In second or third grade, kids are set to learn their multiplication tables. Several teachers ask students to practice their multiplication skills at home. Although, simply sticking to age-old flashcards does not motivate much learning and fun.

Below are five outstanding and helpful ways to help kids of grades to practice their multiplication skills based on multiplication tables, so that they can lead in various math multiplication projects.

Five Fun Ways to Practice Multiplication Skills:

Activity 1: Memory Game

Kids mostly opt to play multiplication memory game. They can create their own multiplication memory game focusing on a definite multiplication table. Here, in this example, you we will use table of 3.

Multiplication is a sequential function. You can select a color of construction sheet, cut 2-inch squares, and write the problem (0 x 3, 1 x 3, 2 x 3, etc.). Now, choose one more color of construction sheet, and cut squares and write down the answers (0, 3, 6, etc.).

Next, turn almost all the cards downwards and play the usual memory game. Try to choose a “problem” color and an “answer” color for it. If your memorization is correct, then note down the points and try again. You can do this with almost every set of table.

Activity 2: Use of Internet

Next, parents and teachers may make use of the Internet to help practice multiplication skills for kids. You can find tons of web sites devoted to help kids to practice and polish their entire math skills. They also offer fun and innovative interactive games.

Generally, children tend to practice hard in multiplication problems to improve the game, and when it becomes fun to play, they hardly realize that they are practicing and learning.

Activity 3: Musical Practice

Another helpful way to practice multiplication is to memorize musically. Teachers and parents can find several knowledgeable videos, songs, and recordings, based entirely on multiplication tables and skills.

Several teachers affirm that music is by far the most helpful way to practice multiplication skills.

Activity 4: Single Calculations

1 x anything = itself

You can start such multiplication concept with a few small numbers, for example 7 x 1. Try to stick with small digits until you find the concept easy and simply repeat the number that you are supposed to multiply. For students of higher grades, try for example 283 x 1 along with some fractions.

Activity 5: Doubles Calculations

2 x a number = doubles

Two times a number signifies to add it twice. Thus, those are the doubles in calculation. Tables of two are just the doubles. You can evaluate the doubles, with multiplication equation, but try to explain it in addition form.

For example, 2 x 6 = 12, and in addition, doubles of six is the same 6 + 6 = 12. You can write the solution to the addition problem as the solution to the multiplication problem. Hence, kids need to understand that 2 x n is n + n.

Final Review:

The implementation of this system is very much simple. You can assess the concept of 1 x anything, with varied set of numbers bearing the multiplication tables in mind.

Kids need to observe that, they are not only learning a whole set of multiplication tables, but they are also making themselves capable to use these skills to solve bunch of numbers. Kids tend to polish their multiplication skills with regular and repetitive practice of multiplication tables. Try to mix these steps or perform each, on a daily basis. The more you practice, the quicker you will polish your multiplication skills.

Math is always unproblematic, if is taught and learned in a correct manner.

Many deserving candidates lose out on job
opportunities because of their vernacular accent.

Yes, you can. All you need to do is train yourself to
speak English as comfortably and perfectly as you
speak your mother tongue.

How do you train yourself? By inculcating certain
practices in your daily lifestyle. These will get you
closer to sounding like a native English speaker and
equip you with a global accent — and you will speak
not American or British English, but correct English.

This is the first step to learn any other accent, be
it American or British or Australian.

Lisa Mojsin, head trainer, director and founder of the
Accurate English Training Company in Los Angeles,
offers these tips to help ‘neutralise’ your accent or
rather do away with the local twang, as you speak.

i. Observe the mouth movements of those who speak
English well and try to imitate them.

When you are watching television, observe the mouth
movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are
saying, while imitating the intonation and rhythm of
their speech.

ii. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm
of English, slow your speech down.

If you speak too quickly, and with the wrong
intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a
hard time understanding you.

Don’t worry about your listener getting impatient with
your slow speech — it is more important that
everything you say be understood.

iii. Listen to the ‘music’ of English.

Do not use the ‘music’ of your native language when
you speak English. Each language has its own way of
’singing’.

iv. Use the dictionary.

Try and familiarise yourself with the phonetic symbols
of your dictionary. Look up the correct pronunciation
of words that are hard for you to say.

v. Make a list of frequently used words that you find
difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks the
language well to pronounce them for you.

Record these words, listen to them and practice saying
them. Listen and read at the same time.

vi. Buy books on tape.

Record yourself reading some sections of the book.
Compare the sound of your English with that of the
person reading the book on the tape.

vii. Pronounce the ending of each word.

Pay special attention to ‘S’ and ‘ED’ endings. This
will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you
use when you speak English.

viii. Read aloud in English for 15-20 minutes every
day.

Research has shown it takes about three months of
daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for
speaking a new language.

ix. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation
mistakes.

Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and
avoid listening to themselves speak. However, this is
a very important exercise because doing it will help
you become conscious of the mistakes you are making.

x. Be patient.

You can change the way you speak but it won’t happen
overnight. People often expect instant results and
give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if
you are willing to put some effort into it.

Quick tips

Various versions of the English language exist. Begin
by identifying the category you fall into and start by
improving the clarity of your speech.

~ Focus on removing the mother tongue influence and
the ‘Indianisms’ that creep into your English
conversations.

~ Watch the English news on television channels like
Star World, CNN, BBC and English movies on Star Movies
and HBO.

~ Listen to and sing English songs. We’d recommend
Westlife, Robbie Williams, Abba, Skeeter Davis and
Connie Francis among others.

Listening to a conference speaker outline key points related to job performance, you begin furiously writing down sentence after sentence, using abbreviations to capture each statement. After a minute or so, you realize you’ll never catch up. How are you supposed to capture the essence of the presentation for future reference?

The art of note-taking means that you do just that: you capture the “essence” of a speaker’s remarks rather than try and recount the entire event. But how do you boil it down to basics? Here are some tips that may help:

1. Look for the main idea of the presentation. The title, the speaker’s credentials, and the program outline may provide an overview of the main ideas. Of course it will be impossible to record everything the speaker says unless you plan to use a tape recorder. Instead, plan to jot down a few ideas beside each main point. Some speakers provide PowerPoint handouts or an outline with headings and subheadings. Use these for adding your own ideas.

2. Link main ideas together. As you note patterns that emerge from the presentation, like numbered points between one and five, for example, take notes about these linkages and what they suggest about the overall thesis, or main point. If your handout does not list subpoints, add some of your own, and write a brief explanation for each. In this manner a consistent thread of related meaning can be traced through the entire event.

3. Jot down key words and phrases rather than complete sentences. If you quote the speaker’s comments randomly, use double quotation marks around them to show they were his or her precise words. If time permits, you may want to write a few sentences of summary after each section or following the presentation to help you recall the theme or main idea later.

4. Organize your notes methodically. For example, you may choose to number them using Arabic or Roman numerals. Or you may simply write out main ideas followed by a list of dashes leading to support details. Draw a squiggly line between sections of notes or between speakers’ comments’ notes, if there is more than one presenter. If you use shorthand, be sure you will be able to interpret it later.

5. Consider typing out your notes following the presentation. Unless you have used a laptop during the session, you may find you have several pages of notes that may be hard to decipher. If the session was important for your job or school, you can prepare a typed edition with condensed or expanded notes that come to mind as you rehearse it in your mind again. Then keep the notes on file for future reference, which will optimize the value of the presentation for a long time to come.

Taking notes is not just for secretaries. If you plan to attend an event where someone will be speaking about a topic that is important to you, be prepared to jot down key ideas in a form that you can use later.

There’s a lot you’re going to learn from your broker and mentor agents after you start to work. But to get that license, focus on study materials and resources that are designed to “pass the test”.

Be selective in taking advice. If you’re going to ask other agents what they remember of the test, ask those that took their exams in the last few months. Memories falter and tests change, so at least get the most current advice you can.

Check exam training book dates. Again, tests change over time with business change and to make this passing on of questions and answers more difficult. Look for published study guides that are current.

Learn for the test. You’ll have lots of time after you have your license to expand your knowledge and expertise. Focus now on locating study materials or courses that are designed for “passing the test”. If you’re considering a pre-exam prep course, find out their first-time passing success rate. Some offer free re-training if you fail the first time around.

Read it, know it, or skip it. Good test-taking practice is to answer the questions you know, while not getting bogged down time-wise on those that you’re not sure about. Many are given on computers now, and they usually make it easier to mark and come back to skipped questions. If you know it, answer it. If you’re not sure, move on. It may surprise you how a related question further along in the test will help you with the answer to one that you skipped.

The old stand-by advice still works. The tried-and-true advice to get a good night’s sleep and arrive early and fresh still applies. It’s rare that the midnight oil helps if it’s the midnight before the test.

Studying a foreign language can be fun and frustrating at the same time. Most of us don’t mind learning to speak another language when we are motivated to do so by a good reason, such as necessity, travel, or someone we know.

People born in another country who want to learn English generally have good reasons for wanting to do so. Some of them plan to move here or have immigrated already, while others know that English is the primary language of international business.

If you want to help a non-native person learn to speak English, here are some easy ways to help him or her:

1. Practice informal conversation skills. Most people who are trying to learn English are eager to speak the language with a native. They will try out a few words or an expression, hoping to make a good impression and draw you into conversation so they can learn more. If that happens, speak naturally but distinctly so that the person can understand to the best of his or her ability. Use basic conversational words while avoiding slang or regional expressions, which the non-native may not know.

2. Offer help with grammar drills. If the non-native person is not already in an English class, you may want to write out a few basic grammar drills. For example, write a verb at the top of a page, and below it, conjugate the verb’s usage with all the singular and plural persons of speech:

To Talk:

I talk

you talk

he or she talks

it talks

we talk

they talk

Repeat each expression, encouraging the other person to say it after you.

3. Suggest television viewing. Thirty-minute weekly television programs are helpful because they set up a situation that is ongoing and easy for the viewer to follow in terms of understanding context and learning names. If possible, watch the show together and point out characters’ names, along with basic traits or actions in simple terms the non-native speaker can follow. Try to discuss the show afterward, beginning with easy phrases or comments:

“Funny, wasn’t it?”

“Did you like it?”

4. Pass along newspapers and magazines to read.

Even if the person has limited English skills, becoming familiar with the shape of English letters and print of common words will help the non-native begin to identify them. If you have time, point to a word or sentence and pronounce it, encouraging your friend to say it after you.

5. Visit public places. Go shopping, see a museum, stop by the park, or take the bus in order to experience new sites together. Use simple expressions to name or describe each location or main features. Your friend will begin to learn these as you say them, and the time spent together will hopefully prove mutually enjoyable.

In addition, you can recommend that your friend look up English grammar skills on the Internet, or pick up a grammar guide at the bookstore. Many of these are geared to people from other cultures. Remember to be patient, and consider referring your friend to the local International Institute or other agency that provides free or inexpensive English classes or tutoring.