Teaching ESL students to write in English

ESL students come from very different countries, from all walks of life. Some of them have been in America for a while already; others are fairly new to the country and its habits and culture. It’s important to acknowledge the fact they differ not only from â€Å"the† American but also from their classmates. Discussions in the group may run into a dead end street since not every student is used to speak his mind. Familiar topic When teaching them to write in English you might want to start with a topic they are very familiar with and that is not hard to write down. Topics like ‘what did you do this weekend?’, ‘describe the celebration of a birthday’ or ‘what did you watch on TV lately?’ are simple and don’t ask too much of the student in regard of composition. Tell your students to never ever first do their piece of writing in their own language and then ‘translate’ it into English. Emphasize they should think in English and therefore write in English. Once they get tangled up in translating from their native language into English, they are sliding down at top speed. Be positive When you give feedback it is best to keep that positive. Search for the good things in the piece to give your student some self-confidence. Then you can point out some faults but never sum up all of them. Concentrate on the major few; you can deal with the others at another time. One step at the time does the job. You want your students to come back to your next session, right? Also keep in mind your student might be in awe of you. You are the authority he has to listen to. That’s the way he was raised. This difference in culture does not have to be an obstacle. You gently point out your criticism; when you ask whether he has understood, use so-called open questions. A simple: do you see what I mean? can be answered with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ without you knowing whether he really understood. In many cultures is it not done to say ‘no’, especially to someone higher in hierarchy. A question like: please sum up what I just told you, will force the student into actually giving you an answer that tells you something. Keep it simple There are many more tips and tricks to teach ESL students to write a good piece, a cover letter or an essay in English. As a teacher you have to keep it simple and build from there, and you need to have a lot of patience. Your ESL students may not understand the simplest rules and may not be used to the American way of communicating. But once they have taken their first hurdles it is a rewarding experience for both you and the ESL students you teach.

A Guide to Solstices and Equinoxes

A Guide to Solstices and Equinoxes Solstices and equinoxes are interesting terms that show up each year on our calendars. They are related to astronomy and the motions of our planet. Most people think of them as the start of a season. Thats true as far as a date on a calendar is concerned, but they dont necessarily predict climate or weather. The terms solstice and equinox are related to specific positions of the Suns in the sky throughout the year. Of course, the Sun doesnt move through our sky. But, it appears to move because Earth is turning on its axis, like a merry-go-round. People on a merry-go-round see people appear to move around them, but its really the ride thats moving. Its the same with Earth. As the planet spins around, people see the Sun appear to rise in the east and set in the west.  The Moon, planets,  and stars all appear to do the same thing, for the same reason.   Precessional movement of Earths pole. Earth turns on its axis once a day (shown by the white arrows). The axis is indicated by the red lines coming out the top and bottom poles. The white line is the imaginary line the pole traces out as Earth wobbles on its axis. NASA Earth Observatory adaptation How Are Solstices and Equinoxes Determined? Watch the sunrise and sunset each day (and remember never to look directly AT our hot, bright Sun), and notice its rise and set points change throughout the year. Notice also that the Suns position in the sky at noon is farther north at some times of year and more southerly at other times. The sunrise, sunset, and zenith points slide slowly to the north from December 21-22 to June 20-21 each year. Then, they appear to pause before starting the slow daily slide toward the south, from June 20-21st (the northernmost point) to December 21-22 (the southernmost point). Those stopping points are called the solstices (from the Latin  sol,  which means sun, and sistere,  which means stand still). These terms stem back to a time when early observers had no knowledge of Earths motions in space but did notice that the Sun appeared to stand still at its northernmost and southernmost points, before resuming its apparent motion south and north (respectively). Solstices Summer solstice is the longest day of the year for each hemisphere. For northern hemisphere observers, the June solstice (the 20th or 21st), marks the beginning of summer. In the southern hemisphere, thats the shortest day of the year and marks the beginning of winter. Six months later, on December 21st or 22nd, winter begins with the shortest day of the year for northern hemisphere people. Its the start of summer and the longest day of the year for people south of the equator. This is why such solstices are now called the December and June solstices, rather than winter or summer solstices. It recognizes that the seasons for each hemisphere correspond to north or south location.   The Greek astronomer Hipparchus was the first to discover and chart the equinoxes. Getty Images   Equinoxes Equinoxes are also connected to this slow change of apparent solar position. The term equinox comes from two Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night). The Sun rises and sets exactly due east and due west on the equinoxes, and day and night are of equal length. In the northern hemisphere, the March equinox marks the first day of spring, while its the first day of autumn in the southern hemisphere. The September equinox is the first day of fall in the north and the first day of spring in the south.   So, the solstices and equinoxes are important calendar points that come to us from the apparent position of the Sun in our sky. They are also intimately connected to the seasons but are not the sole reason why we have seasons. The reasons for the seasons  are linked to Earths tilt and its position as it orbits the Sun.   Observing the Solstices and Equinoxes Charting the moments of solstice and equinox is a year-long observation project. Take a moment each day to observe the sky; notice sunrise or sunset and mark where those occur along your horizon. After a few weeks, its very easy to note a  very distinct shift of the positions north or south. Check out the appearance points of sunrise and sunset against the printed calendar and see how close they come to matching. Its a great long-term science activity for anyone to do, and has been the subject of more than a few science fair projects!   While the original ideas about solstices and equinoxes hark back to a time in human history when sky observers had no way of knowing about our planets motions in space, they still mark important dates that give people clues about the change of seasons. Today, ancient astronomical markers such as Stonehenge remind us that people have been looking to the sky, and measuring its motions, since the dawn of human history.

Financial Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Financial Concepts - Essay Example n to compensate for the underlying risk involved .This rate of return (Ke) is defined as the sum of risk free rate of return (Rf) and risk premium (Rm- Rf) multiplied by beta (KPMG, 2005).Thus beta is useful in calculating the rate of return of a risky asset and thus very applicable in investment decisions. 2.2. Variance- It is a standard statistical measure of the dispersion of a set of data points around their mean value. In finance, the variance of the market return is the expected squared deviation from the expected return (Myers, 2000). Variance is useful in measuring portfolio risk in the sense that it measures the volatility from average value. This helps the investors in risk assessment while purchasing stocks or bonds (Investopedia, 2010). 2.3. Duration: It is defined as the average number of years to an asset’s discounted cash flows (Myers,2000).It denotes how much sensitive is the price of a fixed income investment to a change in interest rates. The bigger the duration, the greater the reward for bond prices. Thus this is applicable in investment decisions. 2.4. Return on Assets (ROA): It is defined as the ratio of net income to total assets (Myers, 2000). It indicates how efficiently a company is using its total assets to generate its earnings. It is an indicator of a company’s efficiency and profitability. 2.5: Return on Equity (ROE): It is defined as the ratio of net income to shareholder’s equity(Myers,2000). It an indicator of the profitability of a company. It shows how profitable a company is making use of the money invested by the shareholders 2.6. Cost of Capital- Each firm expects a minimum rate of return on its investments as earnings for attracting new capital and to maintain its current value. This rate of return is called cost of capital (KPMG, 2005). The opportunity cost of investment in funds is reflected in cost of capital and hence it is a very important parameter for any company (Civil Aviation Authority, 2001). The two