Reports in the NY Times and elsewhere point to the rise of Chinese language instruction in our schools, against the backdrop of the demise of language learning in general. People justify this rush to Chinese by referring to the growth of the Chinese economy. The US government has declared Chinese a “critical language.” How realistic is this Chinese boom, and will it last? Here is a reality check. r
When we talk about learning a foreign language, we often talk about different methods, if you should go to school or not and how much time is ideal to spend on the target language each day. Of course, those are interesting questions to ask, but I think they’re not as important as one thing: motivation. r
We’ve all had that sensation of reading a selection of text then, only moments later, not remember anything we’ve just read. Sometimes we can read something over and over but never really feel like we “get it.”
Reading comprehension is crucial for every profession and lifestyle. Whether you’re reading a repair manual or the latest business best-seller, comprehension tools add value to the time spent over the page. r
In Western society, we often think of “learning” in very narrow terms: it’s what we do in school, and once we’ve got our college degree, the learning phase is over – it’s time to work.
Of course, things aren’t really that black and white: we carry on learning after we’ve left school, and not just in our careers but in every aspect of our lives. r
The most common phobia people have is the “Fear of public speaking”. Some people dread public speaking even more than death. Most of us live with this fear throughout our lives. Being an underrated skill we fail to get proper guidance to overcome our stage fright. As schools and colleges do not provide any training on public speaking, most of us lack the confidence to speak in public when we reach adulthood. r
Learning is one of the greatest joys in life and it can also be critical to staying employable and keeping our minds healthy as we grow older. Even with the great rewards that learning promises, however, few of us put much thought into how we might be better at it. r
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