How to turn on Microsoft Word readability function:
1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Spelling & Grammar tab.
2. Select the Check grammar with spelling check box.
3. Select the Show readability statistics check box, and then click OK.
4. On the Standard toolbar, click Spelling and Grammar.
When Microsoft Word finishes checking spelling and grammar, it displays information about the reading level of the document.
How to translate reading grade into age (from Janice Harayda’s blog):
American children typically begin grades at these ages: kindergarten, 5; first grade, 6; second grade, 7; third grade, 8; fourth grade, 9; fifth grade, 10; sixth grade, 11; seventh grade, 12; eighth grade, 13; 9th grade (freshman year,high school), 14; 10th grade (sophomore year high school), 15; 11th grade (junior year high school), 16; 12th grade (senior year high school), 17.
source
...
This is a very interesting subject.
much is implied by ascribing a reading age to the population at large.
If as you say the above represents the reading ages of an 8 year old and a fourteen year old respectively, it opens up some interesting questions about other works.
What do you suppose is the reading age of newton’s principia for example?
If your snippet above is a benchmark for a 14 year old, the principia might arguably be written for those with a reading age of a 200 year old?
let’s take things a step further, and look at numeracy in the general population. There are professionals, lawyers etc who are unable to perform long division, very few ever master algebra, and only a handful progress to calculus.
most of the supposedly adult population will poo poo this idea, and dismiss mathematicians, of even some who are functionally numerate as a sub species rather than admit to being innumerate themselves, and accept the implications.
So think on…!
...
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
NVQ literacy english level Two
i pass my exam.
will write more on the exam.
panic. difficult and learn something new on the exam day.
For the first time using the Flag button.
Taught before exam and decided to use it.
I flag about twenty questions and start to panic.
I say the test is hard.
I took twenty minutes average to do test before BUT
on the exam day i really use up the one hour. with thinking of
not enough time.
luckily, I PASS.
ALSO there is an EXHIBIT button that i think makes me think
the exam is difficult.
ho ho ho if i think it is difficult with new button on the test date,
i bet there will be many also think like me. unless you are not strike with panic like me. and stay calm no matter what happen or what changes..
good luck for those trying it later.
adios.,
will write more on the exam.
panic. difficult and learn something new on the exam day.
For the first time using the Flag button.
Taught before exam and decided to use it.
I flag about twenty questions and start to panic.
I say the test is hard.
I took twenty minutes average to do test before BUT
on the exam day i really use up the one hour. with thinking of
not enough time.
luckily, I PASS.
ALSO there is an EXHIBIT button that i think makes me think
the exam is difficult.
ho ho ho if i think it is difficult with new button on the test date,
i bet there will be many also think like me. unless you are not strike with panic like me. and stay calm no matter what happen or what changes..
good luck for those trying it later.
adios.,
Monday, 21 December 2009
english exam for me level two literacy : National Certificate in Adult Literacy
english exam for me level two literacy
National Certificate in Adult Literacy
at 9 am
adult college
lancaster
how to study : www.move-on.org.uk
National Certificate in Adult Literacy
at 9 am
adult college
lancaster
how to study : www.move-on.org.uk
Improve My Spoken English Conversation by Listening, Responding and Asking
Improve My Spoken English Conversation by Listening, Responding and Asking
Posted: Aug 7th, 2009
source
by Ryan Kent-Temple from WorldEnglishClub.com
There are three parts to any conversation. Whether it is on the phone, over coffee with your friend, or at a business meeting with your boss and your colleagues; Listening, Responding, and Asking.
Listening
Anywhere you go, and by this I mean anywhere you go to try and learn a language, they will tell you to listen. There are many reasons for this. For one, listening is such an important aspect in any language, that you would be at a disadvantage in life if you didn't listen. It is what makes a language. A language needs listeners. That's where you come in.
Listening is a skill. It is something that needs to be practiced a lot. If you are fluent in a language, for example your native language, then the skills you need to work on are different from the skills of someone listening in their second language. I will be speaking briefly on listening in a second language.
If you are just starting out or having a difficult time learning your second language, there is something that you can do to drastically enhance your knowledge of it. It's not studying from a book. And it's not learning how to write it. It's LISTENING to it!
Just listening to a new language can train our brain to the sounds, speech patterns and pronunciations of your new desired language. Take a minute and think about when you first learned how to speak. A baby isn't born KNOWING their language. So how does it learn the language that it eventually speaks?
You're right! It listens. And at first, that's all babies do is listen. But what eventually happens with the baby? That's right! It finally says a word. Odds are that it will say something that has been repeated to it a lot. It does take a long time for a baby to finally grasp a language.
Usually around 3-5 years the child has an understanding of the simple ways that sentences are put together. And passing through the years, eventually has a good grasp of the language around 10-12 years. Minus, of course, the vocabulary.
I am not saying it will take you that long to learn a new language. Clearly you are more sophisticated than a child. I am merely saying that if you listen, you will learn.
Responding
Responding is a very simple skill. But there is one important aspect that you must consider before applying the lessons taught here. And that is LISTEN. You must listen to know how to respond. If you were not listening to what your conversation partner had to say, how will you know what follow up questions to ask.
Responding can show your conversation partner that you are interested in what they are talking about. Not just by the way you were using your non-verbal listening skills. Responding shows that you are actively engaged in this conversation. Remember, just because you are not doing the talking, does not mean you are not a part of the conversation.
This part of the conversation may seem minor, but it is very important in keeping the two-way activity going. Because if you are only nodding and smiling, the other person might just think you are a robot. So you must use this little but important aspect in your conversations.
Responding to what someone has said can be very easy. Especially if you would rather have them keep talking or if you are sincerely interested in what they are saying. You can simply ask what they meant when they were talking about a certain point in their story.
Asking
Asking is part of the responding process. But it is also a key role. Perhaps THE key to active listening. This part of a conversation is a key role because it provides you with the knowledge and understanding of the conversation.
When you are actively engaged in a conversation, you should be getting something out of it. You're goals should be: learning from the person you are speaking with, and creating a friend or partner for the future.
Asking questions will also take the conversation where you want it to go. If your conversation partner is talking about something that offends you (and this can happen) be polite, wait until they finish their thought, and ask a question that directs the conversation away from the previous subject.
Remember now that you have them talking about something of interest to them, they will know if you are listening to what they are saying.
If you want to continue your studies to a university or college level in a country that speaks English then you will have to continue your online studies. During the time you are learning English online you will get the direction that you need for all the classes that you will pursue.
by Ryan Kent-Temple from WorldEnglishClub.com
...
Posted: Aug 7th, 2009
source
by Ryan Kent-Temple from WorldEnglishClub.com
There are three parts to any conversation. Whether it is on the phone, over coffee with your friend, or at a business meeting with your boss and your colleagues; Listening, Responding, and Asking.
Listening
Anywhere you go, and by this I mean anywhere you go to try and learn a language, they will tell you to listen. There are many reasons for this. For one, listening is such an important aspect in any language, that you would be at a disadvantage in life if you didn't listen. It is what makes a language. A language needs listeners. That's where you come in.
Listening is a skill. It is something that needs to be practiced a lot. If you are fluent in a language, for example your native language, then the skills you need to work on are different from the skills of someone listening in their second language. I will be speaking briefly on listening in a second language.
If you are just starting out or having a difficult time learning your second language, there is something that you can do to drastically enhance your knowledge of it. It's not studying from a book. And it's not learning how to write it. It's LISTENING to it!
Just listening to a new language can train our brain to the sounds, speech patterns and pronunciations of your new desired language. Take a minute and think about when you first learned how to speak. A baby isn't born KNOWING their language. So how does it learn the language that it eventually speaks?
You're right! It listens. And at first, that's all babies do is listen. But what eventually happens with the baby? That's right! It finally says a word. Odds are that it will say something that has been repeated to it a lot. It does take a long time for a baby to finally grasp a language.
Usually around 3-5 years the child has an understanding of the simple ways that sentences are put together. And passing through the years, eventually has a good grasp of the language around 10-12 years. Minus, of course, the vocabulary.
I am not saying it will take you that long to learn a new language. Clearly you are more sophisticated than a child. I am merely saying that if you listen, you will learn.
Responding
Responding is a very simple skill. But there is one important aspect that you must consider before applying the lessons taught here. And that is LISTEN. You must listen to know how to respond. If you were not listening to what your conversation partner had to say, how will you know what follow up questions to ask.
Responding can show your conversation partner that you are interested in what they are talking about. Not just by the way you were using your non-verbal listening skills. Responding shows that you are actively engaged in this conversation. Remember, just because you are not doing the talking, does not mean you are not a part of the conversation.
This part of the conversation may seem minor, but it is very important in keeping the two-way activity going. Because if you are only nodding and smiling, the other person might just think you are a robot. So you must use this little but important aspect in your conversations.
Responding to what someone has said can be very easy. Especially if you would rather have them keep talking or if you are sincerely interested in what they are saying. You can simply ask what they meant when they were talking about a certain point in their story.
Asking
Asking is part of the responding process. But it is also a key role. Perhaps THE key to active listening. This part of a conversation is a key role because it provides you with the knowledge and understanding of the conversation.
When you are actively engaged in a conversation, you should be getting something out of it. You're goals should be: learning from the person you are speaking with, and creating a friend or partner for the future.
Asking questions will also take the conversation where you want it to go. If your conversation partner is talking about something that offends you (and this can happen) be polite, wait until they finish their thought, and ask a question that directs the conversation away from the previous subject.
Remember now that you have them talking about something of interest to them, they will know if you are listening to what they are saying.
If you want to continue your studies to a university or college level in a country that speaks English then you will have to continue your online studies. During the time you are learning English online you will get the direction that you need for all the classes that you will pursue.
by Ryan Kent-Temple from WorldEnglishClub.com
...
HOW YOUNG CHILDREN LEARN ENGLISH
HOW YOUNG CHILDREN LEARN ENGLISH AS ANOTHER LANGUAGE
Opal Dunn, educational consultant and author
The advantages of beginning early
Young children are still using their individual, innate language-learning strategies to acquire their home language and soon find they can also use these strategies to pick up English.
Young children have time to learn through play-like activities. They pick up language by taking part in an activity shared with an adult. They firstly make sense of the activity and then get meaning from the adult’s shared language.
Young children have more time to fit English into the daily programme. School programmes tend to be informal and children’s minds are not yet cluttered with facts to be stored and tested. They may have little or no homework and are less stressed by having to achieve set standards.
Children who have the opportunity to pick up a second language while they are still young appear to use the same innate language-learning strategies throughout life when learning other languages. Picking up third, fourth, or even more languages is easier than picking up a second.
Young children who acquire language rather than consciously learn it, as older children and adults have to, are more likely to have better pronunciation and feel for the language and culture. When monolingual children reach puberty and become more self-conscious, their ability to pick up language diminishes and they feel they have to consciously study English through grammar-based programmes. The age at which this change occurs depends greatly on the individual child’s developmental levels as well as the expectations of their society.
..
Opal Dunn, educational consultant and author
The advantages of beginning early
Young children are still using their individual, innate language-learning strategies to acquire their home language and soon find they can also use these strategies to pick up English.
Young children have time to learn through play-like activities. They pick up language by taking part in an activity shared with an adult. They firstly make sense of the activity and then get meaning from the adult’s shared language.
Young children have more time to fit English into the daily programme. School programmes tend to be informal and children’s minds are not yet cluttered with facts to be stored and tested. They may have little or no homework and are less stressed by having to achieve set standards.
Children who have the opportunity to pick up a second language while they are still young appear to use the same innate language-learning strategies throughout life when learning other languages. Picking up third, fourth, or even more languages is easier than picking up a second.
Young children who acquire language rather than consciously learn it, as older children and adults have to, are more likely to have better pronunciation and feel for the language and culture. When monolingual children reach puberty and become more self-conscious, their ability to pick up language diminishes and they feel they have to consciously study English through grammar-based programmes. The age at which this change occurs depends greatly on the individual child’s developmental levels as well as the expectations of their society.
..
children english target
End of YEAR Target level
year 11 (daughter)= A*
year 10 (son) = B
Question:
how do i improve my son learning english target???
year 11 (daughter)= A*
year 10 (son) = B
Question:
how do i improve my son learning english target???
Stages in picking up English
Stages in picking up English
Spoken language comes naturally before reading and writing.
Silent period
When babies learn their home language, there is a ‘silent period’, when they look and listen and communicate through facial expression or gestures before they begin to speak. When young children learn English, there may be a similar ‘silent period’ when communication and understanding may take place before they actually speak any English words.
During this time parents should not force children to take part in spoken dialogue by making them repeat words. Spoken dialogues should be one-sided, the adult’s talk providing useful opportunities for the child to pick up language. Where the adult uses parentese (an adjusted form of speech) to facilitate learning, the child may use many of the same strategies they used in learning their home language.
Beginning to talk
After some time, depending on the frequency of English sessions, each child (girls often more quickly than boys) begins to say single words (‘cat’, ‘house’) or ready-made short phrases (‘What’s that?’, ‘It’s my book’, ‘I can’t’, ‘That’s a car’, ‘Time to go home’) in dialogues or as unexpected statements. The child has memorised them, imitating the pronunciation exactly without realising that some may consist of more than one word. This stage continues for some time as they child picks up more language using it as a short cut to dialogue before they are ready to create their own phrases.
Building up English language
Gradually children build up phrases consisting of a single memorised word to which they add words from their vocabulary (‘a dog’, ‘a brown dog’, ‘a brown and black dog’) or a single memorised language to which they add their own input (‘That’s my chair’, ‘Time to play’). Depending on the frequency of exposure to English and the quality of experience, children gradually begin to create whole sentences.
Understanding
Understanding is always greater than speaking and young children’s ability to comprehend should not be underestimated, as they are used to understanding their home language from a variety of context clues. Though they may not understand everything they hear in their home language, children grasp the gist – that is they understand a few important words and decipher the rest using different clues to interpret the meaning. With encouragement they soon transfer their ‘gist’ understanding skills to interpret meaning in English.
Frustration
After the initial novelty of English sessions, some young children, especially boys, become frustrated by their inability to express their thoughts in English. Others want to speak quickly in English as they can in their home language. Frustration can often be overcome by providing children with ‘performance’ pieces like ‘I can count to 12 in English’ or very simple rhymes, which consist of ready-made phrases.
Mistakes
Children should not be told they have made a mistake because any correction immediately demotivates. Mistakes may be part of the process of working out grammar rules of English or they may be a fault in pronunciation. ‘I goed’ soon becomes ‘went’ if the child hears the adult repeat back ‘yes, you went’; or if the adult hears ‘zee bus’ and repeats ‘the bus’. As in learning their home language, if children have an opportunity to hear the adult repeat the same piece of language correctly, they will self-correct in their own time.
Gender differences
Boys’ brains develop differently from girls’ and this affects how boys pick up language and use it. Sometimes mixed classes make little provision for boys, who may be overshadowed by girls’ natural ability to use language. If young boys are to reach their potential, they need some different language experiences with girls and their achievements should not be compared with those of girls.
Language-learning environments
Young children find it more difficult to pick up English if they are not provided with the right type of experiences, accompanied by adult support using ‘parentese’ techniques.
Young children need to feel secure and know that there is some obvious reason for using English.
Activities need to be linked to some interesting everyday activities about which they already know, eg sharing an English picture book, saying a rhyme in English, having an ‘English’ snack.
Activities are accompanied by adult language giving a running commentary about what is going on and dialogues using adjusted parentese language.
English sessions are fun and interesting, concentrating on concepts children have already understood in their home language. In this way children are not learning two things, a new concept as well as new language, but merely learning the English to talk about something they already know.
Activities are backed up by specific objects, where possible, as this helps understanding and increases general interest.
Reading
Children who can already read in their home language generally want to find out how to read in English. They already know how to decode words in their home language to get meaning from text and, if not helped to decode in English, may transfer their home language-decoding techniques and end up reading English with the home language accent.
Before they can decode English, young children need to know the 26 alphabet letter names and sounds. As English has 26 letters but on average 44 sounds (in standard English), introducing the remaining sounds is better left until children have more experience in using language and reading,
Beginning reading in English goes easily if young children already know the language they are trying to read. Many children work out by themselves how to read in English if they have shared picture books with adults or learned rhymes, as they are likely to have memorised the language. Reading what they know by heart is an important step in learning to read as it gives children opportunities to work out how to decode simple words by themselves. Once children have built up a bank of words they can read, they feel confident and are then ready for a more structured approach.
Parental support
Children need to feel that they are making progress. They need continual encouragement as well as praise for good performance, as any success motivates. Parents are in an ideal position to motivate and so help their children learn, even if they have only basic English themselves and are learning alongside their young children.
By sharing, parents can not only bring their child’s language and activities into family life, but can also influence their young children’s attitudes to language learning and other cultures. It is now generally accepted that most lifelong attitudes are formed by the age of eight or nine.
...
Spoken language comes naturally before reading and writing.
Silent period
When babies learn their home language, there is a ‘silent period’, when they look and listen and communicate through facial expression or gestures before they begin to speak. When young children learn English, there may be a similar ‘silent period’ when communication and understanding may take place before they actually speak any English words.
During this time parents should not force children to take part in spoken dialogue by making them repeat words. Spoken dialogues should be one-sided, the adult’s talk providing useful opportunities for the child to pick up language. Where the adult uses parentese (an adjusted form of speech) to facilitate learning, the child may use many of the same strategies they used in learning their home language.
Beginning to talk
After some time, depending on the frequency of English sessions, each child (girls often more quickly than boys) begins to say single words (‘cat’, ‘house’) or ready-made short phrases (‘What’s that?’, ‘It’s my book’, ‘I can’t’, ‘That’s a car’, ‘Time to go home’) in dialogues or as unexpected statements. The child has memorised them, imitating the pronunciation exactly without realising that some may consist of more than one word. This stage continues for some time as they child picks up more language using it as a short cut to dialogue before they are ready to create their own phrases.
Building up English language
Gradually children build up phrases consisting of a single memorised word to which they add words from their vocabulary (‘a dog’, ‘a brown dog’, ‘a brown and black dog’) or a single memorised language to which they add their own input (‘That’s my chair’, ‘Time to play’). Depending on the frequency of exposure to English and the quality of experience, children gradually begin to create whole sentences.
Understanding
Understanding is always greater than speaking and young children’s ability to comprehend should not be underestimated, as they are used to understanding their home language from a variety of context clues. Though they may not understand everything they hear in their home language, children grasp the gist – that is they understand a few important words and decipher the rest using different clues to interpret the meaning. With encouragement they soon transfer their ‘gist’ understanding skills to interpret meaning in English.
Frustration
After the initial novelty of English sessions, some young children, especially boys, become frustrated by their inability to express their thoughts in English. Others want to speak quickly in English as they can in their home language. Frustration can often be overcome by providing children with ‘performance’ pieces like ‘I can count to 12 in English’ or very simple rhymes, which consist of ready-made phrases.
Mistakes
Children should not be told they have made a mistake because any correction immediately demotivates. Mistakes may be part of the process of working out grammar rules of English or they may be a fault in pronunciation. ‘I goed’ soon becomes ‘went’ if the child hears the adult repeat back ‘yes, you went’; or if the adult hears ‘zee bus’ and repeats ‘the bus’. As in learning their home language, if children have an opportunity to hear the adult repeat the same piece of language correctly, they will self-correct in their own time.
Gender differences
Boys’ brains develop differently from girls’ and this affects how boys pick up language and use it. Sometimes mixed classes make little provision for boys, who may be overshadowed by girls’ natural ability to use language. If young boys are to reach their potential, they need some different language experiences with girls and their achievements should not be compared with those of girls.
Language-learning environments
Young children find it more difficult to pick up English if they are not provided with the right type of experiences, accompanied by adult support using ‘parentese’ techniques.
Young children need to feel secure and know that there is some obvious reason for using English.
Activities need to be linked to some interesting everyday activities about which they already know, eg sharing an English picture book, saying a rhyme in English, having an ‘English’ snack.
Activities are accompanied by adult language giving a running commentary about what is going on and dialogues using adjusted parentese language.
English sessions are fun and interesting, concentrating on concepts children have already understood in their home language. In this way children are not learning two things, a new concept as well as new language, but merely learning the English to talk about something they already know.
Activities are backed up by specific objects, where possible, as this helps understanding and increases general interest.
Reading
Children who can already read in their home language generally want to find out how to read in English. They already know how to decode words in their home language to get meaning from text and, if not helped to decode in English, may transfer their home language-decoding techniques and end up reading English with the home language accent.
Before they can decode English, young children need to know the 26 alphabet letter names and sounds. As English has 26 letters but on average 44 sounds (in standard English), introducing the remaining sounds is better left until children have more experience in using language and reading,
Beginning reading in English goes easily if young children already know the language they are trying to read. Many children work out by themselves how to read in English if they have shared picture books with adults or learned rhymes, as they are likely to have memorised the language. Reading what they know by heart is an important step in learning to read as it gives children opportunities to work out how to decode simple words by themselves. Once children have built up a bank of words they can read, they feel confident and are then ready for a more structured approach.
Parental support
Children need to feel that they are making progress. They need continual encouragement as well as praise for good performance, as any success motivates. Parents are in an ideal position to motivate and so help their children learn, even if they have only basic English themselves and are learning alongside their young children.
By sharing, parents can not only bring their child’s language and activities into family life, but can also influence their young children’s attitudes to language learning and other cultures. It is now generally accepted that most lifelong attitudes are formed by the age of eight or nine.
...
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