Engineering Degree Onine | Need help learning the language?

Posted by bposton on November 13th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

OUt here in the online degree dorm I see a lot of folks struggling with the foriegn language that they’re taking.

So this news story I came accross might be of benefit. Read on…

Did you know that alot of what we know about our native language is in the sub-conscious?

YOu know how when you want to express something, correct phrases and sentences just come to you? Well that’s how -most of this process is unconscious.
So Stephen Krashen, a professor at the University of Southern California and a linguistics expert, put together a hypothesis to explain how this is possible. And he used that, which is called Input Hypothesis to create what he calls a “natural approach” to learning a language.

Here’s how it works (I think…)

You read and listen to words and sentences - i.e. the “input” If you understand these sentences, they are stored in your brain. More specifically, they are stored in the part of your brain that is responsible for language.

For example, using this hypothesis, here’s how a child learns his or her native language. The child listens to his or her parents and other people. As the child’s brain collects these words and sentences, he or she gets better and better at producing sentences on his or her own. By age 5, the child can already speak quite fluently.

Got it?

So according to Krashen’s theory, the way to learn and improve is to feed your brain with a lot of “input” which are correct and understandable sentences, written or spoken.

Now some cognitive scientists say that watching movies is one of the most natural methods of improving your language skills at any age. Learning English by watching movies is an example of  “learning by input.”

So go get yourself some French language movies and go to town :-)

There’s a company that has taken this theory and put it into practice:

The company is called SFK Media Corp. SFK stands for Specially For Kids. They created a product called ReadEnt Reading Movies.

It used this technique with an innovative tool called “Action Captions.” As a child or adult watches the movie, each spoken word appears on the screen as text directly from the person’s mouth as it is spoken. ReadEnt’s Reading Movies are available as interactive DVD programs for use on the TV, computer, video-game console or portable DVD player.

For more information call (866) SFK-READ (735-7323).

Ben

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engineering degree online : A growing trend towards Technical Training - a case study

Posted by bposton on October 22nd, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

One reason why technical training is seeing a comeback is the increase in partnerships among community/technical colleges, high schools, and employers.

Here’s a great example of that in my home state of North Carolina:

There’s a company in Greensboro, NC called RF MicroDevices. They’ve hooked up with Guilford Technical Community College. Together they’ve developed several programs to help train student operators in “wafer fab”, which turn out integrated computer circuits.

“There’s no place else around here where someone can learn the skills necessary to perform efficiently in our facility,” says Ralph Knupp of RFMD. “Someone who graduates with a bachelor of arts would not arrive bringing the specific experience we need. So vocational training is critical for us to maintain our manufacturing strength in Greensboro.”

North Carolina is probably best know for our textile and furniture industries (High Point Furniture Market, for example). But we’ve seen those industries shrink dramatically in the face of foreign competition. So the state has relied alot on the community college system, which was started in 1958, to retrain displaced workers.

“We did a major study with industry and found that for two-thirds of all bio-tech jobs in this state, no four-year degree was necessary,” says Martin Lancaster, president of the North Carolina Community College system.

So I think there’s a hugh trend here:

First of all, families are struggling to afford the traditional college education. So they’re looking a technical training to learn a hi-tech skill or trade.

Second, employers are struggling to find qualified hi-tech labor. So that has increased the demand for skilled US workers in fields such as aviation mechanics, computer technology, electronics, global positioning, and trades ranging from culinary arts to construction.

It’s a combination that will only grow over time.

Ben

 

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