How to Draw Comics

How to Draw Comics How Can You Draw Comic Books? ChaptersHow to Create Your Own ComicsFinding Inspiration for ComicsCreate a Detailed Outline of Your Comic’s PlotCharacter Design: Designing Characters for Comic BooksCreating a Storyboard for Your ComicCreating Your Comic Book“By believing in his dreams, madn turns them into reality.” - HergéWhile there’s been a decrease in printed media, comic book stores in the UK reported little or no decrease in sales recently. It just goes to show that people still love comics. Whether it’s kids’ comics, manga, or non-fiction comics, a lot of people are interested in comics.If you want to join the growing family of comic strip creators, here’s how you can get started creating your own comic book. FernandoDrawing Teacher 5.00 (8) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EmmaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £75/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors DavidDrawing Teacher 4.75 (4) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NatashaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (7) £37/h1st lesson free! Discover all our tutors LorrenDrawing Teacher 5.00 (2) £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SabrinaDrawing Teacher 4.33 (3) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Julia janeDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EvelinaDrawing Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsHow to Create Your Own ComicsComics, as we know them today, came into being towards the start of the 19th century. After the first comic, l’Histoire de monsieur Jabot by Rodolphe Töpffer in 1827, comic strips crossed the Atlantic and became hugely popular in the US, especially those with superheroes. Today, Japan is the biggest producer of comics in the world. In fact, manga accounts for a huge part of the global comic book market.Check here for the best drawing classes now.Comics are very popular all over the world. (Source: JenDigitalArt)No matter what type of comic art you’re trying to make, most of them follow the same steps. Be it Franco-Belgian co mics like Tintin and Asterix, American Marvel and DC comics, manga, or graphic novels, the starting point for most comics is an idea.Each comic book author needs to start with an idea, a theme, a story, or a plot. From there, they can create the comic in their own style.You don’t necessarily need to have studied art and illustration or have taken art lessons to start drawing your own comics. Most comic book authors are self-taught.To get started with your comics, it’s important to not get discouraged the second you run into any difficulties.You can also learn how to draw your own manga.Finding Inspiration for ComicsAre you dreaming of creating a comic that you can show your friends and family? Would you like to publish or sell it?Before you start drawing it and approaching publishing houses, you need to find the right idea.Some creators get it straight away whereas others need to plan out their ideas.Head to a bookstore or comic book store for inspiration! (Source: emiliefarrisp hotos)When it comes to inspiration, you can always look to other comic books and comic book artists. Try to work out which books and comic book series you like, the themes covered in the comics you read, the comic book art style you like, and why the visual storytelling works so well. Of course, we don’t mean copying another author! Your comic needs to be original and not guilty of plagiarism.However, looking at other comics is a great way to get your imagination and creativity going. You could always head to a library and read some books there or borrow the comics you like and take them home. As you’re reading them, make a note of your ideas and start structuring them.If you like futuristic comics, make a note of all the backgrounds you like or the plots you find interesting.Heading to a comic convention is a great way to explore comic books. There are plenty of conventions up and down the country and around the world.There’s also a comic book museum in Brussels if you fancy a trip abroad for inspiration. You might even get some inspiration from the city itself. After all, Belgium has a rich tradition of comics. You should also decide what your comic’s going to be like:ComedyRealismFantasyScience fictionNon-fictionWebcomicsAutobiographicalBlack and whiteIn colourEtc.Find out more about creating a caricature. FernandoDrawing Teacher 5.00 (8) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EmmaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £75/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors DavidDrawing Teacher 4.75 (4) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NatashaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (7) £37/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LorrenDrawing Teacher 5.00 (2) £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SabrinaDrawing Teacher 4.33 (3) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Julia janeDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EvelinaDrawing Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsCreate a Detailed Outline of Your Co mic’s PlotOnce you’ve established the universe that your comic will be set in, you’ll need to think of a plot. Just like in cinema, creating a synopsis will help you create a story for your graphic work. Here’s a quick definition of synopsis:“a brief summary or general survey of something.”Creating a synopsis can be useful for organising your ideas and is essential if you’re going to be presenting your ideas to an editor. You’ll often present this with some samples of the comic’s visuals.  Even if you’ve decided you’re going to do it all yourself, a synopsis will help as it can act as a guide for your story.A synopsis can be between one and six pages but there are no rules. Your story needs to be understandable and detailed enough so that you don’t have to keep thinking stuff up on the spot.  You also need to consider the plot, characters, the Spatio-temporal framework, the outcome, the twists, the length, etc.Taking time with this step will save you time in the long run. While it might seem tedious, thinking about the key details right at the beginning will save you so much time later on, especially if you can refer to them in your synopsis.Character Design: Designing Characters for Comic BooksJust like the plot, character design can save you a lot of time when it comes to drawing your characters. Character model sheets show how characters should be represented visually. You don’t need to describe a character’s physical characteristics but rather represent them visually.Make sure your characters are expressive. (Source: coyot)Each character can be drawn in different ways with different expressions: standing, portrait, profile, while moving, etc.  The goal is to capture the character in most eventualities so that it can act as a model when you need to draw them again. This can be really useful if the writer or illustrator isn’t the same person as the character design process will allow you to agree on the big picture and also the finer details.You should start the model sheets with a sketch of the character. It’s easy to start off vague and add more details. Doing several different characters will also help you to establish the style. Whether you’re drawing on a graphics tablet or using traditional materials, it's much easier to create the first few pages of your graphic novel if you’ve already learnt the fundamentals of drawing.Find out more about drawing faces and portraits.Creating a Storyboard for Your ComicOne of the first things you should do when creating a comic is your storyboard. A storyboard can be used to outline, panel by panel, the dialogue and scenes in your comic. To do this, sketch out the visuals and the speech bubbles. Start by segmenting the story into pages.Storyboards are there to outline what's going to happen. (Source: geralt)Storyboarding is a long process when it comes to making comics and you need to ensure that the speech bubbles or coherent and understandable and avoid wast ing panels. You also need to ensure that everything adds to the narrative and brings something new to the reader.Creating Your Comic BookNow you’re ready to start making your comics. From the synopsis to the storyboarding, everything’s ready. Now you just have to draw, colour, and maybe publish your comic book.Drawing in the PanelsWith the help of the storyboard you created, you can now draw the details into each panel. Your storyboard should effectively outline the composition for the panel.Inking: An Important Part of Creating ComicsInking is going back over the sketches with ink. Once the inking is finished, the illustrator can erase all remnants of the sketches.ColouringColouring is sometimes done by a specialist but the illustrator can do it themselves. Whether it’s with markers, watercolours, or coloured pencils, this process is essential if you don’t want your comic to be in black and white. Colouring can also be done digitally with programmes like Inkscape, Illustrat or, Photoshop, etc.Now you just need to put it all into practice!You could also learn more with private tutorials from one of the many talented tutors on Superprof!There are three main types of tutorials available: face-to-face tutorials, online tutorials, and group tutorials, and each comes with its pros and cons in terms of learning and cost-effectiveness. What's right for one student may not be right for another so take your time to find the right kind of tutor and tutoring.Face-to-face tutorials are taught with one student and one tutor and they tend to be the most cost-effective type since every minute in the lesson is spent focusing on you as the student. Additionally, the tutor will also spend time outside of the lessons finding resources and planning the time they'll spend with you.Online tutorials are similar to the face-to-face tutorials but take place either on a call or via webcam. Since the tutor won't have the travel costs to worry about and can fit more students into their schedule as a result, online tutorials are usually cheaper than face-to-face tutorials.Finally, group tutorials are classes with one teacher or tutor and multiple students. These tend to be the cheapest per student per hour. How to Draw Comics Everything You Need to Know About Comic Drawing ChaptersDrawing a Comic: Start by Laying the GroundworkHow Do I Create a Comic Book Character?Which Style Should I Use to Draw My Comic?The Main Steps for Drawing Your Comic  Can I Create a Comic Without Knowing How to Draw?Comic books have a huge history all over the world. From the famous characters who we grew up with to new interpretations today which have almost become cults, every year we discover more about comics.The world of comics is very dynamic, with unique styles such as Japanese-originating manga which has a huge international following.Do you find yourself having ideas or dreams of how to create your own comic strip?It’s a complex project of storytelling, containing many rigorous steps to create a story and characters, and then bring them all to life in your drawings.We’ve put together the main steps of comic drawing from start to finish…very interesting tattoo designs on their skin?Character traits: the style of each character must reflect their deeper character istics, so it’s crucial to be as precise as possibleTheir personal history: what is their past, their current situation, their experiences and skillsTheir behaviour: determine your character’s specific attitude, reactions, disposition and opinionsTheir goal: each character has a purpose in a story. Start by asking yourself this question for each of your characters.To help you define all these elements, simply take a look around you, and draw inspiration from people you know â€" there are many sources of inspiration.Once you’ve completed this step, you can move onto learning how to draw your characters. You will have to evolve them in the course of the story according to the situations they encounter.Think about working on your facial drawing techniques, and also techniques to represent body expression and attitude. Be careful though â€" inspiration doesn’t mean reproduction. Your characters must remain unique and mustn’t be copies of existing characters.Don’t hesitate to show your drawings to friends and family, as this can help you gauge how your characters are perceived by others and if they really reflect the characteristics you imagined. FernandoDrawing Teacher 5.00 (8) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EmmaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £75/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors DavidDrawing Teacher 4.75 (4) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NatashaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (7) £37/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LorrenDrawing Teacher 5.00 (2) £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SabrinaDrawing Teacher 4.33 (3) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Julia janeDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EvelinaDrawing Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsWhich Style Should I Use to Draw My Comic?Major Marvel heroes are referenced in the comic book world. Photo credit: Luis.Vieira on VisualhuntThe important thing to remember when creating a comic is that you should find your own style. Traditionally, there are three main categories of comics:Comics: Comic books originating from the USA which narrate the adventures of a character, but unlike some forms of comic, the main character is usually the property of a publishing house and there are different designers who take the character forward and continue to create new episodes.Manga: Born in Japan, this comic is inspired by cartoon characters and is typically characterised by sleek drawings, most often in black and white.Franco-Belgian BD: BD, or Bande Dessinée, originated in France and developed in Belgium, and is now distributed in the form of albums of in specialised press. BD styles and formats can vary greatly.Today, artists take advantage of the many influences that the world of comics has to offer so that genres can be mixed up and revisited. Comics aren’t so codified these days, so with a little talent it’s completely possible to create your own unique style.We see it toda y in many comics: graphics have evolved and so have the styles of drawing too. This means we can opt for really realistic drawings â€" which we see prominently in Franco-Belgian BD â€" for which we need to know how to draw realistically and in perspective, so that each comic book author has talent enough to develop their own style from the basics.Digital tools and the internet also offer new possibilities in terms of graphics and distribution. Digital comics flourish on the internet without necessarily being edited or published in paper format.The Main Steps for Drawing Your Comic  You now have your storyboard and your characters, so all that remains is to move on to the drawing phase!Do you prefer the traditional pencil and paper method, or the digital approach with a graphic tablet? Or maybe even both! In any case, you can choose the material that works best for you to create your comic.It’s possible to create a comic entirely on paper, or conversely you can use a computer and d rawing software as you would with graphic design, just as if you were designing a great logo.If you want to draw your comic in pen, start by preparing your comic strips and plotting out your boxes, also called thumbnails. You can then start filling them in one by one. Make sure your frames are well structured and executed to get the best drawings possible.You can create comics either with pen and paper or with a graphic tablet. Photo credit: wuestenigel on VisualhuntYou can of course start drawing in pencil so that your lines can be erased until you get the desired result. Inking a comic strip is that stake where the lines are made permanently in pen to obtain a clean finish and hide any underlying pencil marks. Find pencil drawing lessons on Superprof.If you need to add narrative text for clarification, you will need to put it in a side bar at the top or bottom of a picture box. You will also have to fill the speech bubbles with dialogue, without forgetting the characteristic onoma topoeia of action comics!When it comes to the colouring and the text contained in your boxes and bubbles, you have two possibilities:Do everything by hand on your sheet, the good old-fashioned way!Scan your comic boards to finalise them on a computer. You will then be able to choose a suitable font for the text in the bubbles you have created, and you can ensure the colours are vibrant and polished.If you choose to scan your boards, make sure you choose a good resolution (600 dpi, for example). This will improve the quality of your drawing on digital media, and you can then work easily from software like Photoshop. It is also an great solution if you want to put your comic online.  Can I Create a Comic Without Knowing How to Draw?With online software, you don’t need incredible drawing skills to create a comic.Even though the best approach to comics is learning to draw, it’s still possible to have fun experimenting with online software while you make you own comic and cultivate y our skills. There are all sorts of digital tools and software to try out!Whether you are an accomplished drawer or a beginner, comics are a really interesting format to work with. Unlike a single drawing, it also allows you to experiment with narrative techniques.

Online Math Tutoring Come Out with Flying

Online Math Tutoring Come Out with Flying 0SHARESShare Help your child succeed in arithmetic, algebra and geometry with Math tutors online. Math tutors help students conquer high school math and help them to be confident going into preparation for the PSAT, SAT and ACT. Free Online Math Tutor: Raise your GPA with confident! Math has always been the toughest subject through the course curriculum. But now with the free online math tutor, students are seeing a brighter side of the grass. When math is understood properly in the correct sequence, students find it easy and logical to grasp. No matter for whatever help you need in, it could be your assignments, your homework or even your main exams, math online tutor guides you in every situation and assists you in every problem and that too at no initial cost. Math Tutor Online: Specialized 1-On-1 tutoring in your own home. Algebra comes to your course curriculum in the middle grade and Math tutor online teaches you 1-On-1 the basic tools which are used to develop the algebra concepts for the later years. From the algebra family, online math tutors cover all major topics such as trigonometry, linear equation, quadratic equation and many more. The usage of algebra is uncountable and so it becomes a priority to get the process right. Rules of BODMAS, sign concepts, sign change, applications of formulas are properly taught to you by the online masters. They aim at eradicating even the simple doubts that get triggered while you study the subject. Online Math Tutoring: Why should you choose online math tutoring to raise your GPA? When you do not understand the class lectures in the proper manner, online tutors become your backup. Here you can be rest assured to get each and every topic solved by the tutor. Math online tutoring is growing at a fast pace because of its amazing support to the student. Now you don’t have to worry about your score, just give some couple of hours to the online master and allow him to impart the solving techniques to you! Start studying  online now! [starbox id=admin]

Catch Your Child Being Good this Holiday Season

Catch Your Child Being Good this Holiday Season Spending time with family around the holidays can be wonderful, and for parents of kids with ADHD it can also be stressful. When youre visiting family and friends that you only see a few times a year you want more than ever to have things go smoothly. Its a tall order when your childs routine is disrupted, and when he or she is so excited about the holidays! As a parent, when you are stressed, your childs minor misbehaviors the ones that you would typically let slide may really get under your skin. So, youre more likely to notice the things that your child is doing wrong, and overlook the things that he or she may be doing right. As a result, your child receives even more attention for his or her misbehavior, and this attention even though its negative often leads to an increase in challenging behaviors. Making an effort to notice your childs positive behavior, and praise him or her when he or she is doing something right can help break this cycle. When you catch your child being good you set them up for success. You start to lay the foundation for positive family interactions, you build his or her self-esteem, and you increase the chance of seeing more positive behavior in the future. In order for praise to be most effective, and actually lead to a change in family dynamics and your childs behavior, youll need to be strategic about how and when you deliver the praise. The following guidelines will help you get off to a good start: Be Specific. Let your child know exactly what he or she did well. For example, You did a great job helping your sister find her toy. rather than Good job! When youre specific your child knows exactly what it is that he or she did well, and will be more likely to do it again in the future. Be genuine. Kids respond well to praise when its heartfelt and genuine, and when your level of enthusiasm matches their behavior. For example, lets say that your child does something that isnt very hard for him or her, like tying his or her shoes, for example. You respond with over the top enthusiasm, Wow! You tied your shoes, amazing! Youre child isnt going to find you very believable, and might even think that youre acting strange. But, if you say something more genuine, like, I noticed that you tied your shoes the first time I asked. Thank you. Then he or she will be much more likely to accept your praise. Praise effort. Studies show that kids who are praised for their hard work and effort, rather than for their intelligence or abilities, are more likely to approach new challenges with a positive attitude and have the motivation to keep trying even when things are hard. So, if your child gets a good grade on a math assignment, rather than saying, Nice job! Youre so smart at math! focus on the things that he or she did in order to earn the grade, like, You worked really hard on that assignment and double checked all of your answers before your turned it in. Your hard work really paid off! Nicely done! Remember 5:1: It takes quite a few positive statements to offset the effects of negative feedback and criticism. So as a rule of thumb, aim for 5 positive comments for every negative statement. If this seems like a tall order, start with a smaller ratio, like 3:1 and work your way up. Shift the balance in your home, from only commenting on the negative to really praising the positive. Noticing your childs good behavior, and following these praise guidelines will go a long way in helping things go more smoothly this holiday season and throughout the year. Over time youll see even more good behavior and improved family relationships as your child continues to seek and receive more positive attention from you. ABOUT DR. MARY ROONEY Mary Rooney, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco. Dr Rooney is a researcher and clinician specializing in the evaluation and treatment of ADHD and co-occurring behavioral, anxiety, and mood disorders. A strong advocate for those with attention and behavior problems, Dr. Rooney is committed to developing and providing comprehensive, cutting edge treatments tailored to meet the unique needs of each child and adolescent. Dr. Rooney's clinical interventions and research avenues emphasize working closely with parents and teachers to create supportive, structured home and school environments that enable children and adolescents to reach their full potential. In addition, Dr. Rooney serves as a consultant and ADHD expert to Huntington Learning Centers. ABOUT HUNTINGTON Huntington Learning Center is the tutoring and test prep leader. Its certified tutors provide individualized instruction in reading, phonics, writing, study skills, elementary and middle school math, Algebra through Calculus, Chemistry, and other sciences. It preps for the SAT and ACT, as well as state and standardized exams. Huntington programs develop the skills, confidence, and motivation to help students of all levels succeed and meet the needs of Common Core State Standards. Founded in 1977, Huntington's mission is to give every student the best education possible. Call us today at 1.800.CAN LEARN to discuss how Huntington can help your child. For franchise opportunities please visit www.huntingtonfranchise.com. This website does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The material on this site is provided for educational purposes only.

How to Use the Past Perfect Simple

How to Use the Past Perfect Simple Download a lesson on the past perfect for Business English. You are free to photocopy it for classroom purposes. Understanding-the-Past-Perfect-SimpleDownload When we talk about a past event that happened before another past event, we use the Past Perfect Simple. Use the Past Perfect Simple when you name a later event before an earlier event. Key phrases: by the time Julie arrived at work, by the end of the day, by the end of last week, etc. Compare: I broke a heel and a taxi splashed me. Then, I arrived at work. By the time I arrived at work, I had broken a heel and a taxi had splashed me. Structure: Subject + had + Past Participle         Julie had a difficult commute This is how Julie described her commute This is what Julies colleague said Fill in the blanks with other things Julies colleague said Here are some verbs to help you Please follow and like us:

4 Wise Lessons from Four Seriously Good Language Learners

4 Wise Lessons from Four Seriously Good Language Learners 4 Wise  Lessons from Four Seriously Good  Language Learners Weve got your back.If youre looking for motivation and encouragement in language learning, other language learners are your best bet, no doubt.Weve all shared tips and tricks with our classmates, harried our tutors with questions, and mined online language communities for new resources and techniques.But if you  really want to jumpstart your studies and reach your goals,  theres one group of people whose advice  you  cant afford  to miss:  the very best language learners!I’m talking about the masters, the ones who innovated or made history with their techniques and drive. Past and present have provided us with a host of big names in language learning, although you may not have heard of them yet.The best teacher is one whos been down the path before, one who devised a better way of doing things.Without further ado, here are four  ground-breaking lessons from four  champion language learners!4 Wise  Lessons from Four Seriously Good  Language Learners 1. Don’t let age hold you back .Kató Lomb: Hungarian translator, simultaneous interpreter, polyglotLomb is one of those polyglots everyone should know about. She was a pretty intense lady with a crazy life. She knew 16 languages at various levels by the time she died, and she was always curious about more. And she lived a long life, tooâ€"94 years!She certainly wasn’t one of those people who insist that adults are hopeless at picking up languages. Sure, she started her languages young, but she kept gathering more and more throughout her entire life. In her late 40s, she walked into an advanced university Polish class (she wasnt an enrolled student) and boldly told the professor she had no experience with Polish and she certainly didn’t have the prerequisites. The professor allowed her to sit in on the class, and Polish became a language in which Lomb was quite proficient.In her 80s, Lomb chatted  with Dr. Stephen Krashen (a professor at the University of Southern California who created the famed “input hyp othesis”), which he chronicled in his article here. Krashen was then in his 50s, and Lomb envied his youth, saying, “So many more languages to learn!”How  to apply this lesson:Remember it’s never too late to start learning a new language. Life is long, and theres enough time for all of your projects and pursuits! Be like Kató Lomb and just dive right inâ€"no matter your age.Try doing one small thing today to get you closer to fluency in your chosen language: study a textbook for 10 minutes, watch a TV show in your target language  or sit down with some flashcards.Adults are way better at hacking their studies than kids, so try resources that take advantage of thatâ€"like  SRS, online games  and novels in your target language (a favorite technique of Lombs).  It all adds up!2. Be creative with your learning methods.Khatzumoto:  Author of the blog “All Japanese All The Time”Here’s a more modern example for you. On his blog, Khatzumoto wrote about how he achieved fluency in Japanese in 18 months, all without living in Japan. He then chronicled his Mandarin and Cantonese learning processes as he navigated Chinese media and newer learning methods.That’s all very impressive, but here’s where Khatzumoto should really inspire you: He wasn’t happy with how Westerners presented and learned East Asian languages. Sure, he had a lifelong admiration of Japanese and Chinese, but the standing rhetoric was, and is, that those languages are impossible for Westernersâ€"that the writing systems take a decade to learn  and  foreigners would never achieve native-sounding tones.Hearing talk like that can get discouraging!But Khatzumoto examined the traditional learning techniques for Japaneseâ€"namely, textbooks, language tapes and rote memorization for kanji  and hanziâ€"and decided to abandon those methods in search of a better way of doing things.He lifted the methods from Antimoon,  a website that shares the techniques of a couple of Polish guys who learned English by watching TV, reading and playing video games:  immersion. He studied Dr. Krashen’s input hypothesis, which advocates that with enough exposure to the language, retention of vocab and grammar becomes much more natural.He discovered Dr. James Heisig’s book Remembering the Kanji,  which uses  mnemonic devices to efficiently teach all 2,042 everyday-use kanji. He combined and tweaked these as needed, and used sentences in his SRS to pick up grammar and vocabulary organically.And he achieved his goal! He reached fluency!How  to apply this lesson:If you’re not happy with your course or textbook, critically examine your methods. Ask yourself: Do any of your resources bore you to tears? Have you made notable progress in the last couple of months using a certain resource? Keep a journal where you keep track of your progress in reading, writing, speaking and listening.Check in every month or so, and make sure youre still on track and still having fun. If something isnt workin g for youâ€"or if its plain unenjoyableâ€"toss it out. Believe me, theres plenty more you can use!Try immersion like Khatzumoto, and use apps like FluentU if you get stuck for resources. Find a conversation partner to practice with, or shift your focus from speaking to understanding à la Krashen’s input hypothesis. There’s no one way to do things, so if something isn’t working for you, try something new. Never stop experimenting!3. Don’t be afraid to look ridiculous at times.Dr. Alexander Argüelles:  Intellectual, educator, hyperpolyglotArgüelles is the intellectual’s polyglot. He focuses on reading ability, and can read books in a massive  number of different languages. But don’t think that means that he’s too reservedâ€"he advocates the technique “shadowing  whereby learners simultaneously speak the target language along with a recording to improve pronunciation and prosody.Don’t think that sounds ridiculous enough? Well, in the book Babel No More  by Michael Erard, the author examines the lives of a number of polyglots, including Argüelles. The author has the chance to meet up with Argüelles and begins to study Hindi under his tutelage.Argüelles soon has Erard shouting Hindi phrases along with a recording all while briskly walking through a public park. Sure, Erard felt embarrassed doing this, but he gained confidence in those phrases he acquired.How  to apply this lesson:Try out shadowing, or even just talking to yourself for practice. Check out this video to see Argüelles himself demonstrate the technique. First, acquire audio samples in your target language. High-quality course recordings from  Assimil, Teach Yourself  or Pimsleur  work great for this, but so do many others.While listening, and without using a transcript, repeat the sounds of each word almost simultaneously with the recording, whether you understand it or not. Try to include shadowing  in your daily sessions, even for short periods of 10 to 15 minutes.It might fe el strange  at first, but embarrassment is a feeling all language learners need  to get past in order to advance, so it’s best to get used to the feeling early on.Especially if you can’t find someone to practice with, these techniques increase your speaking confidence. You’ll be that  much more  prepared for when you do get the opportunity to speak in a real-life situation!4. Milk limited resources for all they’re worth.Giuseppe Mezzofanti: 19th  century Italian cardinal, hyperpolyglot, the MezzofantiIf you’re interested in languages and haven’t yet heard of Mezzofanti,  Id be pretty surprised.He’s famous among language enthusiasts for good reason. It was said he spoke at least 30  languages excellently, nine other languages fluently, and had basic knowledge of dozens of others. History is rife with stories of Mezzofanti’s prowess at picking up languages in short periods of time.Some of this can be chalked up to legend and hyperbole. I, however, am a believer that Me zzofanti did possess rare skillâ€"one he cultivated through dedicated study and practice. After all, in Babel No More, Erard has the privilege to read Mezzofanti’s multilingual letters and flashcards. He used flashcards just like everyone else!In other words, anyone can emulate Mezzofanti.One Mezzofanti story is especially reassuring and helpful. Mezzofanti heard prisoners’ confessions regularly, in a number of languages. If he didn’t know the language in question, Mezzofanti would ask the prisoner to say the Lord’s Prayer in the language, and Mezzofanti would tease apart this short snippet to glean basic vocabulary and grammar.After all, this particular prayer was something he knew very well and in a number of different languages. By comparing short samples of the same text, Mezzofanti turned language acquisition in something more like decoding. He started all of his languages with the Lord’s Prayer.I have my doubts that this would give Mezzofanti the ability to understan d everything prisoners were saying, but there’s no doubt in my mind that this a great way to use limited resources to gain a basic understanding of a language. Mezzofanti lived at a time when it was much more difficult to come across resources in different languages. He capitalized on what was available, since he didn’t always have the luxury to get more.How  to apply this lesson:Getting the most out of our resources is something all language learners can take advantage of. Some of us just don’t have the ability to get to a country where we can buy all the books and movies we want. Some of us have limited money for such things. But even then, we surely have more than just a short snippet of text in our target languages, so imagine what we can do with that and  a little focus!Try comparing Wikipedia pages in your target language and native language and see what words you can define. Choose a topic you already know a lot about, and get yourself comfortable with the English Wikip edia page first. Compare small sections, perhaps under similar headings. Define all the words in a paragraph, and write them down in a notebook. Examine the grammar and take a stab at what it means.  Study deeply instead of widely!Obviously, Wikipedia pages wont be an exact translation, but you can still compare word usage and match up sentences where the writers were saying similar things. Another  free resource to try this with is  news articles. Find a hot topic international news article in English, and then find an article on the  same topic  in your target language. News articles tend to be short and succinctâ€"perfect for comparing languages! Again, hunt for places where the text is likely to be similar, such as headings or near proper nouns like famous names or places. Then figure out what you can!If you want to pull a true Mezzofanti and study exact texts, its easy to find translations of popular English-language books in common languages. For example, Ive read Harry Potter in Spanish, French and Dutch, as well as in English! Im a huge fan, so I already know the books well. Comparing chapters of Harry Potter makes parsing a new language fun and easy. If you like Harry Potter, e-book translations are easy to purchase at Pottermore. Choose texts you already know well (it doesnt have to be Harry Potter!), and then dive into the translation.There are plenty of polyglots, past and present, who mastered language learning. And they  have lots  to teach us, whether it’s through their own writings or simply through how they lived.By examining these heroes of language learning, we can amp up our own studies, stay motivated and achieve the goals we’ve set!

Do you think children face peer pressure - ALOHA Mind Math

Do you think children face peer pressure Peer pressure is the feeling when child feels the need to adhere to a group of friends that they have. This peer pressure can influence how children dress, the things they want buy, what kind of music they listen to,  the places they want hand out at etc. These characteristic and behavioral patterns usually develop at a very early age, when children actually start to try and get the other kids to play games they want. Children face peer pressure at different stages of their lives as they grow to be teens and then adults. It is very important for a parent to identify this from its roots and always keep an eye on their kids because as they grow, parents need to be their support system and help them recognize and cope with their wants in terms of doing what they really want to do and to be able to say no to their peers whenever needed and still remain a part of the group. Peer pressure is a progressive stage as parent you cannot know the effects overnight, they need to more cautious and know their children well and see the signs as they are growing and nip it at the bud. If you children start hanging out and do similar activities with a group of peers you don’t think they in fit in with then that’s the first sign for a parent to start working with their kids. To tackle an issue as sensitive as peer pressure, parents will need to start spending more time with their kids, listen to them with more attention, Monitor their daily activities with a close eye and always keep a discussion open without being judgmental. This in turn will encourage your kids to share and discuss their problems with you making it an easier process for you as parent to help them out of peer pressure. All of us as children or adults have faced peer pressure at some point of our lives. Let use this forum and share our experiences to help other learn from it.

3 Healthy Mug Cake Desserts to Try

3 Healthy Mug Cake Desserts to Try Image via biggerbolderbaking.com Enter the healthy mug cake. Mug cakes and single serving desserts made in a mug are one of my absolute favorite things ever! If you’ve never tried a mug cake before, you MUST give one of these recipes a try the next time that you want to “cheat clean.” You only need a microwavable mug, a handful of ingredients, and literally five minutes (including prep!) to whip one of these treats up, and I promise that it will become a part of your standard snack and/or dessert rotation with no guilt! Peanut Butter Mug Cake Image via baking-ginger.com This healthy peanut butter mug cake from baking-ginger.com is incredibly delicious and can literally be made up in three short minutes. It is refined sugar free, gluten-free, and can be made to be vegan by swapping out the egg for a replacement flax egg. Ingredients: •2 Tbsp  brown rice flour •1/2 tsp baking powder •1 egg/flax egg •1 1/2 Tbsp melted coconut oil •2 Tbsp almond milk •1 tsp vanilla •2 Tbsp honey/maple syrup (melted) •2 Tbsp peanut butter •Dark chocolate chips (as many as you want) Instructions: 1. Combine the flour and baking powder in a bowl and whisk together. 2. Add in all the other ingredients (except the chocolate chips) and whisk until well combined. 3. Pour the mixture into a large mug (or 2 small mugs) and top with chocolate chips. 4. Place the mug in the microwave on full power for 2-3 minutes and allow it to cool slightly before devouring! Low-Fat Chocolate Mug Cake Let’s face the truth: sometimes we just need chocolate. Because when you want chocolate, you  just want chocolate!  Am I right? Well with this chocolatey low-fat recipe you can have your mug cake and eat it too, and in less than one minute! Yeah, a low-fat cake in less than a minute sounds way too good to be true but it’s actually a reality with this recipe from cafedelites.com. Ingredients: •2 Tbsp (1 oz | 30 g) self raising flour •1 Tbsp  natural granulated sweetener  to keep calorie count low (if white, raw or coconut sugar, and counting your calories, remember to add this in) •2 level tsp unsweetened cocoa powder for a mild chocolate cake OR 1 Tbsp for a darker, richer chocolate cake • ¼ tsp baking powder •A pinch of salt •1 tsp reduced fat butter, melted (or coconut oil) •2 Tbsp (40ml) unsweetened almond milk (or skim milk for an extra point) *2 ½ Tbsp of milk if using 1 Tbsp cocoa powder •1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract • ¾ Tbsp mini chocolate chips of choice (milk or dark), divided Instructions: 1. Grab a ½-cup capacity mug and spray with cooking oil spray. Into the mug, add in the flour, sweetener (or sugar), cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine. To that, add your melted butter, milk and vanilla. 2. (Optional): Fold in ½ tablespoon of chocolate chips. Mix them through. Top with the remaining chocolate chips. 3. Bake in your microwave on Quick or High setting for 40 seconds. Open the door and gently touch the top with your finger tip. If its still a little underdone in the middle, bake for another 10 seconds until cooked through (not too long, as the cake will continue cooking in the mug once its removed). Healthy One-Minute Birthday Cake Image via thebigmansworld.com This healthy one-minute birthday mug cake from thebigmansword.com is simple, delicious and healthy yet does not sacrifice on taste. This cake is light, fluffy, filling and gluten free and high in protein. You can actually feel like you’re indulging on funfetti birthday cake without it actually being your birthday (and without all of the added calories and sugar). Ingredients: •1 1/2 Tbsp coconut flour •1 Tbsp almond flour (can sub for any flour of choice but will no longer be paleo friendly) •A pinch of sea salt •A pinch of cinnamon •1/2 tsp baking powder •1 Tbsp granulated sweetener of choice (I used a paleo friendly stevia blend) •1/2 tsp vanilla extract •1 large egg white (for a vegan version, use 1 flax egg) •1/4 cup dairy free milk of choice •Handful of sprinkles (optional) Instructions: 1. In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well. 2. In a separate small bowl, combine the dairy free milk with the egg white (or flax egg) and whisk lightly. Add the mixture to the dry mixture and mix until just combined. 3. Grease a large mug or deep bowl (I used a cereal bowl) generously and pour the batter in it and microwave for 50 seconds-2 minutes (Depending on brand and wattage). 4. Remove from bowl and enjoy!