, boards and books on the table before you start reading.

Never try to read while you are tired or ill.

Eat healthy food rich in carbohydrates, proteins and fibres. Replace fast food, pizza, burger, chocolates, ice creams, etc with fresh fruits, whole grain food items (like chapatti), milk, fruit juices, etc.

Exercise daily. Swimming, cycling and jogging are good for students. Practise yoga. It increases concentration and willpower.

Don't watch TV. Instead, play some games in the outdoors. While TV makes you dumb, the games make you smarter.

Read lot of books. Read classic stories, fables (like Aesop fables, Panchatantra stories, etc), etc. Don't spend too much time on comic cartoons.

by: Dev Sri

Talking Dictionaries And Language Learning

Is it worth the extra money to purchase an elecgtronic dictionary with sound?

The following comments have specific reference to learning Spanish but I believe they are relevant to the learning of other languages as well.

Some people (curiously and unfortunately, not all) who learn a new language are interested in achieving a good accent in their new language. Nevertheless, it is not well known that there are three components of the accent of a given language: the rhythm or intonation (the music) of the language, the links between the sounds, syllables, and words in an utterance, and lastly, the proper pronunciation of the sounds of the language. The lesson here is that the formation of the vowels and consonants of a language is only part of the task of learning that language. However, it is where most learners begin. Let’s look at the place of the pronunciation of the vowels and consonants of Spanish.

Many language experts believe that the intonation and linkage contribute more to speaking like a native than does the proper pronunciation of all the sounds. This can be seen in the manner in which the people of San José, Cost Rica pronounce the Spanish letter “ere”. For some strange reason, which I have not been able, to track down historically or linguistically, they pronounce the word “arroz” just like a Gringo would. Their double “r” is not trilled as in most Spanish speaking countries; it is not velar as it is in much of Puerto Rico. It is pronounced just as an untrained American would pronounce it. Yet, the person hearing this “error” has no doubt that the persons speaking are native speakers of Spanish. The flow of their speech is perfect and the listener just thinks, “I wonder why they pronounce that word that way…” In other words, often the pronunciation of the sounds is the least important element of speaking well.

Yet pronunciation is the place where the learner should begin. Habits of bad pronunciation once ingrained become automatic and are hard to eliminate, while errors of intonation and linkage can more easily be consciously detected and corrected in later stages of the learning process.

The person learning Spanish has one advantage over the person learning another language. The advantage is that most the vowels and consonants of Spanish are close to those of English, and their pronunciation is perfectly regular.

First of all, the vowels sounds represented by the 5 letters, a, e, i, and u, have five sounds. That’s right, five! It is not like the case of the many English vowel sounds represented by the same letters, such as rough, cough, though, and through, or the case of the same sound represented by different letters in the words, ache, weigh, pay, hey, jail, and tape.

The major difference is that the vowel sounds in Spanish are pure; they do not have the little “tail’ that English vowels have.

The consonant sounds in Spanish are largely similar to those of English. This does not mean that they are all the same! There are differences with the “l”, “b” and “d” sounds. The main difference with some consonants in Spanish is that they are not “aspirated”, that is they are not made with a puff of air, as are those of English. If you put the back of your hand in front of your mouth when you say “Papa” or “tonto” in Spanish you should not feel the same movement of air that you feel when you say “Pope” or “tent” in English.

These differences are real but fairly manageable by the learner who wants to start off right in Spanish. Once the differences are known they can be worked on. For example, it is relatively easy to leave off the English glide at the end of the Spanish vowels.

Progress can be made with written descriptions of the Spanish sounds. The sounds can be described by comparing them with close English words. And the ear can be trained by listening to native speakers. There are many speech samples on the Internet and most large cities in the United States have at least one Television channel transmitting in Spanish.

All of the above has the purpose of leading into the issue of the value of a “talking” dictionary. Many people who want to learn Spanish think that they need a talking dictionary. Often the learner thinks that this will provide an advantage in learning the language. However, it is a mistake to invest in a talking dictionary. The very best are very expensive and most of them, even the most expensive, have such small speakers that it is impossible to hear the fine points of the pronunciation of Spanish.

The learner very soon knows how to pronounce Spanish since the rules are 100% regular. What is need is the effort to actually pronounce the sounds. Many learners are ashamed of imitating the sounds of the language they are learning and they speak the new language with the same intonation, linkage, and pronunciation of their own native language.

The end result of the learner’s pronunciation (as of his or her overall accent) will be the result of his or her own ability and of the effort expended. The talking dictionary does not contribute anything to the equation. A good electronic Dictionary such as the Oxford Spanish English Dictionary, found at www.LeerEsPoder.com/dicOxford.htm , will be all the learner needs.

by: Frank Gerace