How to Solve Maths Problems

How to Solve Maths Problems Maths Help with Equations, Variation and Sign Tables ChaptersAdvice For Solving Maths ProblemsHow Do You Solve a Maths Equation?How to Solve FunctionsUnsolved Maths ProblemsMaths can cause problems for children and adults alike. Do you panic when you have to solve a quadratic equation or have to think about graphing? It turns out that even physicists have worries when it comes to maths and algebraic problems!How good are you when it comes to solving equations? Do you know your exponent from your elbow or are you in pieces just thinking about fractions?A lot of people bemoan maths in schools, at A-level and GCSE maths revision, saying they'll never use it in real life. However, the inverse is true. While you mightn't use a particular theorem, your brain will often put them to use by substituting an approach into a real-life situation without you even realising.Furthermore, adopting a rational and mathematical approach will allow you to not only solve all manner of problem and polynomial equation but also improve your memory.After learni ng to do sums, it's time to get to grips with problems. (Source: pixabay.com)These problems arise all the way through school. You have to know, if you want to get better at maths, how to simplify your problems and solve the equation, be it a linear equation or a quadratic formula.Whatever the problem (or equation), the approach is always algebraically the same. When you solve equations, you usually have to solve for x. This means you're given a formula with certain expressions, sometimes a coefficient, and your job is to rearrange it so that the unknown number (usually represented by x) becomes a known quantity.Sometimes these problems are presented without the formula in the form of word problems whereby you have to create and solve equations, rather than just being given algebraic equations.If you have gaps in your maths knowledge or you just want to improve, you have to master these essential maths skills.Don’t forget that maths is a core subject and the skills you learn from i t will accompany you throughout your academic and professional life! MyriamMaths Teacher 5.00 (13) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £200/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Dr parikhMaths Teacher 5.00 (8) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors KamalMaths Teacher 5.00 (9) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors PetarMaths Teacher 5.00 (8) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors GowsikaMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RubenMaths Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ConorMaths Teacher 4.75 (4) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsAdvice For Solving Maths ProblemsLearning the necessary approaches to solve maths problems is at the heart of maths teaching.  In fact, that’s why we deal with problems all the way through our maths lessons.Whether it’s geometry or algebra, most of the exercises you do during your maths revision classes are also on the exams you take.  Whatever your level, the approach to solving a maths problem is the same.You have to imagine the problem like an investigation. You have the clues in the question and you have to carry out an inquiry and take the necessary steps to find the solution.  If you want to succeed in maths, you have to know these concepts.Whether in maths class or in a private tutorial, you’ll learn concepts that are essential to the discipline. Maths exercises are simply applying these concepts.  Thus, revision sheets and studying the exercises done in class are essential to getting ahead in maths.If you want to solve maths problems, you have to pay attention in class! (Source: pixabay.com)Once you’ve mastered these essential concepts for solving problems, you have to:take care of your work environment, keeping a calculator at handtake time to read the problem several times before starting to tackle itrecognise the clues that you already havetest hypotheses on a scrap piece of pap ercheck your results several timesBeing able to solve problems is essential if you want to progress in maths.  Nevertheless, you may still have difficulties.  In this case, you need to stay motivated and persevere.A math tutor, through their private tutorials, can help a student to gain confidence in themselves and develop the essential maths skills.If the problems are becoming a problem, the tutor can also provide regular training and adapt their teaching methods in order to help the maths student progress more quickly.How Do You Solve a Maths Equation?Before solving an equation, you need to understand what mathematicians mean when they say this.An equation means that both sides are equal and there’s a variable, normally called x, which we need to find out.We usually learn about addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, and mental arithmetic in primary school.  However, it’s not until we’re older when we start to see equations popping up in this form:7x + 5 = 3x â€" 15 This is when we first meet the x. and we start having to solve these equations which still involve adding, subtracting, dividing, and multiplying.  As we move on through school, we start seeing more and more of them.These equations get more complex in line with the level of maths taught as you get to the end of compulsory education.Equations are an integral part of secondary school maths. (Source: stock.tookapic.com)Throughout your time in school and for those that decide to study maths or a scientific subject, these equations never disappear.  So you'll have to learn to solve them sooner or later!The simplest equations (linear or first degree equations) are those that we first learn to solve and these are the steps you have to take to do it:Isolate the unknown (this means putting it on its own on one side of the equal sign)Regroup the termsDivide, multiply, add, and subtract (as per the equation)Write the solutionSo, for example, the equation 3x - 5 = â€"x  + 2 is solved as follows :3x + x = 5 + 24x  = 7x =  7/4Therefore x = 1.75Remember that when you solve equations, whatever you do to one side, you have to do to another, else you'll end up with inequalities.You should also remember that in order to find a solution, adding is the opposite of subtracting, dividing is the opposite of multiplying, taking the square root is the opposite of squaring, and factoring is the opposite of expanding.Once you’ve worked how to solve linear equations, you can then move onto zero-product or second degree equations like: (ax  + b) (cx+d) = 0.The key rule that your maths teacher will tell you is that the product of these factors is zero only if one of the factors is zero.  That means you need to solve as many equations as there are factors in your problem.However, there are other types of quotient equations which can seem really complicated to students.  Quotients are presented as follows: f(x) / g(x) = 0.You need to remember that a quotient is null only if its numerator is null and its denominator is not.You must therefore exclude prohibited values all while reducing the denominator in order to bring the equation to a null quotient.  You need to use cross products:x/  x+1 =  x-1 /  x+2x  (x  + 2) = (x  - 1)(x  + 1) x (x  + 2) - (x  - 1) (x  + 1) = 0x ² + 2x  â€" (x ² â€" 1)   = 0x ² + 2x  â€" x ² + 1 = 02x  + 1 = 0x  = -(1/2)The solution is therefore = -(1/2)These can be either a simple maths problem or a geometry problem.  In this case, you have to use the methodology for solving problems while adding everything we know for the equation, too.You must translate the problem into maths terms in order to then solve it and, in these cases, don’t forget to provide the literal solution as well.How to Solve FunctionsStudying functions is one of the more advanced aspects of maths we learn at school.In maths, a piece of scrap paper is your best ally. (Source: stock.tookapic.com)We study polynomial, exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric equations, thei r variations, and their limits.You need to find their extremums, asymptotes, and, above all, draw the function.  This mean you need to learn how to draw a variation table by taking the following steps:Derive the functionFactorise in order to express under the form of a product or a quotientStudy the sign f’(x) against IDraw the variation table of F against IDraw the function on its intervalYou can work on the derivatives and variation tables with your private maths tutor. Regular maths exercises will help you improve.In fact, you should always pay attention to carefully placing your plot point on a curve in order to avoid mistakes.You can use A Level past papers to practice on in order to avoid any surprises when it comes to taking your exam and give you the best chance of passing.Unsolved Maths ProblemsIn addition to the mathematical notions you learn, maths also teaches us how to think mathematically.  Even the less mathematical of us can use maths in our everyday lives.Some of us love the subject so much that we want to dedicate our lives to it.  If you’re the latter, you may be interested in some of the unsolved mathematical problems.  In fact, there are plenty of problems that mathematicians have never found the answer to.Computers can't even solve these problems! (Source: pixabay.com)The Clay Mathematics Institute defined 7 of them in 2000. These are a little trickier than finding the intercept in systems of equations, substitution, or messing about with a graphing calculator.In fact, that's why if you solve one of these problems, you can win a million dollars:Riemann hypothesisHodge conjectureBirch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjectureNavierâ€"Stokes existence and smoothnessYangâ€"Mills existence and mass gapThe seventh problem, the Poincaré conjecture, was solved by the Russian mathematician Grigori Perelmann in 2003. Don't worry, though. There are six left to solve!In addition to these unsolved problems, there are also Ramsey numbers and Lychrel numbers (with 196’s famous unfindable palindrome).To better prepare for these challenges, you’re going to have to get a good grasp of maths and problem solving.Whether you're still not sure how to solve quadratic equations or are struggling with systems of linear equations, calculus, complex numbers, trigonometry, notation, or just simply simplifying formulae, a maths tutor could help you with this and lead you to future mathematical success.How much does a maths tutor cost? For that, there's no absolute value!

Writing and interpreting decimals

Writing and interpreting decimals Writing and interpreting the decimals number is one of the basic concepts in numbers. Decimal number is placing a decimal point between the digits. The decimal number place value is given as follows. The first number next to the decimal point is called the tenth place value. The second number next to the decimal point is called the hundredth place value. The third number next to the decimal point is called the thousandth place value and so on. Example 1: Write seven hundred and forty five thousands as a decimal number? Solution: First write the number according to the whole number place value. This gives seven hundred and forty five = 745 Now the thousandths decimal number is placing the decimal point three place values to the left. 0.745. Here in the decimal number place values: The tenth place value is 7. The hundredth place value is 4 and the thousands place value is 5. Hence, the decimal number representation = 0.75. Question: Multiple choice question (Pick the correct option.) Write five hundredths as a decimal number? a) 5 b) 0.5 c) 0.05 d) None of these. Correct answer: option c. First write the given number according to the whole number place value 5. Now the decimal point at the hundredths place will be placing a decimal point two places to the left of the number. This can be represented as = 0.05 Here in the decimal number place values: The tenth place value is 0. The hundredth place value is the 5. Hence five hundredth of the number is 0.05.

Conic Sections Parabola

Conic Sections Parabola Conic Section parabola is a part of a cone. It is obtained when a 3 dimensional cone is cut. The intersection may be a circle, ellipse, parabola, hyperbola or even a line, point, or line. An parabola is obtained from conic section when the answer to this formula B^2 4 A C is zero and eccentricity is 1. The equation for the conic section parabola is: Y^2 = 4 a x and x^2 = 4ay Eccentricity is always 1 and parametric equation is (a t^2, 2 a t) Example 1: A conic section parabola has a = 2, t = 4. Find the parametric equation coordinates. Solution: In the given problem Parametric equation = (a t^2, 2 a t) Plugging in the values of t and a we get, Parametric = (2) (4)^2, 2 (2) (4) (2) (16), (4) (4) 32, 16 The parametric equation coordinates = (32, 16) Example 2: For a given conic section parabola a = 16 and x = 9. Find the y from the parabolic equation. Solution: For the given problem The parabolic equation is y^2 = 4ax Plugging in the values of a and x we get, y^2 = 4 (16) ( 9 ) y = 2 (4) (3) = 24 The y will be 24 for the given conic section parabola.

Preparing for the 2013 PSAT

Preparing for the 2013 PSAT Every October, most high school juniors (and some sophomores) take the PSAT.   Short for Preliminary SAT, the PSAT is exactly that a shorter version of the SAT that most students take before they take the actual SAT.   Questions on the PSAT are similar to those on the SAT, covering critical reading, math, and writing.     The PSAT, however, is scored out of 240 points, only takes 2 hours and 10 minutes to complete, and does not have an essay.Also, a students PSAT score doesnt count for college admissions.   That last fact is why many of my students tell me that they blew off the test, or forgot their calculator, or gave up halfway through that really boring reading passage on the feeding habits of bats.   Yes, its true, their scores on the PSAT wont affect which colleges they get into.   However, I still encourage students to take the PSAT seriously for several reasons:1) Your performance on the PSAT is a good predictor of your performance on the SAT.When you take the PSAT, the Coll ege Board is giving you a sneak preview of your SAT score.   Because PSAT questions are so similar to SAT questions, you can expect to get about the same score on both tests (just add a zero to the end of your PSAT score).   If you blow off the PSAT, youre giving up the chance to see how youd score on the SAT and adjust your approach accordingly.   Did you get that low PSAT score because you genuinely struggled with the test material, or because you got bored?   Dont underestimate the importance of this feedback!2) Taking the PSAT in a real testing environment boosts your confidence.Even though colleges dont see your PSAT score, most students still feel some nerves and pressure on PSAT test day.   Its inevitable when youre surrounded by hundreds of other students hopped up on adrenaline!   Youll feel the same way when you take the SAT.   The more chances you have to get nervous in a testing environment and deal with your emotions effectively, the more your confidence will increase. (This is why AJ Tutoring encourages all of our students to take proctored SATs at our office on Saturdays!)   If you take the PSAT seriously, allow yourself to get nervous, and take the test anyways, youre that much closer to confidently scoring your best when it counts on the SAT.3) The PSAT gives you valuable experience with SAT questions.Because PSAT and SAT questions cover the same content at similar levels of difficulty, taking the PSAT lets you know what you can expect on the SAT.   Students usually have not encountered anything like SAT questions in their schoolwork, and they can be blindsided by tricky function questions on the math section or convoluted sentences in the writing section.   If youve taken the PSAT and seen those questions before, youll get a leg up on preparing for the SAT and youll know what to expect on test day.4) High scorers can earn National Merit recognition from their PSAT performance.If youre one of those 99th percentile test takers, the PSAT might b e your ticket to a National Merit scholarship and an advantage in college admissions.   The National Merit program recognizes high scores on the junior year PSAT with several designations Semifinalist, Finalist, and Scholarship winner.   Only the top 1% of students from each state are chosen to be National Merit semifinalists.   If you have the potential to score high enough to get National Merit recognition, dont pass up the chance to take the PSAT!Whether you anticipate a stellar performance on the PSAT or youre just hoping to not bomb the test, I encourage you to take it seriously.   Good luck!The PSAT will be administered on October 16 and 19, 2013.   Looking for last-minute PSAT prep?   AJ Tutoring offers a short 3-session PSAT tutoring program to familiarize you with the test.   Email info@ajtutoring.com or call (650) 331-3251 for more information!

Preparation Tips for the GRE Verbal Section

Preparation Tips for the GRE Verbal Section GRE/MAT Graduate School Blog The verbal section of the GRE consists of three types of questions: reading comprehension, text completion, and sentence equivalence. Since the ability to analyze texts critically is of fundamental importance in research, a good score on the verbal section of the GRE is very reassuring to graduate admission committees. The best preparation you can do (apart from lots of practice tests) for the verbal section of the GRE is read a lot of classic literature. This will expand your vocabulary and expose you to clever or uncommon but grammatically correct linguistic constructions. The important thing is to find literature that you enjoy, so that you read a lot and retain a lot of what you read. Unfortunately, the large variance in the standard of online and print media has led to a widespread acceptance of malapropisms and incorrect usage that flout the conventions of academic writing. A lot of popular fiction is also poorly written from a grammatical standpoint, so your best bet if you want to improve your reading and writing ability is to read the works of acknowledged masters of style. Perhaps you will like John Steinbeck or Mark Twain or Chinua Achebe or George Orwell or Jhumpa Lahiri. The New Yorker magazine is a treasure trove of in-depth and well-written articles that are a smaller investment of time than full novels. However, this approach takes time. If you find in your practice tests that your vocabulary is woefully inadequate and time is short, you have no choice but to try the brute force approach of memorizing the definitions of the words on various GRE vocabulary lists available online or in test preparation manuals. Try to use these words as much as possible in your everyday conversation and writing. About half the questions in the verbal section of the GRE test your ability to comprehend and critically analyze passages of text, which may be drawn from literature, humanities, social sciences, business, arts, or natural sciences, but will not be laced with lots of technical jargon. There will be between one and six questions per passage, so you'll have to read a fair amount of text. Make sure you don't rush through the reading â€" ideally you'll read each passage just once, making short notes and underlining as necessary so that you can answer all the questions from your recollections and notes. However, you can't go too slow since there is a time limit. The only way for you to understand how fast you need to read (while thoroughly comprehending the material) is to do lots of practice tests. Be sure to time yourself on your practice tests, noting how long you spent reading vs. answering questions, and see if you need to read a bit faster. Apart from answering questions on complete passages, you will also be presented with some passages one to five sentences long containing one or more blanks (sentence completion questions). You will have to select the answer containing the ordered list of words that best completes the sentence or paragraph. Once you have made you selection, check to make sure that the passage is logically, stylistically, and grammatically coherent. The remainder of the test will consist of sentence equivalence questions, in which you will be presented with a single sentence containing just one blank. You must choose two of the six answer choices such that if either word is inserted in place of the blank, the resulting sentence is equivalent in meaning. Note that this is not simply an exercise in picking synonyms out of the answer list, since one of the synonyms may not fit the grammatical or logical structure of the sentence. Almost everyone finds the verbal section of the GRE challenging, so plan to dedicate substantial time to preparing for it in the months prior to the test. Mo is an experienced SAT, ACT, and GRE tutor in Chicago who also tutors a wide variety of college level math and science course. He completed his BS in chemical engineering at Berkeley and his MS and PhD at Northwestern University, after which he worked in mathematical research at a trading firm. He scored 1560 on the SAT and a 1580 on the GRE (both out of 1600 â€" 99th percentile test scores). hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(215486, '6baac2ae-05a3-4610-9d1f-265c8cbd809f', {});

Volunteering at Lambeth Academy with Gavin F

Volunteering at Lambeth Academy with Gavin F Since the winter term, Gavin F has been volunteering at Lambeth Academy, helping  three year 9 students with extra  English tuition .  We caught up with Gavin to see how the sessions were going. Interview with the students: What have you found the particularly useful about the sessions with Gavin? Soraya: Probably finding out new words and it’s improving my reading. What do you think about Gavin? Leah: He is very interactive and passionate about English And how do you feel it has helped you outside of class? Becky: Well we are studying Animal Farm later in the term so I think that what we have learnt about censorship of the press will be useful. Interview with Gavin: How do you feel you have supported their learning? G: I think by encouraging them to push themselves to realise that learning is   away of life rather than just an exam. You were also observing lessons earlier this week â€" what was that like? G: It was interesting to see behaviour management because I am going to do a PGCE and that is something university cannot really prepare you for. In terms of teaching style, what did you notice? G: I noticed that you have to keep them interested as a teacher â€" once they are bored they will rebel And what have you taken away from the experience? G: The most important I've taken away is that even as a Teacher you can keep on learning. If you want to get involved in our charity mission - click here to sign up today!!

How to take your italki tutoring to the next level

How to take your italki tutoring to the next level Chris Broholm runs a great blog called Actual Fluency. Its his way to research language learning but most importantly it is a way to tell the world that ANYONE CAN LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE. Hes currently taking the italki 2015 New Years Language Challenge to learn Russian and shared this great post that will help anyone taking the challenge or learning a new language. Original post here. In this post I’ll share a few ways you can take your iTalki tutoring to the next level, as well as give you an update on my Russian mission and iTalki New Year’s challenge. I’m currently 2.5 hours into my iTalki New Year’s Challenge to complete 20 hours of language tutoring in just 45 days. You can still join the challenge, but be quick as registration ends January 31st. The iTalki New Year’s challenge is going strong, and I’m really enjoying getting daily lessons. In today’s post I thought I’d give you an idea how my tutoring experience has evolved and also share some of the things I have found to be working really great. I’ll also share an actual recording from a recent session. You can hear me struggle, stumble and pause as I desperately try to speak Russian. In the second section of the post I will answer some questions that was written to me using the contact page. If you have any question about language learning, you are more than welcome to do the same! What’s changed in my tutoring Lenght of sessions A lot has changed in my tutoring since I began in autumn last year. First I discovered that 60 minute lessons were simply too long. After just 40 minutes my brain would begin to feel ready to explode, after having frantically searched every available cell for Russian words. By 50 minutes I could hardly say a thing, and by 60 minutes I was fried. I’m sure this is different from person to person, but after I switched to half-sessions twice as often I feel way better. 30 minutes seems like a perfect length for me but also for the kind of discussion I usually have with my teacher. Speed of the language After my extended break from Russian studies over the Christmas period I told my tutor that my goals for the iTalki Challenge would be to speak better and also be able to understand radio and television. I also asked if we could speed up the language a bit. Up until now she had been speaking very slowly, which was fantastic when I just started, but as I grew stronger in the language it was time to let go of the crutches! Now she speaks a lot faster. Nowhere near native-like speed, but a lot faster than last year. I can only recommend that you re-evaluate your goals with your tutor on a frequent basis. Also make sure to let him/her know if you have specific goals, so he/she can plan the sessions. A clearer  goal My tutoring sessions last year were great, don’t get me wrong. But they lacked the direction I was looking for, simply because I hadn’t told my tutor exactly what I wanted. I was being lazy and simply left it to her to plan each lesson. Since  I stepped up and asked my tutor to focus on the spoken language we’ve started working with Russian tv-shows. And man, is it challenging. They speak SO fast! The first show she had me watch, I literally struggled to understand 1 in 10 words. It’s getting better now with more and more exposure, but most importantly is that we work based on the episodes. She gives me questions for a section of an episode  and because this is my chosen goal, I work much harder to prepare for each session. Looking up words and preparing sentences. I didn’t do this last year. Often we don’t quite cover the questions because we often go off on tangents related to culture and other normal conversation topics. This makes me extremely confident that I’m on the right path towards conversational fluency. Listen to me in action! Here’s a brand-new tutoring session I had with my tutor this week. We were discussing this episode:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrR7xZlKNzQ Reader questions about tutoring These came in recently from a user, submitted via the contact page. You are always welcome to send me a message as well! I read every one of them. Do you recommend your tutor? My tutor Anastasia is fantastic. She has endless amounts of patience and has a lot of experience in tutoring on iTalki. You can count on her to prepare interesting materials before every lesson, and she always replied to my questions over Skype outside of lessons as well. She’s also great at adapting the lessons for my needs, as I explained above. On top of all her fee is very reasonable. What do you look for, when choosing a tutor on iTalki? The best indicator for me would be the user reviews tied to the teacher profile. Go in there and see the scores and also if students left actual text reviews. Although iTalki gives the students the option to leave a written review at the end of a session, most are too lazy to do it. So if you see good reviews across the board, it usually means the teacher is doing well. Experience with other languages, amount of lessons he/she has taught as well as diplomas are other indicators to look for when making your decision. Ultimately though it comes down to trial and error. Just because Anastasia works great for me, doesn’t mean that she is the best fit for you. iTalki offers you 3 trial lessons, which are discounted lessons so you can try out different tutors before you hire one for real. How often (and for how long) do you think one should take lessons there? As often as possible! Depending on your budget, schedule and goals in the language. I would just go for as many as that combination allows. My feeling is that you should aim to get at the VERY least a lesson per fortnight, but the more the better. You can’t take too many lessons. But I believe there is definitely a correlation between the quality of tutoring related to how far apart the lessons are, meaning that the longer you wait in between lessons, the more likely it is that you have forgotten things that you could have potentially refreshed, had you had a tutoring session earlier. Also by having more frequent lessons your general language learning is more focused, and you are more motivated because you are working towards a tangiable, upcoming goal. That’s it! 2.5 hours down, 17.5 hours to go! I hope you enjoyed my post on tutoring.  For more information on the topic I highly suggest Benny Lewis’ extensive article on it here: How to find the right teacher for online language lessons. How is your iTalki challenge going? Let me know in the comments below! How to take your italki tutoring to the next level Chris Broholm runs a great blog called Actual Fluency. Its his way to research language learning but most importantly it is a way to tell the world that ANYONE CAN LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE. Hes currently taking the italki 2015 New Years Language Challenge to learn Russian and shared this great post that will help anyone taking the challenge or learning a new language. Original post here. In this post I’ll share a few ways you can take your iTalki tutoring to the next level, as well as give you an update on my Russian mission and iTalki New Year’s challenge. I’m currently 2.5 hours into my iTalki New Year’s Challenge to complete 20 hours of language tutoring in just 45 days. You can still join the challenge, but be quick as registration ends January 31st. The iTalki New Year’s challenge is going strong, and I’m really enjoying getting daily lessons. In today’s post I thought I’d give you an idea how my tutoring experience has evolved and also share some of the things I have found to be working really great. I’ll also share an actual recording from a recent session. You can hear me struggle, stumble and pause as I desperately try to speak Russian. In the second section of the post I will answer some questions that was written to me using the contact page. If you have any question about language learning, you are more than welcome to do the same! What’s changed in my tutoring Lenght of sessions A lot has changed in my tutoring since I began in autumn last year. First I discovered that 60 minute lessons were simply too long. After just 40 minutes my brain would begin to feel ready to explode, after having frantically searched every available cell for Russian words. By 50 minutes I could hardly say a thing, and by 60 minutes I was fried. I’m sure this is different from person to person, but after I switched to half-sessions twice as often I feel way better. 30 minutes seems like a perfect length for me but also for the kind of discussion I usually have with my teacher. Speed of the language After my extended break from Russian studies over the Christmas period I told my tutor that my goals for the iTalki Challenge would be to speak better and also be able to understand radio and television. I also asked if we could speed up the language a bit. Up until now she had been speaking very slowly, which was fantastic when I just started, but as I grew stronger in the language it was time to let go of the crutches! Now she speaks a lot faster. Nowhere near native-like speed, but a lot faster than last year. I can only recommend that you re-evaluate your goals with your tutor on a frequent basis. Also make sure to let him/her know if you have specific goals, so he/she can plan the sessions. A clearer  goal My tutoring sessions last year were great, don’t get me wrong. But they lacked the direction I was looking for, simply because I hadn’t told my tutor exactly what I wanted. I was being lazy and simply left it to her to plan each lesson. Since  I stepped up and asked my tutor to focus on the spoken language we’ve started working with Russian tv-shows. And man, is it challenging. They speak SO fast! The first show she had me watch, I literally struggled to understand 1 in 10 words. It’s getting better now with more and more exposure, but most importantly is that we work based on the episodes. She gives me questions for a section of an episode  and because this is my chosen goal, I work much harder to prepare for each session. Looking up words and preparing sentences. I didn’t do this last year. Often we don’t quite cover the questions because we often go off on tangents related to culture and other normal conversation topics. This makes me extremely confident that I’m on the right path towards conversational fluency. Listen to me in action! Here’s a brand-new tutoring session I had with my tutor this week. We were discussing this episode:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrR7xZlKNzQ Reader questions about tutoring These came in recently from a user, submitted via the contact page. You are always welcome to send me a message as well! I read every one of them. Do you recommend your tutor? My tutor Anastasia is fantastic. She has endless amounts of patience and has a lot of experience in tutoring on iTalki. You can count on her to prepare interesting materials before every lesson, and she always replied to my questions over Skype outside of lessons as well. She’s also great at adapting the lessons for my needs, as I explained above. On top of all her fee is very reasonable. What do you look for, when choosing a tutor on iTalki? The best indicator for me would be the user reviews tied to the teacher profile. Go in there and see the scores and also if students left actual text reviews. Although iTalki gives the students the option to leave a written review at the end of a session, most are too lazy to do it. So if you see good reviews across the board, it usually means the teacher is doing well. Experience with other languages, amount of lessons he/she has taught as well as diplomas are other indicators to look for when making your decision. Ultimately though it comes down to trial and error. Just because Anastasia works great for me, doesn’t mean that she is the best fit for you. iTalki offers you 3 trial lessons, which are discounted lessons so you can try out different tutors before you hire one for real. How often (and for how long) do you think one should take lessons there? As often as possible! Depending on your budget, schedule and goals in the language. I would just go for as many as that combination allows. My feeling is that you should aim to get at the VERY least a lesson per fortnight, but the more the better. You can’t take too many lessons. But I believe there is definitely a correlation between the quality of tutoring related to how far apart the lessons are, meaning that the longer you wait in between lessons, the more likely it is that you have forgotten things that you could have potentially refreshed, had you had a tutoring session earlier. Also by having more frequent lessons your general language learning is more focused, and you are more motivated because you are working towards a tangiable, upcoming goal. That’s it! 2.5 hours down, 17.5 hours to go! I hope you enjoyed my post on tutoring.  For more information on the topic I highly suggest Benny Lewis’ extensive article on it here: How to find the right teacher for online language lessons. How is your iTalki challenge going? Let me know in the comments below!

How a tutor can help your child this school year

How a tutor can help your child this school year Tutors have become an important part of a child's education, helping them to achieve their target grades and preparing them for dreaded exams. A tutor is a teacher or professional that is paid to work privately with a child and to help them with their specific needs. The great thing about a tutor is that they can work with your child in a more focused way, ensuring they concentrate on the areas your child is struggling with the most. As parents we know our children and fully comprehend their strengths and weaknesses. So it is up to us to know when we think a little outside help might be needed. There are also some tell-tale signs that your child could really benefit from a private tutor. Here are a few of them: Your child may feel frustrated when they need to do their homework and avoid it where possible. They may be spending more time than normal trying to complete their homework. Your child may complain regularly that they don't want to go to school, they 'hate' a specific lesson or they dislike a teacher. Your child's report may have seen a drop in grades. Your child may seem more withdrawn that normal or less confident than before. Of course the first thing to do if you notice 'something different' about your child or their attitude, is to talk to them and find out what is bothering them. If it is an issue with school work or they are struggling to understand certain topics they may have covered then a tutor is a good way to go. A tutor can help with: Helping your child with a specific subject they may be struggling with. Preparing your child for exams whether they be entrance exams, GCSE's or A-levels. Building their confidence. Providing invaluable exam tips. Challenging them to strive to be the best they can. And another great thing about a private tutor is that they build a rapport with your child and adapt their teaching styles to suit your child's individual needs. Of course tutors cannot work miracles and where some parents think that as soon as their child begins working with a tutor their grades will automatically go up, this is not the case. Both a tutor and a child need time to form a working relationship; but normally after the first few lessons your child should be on course to reaping the benefits of having a teacher all to themselves. A tutor is hired to supplement classroom teaching and because they have the chance to work on a one-to-one basis with your child they are able to quickly see where your child needs the most help. So if you think your child could do with some confidence building, extra work on their Maths skills, help with preparing for their science GCSE's or just needs some extra academic attention to challenge them and see them achieve their maximum potential then a private tutor will almost certainly help with this. For more information about how to find a tutor visit First Tutors.