Are you to old to go back school...........?

You want to go back to school and continue your education. Perhaps you'd like to earn your first degree or ou'd like to earn a new degree in a different field. You've been dreaming of that degree but haven't dared believe your dream can come true because you think you are too old.

You aren't. It really is that simple. I don't care what your age is, as an experienced college-level educator I can assure you that you are not too old, because there are many nontraditional students on college campuses today (and likely some of those are older than you are), your life experience gives you many advantages over more traditional students, and with the growing nontraditional population many colleges have programs and services especially tailored for the nontraditional student.

I went back to school in my 30s and today I teach college. Yes, I have many traditional students in my classroom but every semester I have a large percentage of nontraditional students as well. I have studens in their late 20s as well as 30s, 40s, 50s, and up. I have students who have retired from one career and are looking to move into another. I have students whose children (or grandchildren) have left the nest so they are looking to enter a new stage in their life.

I also have many students balancing school with work and family. I have students who are the traditional age but are in nontraditional circumstances including children and family, work and military service, as well as sports and other activities. You are a unique person, but your situation is not as unique as you might think.

In many ways, your age, or rather your life experience, will be a tremendous asset for your return to school. Nontraditional students understand much better than traditional students how to manage their time and prioritize tasks. In addition, nontraditional students are often much more motivated and goal-oriented than their more traditional counterparts. Finally, your life experience also gives you a great deal of knowledge and experience to fall back on or pull from when it comes to understanding, applying, or adapting the new knowledge you gain through college. I regularly see my nontraditional students outperform traditional students in many ways, but it ultimately comes down to a maturity of thinking and reasoning that can only come with growing up. I know when I returned to college as a student after working for a number of years that I did much better in the classroom and also handled my work load much better than I did when I was a more traditional student

Today colleges recognize they have a changing student population and offer classes in a variety of formats including on campus, off campus, televised, and internet as well as a range of schedules including days, nights, weekends, and accelerated. In addition, there are now support services available for students who fall outside the traditional student role. Many financial aid and scholarship programs also exist specifically for the non traditional student.

In the end, it really comes down to your own gut feeling. Do you really want that degree? Are you ready to change your life? You can do it and there will be help and support available for you. Don't use your age as an excuse not to pursue your dream.

Based on Article from;

http://www.readbud.com/Articles/Adult/Are-You-Too-Old-To-Go-Back-To-School_63_

10 Tips for Aspiring Freelance Copywriters

Here is the tips................

Every days I found a fact from people who seeking advice on how to get into freelance copywriting. While there's no simple answer, and no answer which applies to everyone, there are a few tips that i found from another source which I believe will help most people make the move into freelance copywriting, and survive the first few months at least.

1) Invest in a website

The best place for any freelance advertising copywriter or website copywriter to start is to fork out for a website. A website is invaluable because when you cold call and email prospects, you'll need to direct them somewhere that gives them more information. Keep your website simple, include a portfolio page, add any samples of any sort of copywriting you've done, talk about the places you've worked, the clients you've written for, and include any testimonials you've received. Make sure you include your address and contact details as well, so people don't think you're a fly-by-night operation. Of course, it doesn't hurt to include a photo either. If you can't say much about your experience, don't say much. It doesn't even really matter if you don't say anything. Remember, just like any other form of advertising copywriting, writing about yourself requires the art of subtlety. If you lack experience, but you're confident you can do the job, you can be very clever in what you don't say, and most people will read it the way you intended.

2) Don't target agencies

If you've never worked as an advertising copywriter or website copywriter before, don't target advertising agencies and web design agencies. They know exactly what they're after, so if you don't have a portfolio, you won't stand a chance. Managing an inexperienced copywriter and controlling quality takes a lot of time and introduces risk. Most agencies are too busy to give unproven copywriters a break, even if you're prepared to do the work on spec. Target end-clients directly.

3) Cold call, cold call, cold call

One of the best ways of generating business in the early days is to cold call potential end-clients. It's hard work and very time consuming, but you can generate some very qualified leads. For more information on cold calling, take a look at http://www.divinewrite.com/coldcallingcopywriter.htm.

4) Use a contacts & jobs database

No matter where you're at in your freelance copywriting career, you NEED a database of contacts and jobs. Kind of a scaled down CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool. Use it to record everything! Particularly names, phone numbers, and the details of any correspondence (especially phone calls). I created my own database using Microsoft Access. Visit http://www.divinewrite.com/downloads/contacts and jobs.mdb to download a 208KB working copy for FREE. You'll need Microsoft Access 2000 to run it. I'm no database expert, so it's not a work of art. It'll certainly get you started though. (TIP: When using the database, press Ctrl + ; to enter today's date.)

5) Write a few samples
If you're targeting specific clients or industries, don't be afraid to write a few samples and send them through. You can offer the pieces free of charge (everyone likes something for nothing) or at a discount, or you can use it as an incentive to sign them up for future work. It all depends on the type of work and the type of client. The important thing to remember is that samples are virtually as good as a portfolio to most prospective clients.

6) Invest in an accounts package

Don't be fooled into thinking you can handle your accounts manually (or with Microsoft Excel). Even if you only have a few clients, you NEED a proper accounts package like MYOB or Quicken (they both offer small business versions). You'll understand why the first time you do your GST reports or annual taxes. In fact, you'll understand why whenever you need to chase down outstanding invoices

7) Give great service

This may seem like an obvious one, but it's important to remember that "great service" means different things to different clients. Most of the time you'll be working with direct clients (quite often startup businesses) and agencies. Both appreciate great service, but define it entirely differently. Agencies rely on their freelance copywriters to meet strict requirements (get the work done well, get it done on time, don't exceed the budget). They have end-clients breathing down their necks, so reliability is as important as writing quality. End-clients, on the other hand, need an advertising copywriter or website copywriter who sees their business the way they do, and can convey that vision. They'll probably need a lot of guidance as well, particularly if they're just starting out themselves. If you can, help them understand that copywriting isn't just about telling people what products and services the business offers; it's about conveying the benefits of those products and services. A good advertising copywriter or website copywriter will be able to help their client think in terms of benefits instead of products and services.

8) Expect hard times

The first year or two as a freelance advertising copywriter or website copywriter will be difficult. It takes a while to generate momentum and during that time, you'll probably find yourself wondering if you've made the right career choice. While it's possible to earn six-figures each year, you have to be patient (so it's not ideal for new or intending parents or anyone with huge mortgage commitments).

9) Don't spend too much on training

In my humble opinion, no money spent learning is wasted. However, you have to weigh up the return on investment. I don't know much about what copywriting courses are available, but if they're expensive, I'd think twice. In my experience, most clients (be they agencies or end-clients) value copywriting ability over training.

10) Know you can do it

Confidence in your copywriting abilities is a must. If you're not adamant you can produce the results the client is after, you'll never be able to convince the client. Remember that everyone feels daunted at the start of a new copywriting job. There's always a steep learning curve in copywriting, and generally quite a bit of time-consuming labour. Don't fall into the trap of focussing on what you don't know and what you haven't done.

Good luck, and happy writing!

Boost Your Vocabulary and Become a Better Learner

If you want to be a great communicator, do you need to have a great vocabulary?

You might be surprised to learn that a really big vocabulary is not necessary in order to express yourself clearly and to move others with your words.

Some of the most dramatic messages that have ever been uttered in the English language actually used very simple words to stir the blood, or touch the heart.

Look at any well-known passage in the Bible. Chances are that the passage does not rely on sophisticated words to create its power.

Think of Lincoln's Gettysberg Address. Although President Lincoln spoke in a style that is very different from the way we usually speak today, his words still have the power to move us deeply with their clarity and their deep emotion. During the darkest days of World War II, Winston Churchill's rousing speeches to the British people used very simple, common, powerful words to successfully ignite the courage and determination of his people.

So if it's possible to communicate effectively without using a lot of very big words, why should we bother to try to expand our vocabulary? The reason is that learning new words expands our understanding and improves our "mental muscles". Every new word we learn entices our mind to stretch into new areas.

When we have a larger bank of words to draw on, we improve our ability to think and express ourselves. Our thinking will become more fluid and supple, and we will understand more of the world around us and within us, when we have a larger vocabulary. In the modern world the ability to use words effectively is often highly rewarded.

The English language has an enormous number of words, perhaps more than half a million of them. Most people however, use a vocabulary of just a few thousand common words on a daily basis. It is possible to get by in the English language with a limited number of words, but you expand your options as you expand your vocabulary. When you understand very few words, you are limited in your ability to learn new information.

If you want to increase your vocabulary, there are many approaches you can use. One good way is to read books or articles that are slightly more difficult than what you are accustomed to. When you come across a word you don't know, see if you can figure out its meaning from the context. Look at the way the word is made up, with its letters and syllables. Does it remind you of any words you already know? What parts of it are familiar?

Many words in the English language are made up of common roots they share with other words. You may be able to deduce the meaning of the new word from the way the syllables are put together and the way it is used. You should consult a dictionary to be sure.

If you come across a word you don't understand during the course of a lecture or a conversation, you can ask someone to explain the meaning of the word. Many people are reluctant to do this because they are afraid of exposing their ignorance by asking.

It is occasionally true that other people may choose to look down on you if you confess that you don't understand a certain word. On the other hand, they may be happy to teach you something new. If you decide you don't want to ask anyone else for the meaning of words you don't know, be sure to make a note of those new words and look them up later.<

Should you try to learn new words directly from a dictionary? It depends on your learning style and your preference. Some people will become bored very quickly while reading a dictionary, while others will find it fascinating.

All dictionaries are not alike, and you may find a certain version far more useful than the rest. Good dictionaries will do more than just give a definition of a word. Some will show you an example of the word used in a sentence. Often they will show you alternate spellings, and give the plural forms of nouns and the past tense of verbs. Most dictionaries will show you correct pronunciation. Some will tell you the historical derivation of the word. Many English words have their roots in ancient Anglo-Saxon, French, or German.

Language is always evolving and new words are being created every day. New words can come from technology, from scientific discoveries, from other languages, from pop culture, and from the streets.

When learning new vocabulary, you can better integrate it into your brain if you actively involve yourself in the learning process.

When you encounter a new word, write out a definition of it in your own words, and write one or more sentences using the new word in context. Visualize the word in its printed form. Say the word out loud, and spell it out loud. Say a sentence out loud that uses the new word. Make up an image in your mind that will help you remember the word. If you make the image funny or bizarre, you will probably remember it better.

To improve your use of language and your ability to think, practice summarizing the theme of an entire article or book using just one or two paragraphs. After you have read an article or book, try writing out two different versions summarizing your ideas. Do one version using very simple, everyday words. Make it as clear and simple as you possibly can while still maintaining accuracy. Do another version that uses very complex sentences and advanced vocabulary, like you imagine a university professor might write.

This will give your brain a good work-out and increase your verbal and mental flexibility.

If you are committed to expanding your vocabulary, how many new words should you try to learn in a day? It's up to you. Just two new words a day will add up to more than 7000 words in ten years. Ten words a day would add 36,000 words in ten years.

Once you have learned a lot of new words, should you work them into your conversation every chance you get? The kind of vocabulary you use should always be appropriate to the context in which you are writing or speaking. For example, if you are speaking to a group of high school dropouts you may want to use different words than if you are speaking to a group of scientists.

Don't use an impressive vocabulary merely as a means of showing off, always using big words when small ones would do. People can often intuitively feel when you are using fancy words merely for effect, and not because you need them to communicate.

But if your new vocabulary really has become a part of you and has a useful place in your writing and conversation, by all means, go ahead and use it!

learning Spanish Submerge In Yourself Speech

One of the most effective ways to learn Spanish is through what is known as immersion, where the language student not only spends a portion of their time in a classroom environment, but also lives within a Spanish speaking community for a period of time. Whether you visit Madrid or Mexico, living and breathing the Spanish culture and language will help you reach fluency faster.

Spanish immersion programs have been popular for many years for one simple reason – they work. And the logic behind this success is simple. Studying in the classroom necessarily lasts a couple of hours at most, for reasons as wide ranging as teacher availability to the duration of student concentration. Learning Spanish through an immersion program, however, takes learning out of the confines of the classroom and releases into the realm of real life.

Immersion language learning works as simply as it sounds – the student is immersed into a Spanish environment that does not cease to educate after an hour, as learning in the classroom does. Immersion learning works best, however, when combined with classroom sessions, as the Spanish-speaking environment affords the student an opportunity to practice what they have learned.

Learning Spanish is not a theoretical process, it is one that involves practical use of what is being learned. By being immersed in a Spanish-speaking community, the student cannot simply the leave the classroom behind, along with what they have learnt that day – the environment demands that their new knowledge be utilized every time they visit the store, or take a bus. It is practice that is the key to acquiring the comfort and familiarity with a language that leads to fluency, and by implementing Spanish immersion in a student's training, this familiarity is quickly earned by speaking the language all the time.

An added benefit of most Spanish immersion programmes is that they involve the participation of a Spanish speaking family with whom the student resides. The friendly environment found in a family home is the perfect place to take those first, faltering language steps. Involvement in a family also gives the student a realistic flavor of Spanish culture, expanding the learning experience and bringing the language alive.

So learn to speak Spanish the best way – with real people, in the real world.

A challenge to learn chinnese language

Chinese is a language, or a group of languages, spoken by 1.3 billion people worldwide. If you believe Chinese to be one language, rather than a grouping, it is the single most commonly spoken language on the planet. It is spoken in countries like China, Taiwan Singapore, and Malaysia. If you are interested in learning Chinese, it can be intimidating and challenging. But learning Chinese can also be rewarding, and knowing it can have benefits for your career, and help to improve your travels to Asia.

If you decide to learn the Chinese language, there a number of ways you can go about doing so. As a college student, you can study Mandarin Chinese and earn a degree in it. Earning a college degree in Chinese will provide you with a solid knowledge of formal, or Mandarin, Chinese. You will also be proficient in reading and writing the alphabet, which is a standard alphabet throughout the Chinese-speaking world. If you are established in your career, and find it necessary to learn Chinese for business dealings and /or business-associated travel, you can enroll in an accelerated Chinese language course online, or by purchasing audiotapes that teach quick techniques, which will help you to rapidly learn how to speak basic Mandarin Chinese. Learning to speak Chinese this way is convenient if you need to learn it before an important business trip. There are several learning centers that provide accelerated online programs in Chinese, and many lesson on tape available for purchase.

If you are a student majoring of minoring in Chinese, or if you are a tourist with a desire to travel to Asia, an ideal way to learn the Chinese language is through participation in an immersion program. By doing this, you will not only learn how to speak Chinese, but you will learn about and experience Chinese culture. By studying Chinese in a city like Beijing, where the language is natively spoken, you will become part of the life and culture, and you will find learning to speak the Chinese language is much easier than you thought. Since it is a total immersion into the Chinese world, you will learn all conversational and idiomatic styles of the language. You will interact everyday with people who are native speakers of Chinese, and who can't or won't speak English with you. You will be taken on guided tours of the famous landmarks, as well as the everyday places. You will grow to understand and recognize the value of the ancient Chinese culture: the history, the art, the architecture, the food, and the people. You will attend courses in which you will learn the complex Chinese alphabet, how to read it, and how to write it as well. Learning the Chinese language by attending an immersion program is an ideal way to go.

Exploring Spanish Cultures

Introduction and Philosophy

In today's foreign language classroom, there is a tendency to focus on the language while either ignoring culture altogether or relying on culture notes in textbooks to fulfill curriculum requirements. Vocabulary is often taught with no attention given to the cultural connotation of the words. Tragically, this produces students who have learned a lot of vocabulary but who are still unable to effectively communicate in the target culture. Students may find themselves in the target culture understanding the words that people say but not understanding the strange looks that they are attracting or why humor seems to slip past them. Despite having learned all of the necessary vocabulary involving visiting a restaurant, a student might find himself confused about how to secure a table, the proper way to attract the attention of a waiter or what to expect in terms of service. The student might interpret the waiter's refusal to bring the check without being specifically asked for it as bad service instead of a polite way of not rushing the customer. For this reason, teaching culture should not be divorced from language learning.

Culture should not be taught separately in the form of culture notes or as tidbits of trivia, but instead integrated into the curriculum in a way that allows the student to acquire the culture at the same time that he or she absorbs the language. It is important that students understand that many of their own opinions and behaviors are a product of their enculturation. Students must not simply memorize the similarities and differences in culture as dry facts, but they must learn to ask why the differences are there in the first place. It is impossible for an educator to teach every cultural difference to a student, but if a student has been taught to analyze the target culture in terms of the values of that culture, then
that student will have a framework by which to process unexpected differences that they encounter in the target culture. Teaching the student to investigate the reasons behind cultural differences teaches him to eventually view culture from the perspective of a native and makes it possible for him to more easily acculturate.

Understanding the relationships between products, practices and perspectives is at the core of any successful culture plan. To facilitate the understanding of these relationships, students should be helped to understand the value systems that govern the target culture, be taught the principles of ethnographic investigation, be exposed to culturally authentic images and be exposed to examples of target culture customs and scripts.

It is important that students understand the underlying values of a target culture in order to fully grasp the relationship between products, practices and perspectives. To help students to gain an initial understanding of the values of the target culture, students can work with a tool such as the Zanger chart. I would begin work with the Zanger chart in level one and refer back to the chart and expand on the information in the chart through level four. Working with the Zanger chart in the beginning of the language learning experience gives students a structure with which to begin analyzing the products and practices and perspectives of the target culture. First, I would take a continuum and assign a numerical value to each notch on the continuum so that it looks like this:

Tradition 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1 Progress
Loyalty 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1 Competition
Social Harmony 10..9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1 Personal Fulfillment
Tranquility 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1 Efficiency
Modesty 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1 Assertiveness
Equality 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1 Social Hierarchy
Enjoyment of Life 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1 Work Ethic
Cooperation 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1 Individual Achievement
Independence 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1 Family Obligations
Religious Piety 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1 Material Comfort

Next, I would have some native informants fill out the continuum for me and take an average of each answer to make a master chart for the target culture. At the beginning of level one, I would have students take the continuum to several friends or family members and have them fill out the continuum. I would take an average of all of the class's results and make a master chart for our native culture. We would discuss our results as a class and post both charts in the classroom. We would reference these charts throughout levels I-IV. By using these charts, students have something to draw from to help them analyze differences and similarities in the target culture that they will encounter in the classroom and in their own ethnographic research.

Through ethnography, students can gain a profound understanding of products, practices and
perspectives of the target culture. Individual and group research on topics of personal interest via the Internet, interviews with native informants and written publications can expose students to the target culture and help them learn a process which they can use throughout their lives to expand their cultural knowledge. Ethnography requires deep analyzation and reflection that helps students to understand more about their own culture as well as the target culture. Ethnography can be adapted to any level and can either go along with the set curriculum or be a supplement to the curriculum. I have included some type of adapted ethnography in most levels of my culture plan.

Equally important in understanding the relationships between products, practices and perspectives is exposure to culturally authentic images of target culture products. As the students are taught vocabulary, they should not be taught to link the words to images that they already have in place, but to a culturally authentic image. For example, it would be more effective to teach the word “milk” while showing the students a typical box of Spanish milk than by showing them a jug of milk exactly like the one they are used to seeing in their grocer's cooler. Better yet, allow the students to actually taste some of the boxed milk and let them realize that it is served room temperature and tastes slightly sweeter than the milk that they are used to. Have students to speculate reasons why milk might be processed in a way that allows it to sit on a pantry shelf instead of being served fresh like it is in the United States. 

When is milk typically served in Spain? With what types of food? Who drinks it? Is it cooked with more than consumed as a beverage? Why or why not? This simple exercise links product, practice and perspective as it relates to one vocabulary word. It is all too common to allow a teachable moment such as this to slip by and simply offer a target language word to replace the native language word as if it were an exact translation. Presenting culturally authentic images with new vocabulary can be used as a springboard for connecting the products, practices and perspectives of the target culture because the imagery often provokes questions and generates interest. If a culturally authentic image is put in place each time the student learns new vocabulary, this gives the student more and more of a cultural schema through which to filter new information.

In order to help students acquire the new culture and to make connections among the products, practices and perspectives of the target culture, it is important that students see examples of the practices of the target culture and become familiar with the scripts that exist for common situations. Whenever new vocabulary is presented, it should be presented within a culturally authentic context. Students can be exposed to examples of customs and scripts through video snippets and can practice the new information through roleplay activities. With each new example, the students' schemata are added to, which results in more accurate interpretations of new information. My culture plan utilizes these tools.

An Introduction To Spanish Grammar

When learning a new language, it is always useful to be familiar with its main grammatical units. This constitutes the first necessary step in order to understand and create meaningful speech.

Here are the main grammatical elements in Spanish and some useful information about them:

Nouns:
A noun is a word which is mostly used to refer to a person or thing. All nouns in Spanish have a gender, meaning that they are either masculine or feminine. For example, "niño" (boy) is masculine and "niña" (girl) is feminine. The best way to identify gender is undoubtedly experience, although here are some general guidelines which may be useful at the beginning: usually nouns ending in –o are masculine and nouns ending in –a are feminine. Of course there are always exceptions.

For example, "mano" (hand) and "radio" (radio) are feminine. On the other hand, words of Greek origin ending in –ma, such as "dilema" (dilemma) or "problema" (problem) are masculine. When you are learning new vocabulary, it is recommendable that you learn a noun together with its corresponding article. That will help you to remember their gender. For example "la niña", "la mano" or "el problema" and "el niño".

Adjectives:
Adjectives are used to qualify a particular noun, to say something about it. It is important to remember that in Spanish they are usually placed after the noun. Since adjectives are always related to a noun, they have to agree with them in gender and number.

This means that if you want to say something about the noun "niño", which is masculine and singular, the adjective that you use will also have to be masculine and singular. Thus, you can say "niño alto" (tall boy), "niño pequeño" (small boy), etc. If, on the other hand, if you were talking about a girl, you would have to say "niña alta" and "niña pequeña".