Often, parents and teachers complain that children do not read any more, and invariably the TV is made the most convenient scapegoat. The problem, however, lies in the classroom where reading is rarely taught, or it is simply done with the view to only getting good grades in the examination. At best, the interest in and love for reading are expected to develop on their own.

It is not enough to offer children what is considered a good selection of reading texts. For, this alone does not guarantee that the child will ‘engage’ with a reading passage and become a good reader. A conscious attempt must be made to help children to ‘connect’ to the text in a meaningful way.

To bring children and books together successfully, children have to experience the pleasure of reading. They have to hear stories, make predictions, visualize characters, talk about plot twists, imagine story settings, emotionally respond to characters, and think with new information, ideas and view points.

Reading is a habit that has to be actively cultivated. Children have to be encouraged to read books from early childhood. Parents should take special interest to read stories aloud to their children. The colorful pictures and the voice modulation help attract the child’s attention and fire their imagination. And as they grow they should be encouraged to read books and internalize the information contained in it.

Healthy reading habits arouse your curiosity, ignite your thought, give wings to your imagination and inspire you to expand your horizon. Books are like friends who are always with you to excite you to ‘imagine a brave new world’, guide you during rough times and comfort you when in pain. And to summarize I quote from Andrew Lang’s poem “Old Friends” –

‘When others fail him, the wise man looks

                         To the sure companionship of books.’

“Words, so innocent and powerless as they are, standing in a dictionary; how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to choose and combine them.” —Nathaniel Hawthorne (American novelist, 1804 –1864)

Words are the building blocks of any language. And learning new words can help you to excel in the use of any language. For many of you improving your vocabulary mean learning loads of obscure words or memorizing countless unrelated terms. But learning new words, will not only improve your communication skills, but they also expose you to scores of new ideas, information and a better understanding of life.

Every new word that we learn helps us widen our horizons and expose us to a multitude of fascinating human experiences, which in turn helps us evolve intellectually. This has a discerning effect on our thinking and improves our ability to deliberate and articulate ourselves. With a limited vocabulary you are limiting your ability to learn. But a rich vocabulary is not inherent and there are no magical shortcuts to attain it.

There are many approaches to revive your intellectual curiosity and enrich the words in your command. One good way to start would be to read books and newspapers. When you come across a word you don’t know try and guess its meaning, according to the context, in which it appears. You may also be able to deduce the meaning by trying to associate the word with its root word (as many word in the English language share a common root word with other words) or syllable structure. But make sure you check with the dictionary to confirm your guess.

Depending on your learning style and preferences you may also use a dictionary to improve your word power. Select two to five new words a day. Then in a workbook write down the definition of the word after referring the dictionary. Make sure you read all the definitions, alternate spellings (if any), plural forms of nouns and past tense of verbs. A good dictionary will give you examples showing the correct usage of the word in different contexts, pronunciation and historical origin of the words.

Word association is a method you can use to remember new words you just learnt. Modern research has shown, that a people retain and retrieve information stored in the brain, when they are able to associate the new word to words or experiences they have already experienced.

After you have learnt a new word do not stop …learn to use the word in the right context. For this you will have to write out sentences by yourself. A good way to practice is to write out a summary of a book or article you have just read- one in simple everyday language and another with complex structures and enhanced vocabulary. Also work your recently acquired word power into your conversation. But always remember to use the right word in the right context.

It was not long ago that I dreaded the word tuitions. I would be back from school and rush for my tuitions. The journey took me a little over an hour. And after the tutoring session I had to travel all the way through town all over again. This left me tired and irritated; and with no time to pursue my hobbies or just hang out with her friends. I was desperate to find a good tutor closer home. That is when my mother said she had seen an ad on online tutoring and that I should give it a try.

I was skeptical and hesitant to try but today I’m happy I did. My tutors at Learning Scholars are not only excellent with their tutoring but they are also kind and patient with me. My Math tutor makes Algebra so easy and interesting!

Now I have a dedicated tutor, concerned counselor and dear friend all rolled into one. They have helped me identify my weak areas and help me over come my weakness. Tutors at Learning Scholars also help me understand and apply all that is being been taught in class. Today I’m confident while answering questions in class or while taking part in discussion in the classroom.

My parents are also happy to see me attain better grades. And the best part of online tutoring is that I have a lot of free time and now I’ve taken up music classes. I also get time to spend with my friends and family.

And let me tell you that Learning Scholars not only provides online tutoring for students in Grade 1 to grade 12, they also help you prepare for competitive exams like ISEE, SSAT, PSAT, SAT and ACT.

I never really understood what my teacher meant when she asked us if we were listening to her lecture or just hearing it. Didn’t the words ‘listen’ and ‘hear’ mean the same? But when I look back in retrospect I see the difference.

We take it for granted that people are listening to us. Many a times they are hearing the voices, not listening. This is because listening is hearing with attention, with focus and an aim to internalize, the heard speech.

That is true of a classroom too. The teacher who sees a quite, seemingly attentive class pleasures that the class has listened to her. This is a misconception. Another misconception is that there is no need to develop listening skill as it is automatically developed in the language classroom. A series of listening skills to ensure listening leads to learning.

1. Listening for Repetition – to imitate the sound
2. Listening for Recognition – to recognize the word and then identify the subject
3. Listening for Recall – to remember the subject
4. Listening for Discrimination – to distinguish between short and long vowel sounds
5. Listening for General Understanding – to get the main theme and tone of the text
6. Listening for Specific Information – to get the facts and figures of the text
7. Listening for prediction – to guess what might happen next and attribute qualities to the character
8. Listening for inference – to analyze and guess what the author is referring to
9. Listening for pleasure – social conversation, poem recitation and speeches
10. Listening for improvement – assorted activities to improve language skills

And as the Chinese Proverb states - “To listen well, is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well, and is as essential to all true conversation”- effective listening is as important as speaking skills, and is essential for developing good conversational skills. They are in fact complementary to one another. And what we seldom realize is that listening is the most complex skill to learn, and the most important to have.

Children are unique and their educational requirements vary depending on their proficiency in various subjects. But in school, students study in large heterogeneous groups and teachers are unable to concentrate on the needs of individual students. Often the teachers are neither able to spot learning difficulties faced by certain students nor to cater to the needs of the exceptionally gifted.

Parents are often unable to help their children with studies as they are busy shuttling between job, preparing dinner, paying bills, etc. And hence a large number of parents feel that tuitions can help their children perform well and attain better grades. Traditional tutoring centers like Kumon and Score do not offer online tutoring, as they prefer face-to-face interaction, with small groups of students. But parents prefer one-on-one tutoring for their children as the school is unable to cater to their child’s specific needs.

Online tutoring is an option that many parents are choosing for it gives the students complete flexibility of time and place, where they receive their tutoring in whatever subject they need help in. This saves time usually spent on traveling to the tuition center and back. It also gives students time to pursue their hobbies or just hang out with their friends.

Since online tutoring is mostly one-on-one and customized to meet the student’s specific skill gaps a marked improvement can be seen in their performance. The tutors are able to nurture personal rapport with the students. This helps the students to feel comfortable while interacting with their tutor. Many learning difficulties can be diagnosed and remedied as the tutor becomes an active listener, concerned counselor and a close confidante.

Children are vulnerable and often get disheartened and depressed when their classmates ridicule them for taking tuitions. Online tutoring provides the students anonymity, as it provides them help without others knowing about it. Students can voice their doubts without any fear of being judged by their friends.

Online tutoring is also economical. While traditional tutoring centers charge you $50.00 to $60.00 for an hour of tutoring online centers charge you around $20.00 to $25.00 an hour. And many online tuition centers offer a free trial session and there is no harm in giving it a try!

Learning scholars is a leading provider of personalized, one-on-one online tutoring for children in grade 1 through 12, across the United States and Canada. It is located at 1001 S. Dairy Ashford, Suite 100, Houston, Texas 77077-2341

Learning Scholars is promoted by Vasco International Corporation based in Houston, Texas. Learning Scholars uses best-in-class technology to bring a live interactive learning environment into the student’s home. With over fifty years of experience in school education the Learning Scholars management team works towards helping students realize their true potential.