By Douglas Brown

Each learner and each learning experience is unique; yet educators can identify patterns in the learning process. Designing effective learning requirements requires a clear understanding of, and attention to, both commonalities and differences in the learners and the learning.

Since ancient times, the learning process has been a subject of study for philosophers, educators, and scientists. This curiosity continues to drive forward the methodologies used in a classroom. One major change in educational philosophy brought on by this research is the shift in paradigm from a teacher-centered classroom to a learner-centered classroom. This shift makes the students (learners) more responsible for their education, forcing them to draw upon previously learned skills in order to learn new materiel. Gone, then, is the simple task of memorization; replaced with an active, educational process. How does a teacher create a learner-centered classroom? Simple; by following these eight suggestions (the first four given now, the second four given in my next installment), a teacher can not only create a learner-centered classroom, but also shift his/her classroom position from simple lecturer to a knowledge facilitator.

Step 1: Effective learners link new information to prior knowledge.

Meaningful and lasting learning is a cumulative process that connects previously learned material with new knowledge. Background knowledge creates a context and foundation for new material. Unsuccessful students often do not have the skills for linking previous learning to new information. They often lack essential retrieval strategies. Prior knowledge and experience remains inaccessible for these students.

The instructional challenge is to help students get in touch with what they already know. Learners need a repertoire of strategies to help them access this knowledge, as well as strategies for organizing new information into patterns that will help them make connections and integrate new understandings. Some strategies that can aid in this process include (but are not limited to):

1. Visualizations of past learning experiences.

2. Quick (five minute) reviews.

3. Brainstorming and grouping.

4. Venn Diagrams.

5. Semantic mapping.

6. Group or class discussions.

Step 2: Effective learners engage with process and context simultaneously.

Motivating students’ mental engagement is critical to successful education. Engaging instruction is student-centered, designed to instill a sense of wonderment, build self-esteem, and foster creativity. Open-ended experiences, with no “right or wrong” answers allow students to practice generating alternatives to simple memorization of facts, and choose actions and answers based on judgment and not just what they think the teacher wants to hear. In this way, context comes alive as knowledge and skills are applied in context actively and interactively.

When students are given a choice in the when, what, and how of learning, they are more likely to embrace learning goals and increase their commitment to learning tasks. This idea is particularly important to students who feel they have little control over many aspects of their lives. Teachers who provide flexibility will most often get a higher level of responsibility from their students. Methods to accomplish this include:

1. Choices in assignment time frames.

2. Various levels of difficulty for assignments.

3. Different formats for final products.

4. Different methods for task completion.

5. Options for either individual or peer work.

Step 3: Effective learners access and organize information.

The ability to organize information is fundamental to effective thinking and learning. Skilled learners are able to organize information by recognizing and developing patterns both “in and out of the box.”

Learning-focused teachers move from isolated skills lessons to learning strategies lessons, sending the message to students that information gains value when we understand it and apply it. In this way, students gain a tool kit for building, shaping, and connecting information. Teaching students various organizational tools (along with constantly modeling them) provides cues for thinking, frameworks for accessing and retaining information, and the transfer of learning to other settings. This tool kit can contain:

1. Venn diagrams.

2. Story maps.

3. Concept maps.

4. Graphically displayed patterns and connections.

5. Sequence charts.

Step 4: Effective learners require international and external mediation.

In a meditative learning environment, open-ended questions are the norm and both praise and criticism are limited. Students are encouraged to articulate “thinking in progress” as they experiment with both ideas and materials. The goal here is to transfer the external meditative voice of the teacher to the inner voice of the student. This self-talk and student-to-student talk guides the work on topics at hand and provides ways of focusing on and thinking about the materials at hand.

Meditative teachers and their learners mutually develop challenging goals and criteria for success for units and projects. Reflection and self-assessment along the way are critical components of such classrooms. To accomplish internal and external mediation, these tools help:

1. Journals (single-subject and general thought).

2. Learning logs.

The concept of learning and teaching has come a long way from the simple lecture. Teachers now need to take a proactive hand in aiding and developing the learning process as well as teaching students how to learn. Unfortunately, most standard four-week TEFL courses do not include this kind of information during their learning and certification process. It is my hope that these first four suggestions for creating a learning-centered classroom augment your prior knowledge gained through training and experience.

About the Author

Douglas Brown is a moderator and writer for http://www.totalesl.com, a free resource helping the ESL/EFL community in Asia and the Middle East for jobs, resumes, schools, resources, yellow pages, classifieds, information and lessons.

TotalESL.com-First Stop for Your Second Langauge Needs

By Steve Kaufmann

English is the dominant language of the Internet. The Internet will in turn become the dominant place to learn English. The way languages are learned is changing, and these changes are accelerating.

The Internet is constantly evolving. It has created a dynamic environment for the communication and the management of information. The Internet has brought with it new forms of social interaction without boundaries. Technologies like MP3, iPod, Skype and PDAs, as well as blogs and podcasts, are making an immense variety of communication, information, literature, news and other language content available anywhere and anytime. A cascade of developments is causing interactive communities to spring up based on common interests, without regard to geography. This is going to stand traditional language learning on its head. English dominates on the Internet in areas ranging from entertainment to science. If you want to learn English, this represents an unprecedented opportunity.

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You can access English language content on any subject and learn from it. You can connect with English speaking people who share your interests. You can do this via e-mail, through blogs, podcasts and forums. You can link up with friends or even language tutors using free Internet telephony. The World Wide Web is the ultimate dynamic classroom and learning community.

Over the next few years the Internet will take over from the classroom as the place of choice to learn English: Here are some of the reasons.

The Primacy of Input

If you want to learn English or any other language, you need input, meaningful, interesting and at your level. Today language learning experts emphasize input over output, listening and reading over grammar study. Before you can use the language, you must get used to the language. You don’t need to be in a hurry to speak English, and you don’t need to speak it all the time to improve.

“Real language acquisition develops slowly, and speaking skills emerge significantly later than listening skills, even when conditions are perfect. The best methods are therefore those that supply ‘comprehensible input’ in low anxiety situations, containing messages that students really want to hear. These methods do not force early production in the second language, but allow students to produce when they are ‘ready’, recognizing that improvement comes from supplying communicative and comprehensible input, and not from forcing and correcting production.” Stephen Krashen.

When you learned your own language as a child, you didn’t begin by speaking. You began by listening. New language learners can benefit from a “silent period”. During the “silent period” you can absorb the language. You need not force yourself to speak it until you are confident. Even if you are an intermediate learner, extensive reading and listening will increase your familiarity with the language, enrich your vocabulary, and develop confidence. This is more beneficial than studying grammar.

While listening and reading often and regularly are vital, the content must be meaningful. Learning content should be interesting and comprehensible to you. This means that you, not the teacher, should choose what to learn from. The Internet allows unlimited choice of fascinating authentic content. The traditional textbook cannot compete.

Motivated learners used to spend their time in book stores looking for graded content that would help them in their language studies. Yet, inevitably a lot of this material could only be found in uninteresting textbooks and readers. But today authentic content on a variety of subjects is only a click away. This is especially the case for the person who wants to learn English.

This range of material is made accessible to learners, since new systems can grade it for difficulty in a way that is customized to your specific vocabulary. You can learn English by listening to and reading on subjects that interest you and you won’t find it too difficult.

Vocabulary over Grammar

In order to achieve fluency in English you need to be comfortable using at least 10,000 words. On the Internet, you can choose appropriate content to listen to and read. The content can be graded to your level. But what about learning and remembering all those new words. We know how quickly we forget words when we look them up in a dictionary. And there are so many words to learn. Fortunately, the Internet makes it a lot easier to learn vocabulary.

On the Internet you can use online dictionaries to look up words instantly (i.e., Babylon). There are learning software programs which create customized word lists for you as you learn words. This software can help you accumulate example sentences for these words from the familiar contexts you are listening to and reading. You can set vocabulary goals and follow your progress towards these goals.

The Internet helps you to efficiently accumulate vocabulary based on lively and interesting language content, customized to your needs. This combination of vocabulary learning efficiency and limitless content is only part of why the Internet will become the place of choice to learn English.

Learning in Chunks

Vocabulary does not only mean words. It also means phrases, or chunks of words. Phrases are groups of words that come together in a way that is natural to the native speaker but not always to the learner. Michael Lewis has been one of the pioneers in pointing out that you learn language in chunks, or lexical phrases. The Internet and the computer make this easier.

On the computer, you can grab language chunks as you are listening and reading and collect them in an easy to use database. Phrases and chunks of the language can be linked to larger contexts, which are already familiar to you. You don’t need to rely on dictionary definitions and rote memory. You can review these chunks of language in short fragment form, in sentence form and as part of a larger context that you can listen to and read many times.

In this way you gradually develop an instinctive sense for how words are used. This is the natural way to learn correct usage. It is more effective than trying to remember and apply grammar rules.

As you build up your confidence in English through regular input and word and phrase learning, you will no doubt want to talk to native speakers. Once again the Internet is the ideal environment, offering more opportunities than the classroom.

Better Tutors on the Internet

The Internet connects people who are looking for each other. A quick search on a few professional web sites will locate native English speaker writers, editors, or professionals from all over the world, who are interested in acting as language tutors and coaches. If you want to learn English, you can interact with this outstanding pool of qualified people with a wide range of experience and knowledge.

You do not need teachers with specialized linguistics degrees if you want to learn English on the Internet. The new learning paradigm does not require teachers who are trained in the details of grammar and language teaching. Instead the important qualifications for a tutor on the Internet are; an interest in people, an ability to use one’s native language well, and rich experience to share with learners in English.

On the Internet you can choose the tutor whose accent and interests match your own.

Meaningful Communication

Technologies like Skype make conversations via computer easy to organize and the communication is free of charge. You can get your friends together for a chat or make an appointment with a tutor.

It is like having lessons on demand. You can schedule one-on-one or four-on-one discussions via Skype with the tutor of your choice. You can invite your friends to join, or make new friends from different countries and cultures. Tutors need only provide advice and encouragement as well as feedback, at your convenience. There is no need for grammar instruction or quizzes, since you are learning the language naturally through your input activities.

In the relaxing atmosphere of Internet online discussion, learners and tutors become friends and form a community of people helping and encouraging each other. These are not stressful lessons. They are pleasant opportunities to communicate. You can record these conversations or produce your own oral essays and file them or share them. In this way you can keep track of your progress as you learn English on the Internet.

To really improve your accuracy of expression it is important to write. The correction of written texts can be efficiently organized on the Internet and integrated with your input and speaking activities. Systems can keep a permanent record of both your original texts and the corrected texts. These records can include details on the nature of your mistakes and the tutor’s notes. Tutors can make audio recordings of your corrected writing for you to listen to, in order to reinforce the learning of the corrected phrases. The writing can range from casual writing for a blog to serious academic essays.

Motivation and Enjoyment

Learning on the Internet is effective because it is fun. The Internet avoids the tension and boredom of the classroom and increases your motivation. You choose the content, vocabulary is easy to learn, progress is constantly measured, and you become part of a community.

There are already blogging communities with learners and tutors sharing their experiences. People come together from all over the world to help each other. Bloggers may post in their own language, or in English. English becomes the medium of communication among people of different cultural backgrounds. Blogging isn’t an assignment, but a genuine, enjoyable, and meaningful activity. A contagious enthusiasm will keep you learning. It is not like studying. It’s more like making new friends and discovering new cultures through language.

Efficiency

The Internet introduces a higher level of efficiency in language learning. Efficiency is essential because it creates intensity. It takes a high degree of intensity to transform yourself into a fluent speaker of another language.

There is also another reason why efficiency is important. You have a right to a decent return on your investment of time and money in language learning. If you want to learn English, efficiency is important, yet it is often ignored in traditional language teaching.

“I spent over 14 months studying English in a school. It was a waste of money for Canadian government and a waste of time for me.” Humberto Soto, a recent immigrant to Canada.

Traditional classroom methods are not as efficient as the Internet. It is difficult to cater to learners of different levels and interests. Stress and boredom are often the results. Many people are discouraged by their school experience, and end up convinced that they cannot learn to be fluent in a new language. They lose interest and give up.

For people who want to learn English, the Internet opens up a new world of efficient and satisfying language learning. The Internet makes possible a quality and variety of input that far exceeds the resources of a traditional classroom. Learning methodologies and communication opportunities are available to you on the Internet that the classroom cannot match. Goals can be set and achievements measured. The result is a highly integrated and enjoyable learning environment.

This new method of learning appeals to all ages. While youngsters and students are the most avid users of the Internet, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation 70% of Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 use the Internet! Similar trends are being seen in Europe and Asia.

A Learning Community, The Linguist

The Linguist is both a learning methodology and a community. It is the first language learning system developed specifically to take advantage of the possibilities offered by the Internet. It was initially developed to help people learn English. It is now being revised and expanded in order to offer other major world languages. In the future, The Linguist model has many applications for life-long education.

The explosion of new media and learning technologies via the Internet will change forever the way people learn. The Linguist system will influence how many subjects are taught. It will make it possible for people all over the world to share their knowledge, expertise and learn from each other, in many languages. Learning English is just one of many lessons we can learn on the Internet. Another one of them is to learn how to learn.

About The Author

Steve Kaufmann, CEO and Founder of The Linguist, grew up in Montreal. He obtained a Diplome from l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris in 1966 and then entered the Canadian Foreign Service, as a Trade Commissioner.

Steve was posted to Hong Kong in 1968 and then served in Japan from 1971 to 1974. In 1974 he left the diplomatic service and served in senior executive positions in the Canadian forest industry until 1987. In 1987 he founded his own company, KP Wood Ltd which today has offices in Japan, Sweden and Canada.

Steve speaks fluent Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese as well as six European languages. He wrote: The Way of the Linguist: A Language Learning Odyssey. In 2002 he established The Linguist Institute Ltd.

By M.Enamul Hoque

During the last few decades a continuing but significant move has taken place, resulting in less emphasis on teachers and teaching and greater stress on learners and learning.

This article provides an overview of key issues concerning the use of language learning strategies (LLS) in second and foreign language (L2/FL) learning and teaching

Weinstein and Mayer (1986) defined learning strategies (LS) broadly as “behaviours and thoughts that a learner engages in during learning” which are “intended to influence the learner’s encoding process”. Later Mayer (1988) more specifically defined LS as “behaviours of a learner that are intended to influence how the learner processes information”.

A good number of definitions and meanings have been used for Language learning strategies (LLS) by key figures in the field. Tarone (1983) defined a Learning strategy as “an attempt to develop linguistic and sociolinguistic competence in the target language — to incorporate these into one’s interlanguage competence”. Rubin (1987) suggests that Learning strategies “are strategies which contribute to the development of the language system which the learner constructs and affect learning directly”. O’Malley and Chamot (1990) defined Learning Strategies as “the special thoughts or behaviours that individuals use to help them comprehend, learn, or retain new information”. Oxford (1990) views that language learning strategies are the specific actions, behaviours, steps, or techniques that students (often intentionally) use to improve their progress in developing language skills. These strategies can facilitate the internalization, storage, retrieval, or use of the new language. Strategies are tools for the self-directed involvement necessary for developing communicative ability. At the same time, we should note that LLS are distinct from learning styles, which refer more broadly to a learner’s “natural, habitual, and preferred way(s) of absorbing, processing, and retaining new information and skills” Reid (1995), though there appears to be an obvious relationship between one’s language learning style and his or her usual or preferred language learning strategies.

There are a number of basic characteristics in the generally accepted view of LLS.

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• First, LLS are learner generated; they are steps taken by language learners.

• Second, LLS enhance language learning and help develop language competence, as reflected in the learner’s skills in listening, speaking, reading, or writing the L2 or FL.

• Third, LLS may be visible (behaviours, steps, techniques, etc.) or unseen (thoughts, mental processes).

Cohen (1990) insists that only conscious strategies are LLS, and that there must be a choice involved on the part of the learner. Transfer of a strategy from one language or language skill to another is a related goal of LLS, as Pearson (1988) and Skehan (1989) have discussed. In her teacher-oriented text, Oxford summarises her view of LLS by listing twelve key features. In addition to the characteristics noted above, Skehan states that LLS:

• allow learners to become more self-directed

• expand the role of language teachers

• are problem-oriented

• involve many aspects, not just the cognitive

• can be taught

• are flexible

• are influenced by a variety of factors

Within ‘communicative’ approaches to language teaching a key goal is for the learner to develop communicative competence in the target L2/FL, and LLS can help students in doing so. Communication strategies are used by speakers intentionally and consciously in order to cope with difficulties in communicating in a L2/FL.

In addition to developing students’ communicative competence, LLS are important because research suggests that training students to use LLS can help them become better language learners. Early research on ‘good language learners’ by Naiman, Frohlich, Stern, and Todesco (1978, 1996), Rubin (1975), and Stern (1975) suggested a number of positive strategies that such students employ, ranging from using an active task approach in and monitoring one’s L2/FL performance to listening to the radio in the L2/FL and speaking with native speakers.

A study by O’Malley and Chamot (1990) also suggests that effective L2/FL learners are aware of the LLS they use and why they use them. Graham’s (1997) work in French further indicates that L2/FL teachers can help students understand good LLS and should train them to develop and use them.

With the above background on Learning Strategies and some of the related literature, this section provides an overview of how LLS and LLS training have been or may be used in the classroom, and briefly describes a three step approach to implementing LLS training in the L2/FL classroom.

LLS and LLS training may be integrated into a variety of classes for L2/FL students. One type of course that appears to be becoming more popular, especially in intensive English programmes, is one focusing on the language learning process itself.

It is crucial for teachers to study their teaching context, paying special attention to their students, their materials, and their own teaching. If they are going to train their students in using LLS, it is crucial to know something about these individuals, their interests, motivations, learning styles, etc. By observing their behaviour in class, for example, one will be able to see what LLS they already appear to be using. Do they often ask for clarification, verification, or correction, as discussed briefly above? Do they co-operate with their peers or seem to have much contact outside of class with proficient L2/FL users? Beyond observation, however, one can prepare a short questionnaire that students can fill in at the beginning of a course, describing themselves and their language learning.

Talking to students informally before or after class, or more formally interviewing select students about these topics can also provide a lot of information about one’s students, their goals, motivations, and LLS, and their understanding of the particular course being taught.

Beyond the students, however, one’s teaching materials are also important in considering LLS and LLS training. Textbooks, for example, should be analyzed to see whether they already include LLS or LLS training. Working with other language, learner improves their listening and speaking skills. Audiotapes, videotapes, hand-outs, and other materials for the course at hand should also be examined for LLS or for specific ways that LLS training might be implemented in using them. Perhaps teachers will be surprised to find many LLS incorporated into their materials, with more possibilities than they had imagined. If not, they might look for new texts or other teaching materials that do provide such opportunities.

After teachers have studied their teaching context, begin to focus on specific LLS in their regular teaching that are relevant to learners, materials, and teaching style. If teachers have found 10 different LLS for writing explicitly used in your text, for example, they could highlight these as they go through the course, giving students clear examples.

Graham (1997) declares, LLS training “needs to be integrated into students’ regular classes if they are going to appreciate their relevance for language learning tasks; students need to constantly monitor and evaluate the strategies they develop and use; and they need to be aware of the nature, function and importance of such strategies” . Whether it is a specific conversation, reading, writing, or other class, an organized and informed focus on LLS and LLS training will help students learn and provide more opportunities for them to take responsibility for their learning.

As Graham suggests, “those teachers who have thought carefully about how they learned a language, about which strategies are most appropriate for which tasks, are more likely to be successful in developing ’strategic competence’ in their students” (p. 170). Beyond contemplating one’s own language learning, it is also crucial to reflect on one’s LLS training and teaching in the classroom. After each class, for example, one might ponder the effectiveness of the lesson and the role of LLS and LLS training within it. An informal log of such reflections and one’s personal assessment of the class, either in a notebook or on the actual lesson plans, might be used later to reflect on LLS training in the course as a whole after its completion.

In addition to the teacher’s own reflections, it is essential to encourage learner reflection, both during and after the LLS training in the class or course.

In an interesting action research study involving “guided reflection” As Graham (170) declares, “For learners, a vital component of self-directed learning lies in the on-going evaluation of the methods, they have employed on tasks and of their achievements within the…programme” Whatever the context or method, it is important for L2/FL learners to have the chance to reflect on their language learning and LLS use.

The first, and most important, concerns the professionalism of teachers who use LLS and LLS training in their work. As Davis (1997) has aptly noted, “our actions speak louder than words”, and it is therefore important for professionals who use LLS training to also model such strategies both within their classroom teaching and, especially in EFL contexts, in their own FL learning. Furthermore, LLS obviously involve individuals’ unique cognitive, social, and affective learning styles and strategies. As an educator I am interested in helping my students learn and reflect on their learning, but I also question the tone and motivation reflected in some of the LLS literature. Oxford (1990a), for example, seems to describe many of my Japanese EFL students when she writes:

Motivation is a key concern both for teachers and students. Yet while teachers hope to motivate our students and enhance their learning, professionally we must be very clear not to manipulate them in the process, recognising that ultimately learning is the student’s responsibility. If our teaching is appropriate and learner-centred, we will not manipulate our students as we encourage them to develop and use their own LLS. Instead we will take learners’ motivations and learning styles into account as we teach in order for them to improve their L2/FL skills and LLS.

The second reflection pertains to the integration of LLS into both language learning/teaching theory and curriculum. The focus of this article is largely practical, noting why LLS are useful and how they can or might be included in regular L2/FL classes.

The related challenge, is how to integrate LLS into our L2/FL curriculum, especially in places like Bangladesh where “learner-centred” approaches or materials may not be implemented very easily. Using texts which incorporate LLS training, such as those in the Tapestry series, remains difficult in FL contexts when they are mainly oriented to L2 ones. Many FL teachers include LLS and LLS training in the FL curriculum of their regular, everyday language (as opposed to content) classes. This final point brings us to this and other questions for future LLS research.

The article has provided a brief overview of Language Learning Strategies (LLS) by examining their background and summarizing the relevant literature. It has also sketched out some ways that LLS training has been used and offered a three step approach for teachers to consider in implementing it within their own L2/FL classes. It has also upheld two important issues, posed questions for further LLS study, and noted a number of contacts that readers may use in networking on LLS in L2/FL education.

Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 1-47.

Cohen, A. (1990). Language Learning: Insights for Learners, Teachers, and Researchers. New York: Newbury House.

Ellis, G., & Sinclair, B. (1989). Learning to Learn English: A Course in Learner Training. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Ellis, R. (1994). The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Freeman, D., & Richards, J. (Eds.). (1996). Teacher Learning in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gardner, D., & Miller, L. (Eds.). (1996). Tasks for Independent Language Learning. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.

Graham, S. (1997). Effective Language Learning. Clevedon, Avon: Multilingual

Nunan, D. (1995). Closing the gap between learning and instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 133-158.

Nunan, D. (1996). Learner strategy training in the classroom: An action research study. TESOL Journal, 6(1), 35-41.

Offner, M. (1997). Teaching English conversation in Japan: Teaching how to learn. The Internet TESL Journal [on-line serial], 3(3) [March 1997].

O’Malley, J.M., & Chamot, A. (1990). Learning Strategies in Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Oxford, R. (1990). Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know. New York: Newbury House.

Skehan, P. (1989). Language learning strategies (Chapter 5). Individual Differences in Second-Language Learning (pp. 73- 99). London: Edward Arnold.

Tarone, E. (1983). Some thoughts on the notion of ‘communication stategy’. In C. Faerch & G. Kasper (Eds.), Strategies in Interlanguage Communication (pp. 61-74). London: Longman.

About the author

M.Enamul Hoque has been an English language teacher for over 15 years in different Government institutes of Bangladesh. He is an Instructor of ELT in the Education and Training Wing, Ministry of Environment and Forest. He has MA in English from Dhaka University, and M.Phil in Applied Linguistics and ELT from the Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He has published widely on a variety of topics and is particularly interested in English language teaching and applied linguistics.

By Rajesh Rastogi

A virtual classroom or VCR is a learning environment that exists exclusively in the form of digital content that is stored, and accessed through network of computers and information systems like PDAs, notebooks, mobiles etc.

Physical or Virtual Classrooms?

The main difference between the physical classroom and the virtual classroom is those of location, time and spaces required by students and teachers to access and partake in classroom activities. In the physical classroom a physical location must be visited at a fixed time in order to participate, while a virtual classroom is not physically accessed and has no real fixed time or location which is a great boon.

The manner in which a teacher delivers educational material remains an important factor in the success of both classrooms. Though both the classrooms employ similar learning theory, curriculum design and pedagogy, live face-to-face interaction is missing in the VCR method, which may have a negative influence.

May be the solution is the blended method where physical classroom training is combined with the virtual classroom training, thus accommodating a wider range of student needs.

As teaching in both the physical and virtual classroom is learner-centered, students learn by engaging in group work, projects, discussions, and other content relating to real-world contexts. The VCR is used to provide additional communication and material, along with the learning that occurs in the physical classroom.

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VCR Tools

The important communication/participation VCR tools are
* E-mail
* Discussion boards
* Chat rooms
* Whiteboards
* Video/audio conferencing
* Instant messaging
* Podcasting/vodcasting
* Teleconferencing
* Weblogs
* Wikis

These tools can be further divided into two methods of learning Synchronous and Asynchronous learning.

Synchronous VCR Learning

Synchronous learning is communication or exchange of information at the same time between two or more people i.e. in real time. In virtual classrooms, synchronous communication is used by students to communicate with fellow class members and their teachers. This provides real time interaction and encourages group discussions. Chats, Video/audio conferencing, Podcasting/vodcasting, Teleconferencing are all Synchronous learning tools.

Asynchronous VCR learning

Asynchronous learning or communication does not occur in real-time, students or teachers are not present in the same space and time as each other. The instructions are delivered at one time and the work is done at a different time. Asynchronous learning allows the student to study at their own space and in their own time, plus both the teacher and the student benefit from because the entire discussion is recorded and can be repeated continuously. E-mail, discussion groups, whiteboards, wikis, weblogs, and forums are all Asynchronous learning tools.

Conclusion

The virtual classroom transcends the boundaries of location, time and space providing a flexible learning environment for all. Schools, universities and corporate organizations benefit form Virtual classrooms because it provides an excellent way for experts to teach a geographically dispersed group of students without hassle.

About The Author

Rajesh Rastogi is an Internet infopreneur who has website on virtual learning environment; http://www.vcrwizdom.com/ Different types of LMS are discussed including learing management system, E-learning; management system and M – learning system.

By Linda Bress Silbert, Ph.D. and Alvin J. Silbert, Ed.D.

“I forgot.”

“I can’t remember that.”

“I sit down to take a test and my mind goes blank.”

“I’m not a good test taker.”

These are all things students say when they forget assignments or don’t do well on tests. All of us, students and non-students alike, forget important things. This happens when we don’t transfer information into long-term memory. It is important to know how to do this in order to do well in school and beyond. Just think about it: you need to remember what you read, what your boss told you, the driving directions someone rushes at you at a stoplight, or, if you are a student, what the teacher says.

This article is written from a student’s perspective as this will make it easier for them. However, these strategies are just as helpful for adults, because we all need a little help remembering new things.

Have you ever noticed that some things are easy for you to remember while others are difficult? For example, you may be able to remember how to put an engine together, or why it rains, but you may have trouble remembering the lines to a school play or multiplication facts. You’ll be relieved to know that there’s nothing wrong with you; this happens to everyone. The good news is that there are strategies that can help you remember what you need to remember. The twelve strategies (some of which are called mnemonic “ni mon ik” devices) introduced below will help you learn how to memorize important information. We know they are effective because they have been helping students at STRONG Learning Centers® for years, not only on homework and tests, but continuing to be valuable in their daily lives.

STRATEGY 1. CHUNKING

It is easier to memorize information when you break it up into small chunks. This is called chunking. You may not realize it, but you use chunking often, like when you memorize your friend’s telephone number, a locker combination, or your social security number. It’s easier to remember long numbers when you “chunk” them into groups of threes, fours and fives. That’s because most people can only remember about three, four or five bits of information at a time.

Here are suggestions on how you can use “chunking” to remember information as well as numbers.

• Chunk vocabulary words by grouping them by parts of speech or other attributes.

• Chunk history by time periods or events.

• Chunk foreign language by grouping words into categories like household items or occupations.

• If there is no pattern to the information you need to study, just group the items into three, four or five at a time, and that will help a lot.

STRATEGY 2. UNDERSTANDING

Before you begin trying to memorize something, try to understand it. A good way to do this is by making a connection between what you are learning and what you have experienced. The better you can relate the new information to what you already know, the easier it is to learn. For example, before attempting to memorize events of European history, find the places on a globe (or world map) and see where they are relative to one another and also relative to where you live.

STRATEGY 3. GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

These tools help you see things you are trying to learn. They help organize information. There are many different types of graphic organizers. You can even design them yourself.

• the Venn Diagram for comparing and contrasting

• a Web for the main topic and details

• the Cause and Effect Design with the event in the middle box, the causes listed in the left boxes and the effects listed in the right boxes. (The effects and the causes are connected to the event by lines.)

• the Cycle Organizer consists of shapes drawn in a cyclic pattern with words in each shape to represent things or events that go in cycles. For example, the water cycle.

To see/print examples of these graphic organizers, find No. 452 Improve Your Memory Skills, Silbert, at our StrongLearning website.

STRATEGY 4. VISUALIZATION

To visualize means to see an image in your head without actually looking at it. Visualization can help you learn almost anything. Here is an example. Let’s say the topic is the water cycle. Create a mental image of a cloud. Picture it growing. Now see, and “feel” its heavy cold rain. See the rain hitting the ground, then flowing toward streams and rivers toward the ocean. Now “see” the hot sun hitting and evaporating the water and forming clouds…. Get the picture? If you can visualize parts of the water cycle, the boring diagram becomes meaningful and remember-able. In general, if you have trouble visualizing material, try drawing maps, charts, graphs, or pictures.

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STRATEGY 5. ASSOCIATION

Another learning strategy is to associate, or “connect,” each word or event with a person, place, thing, feeling, or situation. For example, you may connect what you are trying to learn with someone you know, or with a movie character or scene. When you have to learn vocabulary words, just write the new words, write the definitions next to them, and then write a person, thing, event, movie, or any strong association to help you remember the meaning of each word. For example, “My altruistic Aunt Alice gives great gifts.” (Altruistic means generous.)

STRATEGY 6. RHYMING

We all used rhyming in the ABC song to learn the alphabet. And the rhyme “I before E, except after C, or when it sounds like A as in neighbor or weigh.” This is also a great strategy even when learning the times tables. For example, 7 and 7 went down the line to capture number 49; 8 and 4 made some stew and gave it to 32. (Rhymes don’t have to make sense!)

STRATEGY 7. TALKING

Here’s a strategy that’s easy and fun to use, especially if you like to talk! Just talk about the information you have to learn. Tell Grandpa, Mom, a friend, or your dog what you have to learn! Do you want to learn history? Then talk history — discuss, debate, argue. Think of a person who may have lived during a major historical event and pretend to be that person. Now talk about the important events: who was involved, when it happened, where it took place, what happened, and why? If you’re learning a language, then speak it at the dinner table. It doesn’t matter if others know what you are saying; you do, so you’ll learn.

STRATEGY 8. STORYTELLING

Storytelling is a great way to help you remember information in any subject. Write a story by focusing on the key points of what you’re learning and arranging them in a logical sequence. It can even be a song or rhyme that tells the story. And there’s a bonus: each event in the story triggers your memory of the next event, so you’ll remember even more.

STRATEGY 9. WRITING SENTENCES

Do you remember learning the silly sentence “Every good boy does fine” from music class? We used this to remember the notes. You may also have used the sentence “My Very Excellent Mom Just Served Us Nine Pizzas” to remember the planets. (Oops, change the sentence because Pluto is no longer considered a planet). This strategy can even help us learn those extra troublesome spelling words. Just make up a sentence using words that begin with the letters. So, to learn “aardvark,” you may make up a nonsense sentence like: Aardvarks Always Run Down Very Angry Rowdy Kids.

STRATEGY 10. ACRONYMS

An acronym is a word made up from the first letters of a list of words. Here’s how it works. You take the list of words or facts that you want to remember and put them in an order so that the first letters of each word, or the first syllables, spell a real word or a made-up word.

How do you memorize the names of the five Great Lakes? Easy, just remember “HOMES.” H=Huron, O=Ontario, M=Michigan, E=Erie, and S=Superior. While this strategy won’t help you understand the information, it at least helps you to memorize it. It’s easy and fun, and you’ll probably remember the information forever. You may be interested in knowing that our company name is an acronym. STRONG stands for: Self-esteem, Trust, Responsibility, Options, Needs, Goals.

STRATEGY 11. REHEARSING

When you want to remember information, you have to practice it, or else it fades. So, just as actors need to rehearse in order to remember their lines, students need to rehearse to remember what they are learning. Here are some helpful hints on “rehearsing” whatever information you need to learn for homework or tests:

• Rehearse for short practice periods (perhaps 30 to 60 minutes) and then take a short ten-minute break to call a friend, have a snack, or shoot some hoops.

• Use a multisensory approach every time you rehearse: say it, write it, read it, draw it, sing it – do whatever it takes.

• Just before going to sleep, review everything you will need to know for the next day or for the upcoming test. It’s amazing how much more you’ll remember if you rehearse the night before.

• Review in the morning while brushing your teeth, eating breakfast or sitting on the bus.

STRATEGY 12. PLAYING GAMES

Playing games is a great way to memorize information. You see, as you play the game you are learning the material and practicing it over and over again. Games can help you remember facts, formulas, definitions, events or any other information you’re trying to learn. Here is an example.

Play Memory, alone or with others, using decks of cards you make from ordinary index cards you cut in half. Create pairs by writing the same number on each of two cards, 1 and 1, 2 and 2, etc. Write the numbers tiny so they will not interfere with play. On each pair, write a question on one card and the answer on the other card. For example, “2×7=” is on one card and “14″ is on its pair, or “Where did the Pilgrims land?” is on one card and “Plymouth, Massachusetts” is on its pair. Then shuffle all the cards and play Memory with yourself or with a friend. If you’re alone, see how fast you can match up all the pairs. You’ll be able to check yourself by making sure the small numbers are the same. Have Fun!

For the Tough Ones: for the pairs that are really hard to remember, make a string “clothes line” between two places on a wall. Hang the pairs next to each other with spring type clothes pins. So, for example, if circle formulas get you down, every time you walk into your room you’ll see “C=” and “2*pi*r” and “A=” and “pi*r squared” next to each other. Pretty soon you’ll remember the info.

Another example is the many commercially available games to make learning to read easier and fun. A good example is, by using any of the twenty STRONG Learning Phonics Games, children in grades 1-6 can learn important phonics rules while playing popular card games: Go Fish, War, Memory, or Old Maid.

We hope you find that some of these techniques and strategies make it easier for you and your children to remember important things. We also hope that these strategies will help make school days and home nights a whole lot better.

(Originally published at the StrongLearning website and reprinted with permission of the authors, Linda Bress Silbert, Ph.D. and Alvin J. Silbert, Ed.D.)

About The Authors

Linda Bress Silbert, Ph.D. and Alvin J. Silbert, Ed.D. are the founders/directors of STRONG Learning Centers in New York. They’ve written over 40 books and developed 20 phonics games for children of all ages. To learn more about the Silberts and the STRONG Method, visit their website http://www.oureducationalbooks.com. To subscribe to their free e-zine, send a blank email to: [email protected].

By Frank Gerace

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.

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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.

About The Author

Frank Gerace has taught in Latinamerica and now teaches English in New York City. He provides resources on accent reduction and the proper American English accent at http://www.GoodAccent.com. He also maintains resources for Spanish Speaking learners of English at http://www.InglesParaLatinos.com.

By Duncan Ford

Introduction

This article suggests that a global rather than linear approach to conceiving lessons and lesson plans can be helpful to trainee teachers, by allowing more flexibility in staging and more focus on our communicative aims. The ideas are based on the writer’s experience observing lessons taught by experienced teachers on Trinity Diploma courses and beginner teachers on Certificate courses.

As teachers and teacher trainers we are familiar with teaching and observing lessons which don’t reach their end, in other words we or the teacher we are observing ‘run out of time’ before reaching the last one or two stages. Not doing everything youve planned is not necessarily a bad thing, but in my experience the bits planned for the end are nearly always the most crucial bits of the lesson, the pay off, the raison d’etre, the heart of the lesson. Rather than work towards our aims, it might be more helpful to work around them.

An approach to planning with comments on a sample lesson plan I have produced two procedure plans for the same lesson. One is in traditional linear format, the other as a ’spider graph’ or ‘mind map’, centring round a ‘heart’. The communicative aim of the lesson is at the heart and the various activities which might support learners in achieving this aim are shown as satellites and arteries which feed and pump life into the heart. Forgive the mixed metaphors, but you get the idea.

The mind map is numbered, but it is fairly clear which bits can be left out and which bits depend on other bits and are therefore more distant from the heart. For example the drill activity (2) is dependent on examples to drill (1). Of course both can be left out altogether. We could start the lesson at 3 or 5 or even 7. I think this kind of flexibility is more difficult to envisage with the linear format.

Conceiving the lesson in terms of a kind of mind map, rather than a series of numbered and sequenced events can be helpful for several reasons:

Reasons why this approach can be effective:

1. Right brain dominant and visual teachers will immediately identify with information presented in this form more easily (for more on this, see Fletcher, 2000). In my experience about half of the teachers I put the idea to are immediately enthusiastic and the other half are sceptical. Below are some reasons to persuade the other half to give it a go.

2. The importance of the communication activity is emphasized. It is the heart of the lesson, it must be there or the lesson dies. This should be reflected in the plan. In linear sequences it appears as one among a series of activities which seem to be of equal importance. Looking at the example plan included here, it is clear that students can ‘give each other advice about problems’ without having worked on ‘formulae for giving advice’ or ‘reading a text from a problem page’. In other words, the ’satellites’ are peripheral and can be easily left out of the lesson. I think it is possible to have a heart which isn’t a ‘communicative’ activity (see FAQ 1 below), but most lessons seem to work best when it is. Of course the heart could be a receptive activity such as understanding an extract from a film or a newspaper article.

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3. If we believe that students learn better through a communicative approach then it’s probably a good idea to be conceiving ‘communicative lesson plans’; in other words plans which not only oreground communication activities, but also, in their very form, embody and reflect the task-feedback-task cycle which is inherent to the communicative approach. The linear formatted plan invites a dogged adherence to the sequence planned, as if leaving something out would somehow break a chain and we’d have to start again. This type of thinking, derived I believe from behaviourist models of language learning, is not always helpful and doesn’t really reflect the full picture of the way we learn.

4. Flexibility. The mind map lesson plan/mindset allows the teacher more freedom to add and discard activities more easily in response to time constraints, learner needs or whatever. The satellites can be numbered to suggest a sequence.

5. Learner involvement. If the lesson plan is presented to learners in this format on OHP or whiteboard at the start of the lesson, they have an opportunity to add bits, take bits way, even change the heart and start again, if they want. Alternatively the teacher can start with a heart and let the learners suggest the ’satellites’. This can be taken a stage further so that learners decide the hearts and the satellites, a kind of ‘course planning from the heart’.

Frequently asked questions

1. Does this model only work for lessons based around communication activities? No. I can imagine a lesson, say, with a class preparing for a First Certificate exam, where the teacher wants the learners to work on their accurate use of prepositions. The heart in this case could be ’students fill in a gapped text with prepositions removed’ and the satellites could include work on typical uses of certain prepositions with reference to a grammar book or teacher chalk and talk or learners researching and peer teaching, sentence gap fills, reading and noticing, a game of preposition dominoes etc.

2. This model seems to be relevant for task based learning, but what if you don’t subscribe to that? Before task based learning, communicative teaching was frequently expressed through the PPP type lesson. This type of lesson usually contains a task, the third P, ‘Production’ or ‘Free Practice’. The difference was that it always came at the end as if it was only possible once the students had earned it by jumping the first two hoops ‘Presentation’ and ‘Practice’. PPP is like a half way house to communicative teaching, embracing the idea of a communication activity as a vehicle for learning but retaining much of the audio-lingual insistence on sequencing and ‘getting it right’ before moving on.

3. What about beginner learners? Surely they need some carefully sequenced input before they can attempt even basic communication tasks? Yes, I agree. How can students play bingo for example if they don’t have a grasp of numbers in English? You could have two hearts! Or better still combine them in one ‘Learn the numbers 1-50 well enough to play bingo’. If you set out with this in mind you will be less likely to be overly diverted by satellites like ‘practice word stress thirteen vs thirty’.

4. What about ’staging’? Isn’t it important to create lessons for learners which are carefully sequenced to support learning? I think some sequences make more sense than others, but there’s probably too much fuss made about ’staging’, by which I understand activities following on from each other ‘logically’. I suspect learners brains and learning are often a bit more messy and more robust than that, so we need plans that can go with the flow without abandoning core objectives. This lesson could start with stages 5 and 6, for example, or even 7.

Bibliography

Fletcher, M. ( 2000 )Teaching for Success ,English Experience.

About the Author

The author is Director of Teacher Training at OxfordTEFL, Barcelona Spain. He has been training teachers on Trinity Certificate and Diploma courses for the past 10 years. Duncan is the director of both www.oxfordtefl.com and www.oxfordhousebcn.com

The second of two articles on speed reading by Adam Harley

Speed reading is an essential skill when you need to read large information quickly. Speed of reading means how many words you read in a minute. Different people have different speed of reading which can be improved by using different techniques and methods. It is analyzed that nearly 300 words can be read accurately in a minute by an average person. Those people who claim that they can read 10,000 or more words use skimming and scanning techniques. However good speed in reading is considered in between 500 to 700 words per minute but you can improve it further with the help of some programs, courses and exercises. Good command on word recognition and vocabulary play an important role to improve speed of reading. Some other abilities that can help you to improve reading speed are eye movement, large blocks of words, spent less time in reading fixation and always try to move forward. If a person has good reading speed then he can learn and understand fast as compare to poor readers.

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There are many types of reading materials like newspapers, notices, essays, letters and research papers etc. Every kind of material demands different speed reading due to its nature and importance. When you read a document you should know well what information you want to extract from it because if you want outline or summary then you don’t need to read it thoroughly. You need to search your required information from the notice and your related news from the newspapers but while reading a research paper you need to read it thoroughly. Writing style and size of the text also affects the reading speed. If the size of writing or style is not easy to read then your speed of reading will be decreased and there are chances of mistakes. Then it depends on the way you read it, you read aloud or silent.

There are many self paced methods as well as courses, software programs that you can use to speed up your reading skill. You can use self paced methods easily without delay and cost. Different institutes offer different courses to improve your reading skill; software and other programs help you to correct your pronunciation, understanding idea of the writing, speed and recognition.

People read for two different purposes; information and pleasure. If you read fast then you can get knowledge, information and appreciation quickly. You can save time by speed reading because sometimes you read something which is not very interesting and it becomes difficult to swallow it by reading thoroughly so you use skimming technique and increase your reading speed just to get main idea or theme. When you are able to read in speed then you can write and recognize words speedily.

Another very important fact which contributes in speed reading is the language in which you want to increase your reading speed. If it is your mother tongue then it becomes easy to read speedily but if it is the second or foreign language then you can face some problems but with the help of useful courses and software programs you can improve it. It is seen that people who are good at reading have advantage and are more effective than poor readers.

About the Author

If you need any more tips, check out the Speed Reading Manual. It’s written in much better English than mine, and contains much more useful tips as well! Download the Speed Reading Manual today: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com/ I highly recommend it.

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The first of two articles on speed reading by Adam Harley

Speed reading isn’t too difficult. Try a couple of these tips and techniques, and you can already increase your reading speed.

Speed reading is an enhanced form of reading. It uses many of the same methods and ideas, but enhances them to the point where speed reading is better than regular reading in nearly every way. Speed reading mainly has to do with better understanding language structure, and applying that knowledge when reading.

These are just a couple of tips that might help you increase your reading speed. This is by no means a speed reading manual or course, but it will help you get an idea of good techniques for increasing reading speed and comprehension.

In the same way writers write for different purposes, readers should always pay attention to what exactly they’re reading and why. Some readers read mainly for pleasure and entertainment, while others read for learning and information. The main purpose before reading should always be to know what the writer wants to convey. Using this information, you can already improve your reading speed and comprehension.

Fast reading is very important for any adult. The faster you can read, the more you can read. It’s as simple as that. It doesn’t matter if you’re one of the people that has to read large texts, articles, journals and books. Regardless of your primary use for reading, reading faster will be extremely beneficial.

First of all, you can improve your learning, memory and reading speed by paying attention to the things outside of the main body of the text. Read the titles and headings. Check for charts, diagrams and graphs. Try to get an overall understanding of the entire text before you even start reading it. You should always try to determine the theme and general sense of the text before reading it.

If you’re reading about something you’re unfamiliar with, try reading other things on the side, dealing with the same topic. Even if you have knowledge about the subject, you can enhance your understanding by reading a little more. Look up some articles on the internet, and check Wikipedia for some info. The more you know about the topic, the easier it will be to read about the topic.

When you’re reading, make sure to make regular use of the dictionary. This is an extremely valuable and extremely easy way to enhance your vocabulary. After reading through a couple difficult texts, and looking up the words you don’t know, you’ll notice it’ll become easier and easier to read “difficult” material.

About the Author

If you want a full and complete training on speed reading, check out the Speed Reading Manual here: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com It’s only $12, and it’s guaranteed to double your reading speed. Try it out today.