What Is a Solution?

What Is a Solution?Chemistry teachers often struggle with what is a solution. Sometimes, the solution seems so obvious; but for others, it's more complicated. What is a solution?A solution is basically a collection of useful tools. You might say that a solution includes, 'The things that fit together,' 'The things that make sense,' and 'Things that work together.' This might all seem to fall under the heading of chemistry; but there are many things in life that you have to deal with that are not solutions, they are problems.A solution will bring together a collection of useful tools; which will then be used to solve problems or to apply your understanding to another problem. This is a useful solution; but it's not necessarily a solution. In order to learn to do something new, you have to understand that you need to solve a problem.So, why is it so hard for a chemistry teacher to find a solution? Often, a solution means you have solved one problem, but you haven't solved any other pro blems. It can also mean that you have solved one problem, but you have failed to solve any other problems. In order to solve other problems, you need to learn how to make sense of things you do not understand.An example of this would be a common example of a solution. Say you are trying to make a metal plate. It appears that you have succeeded in making a metal plate by adding one molecule of iron to the solution; however, there is no iron left in the solution! So then what do you do? Answer the problem or create a new problem that involves iron; or maybe both.Of course, you could attempt to create a new problem, to solve the first one. However, that would be a very long process, so you might as well just accept that there is no more iron in the solution and move on. There may be other solutions to this problem; but all of them require that you understand why it was that the iron was in the solution in the first place.A solution is something that you are able to make sense of. A sol ution is a collection of valuable information, a collection of useful tools; the collection of tools that you can use to make sense of your life. You need to find a solution; to find a way to solve problems. So whatever you choose to do, make sure you learn how to solve problems, or you'll never get anything done.

11+ Tutor Tips and Resources

11+ Tutor Tips and Resources This morning, fighting cold and rain, armed only with instant coffee, wits and 11+ resources, an amazing group of tutors talked through what they could do to help each other. Top tips for interview practice included: “I wear a funny hat when role-playing interview practice; it helps the student feel comfortable and makes it enjoyable. Then when the actual interview happens they’re not afraid.” Dino “I get them to interview me. I role play 3 types of pupil. First I pretend to be shy and don’t make eye contact; then I play an over confident child; then I try to relax and just act normally. I ask what they like and dislike about each of my characters and which pupil they would like in their school.” Mark The top nine 11+ resources were: Collins English Skills 5 Letts suggested by Rosaline Paul uses Galore Park Jamie made his own website for GCSE past papers â€" www.savemyexams.co.uk Cogmed and Lumosity for improving memory and speed; and Bofa 11 Plus for practicing online verbal and non-verbal reasoning which Madeleine uses The new RSL 11+ English Comprehension made by Rob Equivalency Cubes and Fraction Tower for maths aged 6+ suggested by Tom Mark has started using Bond Online  and  Learning Together Between everyone we had past papers for most top schools going back 15+ years, and most of the common interview questions. Phoebe, who runs 11+ programs in inner-city schools, shared some exercises and lesson plans. As ever the classic 11+ tutoring debate continued: (Thanks James) Do you tutor to help instil a love of learning …. or …. train students to pass specific entrance exams? Everyone seemed to prefer to make lessons fun and teach life skills whilst several tutors challenged the premise of the debate saying you can do both. No one wanted to be a ‘cramming’ tutor and there were several examples of pupils and parents who were clearly feeling the pressure. It takes a strong and experienced tutor to push back on parents who are  set on getting their child into a specific school. Those who do say it is easiest to do that from the beginning. Rob, for example, states clearly that he does not tutor to get a pupil into 1 specific school; instead he focusses on core academic and life skills. There was some criticism of the rat race of selective schools in London, with John commenting that parents sometimes pay for culture more than teaching. There are good teachers and bad teachers, just like there are good and bad tutors, and schools who take in 11 year olds capable of answering A-level questions might not always be adding the value themselves. I like Anthony Seldon’s wise words: “Your child is not your child. They are their own person and it  should be  the right school for them, not the “right” school for the parent” Many thanks to the 11+ specialist tutor  James for helping to pull everyone together. We’ll pop up more of the resources here and share more tips over the next few weeks. To find other 11+ tutors to recommend or book, please search the following subjects in your postcode on Tutorfair: 11 plus tutors   Maths 11+ English 11+ Best of luck to all tutors, teachers, students and parents facing the 11+ exam season. Edd p.s.   Genius prop from Rosaline: she has a laminated “Mind the Gap” sign which she uses to highlight that the gap is between brain and paper and to remind students to be mindful to bridge that gap. p.p.s I’m no art tutor but here’s roughly where these guys are based in London:

Tips from an Anaheim Math Tutor Should You Cross Multiply

Tips from an Anaheim Math Tutor Should You Cross Multiply Anaheim Math Tutor Tips: Should You Cross Multiply? Anaheim Math Tutor Tips: Should You Cross Multiply? Cross multiply is an often-used term in mathematics that often sticks in peoples memories long after they graduate high school and stop taking math classes. However, most of those people dont really know what it is and why it works. So many students are just taught to cross multiply when they see an equation with fractions. Unlike many other memorized phrases in math, cross multiplication is actually a useful tool that often makes problems with fractions a little bit easier sign up for your private Anaheim math tutor. But just like anything else you memorize in math, you should understand what youre doing rather than just memorizing a seemingly arbitrary procedure. Cross multiplication is just the undoing of division that is being done. If you have two fractions, that is the same as dividing by something on each side. And, just like we can subtract to undo addition, we can multiply to undo the division that is making those pesky fractions. Here are three examples that we will solve both with and without cross multiplying. You can see that there are always other ways to solve these problems, as well as why cross multiplying works and is a little bit simpler. As a general rule of thumb, I do not teach cross multiplication without making sure my students know how to solve the problems without it first. That way I help promote a stronger understanding of how to solve simple algebraic equations that will hopefully stick with them and translate to other math skills rather than leaving them thinking cross multiply is how you have to solve fractions. Here is the first example: In this example, we have two fractions and need to solve for x. To help find x, we can notice that the fraction on the right can be reduced: Now we have successfully eliminated the fraction on the right. To solve for x, we now only have to divide both sides by 2. There are a few ways to think about doing this, including using your calculator or converting the left fraction to a decimal. Ill not that two-fifths divided by two leaves us with one fifth: We get a solution of one fifth (1/5) which is equal to 0.2. No cross multiplying was needed, only our standard multiplication and division. Lets do the same with cross multiplication: Here, we didnt think about reducing the initial fraction. We simply cross multiplied: taking the diagonal terms in our fractions and multiplying them together (one set in green and the other in purple). This makes the cross of our cross multiplication. After we do this, we get a fairly trivial equation of 8 = 40x to solved. We divide both sides by 40 and get the same answer we did above. Example 2: Now the x is on the bottom of the fraction. To solve this, we could multiply both sides by x to undo the 7 being divided by an x on the left. However, another way would be to make the right side of the equation look like the left. We notice that the left side has a 7 on top, but the right side has a 14. We can change the 14 into a 7 by halving the top and bottom of the right: Let’s use cross multiplication to solve the same problem: No extra thinking here or even trying to get the x out of the bottom of the fraction. We simply follow the cross multiplying procedure and multiply the green together and the purples to get our final, simple equation that yields the same 1.5 answer. Example 3: Our last example gets a little more complex with terms in parentheses. Cross multiplying here would probably be the best choice, but its never the only choice. The fraction on the left is a term being divided by 6. The fraction on the right is a term being divided by 9. We can distribute the division (just like you would distribute multiplication into parentheses) to get an equation we can solve: We could have kept our work as fractions instead of decimals, but this is likely how it would look if you were using a calculator to help you solve the problem, and decimals are equally as valid as long as we dont round them. Lets see how it looks using cross multiplication: Here we get the same answer as above by following the exact same cross multiplication procedure. Notice that we still had to distribute when we multiplied the terms in parentheses. Cross multiplying can be a very helpful tool when solving equations with fractions. However, it should not be thought of as the only way to do so, and it should not be the only way students are taught. Thinking this way will continue to lead to many students being confused about fractions and unsure of how to work with them. Cross multiply doesnt have to go away, but the blind memorization of it should. Michael C. is currently a private math, science, and standardized test tutor with TutorNerds in Irvine and Anaheim. All blog entries, with the exception of guest bloggers, are written by Tutor Nerds. Are you an education professional? If so, email us at pr@tutornerds.com for guest blogging and collaborations. We want to make this the best free education resource in SoCal, so feel free to suggest what you would like to see us write.

The Ultimate Guide to Finding a Language Exchange Partner

The Ultimate Guide to Finding a Language Exchange Partner Quick quiz: What is the main reason that people learn a foreign language?Answer: Quite simply, to talk!Literally. Though reading and writing are important components of language learning, what we all dream of  is to speak fluently, to travel to a  country where our target language  is spoken and sound like a local.If your dream is like mine, keep on reading, because the clearest path to fluency is  finding a language exchange partner.Ill explain the benefits of language exchange, tips on how to get the most out of your language exchange sessions, and of course how to find partners both online and offline.So what are you waiting for? Scroll down! Benefits of Having a Language Exchange  PartnerPositive Social MotivationLearning a language on your own can be tough. As hard as you try to listen to audio lessons online, use flashcards  or take advantage of  online resources, it can be hard to keep your  motivation high. Traditional courses, with their focus on exams and grades, arent ex actly a low-pressure solution.So heres a fun, positive option: a language exchange partner. Meeting up with a friendly faceâ€"someone who only wants to see you succeed and can provide a barometer on your language learning progressâ€"is a great way to not only reduce the loneliness of language learning, but provide some positive momentum as well.Training Your EarOne of the biggest challenges facing new language learners is training your ear to hear the nuances of language and accent. Sitting over a textbook  or listening to audio tapes is just not the same as living and breathing a language. Since you cant just go to the country where the language is spoken, why not find someone in your town or community to speak with?Non-verbal LanguageSomething youll quickly find out is that theres more to language than just words. Facial expressions, hand gestures and inflections are all unwritten parts of a language, and there is no better way to learn these than one-on-one with a language exchan ge partner. Moreover, understanding these aspects of a language can make learning vocabulary easier.So we know that the benefits of having a  language exchange partner are huge. But how can you  make the most of your meetings?Getting the Most out of Your  Language Exchange SessionsWhen youre heading to your very first language exchange, the butterflies might hit. I barely know how to speak this language! What are we going to do for an hour?First of all, dont worry. Language exchange is supposed to be funâ€"stressing out is never  a good way to learn a language. Here are some tips on how to get the most of your language exchange sessions, and have fun doing it!Warm Up with FluentUTo get your mind thinking in your target language before you meet with your language exchange partner, spend 5-10 minutes on FluentU.  FluentU is an online immersion platform that takes  real-world videosâ€"like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized languag e learning lessons.FluentU is designed to get you comfortable  with everyday language,  by combining all the benefits of complete  immersion and native-level conversations with easy-to-read subtitles and FluentUs  highly-effective learn mode.  This is also a phenomenal way to improve during the week, between meetings with your language partner.Stay on ScheduleThis is key. You should definitely have some time to get to know each other, and have friendly conversation in your mutual, best language. But then, get down to business. Set up a reasonable schedule: 30 minutes in the language youre trying to learn, 30 minutes in English (or whatever language your partner wants to learn) is a common and great  way to divide the time. Its easy to get off topic and waste timeâ€"dont let that happen!Meet RegularlyThe longer you wait between meetings, the less likely you are to remember what you learned. I recommend meeting once a week, with once every two weeks the bare minimum. Anything less and you wont have time to train your ear and learn.Dont Be Afraid to Make MistakesRemember, youre not being graded! Mistakes are part of learningâ€"in fact, they are the best way to learn. Cant think of a word? Try to describe it using the language youre learning. Your partner doesnt understand you? Try speaking it out slowly.Heres a tip: Smile when you make a mistake, and begin turning failure into laughter. Then your fears will fade and your mind will open to the trial and error necessary for deep language learning.Like the saying goes, its better to have tried and failed, than to have never tried at all.Practice Between MeetupsI recommend bringing a notebook with you and, without distracting too much from the conversation, jotting  down any difficulties youre having or new words youre learning. Then, when youre back home, practice whatever  you found most difficult. It could be pronunciation, or maybe a challenging verb tense or conjugation.The best part? When you show up to your ne xt meeting  and impress your partner with how much youve improved!How to Find a Language Exchange PartnerNow, I know what youre thinking: The benefits are all swell, and Im  itching to put those tips into action, but I  dont know a single person who speaks French (or Russian, or whatever language you are learning)! How can I find a language exchange partner?Dont fret. We live in a multicultural era, with people of all ethnicities, nationalities and languages traversing the world for globalized opportunities. Chances are that there are people in your community or city who speak the language you want to learn, and would be interested in having the chance to improve their English through language exchange.If not, there is an alternative: a virtual language exchange partner. Though tools like Skype, you can reap most of the benefits of an in-person exchange through many online resources, accessible wherever you have an internet connection!Finding an In-person Language Exchange  PartnerH ere are the best ways and resources to find yourself a language partner with whom you can meet face-to-face:Craigslist:  The worlds top classified site has a section for “Activity Partners where you can both post a request for a language exchange partner.University Message Boards:  Do you live near a university? Most American universities, no matter how big, small or remote, have international students from all around the world. Post an ad at the university either online or on bulletin boards on campus.Forums:  Does your town or city have a forum on a site like InterNations? If so, do a search or put up a post.Meetup:  Meetup is a website dedicated to organizing small group get-togethers around shared or common interests. They have numerous language exchange meetups in cities all across the world. This is especially useful for popular languagesâ€"like Chinese, Spanish, French, German, or Japaneseâ€"but may not be as useful if you are learning a more obscure or less popular languag e.Local Language Centers:  Similarly, there might be a local cultural center that offers language courses, or provides a venue for language learning, in your community. Alliance Francais (French) and Goethe Institute (German) are two common ones. Google is your friend!Couchsurfing:  Couchsurfing is the worlds largest travel social network. Though its focus is getting locals with extra space in their homes to host travelers, the site also has a wide host of events in cities all around the world. The best part about Couchsurfing is, after you register and create an account, you can search for locals in your area by the language they speak. This is fantastic way to find language partners in more obscure or less spoken languages.In my experience, a friendly introduction message to a Couchsurfer, with an offer to meet over coffee and exchange language, will usually work (though you might have to send messages to a few profiles to get a response).I, for one, was able to use Couchsurfing t o find an Indonesian language exchange partner, a language for which there are nearly no exchange groups in the United States.Finding a Virtual Language Exchange PartnerHaving trouble finding an in-person partner? Do you live in a place without a large university or a diverse immigrant population? Or is the language you are trying to learn too obscure?Dont fret. We live in an interconnected world, where distance no longer matters as it once did.   The web is connecting people all around the world, and there are several sites where you can set up a profile and find a virtual language exchange partner and gain nearly all the benefits of in-person exchange from the comfort of your home.Here are a few of the most popular ones with recommendations to help you decide which is best for you!italki: This is my pick for the best overall language exchange site. It is large, well designed, easy to use and has a good diversity of languages and members. You can log in directly using your Facebook account, which will save you time as you wont have to fill in as many details, and then you can search for a teacher based on your language level and which conversation skills you want to improve.ExchangeLanguage.com: Though not quite as user-friendly as italki, this site tends to have more members who speak European languages. The registration process is fairly straightforward, but be careful when searching through profiles that the user you are contacting has logged into his or her account recently.Conversation Exchange:  This site has an older layout, but is still very reliable with an active community. You make a profile and write about yourself, then you can browse the profiles of other users based on their target and native languages. There are three possible modes of interaction that you can look for: face-to-face conversation, correspondence (pen pal) and text/voice chat. I recommend checking this site out if you are learning an Asian language, as they have a large number o f profiles from people in East Asia.The Mixxer: For those of you specifically looking for Skype video exchange partners, the Mixxer is a great option. It is a free educational site for language learners hosted by Dickinson College, and is designed specifically to connect language learners around the world to have  video exchanges. They also have lessons plans and other resources that you can use to improve language skills and plan out your exchange sessions.LiveMocha: This site blends language lessons with the ability to find language partners. After you register and put your native language and the language you want to learn onto your profile, LiveMocha will automatically give you a list of potential partners that match your needs. This is a great option for those of you who want a more comprehensive option.Reddit: For those of you who love message boards and chat forums and dont mind a bit of mess, check out Reddit. There are subreddits for nearly every language in the world, maki ng it a great place to post and find a partner, especially for  obscure or less popular Asian and African languages. Registration is simple and forums are open to all, as long as you dont post spam.Location-specific Sites:  Many cities have their own regular language exchange events or partner-finding sites, like  loquo in Spain or GoLingo in Montpellier, France. Use Google and Facebook to find out if your city (or a city/country you plan to visit) has its own site for finding language exchange partners, or its own weekly language exchange event.Multiple Language Partners: Double Your LearningIf one partner is so great, why not have two? Or more? Here I urge you to move with caution, as sometimes more is not necessarily better.Meeting in groups of three can mean less pressure, and you can train your ear to distinguish between multiple accents. The downside is that theres less time for you to speak, and the conversation tends to go to the level of the one who speaks the worst of the language, which can limit your ability to improve.So think carefully about what you want to gain from a language exchange. If you feel that just meeting with one person would be best, then go for it. If you think that meeting in a group is better, then follow that path!Heres another option:  meeting two people separately, one-on-one. This will allow you to have more exposure, perhaps learn different accents, but also means more commitment on your part.So what are you waiting for? Get out there, find a language partner, and fast track your language skills! And One More ThingLet FluentU inspire your language exchanges. FluentU makes it possible to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, news and inspiring talks.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that real people speak them. FluentU has a wide variety of videos, like movie trailers, funny commercials and web series, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse ScreenFluentU has interactive captions that let you ta p on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover over or tap on the subtitles to instantly view definitions.FluentU Interactive TranscriptsYou can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs quiz mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.

Learning English on italki Simon

Learning English on italki Simon Over the next few blog posts, well profile a few members, both students and teachers whove had success learning or teaching online. The first is Simon, a mechanical engineer from Yancheng, China who is learning English.   Simon is a good example of someone who realized that taking lessons online was one of the best ways to learn a language.   Below is what Simon had to say about learning on italki. Simon [Translated from Chinese] Ive been a member of italki for more than one year, but I only started using the paid online teaching service in May of this year.   Ive had great luck in finding a very good teacher. She is a British national living in Brazil working as a professional English teacher.   Her professional ability, accent, and price, these three aspects, are in my opinion, ideal.   But more importantly, everyday she is happy, outgoing, and very open-minded toward all variety of topicsin my opinion, these things are even more important than teaching skills.   Of course, within the class, we also try to adjust to each others style and develop methods to help me understand the language and the culture behind it.   Overall, Ive been enjoying my time learning with her. From my perspective, the benefits of learning online are one-on-one lessons, saving money on each class, and saving time on each class.   In addition, it is very easy to find someone [online] who is a native speaker of the language and communicate with them.   One very small drawback is that communication is not just the language, over the internet you only get voice or video communication, which lacks the richness of face-to-face meetings. If youd like to share your italki story on our blog, please contact us! Learning English on italki Simon Over the next few blog posts, well profile a few members, both students and teachers whove had success learning or teaching online. The first is Simon, a mechanical engineer from Yancheng, China who is learning English.   Simon is a good example of someone who realized that taking lessons online was one of the best ways to learn a language.   Below is what Simon had to say about learning on italki. Simon [Translated from Chinese] Ive been a member of italki for more than one year, but I only started using the paid online teaching service in May of this year.   Ive had great luck in finding a very good teacher. She is a British national living in Brazil working as a professional English teacher.   Her professional ability, accent, and price, these three aspects, are in my opinion, ideal.   But more importantly, everyday she is happy, outgoing, and very open-minded toward all variety of topicsin my opinion, these things are even more important than teaching skills.   Of course, within the class, we also try to adjust to each others style and develop methods to help me understand the language and the culture behind it.   Overall, Ive been enjoying my time learning with her. From my perspective, the benefits of learning online are one-on-one lessons, saving money on each class, and saving time on each class.   In addition, it is very easy to find someone [online] who is a native speaker of the language and communicate with them.   One very small drawback is that communication is not just the language, over the internet you only get voice or video communication, which lacks the richness of face-to-face meetings. If youd like to share your italki story on our blog, please contact us! Learning English on italki Simon Over the next few blog posts, well profile a few members, both students and teachers whove had success learning or teaching online. The first is Simon, a mechanical engineer from Yancheng, China who is learning English.   Simon is a good example of someone who realized that taking lessons online was one of the best ways to learn a language.   Below is what Simon had to say about learning on italki. Simon [Translated from Chinese] Ive been a member of italki for more than one year, but I only started using the paid online teaching service in May of this year.   Ive had great luck in finding a very good teacher. She is a British national living in Brazil working as a professional English teacher.   Her professional ability, accent, and price, these three aspects, are in my opinion, ideal.   But more importantly, everyday she is happy, outgoing, and very open-minded toward all variety of topicsin my opinion, these things are even more important than teaching skills.   Of course, within the class, we also try to adjust to each others style and develop methods to help me understand the language and the culture behind it.   Overall, Ive been enjoying my time learning with her. From my perspective, the benefits of learning online are one-on-one lessons, saving money on each class, and saving time on each class.   In addition, it is very easy to find someone [online] who is a native speaker of the language and communicate with them.   One very small drawback is that communication is not just the language, over the internet you only get voice or video communication, which lacks the richness of face-to-face meetings. If youd like to share your italki story on our blog, please contact us!

7 Great Theories About Language Learning by Brilliant Thinkers

7 Great Theories About Language Learning by Brilliant Thinkers 7 Great Theories About Language Learning by Brilliant Thinkers Language. Its all around us. Its vital for our everyday existence.And yet many of us find it challenging  to pick up a new one.The problem, we tell ourselves, is that were thinking too hard.The solution, we say, is to be more like those kids that we once were when we learned our first language.  Simply absorbing things  the way kids do without really thinking about the language  must surely be our best bet, we convince ourselves.But heres the thing. Were not kids anymore and we never will be again.Were not going to have the same opportunities as we did in our native language where we were in constant contact with mothers, fathers and siblings who corrected our every mistake (though a girlfriend or boyfriend might compensate). Nor do most of us want to spend 18 years of our lives studying a language just to achieve high school level fluency.We dont need to abandon the lessons weve taken from childhood language learning, but we must surely temper them with something else.  And that thi ng is theory.Theory, that most highly condensed form of thought based on principles and evidence, can help us as adults to excel in language learning in ways that would otherwise not be possible.Of course, learning about language learning theory in no way needs to occupy the bulk of your time. By devoting just a fraction of your time to theory right now, youll reap benefits far beyond getting in an extra 10  minutes of studying. So without further ado, lets start at the beginning. 7 Great Theories About Language Learning by Brilliant ThinkersTheories of language learning have been bandied about since about as far back as one would care to look. It may be  surprising to know that the problems that philosophers in Ancient Greece and 16th century France were concerned about are largely still relevant today.To get a quick rundown of early language learning theory, lets take a quick look at the ideas of three brilliant philosophers who youve probably already heard of.1. Platos ProblemT he writings of Plato stretch all the way back to the beginnings of Western philosophical thought, but Plato was already posing problems critical to modern linguistic discourse.In the nature versus nurture debate, Plato tended to side with nature, believing that  knowledge was  innate.This was his answer to what has become known as Platos Problem, or as Bertrand Russell summarizes it: How comes it that human beings, whose contacts with the world are brief and personal and limited, are nevertheless able to know as much as they do know? Being born with this knowledge from the get-go would naturally solve this little quandary and consequently he viewed language as innate.2.  Cartesian Linguistics, by DescartesCenturies later, the French philosopher Descartes took a crack at linguistic philosophy. In his opinion, language acquisition  was  a simple and easy process, barely worthy of his attention. Like Plato he believed in the innateness of language  because he thought it reflected the g eneral rationality of human beings.But rather than Descartes himself, it was the rationalist movement that he symbolized and that was thriving in the time period when he lived that was most important for linguistics. This Cartesian movement, according to Chomsky (who well get to later), noted the creativity involved in everyday language and presented the idea that there were  universal principles behind every language.3. Lockes  Tabula RasaMost people familiar with Lockes philosophy have heard of his concept of tabula rasa, or the blank slate.To state it briefly and in a simplified manner, this is the idea that all knowledge comes from outside ourselves through sensory experience rather than through innate knowledge that we have at birth. This naturally carried over to language theory with Locke rejecting the idea that there was an innate logic behind language.Obviously these theories dont touch too much on the practical, everyday level of language learning. Theyre far less detailed and more philosophical than the modern scientific theories were used to. But they have important implications. If Plato and the Cartesians are right, then the emphasis in language learning must lie on what we already know, using our innate abilities to come to an understanding of the particularities of a specific language. If Locke is right, then we must focus our attention on sensory input, gaining as much external input as possible.In the practical, everyday world, all of this can easily be done with FluentU. FluentU takes real-world videos with familiar formatsâ€"like movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language lessons.4. Skinners Theory of BehaviorismIn the middle of the 20th century, B.F. Skinner took Lockes ideas of sensory input and ran with them.According to behaviorism, a radical variant of which was put forward by Skinner,  all behavior is no more than a response to external stimuli and theres no innate programming wi thin a human being to learn a language at birth.What differentiates Skinner from those who came before him is the level of detail he went into when connecting behaviorism and language learning. In his concept of what he called operant conditioning, language learning grew out of a process of reinforcement and punishment whereby individuals are conditioned into saying the right thing. For instance, if youre hungry and youre able to say Mommy, Im hungry, you may be rewarded with food and your behavior will thereby be reinforced since you got what you wanted.To put it another way, Skinner described a mechanism for language learning that hadnt existed before on the  tabula rasa side of the language acquisition debate. What this means for us as language learners, should his theory be even partially true, is that a process of conditioning must be achieved for us to succeed. When we say the right thing, we must be rewarded. When we say something incorrectly, that too must be made clear. In other words, we need feedback to succeed as language learners.5. Chomskys Universal GrammarAround the same time as Skinner there came  another linguistic powerhouse who would leave a lasting impression on the field of linguistics. Namely, Noam Chomsky.The theory that Chomsky proposed would be called Universal Grammar and it would assert nearly the exact opposite of what Skinner had offered in his theory. Where Skinner saw all learning coming from external stimuli, Chomsky saw an innate device for language acquisition. What Skinner understood to be conditioning according to particular events Chomsky, understood to be the result of the  universal elements that structure all languages.In fact, one of Chomskys major bones to pick with Skinners theory had to do with Platos problem, as described above. After all, if Skinner is right, how is it that children can learn a language so quickly, creating and understanding sentences they have never heard before?Universal Grammar has been around for roughly a half a century by now, so its hardly the last word on the subject. It has also received plenty of criticism. One critique that particularly concerns us is that it may have little to do with learning a second language,  even if its how we learn a first language. There are certainly theories about applying this concept to organize syllabi  for language learning, but this seems unnecessarily  complex for the average, independent learner.In short, while Chomskys theory may be still be important in the linguistics field as part of an ongoing discussion, it offers little help for learning a second language other than to provide you with the confidence that the grammar for all languages is already inside your head. You just need to fill in the particulars.Over the past half century or so, a slew of other language learning theories have cropped up to try to deal with the perceived flaws in Chomskys theory and to fill in the cracks for more specific areas of language learning ( i.e. areas of particular interest to us).Next up  are two theories that, while not the philosophical bombshells like the ones listed above, arguably  have more of a practical edge.6. Schumanns Acculturation ModelJohn Schumanns Acculturation Model describes the process by which immigrants pick up a new language while being completely immersed in that language.This theory doesnt deal with the process of language learning as we normally think of it (such as how we acquire grammar or listening skills), but rather focuses on social and psychological aspects that influence our success.For instance, an immigrant is more likely to acquire their new target language if their language and the target language are socially equal, if the group of immigrants is small and not cohesive and if there is a higher degree of similarity between the immigrants culture and that of their new area of residence.The obvious takeaway is that language learning is not an abstract subject like physics that can be l earned out of a book regardless of the world around you. There are sociological factors at play, and the more we do to connect with the culture on the other end of our second language, the faster and easier it will be for us to learn that language.7. Krashens Monitor ModelStephen Krashens Monitor Model in fact consists of several distinct hypotheses which make up what is probably the most cited theory  in second language acquisition.  Theres so much to take away from Krashens theory that Ill just let you peruse the link given for details and give a rundown of the highlights here.Language acquisition is subconscious and results from informal, natural communication.Language learning is conscious and driven by error correction (more formal).Grammar structures are acquired in a predictable order.Language acquisition occurs with comprehensible input (i.e. hearing or reading things that are just slightly above our current language level).A monitor is anything that corrects your language p erformance and pressures one to communicate correctly and not just convey meaning (such as a language teacher who corrects you when you make a grammatical mistake).It should be noted that this is just Krashens theory. While this theory is quite popular, there has been criticism and direct contradiction of certain parts of it (particularly his idea about the predictable order of grammar structures). Still, its useful to get ideas for language learning.This theory suggests that we should both strive to increase our second language inputs (like by watching video clips on FluentU and going through books for reading) and make sure we receive proper error correction in one form or another.As this selection of important theories should make clear, the subset of linguistics which deals with language learning is both wide and deep.Some of it is highly theoretical and complex and is most relevant to scholars of the field. Other parts are extremely zoomed in and tell us highly specific details about how to learn a language.Regardless, its all connected.By understanding more bits and pieces of it all, youll gradually begin to understand yourself and your own language learning process better than ever before. And One More ThingHeres another credible theory: Learning languages with fun videos can make the journey to fluency faster and more enjoyable.FluentU makes it possible to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, news and inspiring talks.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that natives  speak them. FluentU has a wide variety of videos like movie trailers, funny commercials and web series, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse Screen.FluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover your mouse over the subtitles to instantly view defi nitions.Interactive transcript for Carlos Baute song.You can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs learn mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet  or, better yet,  download the FluentU app from  the iTunes store  or Google Play store.

What Does It Mean When You Read the Percent Yield Of A Chemical?

What Does It Mean When You Read the Percent Yield Of A Chemical?The percent yield of a chemical is the number of grams of that chemical produced from one gram of the element it is based on. The basis for converting a chemical into its equivalent weight can be any thing that can hold an equation with another chemical. For example, if you take a cup of soda and mix it with water, you will end up with a pound of soda with the same amount of water that you had originally.In some ways, you can use the percent yield as a simple shorthand for the mass-to-weight ratio of a chemical. All that really matters is the percentage of the chemical. If a substance is labeled a percent yield, it is an easy way to determine how much of a particular element that substance is made up of.Now, if you want to know what elements are found in a specific chemical, you have to look at the percent yield as well. If it is a pound of calcium chloride, and it is written on the label, you know the percent is 1.2. Th is can be done through the help of a mass calculator and how it can be used in the equation. You can then convert it into the equivalent weight of calcium chloride.However, if you want to know the equivalent weight of all the grams of calcium chloride, you can easily do this by using the decimal system. Calcium chloride, or CaCl2, has four atoms of each element found in the periodic table. If the number of atoms of the elements on the periodic table is higher than the number of atoms of the other elements, you can be assured that there is a lot more of the element you are looking for.If you look at the percentage yields of the elements in the periodic table, you will find that they are all listed in the natural equivalent form. Each element has a number assigned to it, and it is based on the weight of the element in the periodic table. The more commonly used formulas will list the elements in the same order as the natural equivalents are found in the periodic table.As we have seen, the percent yield of a chemical will give you the weight of a certain element, but it will not tell you what the element is. In most cases, the molecular formula of the element will tell you that information. Sometimes the molecular formula will include the symbol for the element, or the number of times that the element has been used in chemistry. It is wise to check with your chemistry professor before you read the list.Whether you are interested in the mass-to-weight ratio, or the percent yield, you should learn how to convert the two terms. Knowing this information is useful for both your education and your own professional and financial success.