4 Ways Learning a Language Can Help Your Career

4 Ways Learning a Language Can Help Your Career Many high schools and colleges require students to study a foreign language. Beyond fulfilling this prerequisite for graduation, learning another language can boost your career prospects. This is increasingly important in todays global economy. As companies broaden their reach across continents, they are increasing communication and movement between offices around the world. At a more local level, companies are serving a diverse population. With nearly58 million Latino people in the United States for instance, Spanish is spoken more often and in more communities than ever before. This has led to more bilingual jobs. So how exactly can a foreign language help you in your job? Here are four ways learning a language can help your career: 1. Learning a language opens doors to new career opportunities A foreign language can expand your network. Not only are you able to speak with people from different backgrounds, youll also earn trust by demonstrating a deeper understanding of cultural norms and etiquette. This was certainly true for Chicago-based Varsity Tutors student Chris T. He began learning Mandarin Chinese to make himself more competitive at a company that conducts international logistics for ocean freights. While his Chinese colleagues knew fluent English, he noted that, Speaking to Chinese delegates in Chinese allowed me to be seen as more of a subject matter expert. Not only did I understand the logistics, but the culture as well. Speaking a foreign language can make you more appealing to international companies, qualify you for a wider range of jobs, and help you climb further up the ladder. What language will open most doors is dependent on the work you do. Mandarin Chinese and German are particularly helpful in fields like finance, while Spanish is useful in areas like sales, marketing, and healthcare. Thinking about what career you might like to pursue can help you decide which language to study. [RELATED: Why Should You Learn a Foreign Language?] 2. Learning a language improves crucial business skills Learning a language can be difficult. Challenging your brain sharpens various cognitive skills, many of which will help you be successful in your career. For instance, the process of language learningimproves decision making and increases perception. Memorizing grammar rules and vocabulary can improve your memory, and applying said rules can make you amore intuitive problem-solver. Speaking a foreign language can also increase your confidence at work. Denver-based Varsity Tutors student Rachael A. shared, Communicating with the people I work with in Spanish was great, but I never felt like I could be vulnerable and ask clarifying questions. Tutoring is allowing me to gain a higher fluency without embarrassment. 3. Learning a language sets you apart from other job applicants Foreign language enrollment isdecliningat U.S. universities and colleges, but the demand for bilingual workers hasmore than doubled in five years. Given this gap, having a foreign language on your resume can be a huge opportunity to help you stand out from other applicants. [RELATED: 4 Tactics for Landing Your Dream Job] 4. Learning a language may increase your salary Learning a foreign language may translate into anearnings boost due to differences in supply and demand. While the actual value will vary based on language and job function, its worth noting. Here at Varsity Tutors, business languages (Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and Japanese) grew four times faster than European and traditionally academic languages (Latin, French, German, and Italian) over the past year. One in three of non-English language tutoring sessions were completed by adult learners, suggesting some adults are now trying to get ahead in their careers. Want to get ahead early? If your school doesnt offer the language you think will propel your career forward, or you want to go a level deeper with your language learning, private tutoring can give you the edge you need to boost your career prospects. To learn more about language learning for professional development and to read our full report on the state of language learning in America,click here.

What You Can Learn from a Less-Than-Perfect Gig

What You Can Learn from a Less-Than-Perfect Gig Suzy S. No matter how much practice and preparation you put in, sometimes gigs or performances dont go as planned. But in the end, its all about what you gain from the experience. Read on for Los Angeles teacher John P.s story Every band encounters problems when they play shows. Sometimes it’s a few small things: a PA that isn’t loud enough, a crowd that isn’t into your music, malfunctioning gear, a tough time slot. Sometimes all those things can come together to cause a storm so perfect you just have to laugh and admire it. That’s what happened when my band The Quick And The Dead played our last show in Las Vegas. We started out with everything planned perfectly. We were going to stay with our friend Victor. The club had a new PA they’d just installed. Two of the guys were going to fly out from Los Angeles and meet us. We were well-rehearsed. What we found, however, was that things didn’t always go as planned. When we stopped for gas in the middle of the desert, Mike, the driver and drummer of our band, noticed the engine overheating. We ended up stranded at the next gas station for over two hours until AAA came. We were towed to the next available town, which was about twenty miles south. Even though we were pressed for time, we made the most of it as we waited.  We took a guitar and a hand drum from the truck and jammed in the parking lot. Just the three of us and the wide open Nevada sky. An iPhone captured the impromptu jam, which turned out pretty fun to listen to. As time continued to pass, we finally noticed the Avis car-rental place around the corner of the repair shop. We shook our heads and raced inside. We had twenty minutes until they closed and the only thing they had available was a huge Ford F-150 pickup truck. “We’ll take it.” We ran into a dollar store to see if there were any supplies we might need. My friend Jim and I found a cheap blue tarp for ten bucks and thought we should get it so no one would be able to see our gear. Then we hurried back to the shop, took all our gear from Mike’s Pathfinder and loaded the pickup. “We can still make the gig,” Mike said. “It’s only four o’clock.” An hour later the storm clouds blew in. The highway traffic crawled. Pitter. Pitter. Rain splattered the windshield. A mad dash on  Xxyyxx Road allowed us to secure the tarp as best we could. The sky turned pink and then purple. The light seemed fake, like a movie set. Soon thereafter the sky exploded in rain and lightning. The storm followed us all the way to Las Vegas. Crossing our fingers for our gear, we soldiered on. It took forever to get to Henderson. Our gear was untouched, which seemed miraculous. *** It was almost midnight when we arrived, two hours past our scheduled slot. There was still another band to wait through. By the time we dragged our gear in, the clock hovered near two in the morning.  Finally, we made our way on stage to play our set. The crowd. Hated us. From the first note, our brand of classic-inspired rock did not go over well. Neither did the horrendous feedback, the result of the owners having a new PA, which they did not know how to use, and just let us deal with on our own. A few songs in, Bryan, our other guitarist, suffered a mysteriously dead amp. The thing just cut out and would not turn back on. After unplugging and re-plugging it in, he finally got it to work. That was the least of our problems. We played low, but the feedback was non-stop. Even Neil Young would have been taken aback. Victor’s turn at fronting the band for a Rolling Stones song went over horribly. The people all had their backs to us by then, drinking at the bar, probably praying it would be over. Rarely have I ever wanted to get out of somewhere so quickly. But what I did was to change it around. We’d lost the crowd, so I focused in on my bandmates. We’ve known one another for years. Bryan and I traded solos, each trying to compliment the other. I shared the mic with Troy. I locked in with Mike. And then I looked down at my sunburst Les Paul, which has been with me all over the country, and has played shows in so many great moments, and smiled. We had earned a great story that night, one that we would be able to tell for years. No matter how much planning you do, there are sometimes things that will gather to just completely shut down a show. It happens, and the best thing to do is to just realize the next night things will be better. You can travel great distances and go through a lot, and it’s still an honor to play music, regardless of the outcome. Until we got back to the hotel room and realized we had three and a half hours to return our rental truck, a drive that usually would take four, but that’s a story for another time. You might also like Expert Audition Tips TakeLessons Exclusive! Jumpstarting Your Music Career: 5 Tips Nobody Talks About Avoiding 5 Common Rehearsal Mistakes John P. teaches bass guitar, guitar, music recording, songwriting, and acting lessons to students of all ages in Los Angeles, CA. He joined the TakeLessons team in October 2012, bringing several years of experience teaching, performing and touring with his bands. Learn more about John, or search for a teacher near you! Photo by Hans Gotun

How to Work With an AP Physics Tutor

How to Work With an AP Physics Tutor Improving Academic Performance One way to ensure that you get the most value from your education is to hire a guide, someone who can provide personal attention to facilitate your learning process. Given that AP Physics is one of the most challenging courses you can take in high school, and given that it is usually preparation for even more specialized studies, hiring a dedicated AP Physics tutor makes a lot of sense. The responsibility for getting the most out of your education, however, still belongs to you, the student. Here are some steps you should take to ensure that you are using your AP Physics tutor’s services wisely. Do Your Best On Your Own The most successful physicists and engineers have been the ones who are independent thinkers. Before dumping all the responsibility in your tutor’s lap, try your best to read and understand the material and work through the problems on your own. If you get stuck in one place, don’t stop there and throw up your hands in frustration; instead note the difficulty you are having and move on as best you can. Not only will this build the study skills that you will need to progress along your educational path, it is also cost effective. The time you spend with your AP Physics tutor should be spent on filling in the gaps in your understanding, not starting from scratch. Prepare Ahead Of Time When you sit down with your tutor isn’t the time to decide what you need help with. You should spend time before the tutoring session reviewing what you know and figuring out where the gaps are, so that you can focus on those specific areas that you need help with. Do you not know the formulas? Can you not figure out which ones to use? Be ready to bring your AP Physics tutor up to speed with where you are, so that he or she can help you get caught up with the current material. Ask Questions Receiving help from a tutor is not a passive activity. You should take advantage of the personal attention to ask questions and seek clarification of anything that you don’t have a solid understanding of. Make sure you understand what you are learning from both a computational and a conceptual perspective. Unlike a teacher, it is not a tutor’s role to spoon fed you the entire curriculum, but rather to respond to your specific needs and fill in the gaps in your understanding. Review What You Learn Once the session is over, briefly review the concepts that you have acquired, and make sure that you understand them when you don’t have the tutor to explain them to you. Part of being a good scientist or engineer is being confident of your results without external verification. Review them again before the next session and make sure that you still have them; if you don’t, see the previous step. Build the habit of rigorously convincing yourself that you have learned the material, and any actual test you take will come to seem like a piece of cake. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(215486, '6baac2ae-05a3-4610-9d1f-265c8cbd809f', {});

Podcasts for Students Series Introduction

Podcasts for Students Series Introduction Improving Academic Performance In this series of blog posts, we’ll explore how podcasts can help students improve their academic performance and prepare for successful careers. We all know effectively managing your time is a key component of performing well at work and in school, and podcasts are an excellent way to learn new things while you are exercising, walking to class, or on the bus. Podcasts obviously cover a wide range of topics. Apple’s “categories” of podcasts include: arts, business, comedy, education, games, government, health, kids and family, music, news and politics, religion, science and medicine, society and culture, sports, technology, and TV/film. If you’re a student trying to identify ways to perform better in high school, college, or graduate school, you’ll probably find most relevant podcasts in education, or maybe health or even business. Here are a few different “types” of podcasts I’ve identified that could be particularly useful to students. Podcasts about productivity, health, and wellness provide foundational ideas for performing at a high level. These types of podcasts might provide you with ideas about time management, note-taking, having more energy through better nutrition, the benefits of mindfulness, setting goals, etc. A good example of to this category for me would be The Getting Things Done Podcast by David Allen. I read David Allen’s book by the same name, Getting Things Done, about a decade ago. It explores how to be more productive and less stressed through better note taking, organization, and use of to-do lists. I have been a die-hard believer in the importance of getting tasks out of your head, into a note-book, and onto a to-do list ever since. Allen and a co-author, Mark Wallace, have recently published a book that covers similar ideas and concepts aimed at teenagers (i.e., students) called Getting Things Done for Teens. Podcasts about specific topics can help you reach specific academic goals. You’ll find lots of podcasts about specific issues facing current or future high school, college, or graduate school students. There are podcasts about college admissions strategies and the application process, preparing for standardized tests, and more. With these types of podcasts, you are obviously learning about specific situations in which you may currently or will soon find yourself. An example of this type of podcast would be The College Essay Guy Podcast, described as a practical guide to college admissions. Podcasts about history, politics, economics, science, medicine, etc. can help motivate you and make you more curious and interested in different types of courses. Here, the idea would not necessarily be that you are going to study for your history of Rome final by listening to the History of Rome podcast by Mike Duncan (although you probably could, as it’s a somewhat thorough but also entertaining exploration of the history of Rome). Instead, this category of podcasts might pique your interest or curiosity and give you more context about a topic you are learning about in class. Simply by having more general background knowledge about a topic and having listened to it talked about in an entertaining way instead of a typical academic way, you may find yourself more interested and thus more likely to perform well in the class. For example, Malcom Gladwell is the author of several very popular books (including one, Outliers, that explains success as a function of a person’s environment along with personal motivation, drive, and effort that might be particularly interesting to students. It was in this book that he popularized the idea that it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become an expert at something). He has a podcast called Revisionist History that explores a variety of historical events from a different, often very interesting and unexpected angle. After listening to any one of these episodes it’s hard to not be at least a little more interested in the topic covered than you were beforehand. Here’s how to “use” podcasts. Podcasts are much less useful if you don’t act on or even remember what you are listening to. Podcasts about productivity tend to be chock full of useful ideas to try that will help you become more organized and use your time more efficiently. But you must remember those ideas if you plan on testing them out. I recommend taking simple notes during or immediately after each podcast episode. Then, make sure you somehow transfer the ideas onto a to-do list of some sort. The note-taking and to-do list building tool that I use most often is called Evernote, but simple pen and paper or any number of competitors to Evernote can help you capture and organize information. In our next article in this podcasts series, we’ll explore podcasts about productivity in more detail.

8 Majors With The Highest Paying Salaries

8 Majors With The Highest Paying Salaries Image via: http://www.topuniversities.com 7. Physics Starting Salary: $49,800 Mid-Career Salary: $101,000 A physics major can open many doors for you in the future. Career opportunities include teaching, working in a laboratory and/or computer programming. According to Bank Rate:  â€œThe American Institute of Physics reports that those with a physics degree find work in organizations ranging from high schools and hospitals to the U.S. military, museums, publishing firms, domestic and foreign governments and laboratories.” Image via: http://www.elevationnetworks.org/ 6. Business Management Information Systems Starting Salary: $53,800 Mid-Career Salary: $92,200 If you are interested in running a large business as a CEO, management information systems might be the right fit for you. In this major, students will learn how to manage a business through the use of business and computer-oriented programs. Bank Rate stated: “Management information systems majors to the rescue. Trained to analyze organizations computer databases, oversee projects and improve company productivity and efficiency, MIS grads enjoy a practically booming job market with the field growing 17 percent each year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.” Image via: http://www.sjsu.edu 5. Business Accounting   Starting Salary: $53,901 Mid-Career Salary: $96,675 According to Accounting Web, the salary of accountants has decreased by 0.6 percent from 2013. In addition, lower paying positions for recent graduates may be the ultimate reason for this drop. However, accounting is a great foundation for other high-end paying jobs for the future. Image via: http://mygoodstewardaccountant.com 4. Pre-Nursing Starting Salary: $55,400 Mid-Career Salary: $71,000 Known for its high demand and competitiveness, nursing requires acknowledgement of heavy science-based material. Don’t worry if you don’t know which field to specialize inthere are approximately 100 different types of fields that nurses can apply to. As a nurse, you’re bound to find out which one will suite you. According to The Best Schools, the highest paid nurse holds the position of Nurse Anesthetist with a median salary of $154,390. However, the steps to obtain this position could be quite rigorous. The position requires a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s degree. After working for a year in a care facility, such as the emergency room, you can apply to take the certification exam. Image via: https://northcentralcollege.edu 3.  Computer Science Starting Salary: $59,800 Mid-Career Salary: $102,000 The reason why this major is high in demand is because it presents numerous job opportunities within the field of computer science. Students who study computer science will learn how to understand programming language and eventually be able to create programs of their own. These jobs can range anywhere from informational technology (IT) to computer system development. If you attend a prestigious college, you are more likely to be noticed. However, it still may be difficult to land a successful job after graduation. An article from Forbes stated: “Nearly 70 percent of computer science majors had at least one job before they graduated from college last year, according to data gathered by the National Association for Colleges and Employers, which surveyed nearly 10,000 college seniors who were set to earn bachelor’s degrees in the spring of last year.” Image via: http://news.lib.uchicago.edu 2. Mathematics Actuarial Mathematics Starting Salary: $58,700 Mid-Career Salary:  $120,000 Actuary mathematicians analyze financial consequences and risks based on statistical data. As professional business professionals, actuaries have jobs that range from insurance companies to consulting firms. In a Business Insider interview, Mike Boot, managing director at Society of Actuaries, said “quite frankly, there are relatively few actuaries and people in our profession are well compensated for their jobs.” Image via: http://www.merton.ox.ac.uk 1. Engineering Petroleum Engineering Starting Salary: $103,000 Mid-Career Salary: $160,000 Out of all the majors within the engineering field, petroleum engineering is presently the number one highest paid in starting salary and mid-career salary. Petroleum engineers deal with crude oil and/or natural gas in the workplace environment. With a rough amount of only 1,000 students a year graduating with this degree, it is highly competitive due to its difficulty in specialized course rigor. Not only do petroleum engineers get paid well but other engineering majors do too, such as chemical, electrical, materials science and aerospace. Image via: http://www.resumeok.com Search through the Uloop job listings to find your next Part-Time or Full-Time employment or Internship opportunity. Employers are waiting to hear from you!

Top Tips for Parents when Traveling with Kids - ALOHA Mind Math

Top Tips for Parents when Traveling with Kids Have you been on a vacation with young kids recently? Then you know that if not planned for well, a vacation can be a stressful experience for a parent, and there are lots of small things that go into making it a pleasant one. Here are some tips that help smooth the way and give you those great memories when you travel with children: To handle those spills: One can never be too prepared! Whether a car-sickness incident or just a food-spill, always be ready with tissue paper or rags of cloth to clean it all up. Barf bags are another useful packing item that can be very helpful in long drives. Don’t forget to pack games for your children: You know best how short your toddler’s attention span can be. So be prepared to wait out those long times between flights, or even in your hotel room by packing your kid’s favorite toys and books. You can bring out one or two at a time to make it last for your entire holiday. Healthy snacking: Pack some healthy snacks for your kids, along with some juice packets so that you are prepared to fill in those gaps between meals with some wholesome nutrition. It is tough to eliminate junk food completely while on the go, but try to keep it to a minimum. Remember that stroller: Until your kids are more than 4 years old, do not expect them to walk any longer than 5 minutes. Take a stroller along for vacations where you expect a lot of walking. Even if traveling by air, these can be checked in as a separate piece of luggage without any problem. Be prepared with extra clothes: It’s a good idea to keep additional clothing to cover for all the spills and incidents that children invariably get into. Needing to buy clothes because of not packing enough can make an unnecessary dent on your holiday budget. Child safety: In crowded areas like the airport, or even just a tourist spot, it is very easy to lose sight of where the kids may have run off. To avoid any panic, teach them early on to hold on to your hands or even the tip of your dress in crowded places. Once you’re back safely from that awesome holiday, and looking around for extra-curricular activities for your child, do check out our great Math and English classes at ALOHA USA. For more details, drop in at our website: http://www.aloha-usa.com

Andys October Language Challenge Week 2

Andys October Language Challenge Week 2 Andy is our new UX Designer and recently joined the italki team in September.  One of the first things he did was join the italki October Language Challenge as he really needs to improve his Chinese as you can tell from his Public Video Pledge.  Hes graciously offered to blog about his experiences and how he is going to conquer the Challenge!  Take it away Andy This week Ive been naughty.  Since my last post seven days ago, I only took one class! Shame on me! While working it is very difficult to free up some time and save some mental energy to learn a language, especially one so difficult like the Chinese.  I have to say that I have some good excuses for not being able to actually take more classes. In fact in China we had a short weekend, last saturday it was a working day to make up for the long national holidays of the first week of october. Sunday and Monday i was knocked-off by a cold (I swear its not Ebola!) and iIwas not able to focus on nothing really Although, excuses doesnt really help you to learn a language. What is actually helpful is to set up a routine and schedule the classes in advance. At least for me, this should work better. If I know that a class is coming I  can find time to prepare and to arrange my other appointments in my busy calendar. Im sure than making my study time a commitment instead of a filler for my free time will definitely improve the results. Said so, until the end of October I will wake up earlier and take my Chinese classes in the morning before going to work. I used to do the same last year, but it didnt last long because to be able to attend the classes at the Chinese Language Institute before going to work I had to wake up at six in the morning! Commuting to the school and then commuting again to work was taking up 60 to 90 minutes every time. What a waste of time! By taking classes online I will  be able to save all of that commuting time and wake up one hour and a half later. Andys calendar to complete the October Language Challenge Here is my plan: Wake up around 7.30 and review the previous lesson between 8 and 8.30 while having breakfast (instead of the news!). Take one hour class from 8.30 to 9.30, then pack my stuff and go to work. Im lucky enough to live just 15 minutes by bike from the office so i should be able to be at work before 10.  Sounds like a good plan to me! So I already booked all the classes that Im still missing in order to achieve the 12 hours of classes goal. Im planning to be done by the 24th of October, almost a week in advance! What about you?  Do you have a schedule? How does it look like?  Let me know! See you next week guys!