Friday, April 25, 2008

Introducing the Grammar Guy Blog

Introducing the Grammar Guy Blog

Richard Firsten writes the Grammar Guy blog for AzarGrammar.com. Richard makes grammar fun — which of course it is! He also answers grammar questions on the Grammar Q&A forum, along with Rachel Spack Koch. Richard teaches English to adults at Lindsey Hopkins Technical Education Center, part of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and has authored a number of grammar texts for teachers and students.

The initial posts: Thursday, January 17, 2008

Welcome to My Blog!

Glad you’ve come to visit my blog! I’d like to consider this my cyber-living room, so to speak, where we can have good chats to exchange ideas about any and all aspects of the English language: where it's been, where it is now, and where it's headed.

Some entries on the Grammar Guy Blog

May I Have a Word?

In his book Crazy English*, author Richard Lederer goes into some of the odder oddities of English. He pointed out something that has always stuck with me: “Why do we park in a driveway and drive on a parkway?” Yep, it’s funny, so we chuckle at the cleverness of his question and maybe grin sheepishly, but at the same time, I, for one, feel uncomfortable because I know I can’t answer the question right then and there. We’ll probably find the answer if we dig into the etymology of both words, but to come up with an answer on the spot? Yipes! Anyway, the point is that English vocabulary is always ambushing us like this. Hasn’t it done that to you?

Most recent post - Friday, April 18, 2008

We’re All Entitled

I’ve always found our most common titles in English quite amazing. Have you ever really thought about Mr., Mrs., Miss, and Ms.? (Come to think of it, does anybody use Miss anymore?)

Use this link to go to the Grammar Guy Blog
http://azargrammar.com/grammarGuy/



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Thursday, April 24, 2008

TOEFL TOEIC IELTS Cambridge Test Information

TOEFL TOEIC IELTS Cambridge Test Information includes preparation, exam questions, quizes, essays, short answer, listening, speaking, conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, grammar and writing composition.

RECENT POST

Paper-Based TOEFL Test

In areas where the iBT and CBT TOEFL are not available, a paper-based test (PBT) is given.

Toefl test takers cannot register at the testing center on the test date, they must register in advance using the registration form provided in the Suplemental Paper TOEFL Bulletin.

Students should register in advance of the given deadlines to ensure a place because the test centers have limited seating and may fill up early. Paper-based test (PBT)Toefl Tests are administered only a few times each year.

The PBT tests the same English skills as the CBT with some differences. The number of questions is higher in the PBT and the score scales.

The PBT Toefl test lasts 4 hours. Students can take the test as many times as they wish. However, colleges and universities usually consider only the most recent score.

Listening (30-40 minutes) It consists of three parts.

The first one contains 30 questions about short conversations.

The second part has 8 questions about longer conversations.

The last part asks 12 questions about lectures or talks.

Structure and Written Expression (25 minutes)

This part has 15 exercises of completing sentences correctly and 25 exercises of identifying errors.

Reading Comprehension (55 minutes)

It has 50 questions about reading passages.

Writing (30 minutes)

One essay with 250-300 words in average.

The final PBT score ranges between 310 and 677 and is based on three subscores:

Listening (31–68), Structure (31–68), and Reading (31–67).

Unlike the CBT, the score of the Writing section (referred to as the Test of Written English, TWE) is not part of the final score; instead, it is reported separately on a scale of 0–6.

The score test takers receive on the Listening, Structure and Reading parts of the TOEFL test is not the percentage of correct answers.

The score is converted to take into account the fact that some tests are more difficult than others. The converted scores correct these differences. Therefore, the converted score is a more accurate reflection of the ability than the correct answer score is.

To Compare the IBT, CBT and PBT Toefl scores go to the official ETS comparison chart:
http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/TOEFL/pdf/TOEFL_iBT_Score_Comparison_Tables.pdf

Toefl Toeic Ielts Cambridge Tests BLOG URL
http://toefl-toeic-ielts-cambridge.blogspot.com/



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Sunday, April 20, 2008

Introducing the Career Training in USA BLOG

Introducing the Career Training in USA BLOG

Career Training in USA for professional and technical jobs includes construction, manufacturing, computers, technology, technicians, technical, engineering support, business training, office skills, data entry, office administration, bookkeeping, marketing and sales.

RECENT POST on the Career Training in USA Blog

Cisco Career Certifications

The first step in general Cisco Career Certifications begins either with CCENT as an interim step to Associate level, or directly with CCNA for network operations or CCDA for network design. Think of the Associate level as the apprentice or foundation level of networking certification.

General Certifications: Three Levels of Certification

Associate:

The first step in Cisco networking begins at the Associate level, which also includes CCENT, an interim step to Associates for those with little job experience. Think of the Associate level as the apprentice or foundation level of networking certification.

Professional.
This is the advanced or journeyman level of certification.

Expert.

This is CCIE, the highest level of achievement for network professionals, certifying an individual as an expert or master.


General Certifications: Six Different Paths

Routing and Switching: This path is for professionals who install and support Cisco technology-based networks in which LAN and WAN routers and switches reside.

Design: This path is aimed at professionals who design Cisco technology-based networks in which LAN and WAN routers and switches reside.

Network Security: This path is directed toward network professionals who design and implement Cisco Secure networks.

Service Provider: This path is aimed at professionals working with infrastructure or access solutions in a Cisco end-to-end environment primarily within the telecommunications arena.

Storage Networking: This path is for professionals who implement storage solutions over extended network infrastructure using multiple transport options.

Voice: This path is directed toward network professionals who install and maintain Voice solutions over IP networks.

Focused Certifications: Specialist
A variety of Specialist focused certifications are available to show knowledge in specific technologies, solutions, or job role. New certifications are added to this list regularly.

To read more about Cisco Certifications for Career training go to
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3
/learning_career_certifications_and_learning_paths_home.html


To see all of the USA career training posts use this link to go to the Career Training in USA BLOG




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Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Introducing the College in USA Blog

Introducing the College in USA Blog

Recent Post on College in USA Blog

USA College English Language Requirements

To enter College in the USA international students require English levels and skills equivalent to (new) Toefl 550 and the graduate schools require Toefl 600.

This is a detailed description of English language skill levels that international students should have to be successful in a USA College.

Writing

Student can: demonstrate fluent ability in performing moderately complex writing tasks; link sentences and paragraphs to form coherent texts to express ideas on familiar or abstract topics, with some support for main ideas, and with an appropriate sense of audience; write routine business letters, letters of inquiry, cover letters for applications and personal and formal social messages; write down a set of simple instructions, based on clear oral communication; fill out complex formatted documents; extract key information and relevant detail from a page-long text and write an outline or a one-paragraph summary; demonstrate good control over common sentence patterns, coordination and subordination, and spelling and mechanics.

Student writing introduces the purpose of the work, expresses main ideas and gives details, conveys essential information to the reader, uses format and content appropriate for intended audience, demonstrates adequate vocabulary for the topic. Student can reduce information to main points with accurate supporting details and no major omissions of important points or details, can also demonstrate good use and control of complex grammatical structures, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation.

Business Communications

The student will be able to: convey business messages as written notes, memoranda, letters of request, or record log entries, to indicate a problem, to request a change, or to request information; fill out forms and other materials in pre-set formats with required brief texts; write an effective personal resume and a formal covering letter of application for employment to a personnel/human resources manager; ask for an interview and write a report/memo in paragraph form.

Essays

Write a paragraph to describe information in a table, graph, flow chart or diagram.
Write three or four paragraphs to: narrate an event to tell a story; express or analyse opinions on a familiar abstract topic; provide a detailed description and explanation of a phenomenon or a process or how a business operates.

Speaking

Student can: communicate effectively in most daily practical and social situations, and in familiar routine work situations; participate in conversations with confidence; speak on familiar topics at both concrete and abstract levels; can provide descriptions, opinions and explanations; synthesize abstract complex ideas; hypothesize. In social interaction, learner demonstrates ability to respond appropriately to the formality level of the situation; can use a variety of sentence structures, including embedded and report structures, and an expanded inventory of concrete, idiomatic and conceptual language. Grammar and pronunciation errors rarely impede communication.

Interaction is with one or more people, face to face or on the phone at a normal rate. Student can: carry on a brief phone conversation in a professional manner; use a variety of strategies to keep conversation going; respond to a formal welcome, express sympathy, respond to a minor conflict or complaint; encourage others to participate; answer a routine business call and direct the call appropriately; use appropriate non-verbal behaviour; adjusts conversation to appropriate formality level; check if listener can follow; provide clear information to simple routine questions; give or pass on instructions about an established familiar process or procedure (technical and non-technical); be one-on-one or in a group; participate in a debate/discussion/meeting on an abstract or familiar topic or issue; express opinions, feelings, doubts and concerns; qualify opinions, add information, elaborate; oppose or support a stand, idea or proposed solution. Initiate questions to gather, analyse and compare information needed for some decision making.

Oral Presentations

Give a 15-minute oral presentation to describe and explain a complex structure, system or process based on research. Use a diagram to support the explanations. Tell a story which includes an experience.

Reading

Student can: follow main ideas, key words and important details in text in any familiar topic; read newspaper, magazine articles as well as academic and business materials; extract relevant points, locate and integrate several specific pieces of information in visually complex texts (e.g., tables, directories) or across paragraphs or sections of text. Text can be on abstract, conceptual or technical topics, containing facts, attitudes and opinions. Inference may be required to identify the writer's bias and the purpose/function of text. Student able to use a unilingual dictionary when reading for precision vocabulary building.

The student: identifies main idea, factual details and inferred meanings in text, identifies organization of text, topic sentences and logical relationship including links between paragraphs; follows the sequence of narration or process even when events are out of sequence; distinguishes facts from opinions; infers meaning of words from context clues; hypothesizes how something works; evaluates ideas in text, draws conclusions and expresses own opinion; interprets key information in a diagram or graph as verbal text; transfers key ideas from a chart or diagram. The student can follow an extended set of multi-step instructions for established process or directions.

Listening

Student can: comprehend main points, details, speaker's purpose, levels of formality and styles in oral discourse in moderately demanding contexts; follow most formal and informal conversations, and some technical work-related discourse in own field at a normal rate of speech; follow discourse about abstract and complex ideas on a familiar topic; comprehend an expanded range of concrete, abstract and conceptual language; determine mood, attitudes and feelings; understand sufficient vocabulary, idioms and colloquial expressions to follow detailed stories of general popular interest; follow instructional texts and directions; follow clear and coherent phone messages on unfamiliar and non-routine matters; identifies the component parts of the presentation: introduction, topic development, topic shift and conclusion; identify and respond to formal welcomes, farewells, toasts, congratulations on achievements, awards, sympathy, condolences and questions. Student can follow an extended set of multi-step instructions on technical and non-technical tasks for familiar processes or procedures, and identify stated and unspecified meanings in extended suggestions and recommendations.

Link to College in USA:


3000 USA Colleges in USA offer one, two, three and four year diploma and certificate programs that are the finest college programs in the world. College programs include computer, business, sales, marketing, media, communications, design, performing, technical, office, administration, medical, dental, legal, accounting, engineering and trade skill programs.




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Introducing the English Idioms Blog

Introducing the English Idioms Blog

Recent English Idioms Blog Post:

Behind the times

We use the idiom "Behind the times" to describe someone who is old-fashioned and has methods or practices or technology or even ideas that are regarded as out-dated.

Example

(A) Some of my clients are so "Behind the times"

(B) Mine too, they have to call their trades in rather than use the web-broker.

The English Idioms Blog URL
http://english-idioms.blogspot.com/

The English Idioms Blog Feed
http://english-idioms.blogspot.com/atom.xml



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Education Articles Blogs Websites BLOG URL
http://education-articles-blogs-websites.blogspot.com/

Links to our favourite websites:


Link to ESL in Canada Directory of ESL English tutors, teachers, classes, lessons, Business English, Canada universities, colleges, schools, Canadian ESL English as a second language schools, programs, instructors, free ESL English lessons, homestay, education coaching, consulting services, student resources, information and advice across Canada, North America



Link to TLC Travel Language Culture Network language exchanges, travel, immigration, employment, shopping, homestay and professional services



Link to Sentence Master English Writing Game that helps students improve English grammar, English vocabulary, writing phrases, clauses and complete English sentences.