How Homologous Chemistry Makes You Involved With Gene Therapy

How Homologous Chemistry Makes You Involved With Gene TherapyHomologous chemistry is the study of how proteins and nucleic acids are related to each other. It is also the branch of biology that deals with the biochemical mechanism of protein interaction with other molecules. The major role of homologous chemistry is in gene therapy. This is a process that uses a single gene to produce several variants of a gene so that the patient is capable of producing copies of a desired gene variant.These variants are inserted into a particular chromosome through various ways, for example, through nuclear transfer, that is, nuclear transfer of the genes. Some variations of a gene come with a given dose of the gene variant, while others need to be repeated every few days, so as to produce multiple copies of the gene. Chromatin modifications like those performed by nuclear transfer can produce such variants by the incorporation of new chemical tags in the DNA to make it stretch.In this way, the alt ered gene can be directly passed to the nucleus of the cells. Moreover, the chemicals used to deliver the altered gene into the nucleus are also changed or altered as well, as this is how these particular chemicals are used in gene therapy. The altered gene is usually inserted into the nuclear genome, but sometimes it is inserted in the cytoplasm.These chemical modifications in the cells of a person to have direct attacks on the body; the two ways of attack are usually directed against the cells themselves. However, when there is the involvement of a foreign gene, the effects of such chemical modifications can include various diseases or aging.These modified cells are known as engineered cells and have been grown from diverse groups of cells. This kind of cell is called iPS cells. These cells are differentiated into an organism that can reproduce and grow the designer's organism with the same modification, instead of making one single cell from a naturally existing cell.In this comp lex process, it is necessary to combine some very complex biological methods, which deal with the cell structure and cell function. In the process of making these cells, the most important step is the differentiation of the cells into the relevant groups, which are made to reproduce the designer's organism, and this is done by a sort of an animal.Although this need not be required to take place, most researchers agree that they do take place. There are often many modifications in any one gene, and the researchers are required to take them into account and choose the best way to treat the patient. This way, the outcome of the modified cells can be unpredictable, but at least the researcher can better understand the origin of the alteration of a gene and its possible outcomes.

Sewing Tutorials for Finding the Perfect Needles

Sewing Tutorials for Finding the Perfect Needles Use the Right Needles thanks to our Online Sewing Lessons ChaptersWhy Is the Sewing Machine Needle So Important?The Different Types and Sizes of Sewing NeedlesChoose your Needles According to the ThreadWhen and How to Change the NeedleI am not a couturier, I am a craftsman, a maker of happiness. Yves Saint-Laurent (1936-2008).According to one of the greatest fashion designers in history, learning to sew, provided one has a good sewing machine, is just the ticket to well-being and happiness.Acquiring all the essentials for sewing - making a jersey garment, a chiffon dress, or sewing upholstery - requires a bit of spending money and a lot of know-how.In addition to choosing a sewing machine, it's also important to buy a variety of sewing accessories for your sewing box:Sewing thread, lining, a satin tape measure, a bobbin or several, cutting tools (like sewing scissors), are some examples of the essential elements of your sewing box.While sewing and embroidering is now considered a mixed, non-gendered skill - in the sense that even men learn to repair a zipper or sew a hem by hand - this remains an activity mostly performed by seamstresses.Alas, men are often the big names in haute couture, like Yves Saint-Laurent, while it is mostly women who slave away on their mechanical or industrial sewing machine.This would explain why we often talk about the tricks of the seamstress and not that of the seamster...Nevertheless, neither male nor female sewer cannot assemble their fabrics if they do not have the sewing Holy Grail: good sewing needles.You'll often find a sewer cursing his/her Singer or Pfaff sewing machine because it has jammed, or broken the sewing stitches (zigzag, straight stitch, etc.), without even thinking that it is because their needles are not the right ones.Indeed acquiring the right needle, where the sewing thread fits perfectly through the eye, will make sewing much easier. Knowing which needle suits which fabric, however, can be like searching for a needle in a haystack.Well, maybe not that bad. In this article, Superprof gives you everything you need to remember when choosing good sewing needles.Find sewing classes near me. RaySewing Teacher 5.00 (6) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors PrincessSewing Teacher 5.00 (2) £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AnaSewing Teacher 5.00 (4) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ArianwenSewing Teacher 5.00 (2) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ShaziaSewing Teacher 5.00 (2) £10/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ZanetaSewing Teacher 5.00 (1) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors GianmariaSewing Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JacquelineSewing Teacher £17/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsWhy Is the Sewing Machine Needle So Important?The sewing needle is one of the key elements of the sewing machine: it gives great precision for a refined and meticulously crafted piece of work.Sewing jeans: a round-headed or a triangular needle? Source: PixabayA needle that is unsuitable for its purpose - a needle that is too thick on a thin fabric, or a fabric that is too thickly stitched with a needle that is too thin - can either damage the machine or leave visible stitching holes on the fabric.You must therefore stick to this fundamental rule: there is a needle size for every fabric.Before going to your favourite haberdashery shop or buying your haberdashery items online, you have to look at the type of needle that suits your machine, and remember that they do not fit all fabrics.The basic functions of a needle are fourfold:Create a passage for the sewing thread in its holder,Bring the thread of the needle in its holder,Make a loop with the hook,Pass the needle thread through the loop.A sewing machine needle consists of 10 elements each of which has its own function:The butt: to fix onto the sewing machine,The shank: thick part of the needle, it can be flat or round,The shoulder: part between the heel and the wing,The blade: part where the thread passes, between the heel and the eye (subject to friction, it heats),The long groove,The short groove,The eye: it is the hole in which the sewing thread passes to be driven down,The scarf,The tip: it allows the penetration of the sewing thread into the fabric,The point.A great article - on the blog Textile Learner - has detailed the anatomy of a sewing needle, and illustrates the importance of choosing a sewing needle for each sewing task.It is ultimately the needle that determines the quality and finish of the garment.Discover also how using the right pattern is crucial to your sewing projects...The Different Types and Sizes of Sewing NeedlesWhether you use a serger, an electronic or mechanical sewing machine, the sewing needles are numbered from 60 to 110: this is the diameter of the needle, in 100th of a millimetre.Remember:The higher the number, the more the needle  is suited for thick fabrics.And vice versa, the lighter the fabric is, the finer the fibres are, and therefore th e more a fine-tipped needle is needed so you don't pierce the fabric.Also learn all about needles and other parts of your sewing machine...My mother's advice: to knit a scarf, you need a Stretch needle and a good wool. Source: Visual HuntIn a haberdashery, the needle packaging will always indicate the type of needle and all the types of fabrics it suits.Your sewing patterns are ready and waiting for you to get sewing.Let's take a look at the types of needles and their different sizes: there are 7 types of sewing machines needles.Universal needle: With a so-called normal tip, it adapts to poplin, satin, natural (like cotton fabric) and synthetic fabrics. It is ideal for sewing shirts, dresses, suits, sheets, coats or making table linen. Aside from size 110, all sizes can be used (60, 70, 80, 90 and 100),Jersey/ballpoint needle: With a round tip, this needle will work well with jersey and lycra. Compatible sizes are 70, 80 and 90,Microtex/sharp needle: A needle with very fine tip, for very fine fabrics. Chiffon, taffeta, linen thread, voile, silk thread and microfibers. Use sizes 60 and 80,Stretch needle: Used for knitting, it has a ball point and is suitable for knitting yarn and curtains. Compatible sizes are 75 and 90,Leather needle: its triangular tip allows sewing thick leather and imitation leather, with sizes of 80, 90 and 100,Jeans and firm fabrics needle: this one has a rather fine and chrome tip. Suitable for seams on thick jeans and overalls, faux fur, gabardine, plastic and oilcloth, corduroy, denim. A thick size works well: 90, 100 and 110,Quilting needle: with a fine point, it is used to stitch fabric with padding. Choose an average size of 75 and 90.What happens, when you're so eager to start sewing, is that you may fail to change out your needles.Once you've got them out of their original packaging, identifying them can be time-consuming or tedious, at best: that's why we recommend that you adopt a colour coding system to identify them easily.Glu ing matching stickers to each type of needle (red for jersey, black for leather, blue for jeans, white for linen, for example), can be an incredible time saver for the messy sewer.Discover more tips to help you learn more from your sewing classes...Choose your Needles According to the ThreadYou also need to think about the sewing thread when picking out the needles for your machine.Why?Because to sew a button, darn an origami dress or a helm a pair of trousers, we will, firstly, not be using the same fabric and the thread will be different as well.Which cotton thread should I choose? Source: Visual HuntGradually you realise that the texture of the fabric impacts the type of thread needed. Thick fabrics such as leather or jeans require strong, sturdy thread and for it to be the same colour obviously.In fact, as the thickness of the fabric determines the thickness of the needle of the Pfaff or Brother sewing machine, the equivalent sewing thread thickness is also required.When using l ight fabrics, a very fine thread to pass through the eye of the needle will help reduce wrinkles.A trick to choosing your thread after buying a pack of needles:The higher the reference number of the thread, the more fine it is. A size 100 needle is therefore much thinner than a size 30.In summary: the bigger the needle, the thicker the sewing thread you need to buy, and vice versa.And what about changing the needle when it's damaged?Find sewing courses London.When and How to Change the NeedleIf the needle that has been used for months - to sew quilting fabric, linen or jersey - is damaged, it may break, bend or make very irregular and disjointed seams.There you go! My sewing needle bent in two because it was on the wrong setting! Source: Visual HuntThe needle should not be blunt or bent.Each new sewing project requires a change of needle.To change from a printed fabric stitch for tapestry to a decorative fabric seam, or to do cross stitch embroidery, the needle needs to be changed.H ow, then, do I change my needle?Remove the needle bar by turning the sewing machine's handwheel (the part used to operate the needle, the clamps and the thread take-up).Lower the presser foot,Take the needle by hand, unscrew the screw of the needle clamp,Remove the needle,Insert the new needle by turning its flat side towards the back of the sewing machine,Insert it until you reach the needle bar and tighten the needle screw.Here's some revision for you.Discover what you could make out of leftover fabric!Which needle for which fabric?Source: blueradish.com.auDiscover also how you can learn to sew yourself some new clothes...

Art Teacher Salaries

Art Teacher Salaries How Much Do Art Teachers Earn? ChaptersHow Much Do Art Teachers Earn in Primary and Secondary Schools?How much Do Art Teachers Earn?How Much Do Experienced Art Teachers Earn?How Much Do Art Teachers Earn Abroad?How Much Do Private Art Teachers Earn?How Much Do Art Teachers Earn in Other Art Classes?“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” - William Arthur WardTeaching isn’t always most artists’ first choice of career. After all, with students not paying attention, pressure from parents, and less-than-ideal working conditions, teaching doesn’t necessarily draw a lot of people in. Large numbers of newly qualified teachers are leaving the profession after only a few years.So how much do art teachers earn? CalumDrama School Entrance Teacher 5.00 (15) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ToriSpanish Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors OliviaSchool support Teacher 5.00 (2) £21/h1st lesson free !Discover all our tutors MarkESOL (English) Teacher 4.76 (17) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JenniferMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LouiseAutoCAD Teacher 5.00 (3) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RickyPercussion Teacher 5.00 (7) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicolasGuitar Teacher 5.00 (2) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MyriamOrganic chemistry Teacher 5.00 (13) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JonathanEconomics Teacher 5.00 (9) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Oluwakemi imoleMaths Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AlexPhysics Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AdamSinging Teacher 5.00 (14) £48/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ValentiniMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (2) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MilenaMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RashmiEconomics Teacher 5.00 (1) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsHow Much Do Art Teachers Earn in Primary and Secondary Schools?The arts often seem to be under threat but art as a subject remains a staple of primary and secondary education. After that, most people stop studying art. During their time at school, however, students will learn about primary colours, artistic expression, composition, and creativity. Furthermore, they’ll learn to use different materials and about the history of art. The amount an art teacher earns in UK schools depends on a multitude of factors. (Source: ulleo)Art and design is a compulsory subject through to key stage 3 and at least one subject in the arts needs to be offered at key stage 4. This means that once students get to GCSE level, they don’t necessarily have to study anything to do with art.Find out how to become an art teacher.How much Do Art Teachers Earn?Anyone who wants to teach art as a school teacher will probably need to have a bachelor's degree in art and a recognised teaching certification or qualification. Usually, teacher education involves completing a PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) and gaining Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Similarly, an education degree is also often accepted.You'll find that many universities in the UK have a department of education or school of education where these programmes are offered. In the PGCE, aspiring teachers will learn about teacher preparation, how to make lesson plans, the basic skills they need for teaching, and all about pedagogy.While this teacher certification includes some teaching experience as part of a placement (usually in a secondary school), your first teacher job will be where you cut your teeth.More importantly, this is when you'll start earning a proper teacher's salary. Teacher jobs are paid differently depending on your qualifications and whether or not you're in London. Similarly, a subject area that's in demand will encourage people to become a teacher by providing funding for the PGCE and better wages when they start working.Generally, around £17k is the starting wage for unqualified teachers and the main pay range for qualified teachers outside of London is £24k. Teachers in London will start by earning between £25k and £30k.Of course, these are just the lower ranges and a teacher salary will vary according to qualifications, experience, etc. The main pay ranges reach up to £35k outside of London and between £37k and £41k f or those in and around the capital.Those working in a private school tend to earn more than those in a state school as there's more money available in private schools. However, the requirements aren't always the same and there are fewer of them.Find out the qualifications art teachers need. CalumDrama School Entrance Teacher 5.00 (15) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ToriSpanish Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors OliviaSchool support Teacher 5.00 (2) £21/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkESOL (English) Teacher 4.76 (17) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JenniferMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LouiseAutoCAD Teacher 5.00 (3) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RickyPercussion Teacher 5.00 (7) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicolasGuitar Teacher 5.00 (2) £35/h1st lesso n free!Discover all our tutors MyriamOrganic chemistry Teacher 5.00 (13) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JonathanEconomics Teacher 5.00 (9) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Oluwakemi imoleMaths Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AlexPhysics Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AdamSinging Teacher 5.00 (14) £48/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ValentiniMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (2) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MilenaMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RashmiEconomics Teacher 5.00 (1) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsHow Much Do Experienced Art Teachers Earn?The more experience an art teacher gains, the more they can tend to earn. While we mentioned the pay ranges for unqualified and starting salaries for teachers, the upper pay ranges make getting a degree in education or a PGCE sound far more appealing. Art teachers can earn a decent amount under the right circumstances. (Source: Chun-San)Outside of London, teachers can earn between £37k and 40k and those in and around London are on £38k and £49k.Of course, these are the teaching jobs at the upper pay ranges and are reserved for school teachers with experience in the school system and great results.Beyond the upper pay ranges, there are also leading practitioners. These exceptional teachers can earn between £41k and £62k outside of London and between £42k and £70k in London.Find out how to study to become an art teacher.How Much Do Art Teachers Earn Abroad?You don't necessarily have to get a teaching certificate and start your teaching career in the UK. There are also jobs for educators all over the world. You might want to be a teacher somewhere where the weather is nicer, for example. Since art is universal, you can teach it anywhere in the world. (Source: Monfocus)While the certification requirements are different in different countries, the process for becoming a teacher in other countries usually follows a similar system to that in the UK: complete a degree in a particular subject and then become certified as a teacher through teacher training or another qualification.Of course, the world is a big place and we can't put an average on how much art teachers will earn. Check the average wages for teachers in the countries you're interested in. What we can say is that there are countries where teachers are paid more than in the UK and there are countries where they're paid less.Discover the skills that make a good art teacher.How Much Do Private Art Teachers Earn?As a private art tutor, you get to be the boss and decide how you teach art. Similarly, you can choose your rates. Of course, you need to think carefully about how much to charge as you’ll want to earn m oney but also not put off potential students. Art tutors can earn as much as their students are willing to pay. (Source: SPOTSOFLIGHT)You need to think carefully about your outgoings. As a small business owner, you’ll have to think carefully about your outgoings.On Superprof, the average cost of art and design tutors in London is £24 per hour.  Of course, the rates will vary according to where the tutor works, what their experience is, how many lessons they teach per week, and their qualifications, for example.If you’re teaching just a few tutorials a week, you won’t be able to survive if you’re charging pennies for them. You need money to live.How Much Do Art Teachers Earn in Other Art Classes?You can also teach art classes for private companies or in night classes. Art is a popular enough subject that there are many places where you can teach it.  There are night classes for adults offered by local governments as well as private companies offering classes for all ages. Don’t expect an amazing wage, though. The priva te companies are rarely huge and can’t afford to pay their teachers loads of money.  That said, at least your students will want to be there.If you're interested in becoming a private art or drawing tutor, consider signing up to Superprof and creating your profile. You can offer three different types of tutorials: face-to-face tutorials, online tutorials, and group tutorials. As there are pros and cons to each for both the student and the tutor, you need to think carefully about which combination of them you'll offer before you start.Face-to-face tutorials are just between you and your student. With just one student in the session, every session needs to be tailored to them. Of course, this means that you'll need to prepare a lot outside of the lessons. However, you can reflect this in your rates as you're offering a tailored bespoke service to the student. Face-to-face tutorials are usually the most expensive type of tutorials but they're also the most cost-effective for students so make sure that they're aware of this.Online tutorials are also between you and your student but you won't physically be there in the room with them. Instead, you'll teach them remotely using a computer, webcam, and video conferencing software like Skype. Much like face-to-face tutorials, online tutorials are a tailored service and you'll have to spend time planning each session but you'll save a lot of travel time as you only need to make it to your computer rather than the student's house. With all the time you save by not travelling, you can add even more tutorials into your schedule. With fewer outgoings and increased earning potential, you can charge more competitive rates for your tutorials.Group tutorials involve teaching several students at the same time. Of course, with several students to keep happy, you won't be able to fully tailor the tutorials to each student. However, with several students paying for each hour of your time, you can charge less and still earn more a t the end of each hour. Of course, this only works if your classes are full and the more students you have in your class, the less appealing your tutorials will be. Furthermore, group art tutorials will require a large space so if you don't have a studio or dedicated space available, you may have to look into renting a space for your lessons.

Essay Checker - Virtual Writing Tutor - free ESL grammar checker

Essay Checker - Virtual Writing Tutor - free ESL grammar checker Imagine a website that could help students write better essays with automated feedback. Now imagine the same website but with additional commenting tools to help people record audio comments and rate each others essays using IELTS and TOEFL rubrics and comments. There you have it: an essay checker for the Virtual Writing Tutor. For a score on your essay, you need essay evaluation. Thats what I have been imagining for the past few months, and Raju, my developer, has been building it. Although, in the past, I have strongly recommended using pen pal or narrative writing tasks with beginners and low intermediates before assigning academic essay writing tasks, I am ready to admit that I am happy with our progress. It should help to make peer feedback on this notorious form of display writing easier and more reliable. If you write or teach essays, I think you will like what we have come up with, too. There is a lot to it, so I will take you through the main features of the new essay checker, step-by-step, before explaining the individual tools. Right now, it is only available on the Virtual Writing Tutor Forum, but we will integrate it into the main page of the Virtual Writing Tutor soon. Access the essay checker from the forum. You need to be a member to use the forum, but membership is free and we dont send spam. Once you have logged in, click on Add new topic. Youll be taken to this next page. Forum post form to fill in Notice the Check Essay button. Once you have pasted a text into the text are, click it and you will see a pop-up with a menu of essay checker tools. Leave the default choices selected so that you can see what the system can do. Next, click Submit. The text you enter on the forum will be sent to the essay checker for analysis. Currently, the system can check an essay for the following: Vocabulary profile: the frequency distribution of the vocabulary in your text when compared to 10 000 most common words in English Academic vocabulary profile: the frequency distribution of the vocabulary in your text when compared to the Academic Word ListLexical density: the number of meaning-rich words per 50 wordsCohesion words: a count of transition words and phrases based on their function (addition, contrast, subordination, etc.)Average sentence length: an average of the count of words in each sentenceSentence colorization: sentences are highlighted in different colours depending on their length to help illustrate the amount of sentence variationSentence variance: the standard deviation of mean sentence length Word count: the number of words in your essayParagraph count: the number of paragraphs in your essay Provocative word count: the count of words that produce an emotional response in the readerCliche count: the count of common cliches to avoid in an essayConversational vo cabulary count: the count of words that are common in conversation but uncommon in academic writing Exclamation mark count: the count of exclamation marks in your essayGrammar check: the number of errors detected by the Virtual Writing Tutor grammar checkerError profile: the distribution of detected errors by error categoriesArgument strength: a sentiment analysis of paragraphs and sentences to check for how strongly negative or positive your argument isIELTS rubric: a method for calculating an IELTS band score using descriptors based on the IELTS writing task 2 rubricTOEFL rubric: a method for calculating a TOEFL score using descriptors from the TOEFL independent writing rubric5-paragraph hamburger essay comments: a method of providing explicit feedback on the 5-paragraph essay, also known as the hamburger essayAudio comment recorder: an online voice recorder for recording and uploading voice of the reader commentsDownload to DOCX: feedback and comments are converted to MS Word doc x file that you can editPrint to PDF: print the feedback on your printer or generate a PDF Essay Checker Results Review the essay checker results before clicking the Comments and Rubrics button. The feedback popup colorizes sentences based on their length. In the screenshot below, you can see an example of a paragraph made up of sentences of different lengths. The graphs at the top show the length and variability. Below them are the colorized sentences. Average sentence length, sentence variability, and sentence colorization Comments You can record your spoken comments to MP3 format using this online voice recorder. It is great for simply reading the essay aloud to show the author where you stumble, and it makes recording and uploading voice of the reader comments easy. You can speak for about 5 minutes. You can even switch tabs and talk about why you selected the descriptors you chose for the IELTS and TOEFL rubrics. When you click Save, your browser converts your recording to MP3 format, and the system uploads the MP3 file to the Virtual Writing Tutor server for you. The system then stores the URL of the recording in memory and inserts a link into your Word document or PDF. Essay checker commenting system for teachers and peers to give feedback on an essay You can review and delete recordings and start again if you like. IELTS Rubric in the Essay Checker You can choose from 9 descriptors for each aspect of the essay. To reduce the space on the screen, you can minimize each rubric section to show only the descriptor you chose. After you have chosen descriptors, the system calculates a score for you. TOEFL Rubric in the Essay Checker You can choose from 5 descriptors to evaluate the essay. To reduce the space on the screen, you can minimize the choices to show only the descriptor you chose. The system will display the associated score in the DOCX of PDF file. Print to PDF Your browser allows you to print your feedback to a number of devices, including PDF. The great thing about PDFs is that you can store them on your computer, edit them with MS Word, and send them as attachments to students. Chrome will generate a preview of the PDF for you. Notice that the feedback is plain text, for readability. DOCX You can download all of the automatically generated feedback and your comments to an MS Word document. This makes editing the feedback very easy. It is much quicker than converting a PDF to DOCX format. We hope users find it useful. Be sure to enable editing. The download is safe, despite the warning. This is just Microsofts way of scaring everybody and calling it security. I trust this gives you a clear overview of what the Essay Checker can do. We will be adding it to the main page of the Virtual Writing Tutor soon. We would do it sooner, but we want to upgrade the main page first. We expect the system to be much faster once the upgrades are done. Please follow and like us:

How to prepare for 11 Plus exams

How to prepare for 11 Plus exams For those parents who would like their children to sit 11 Plus exams for secondary school entrance, it is often hard to know what to use for exam preparation, so here are some links to useful resources in various 11 Plus practice materials for Maths, English, Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning. It is often said that practice is the best way to prepare for exams, especially as 11 Plus exams have strict time constraints which children need to get used to.  Practice therefore helps children not only develop the techniques to answer the certain type of 11 Plus questions but to also answer them in the time provided. According to Susan Daughtrey Education, it is best to start preparing your child about ten months before they sit the exams as this gives enough time for them to build the right techniques and have three or four months of practice and testing before the actual exam. If you think that your child needs some tutoring for their 11 Plus exams then Tutorfair provides top 11 plus tutors. Please take a look at our website if you are interested in where you can book these tutors online. Get free practice papers, resources and workbooks from: Eleven Plus Exams Bond CGP 11 Plus Swot   11 Plus Leap Parents in touch MW Educational The 11 Plus website   Lucky Gecko   11 Plus Maths The Education Website   Extra Tuition Some of these sites may also include materials which you would need to purchase. These sites have more resources which you have to purchase: Letts More Letts   Susan Daughtrey Education Amazon Ebay More resources on Ebay

5 Reasons Why Listening Is Important for Foreign Language Learning

5 Reasons Why Listening Is Important for Foreign Language Learning When a native speaker  starts talking in your target language, does it sound like Charlie Browns teacher blabbing?Blah, blah, blah.Do you struggle to understand when  listening in your target language?Do you spend whole conversations stressing that you cant find the right words to say?Believe it or not, this can happen to you even if youre  great at reading, a wizard at learning vocabulary and have translation skills that would make a baby laugh  (which is actually a good thing).You might begin to wonder whether youll ever be able to hold a nice, natural-sounding conversation.No matter how you feel about listening to your target language, and no matter how much progress youve made so far, the importance of listening is undeniable. Why Listening Is Vital for Language LearnersMany language learners focus a lot on speaking. They dont spend as much  effort on  quietly listening.Listening seems like it should be simple, or secondary to other more active language skills. To the surprise of many new learners, listening to a foreign language is difficult. If youve ever had to sit for a second language test, youll know that the listening section is almost always the hardest.But, listening is a vital skill for language learning.Research  shows that when we communicate, we spend around 40-50% of our time listening, 25-30% speaking, 11-16% reading and only 9% writing (although that last one might have changed in recent years due to the rise in social media).That means we spend about half the time listening!The question is: Do you spend half your language learning time on listening exercises?… if youre anything like me, you probably dont.5 Reasons Why Listening Is Important for Foreign Language LearningThe solution is to spend more time listening in our second language. However, its vital that we learn to listen effectively.Often, weve not been specifically taught how to listen in a foreign language, or if we have weve not been taught properly.Lets delve into the resear ch to find why listening is important and how we can improve our foreign language listening skills.1. Listening Is an Active ProcessIf youve ever sat in a group of people speaking in a foreign language, youll be familiar with the uncomfortable feeling that you should be joining in. You feel like, if youre not saying something, youre not really engaging in the conversation.Nothing could be further from the truth. The problem is that  youre confusing a silent process with a passive process.Listening is a very active process, despite the fact youre not saying anything. Thats why youre so tired when you go home after a social event in another language.Getting over the feeling that we are “doing nothing” is a key step towards listening effectively.One solution is to employ active listening techniques, to remind yourself and others that youre involved in the conversation even if you dont speak so much.Here are some tips to show that you are actively listening:Make eye contact with the person whos talking.Lean forward slightly to show interest. If youre actually listening this should be natural.Nod your head slightly to show youre understanding.Make agreeing noises and nod your head if you agree with something theyve said.Dont look distracted by fidgeting, playing with your phone or looking off into the distance.2. The “Silent Period” Is GoldenChildren who learn a second language often go through a  â€œsilent period”  where they dont say anything. Language teachers and researchers  havent totally agreed whether its a necessary stage of language learning, or how long it should be. But, they do agree that many children experience it.Its fair to say that most adults dont go through any silent period at all. We often try to jump straight into speaking.The problem with trying to speak from the beginning is that a period of silent listening can actually be hugely beneficial.One big reason is that speaking can be quite a nerve-racking experience. I find it as stre ssful as performing on stage. As new learners, were thinking so much about what we should say next that we dont fully experience what the other person has said. We suffer from “task overload.”Allowing yourself to be silent lets you get the most from listening.However, speaking successfully in a foreign language can also be very rewarding. Speaking motivates us to continue learning. And we wouldnt want to lose our motivation, would we?The answer isnt to give up speaking altogether. Its to give ourselves permission to be silent, and not beat ourselves up if we dont say much. Speak when you can, but you dont have to force it.We can benefit both from the motivation of speaking and the listening benefits of a silent period.3. Your Brain Is a Foreign Language GoldfishWould it surprise you to learn that your short-term memory is even shorter in a foreign language?When you think about it, it makes sense.  How often have you forgotten what someone has just said in your target language?   For me, at least, it happens a lot more than in my native tongue.Listening is a vital step in overcoming this problem.But, why does it happen?Not to get into too much detail, although it is fascinating, this effect might be due to how our short-term memory works. When we listen to someone talking, our brain starts processing the information by “segmenting” it into small chunks to store in our short-term memory. It splits them up based on our knowledge of the “rules” for how the language is spoken. Instead of storing the actual words “a green goldfish,” our brain would maybe convert those words into an image of a green goldfish for storage.In a foreign language, we arent familiar with the “segmentation rules” for how the language is spoken. Our short-term memory has to store all the words individually.One reason why listening is so important in a foreign language is that it helps us become familiar with those segmentation rules.Not only will it boost your understandin g, it will improve your speaking in the language too.Learning segmentation rules is usually an unconscious process, so the easiest way to learn them is to get lots of listening practice.Here are some ways to become more familiar with a languages segmentation rules:Watch films in your target language.Read a book while also listening along to the audio book version.Attend social events with natives and spend time just listening.Listen to the radio in your target language.Watch videos online in your target language.FluentU is one great way to find interesting, approachable video content in your target language. It provides carefully selected videos from all over the Internet in your target language, many featuring natural, casual speech. It also provides dynamic subtitles which go along with the video, which means that you can see how the spoken segmentation rules relate to the written phrases.4. Our Listening Strategies Are Upside-downIf you learned a language in school, what listenin g strategy were you taught?Myself, I remember that a listening exam went like this: listen to a tape (Yes. It was all tapes in those days) and then translate what wed heard. The specifics were important, the difference between a pass and a fail. You would lose marks if you messed up the gender of a word, for example. As far as I can see, thats still how listening is still taught in my home country.Language researchers call this a  bottom-up listening strategy.Bottom-up listening is an okay strategy to use in the classroom. It means carefully listening to each word, pronoun and sentence structure to work out what has been said. Unfortunately, its not a complete listening strategy for use in the real world.In the real world, you cant spend all your listening energy focusing on specific grammar while people speak. Theyll keep talking and youll be lost.Top-down listening, on the other hand, is a great strategy to add more understanding of whats being said.Top-down listening strategies f ocus on concepts. Bottom-up listening strategies focus on words. Both are necessary to be an effective listener.It basically means that you learn a little about the spoken topic beforehand. Here are a few suggestions for implementing a top-down listening strategy for some common activities:If youre going to see a movie or theater play in a foreign language, read the story first.Read up on the topic before going to see a presentation.Try reading about or predicting the content of an audio passage before you listen to it. This will get your brain focusing on concepts and not just specific words.Hang about with a friend who repeats the same anecdote when with different people. You already know the story, so your comprehension will go up dramatically. Its also a great way to make a potentially annoying situation into a useful learning exercise.5. The Gist Is Only Half the Story (or Less)Finally, one thing that we often neglect when listening in another language is to check exactly how m uch we have understood.Beyond a certain level of language ability, we often “get the gist” of what was said. However, sometimes we havent understood as much as we think.Next time you listen to something in your target language, try these six short, easy exercises to prove to yourself that youve understood what was said:Try drawing a picture of what was said.Ask yourself some questions about it and try to answer them.Provide a summary of what was said.Suggest what might come next in the “story.”Translate what was said into another language.“Talk back” to the speaker to engage in imaginary conversation (I do this when listening to the radio).Commit to ListeningAs you can see, listening is pretty important. Are you ready to commit to listening better in your target language?Just remember to use active listening techniques, allow yourself to have a silent period, listen lots to learn  the segmentation rules  of spoken language and flip your listening upside-down by incorpora ting top-down listening strategies.When you follow the exercises to check how much youve understood, youll be amazed at the change!Alex Owen-Hill is a European freelance writer. He writes about science, travel, voice-use, language and any of the hundred other things hes passionate about. Check out his website at www.AlexOwenHill.co.uk. Any questions? Connect with him on Twitter at @AlexOwenHill and ask away! And One More ThingIf youre digging these learning techniques, youll love using FluentU. 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 interac tive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover your mouse over the subtitles to instantly view definitions.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  or Google Play store.

Diversity in the classroom A checklist for culturally responsive teachers

Diversity in the classroom A checklist for culturally responsive teachers Whether this is your first teach abroad stint or you’re currently on your fifth contract renewal, it’s always worth evaluating your teaching style and pedagogy to look for areas to improve. In both private international schools as well as public schools, you will encounter a great variety of cultural backgrounds and it’s important as a teacher to model acceptance and to value inclusivity. Read below to see what you’re currently doing and to get more tips for an inclusive classroom. Classroom environment Communicate the value of different genders (if you have a mixed class), family structures, ethnicities, and faiths and religions. Although you may be teaching in English, it’s important to value students’ native languages. Promote inclusiveness and cooperation among students. Look for classroom activities that will promote group work and collaboration. For classroom tasks and responsibilities, avoid gender stereotyping. For classroom images, be certain to choose images that are gender-diverse and ethnically diverse. Challenge stereotypes and inappropriate comments. Ensure that your students see you as an open and warm educator. Model fairness, acceptance, and empathy for your students. Look to include diverse learning materials and read stories that include a variety of individuals. Pedagogy For take-home or individual assignments, provide opportunities for students’ to choose topics of deep interest to them. When possible, make use of technology to cater to different learning styles. When possible, incorporate students’ family and culture as material for Every culture has different norms when it comes to classroom behavior and respecting these are important, especially around asking questions and disagreeing publicly. Assess your students using a method that values different learning styles. Classroom resources Use resources and materials that reflect diverse individuals and value diversity. Incorporating materials from a variety of cultures, when appropriate, is great. Choose resources that are gender neutral. Be sensitive to historical events in the country you are teaching and address these events appropriately. You can use international media to examine stereotypes with age-appropriate student groups. Include opportunities to talk locally and globally when you have classroom discussions. School community Involve family as often as possible to encourage diversity and its value. This can mean a classroom “openhouse”, games days, presentations of exciting projects, etc. Invite parents to share their insights, experiences and concerns within the context of the classroom curriculum. Teachers, looking for more training and support on how to deal with increasing diversity in your classroom? Look no further thanCulturally Responsive Teaching, Teach Away's online, self-paced professional development course for educators.