Archive for December, 2009

Bogged Down Mastering Foreign Languages? Easiest Way to Learning Languages is Mind Mapping

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

With the unstoppable globalization of economy, careers and culture are breaking barriers and making a borderless world. Nowhere is this more apparent than in careers. Internet has literally become the window to the world. As information and opportunities abound, the choice in careers is no longer limited to a region, but spread wide across the world. This has opened the field for newer pastures and wide range of job opportunities. Consequently, the need for learning foreign languages has become necessary. Besides, in the highly competitive business world that we are in, knowing additional languages invariably gives you the added edge.

But learning a foreign language has its own subtle intricacies. The pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and the use of proper syntax are just some of the major problems confronting any learner. However, there are some sound techniques for mastering a language. Ideally they are best done using memory techniques.

One of the basic methods is to associate the foreign word with a similar sounding word in the language you are very fluent in. For e,g., the French word for rug/carpet is ‘tapis’. You can associate the word with tap in English. Similarly, the equivalent of grump in French is ‘grogon’. By associating ‘grogon’ with the word groggy in English, which means sleepy and tired, you will be able to remember the French word.

Another memory technique is to use images for improving your foreign vocabulary. So for the above two words in French – ‘tapis’ and ‘grogon’, you can imagine taps being open and water running on a rug or carpet, and use the image to reinforce the meaning of the word ‘tapis’. In the same way, you can use a grumpy looking sleepy face to remember ‘grogon’ to convey the meaning grumpy. The image of drooping eyelids and mouth can be visualized to remember ‘grogon’ as grumpy.

Yet another well-known technique is using town language mnemonics. Since the basic vocabulary of a language pertains to everyday things – things that you will find in a town, village or city – you can use the different areas and objects to link the images and the corresponding foreign words. You can associate all the food-related words by visualizing a familiar supermarket and substituting the images and the words of food items sold there with the corresponding foreign language words.

Likewise, all foreign words concerning animals and birds can be remembered by imagining a zoo, and linking the images of different animals and birds in the zoo to the corresponding foreign words. In this way, you can cover different working zones of a town, village or city such as library, park, shopping mall, etc., and master the related foreign words associated with each sphere of activities. This way you will reinforce your foreign language vocabulary thoroughly.

Incidentally, Tony Buzan in his book ‘Using your Memory’ lists 100 basic words that are elementary to any language learning. This could be used to learn the primary words of the foreign language.

In all these methods, it would be obvious that memory has a chief role to play in learning a language, more so for increasing your vocabulary. You need to be familiar with the words in order to use them effectively. Since Mind Mapping technique was born out of the need for enhancing memory, Mind Maps serve as an indispensable memory tool. Indeed Mind Mapping is the most ideal method for improving your memory. Using Mind Maps to learn foreign language is a highly useful and proven technique for mastering a foreign language. Many people are using Mind Maps as a vital tool for learning languages.

As the Mind Map technique is based on information processing abilities of the brain, Mind Maps have a crucial role as a memory-enhancing process. And deploying this technique for mastering foreign language can only speed up the process of learning. The simplicity of the technique and the efficacy of its process, gives Mind Maps not just a clear edge but in elevating it as a time-tested method for mastering any language.

About the Author:

Dr. Vj Mariaraj is a Mind Map enthusiast and has been using Mind Maps for the past twelve years. He has created over 5650 Mind Maps. To learn more about mind mapping send an email to freemindmap@aweber.com He is the founder of BusinessBookMindMap.com that creates Mind Map Summaries of Business Books. To learn more visit http://BusinessBookMindMap.com/mind-map.php?ea17

Pet Lovers – Pet Insurance is Essential

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

British Army talisman Sandbag was only recently despatched to the UK to call it a day from his key duties within the Middle East. After growing to be a great source of support for the troops Sandbag is now relishing a well merited break – and so what is existence about for a productive canine, and what lies ahead of them within retirement?

It could more often than not be particularly involved to locate pet cover for one’s canine who is still grouped as “active” whether he is a sheep doggy, a racing mutt or maybe a dog put to use explicitly for reproduction reasons. Thus one might envisage when it comes an army a military or law enforcement doggy that it is often even trickier to uncover pet cover. Also it’s super to know that so many specialised dogs are very much taken care of once their time of invaluable service are ceased.

When he was born in the forward operating base at North Point within Umm Qasr, Iraq, Sandbag a sandy-coloured mutt, soon became an admired part & mascot of the United Kingdom’s troops there. The soldiers arranged that he was appropriately immunised, gave him a collar, let him access the base whenever he barked outside and fuelled him within the morning, shortly before he would go & stand vigilant sentry along with the lookout force. Delivering warmth, fellowship, constant camaraderie, & also welcome enjoyment while the occasional patrol, Sandbag was a very precious treasure whenever it came to keeping assurance strong You can start your decision making process by getting a quote from insurance companies that cover pets, click here to get started.

In spite of this, when the time came the armed forces departed out of the southern port earlier this year, they had to abandon Sandbag in Iraq, & there were major concerns amongst the troops who’d taken the hungry guy into their hearts. The troops were disturbed that if Sandbag was left to look after himself their four-legged friend would be executed by the locals, who hold little concern for homeless dogs. But thanks to fund-raising activity, on Facebook among other places, the Blue Cross raised more than £13,500 within just two months, enabling them to escort Sandbag home.

Deputy dog Sandbag is not the only doggy to be afforded the great acknowledgement he won for his inspiring contributions. Dogs can also prove a substantial asset on the grounds of constabulary procedure. The troops save extensive time looking for missing individuals, narcotics & contraband. Rigorous training means that police force pups might well not uncover any potentially precarious devices but rather hint where it is to his specialist trainer.

As retribution for all their hard work police mutts within Cambridgeshire recently became the first within the United kingdom to get the proper pension they deserve after retirement. Before dogs in active duty for the Cambridgeshire constabulary retired as the guys got older, around that time the dog’s human companion would sign a form evidencing that she would have to accept responsibility for the dog for the remnant of his or her life. This new programme means that retired canines will now have their food, vets charges & kennelling all paid for by the police force.

And so there we have it, the inspiring work that these tireless doggies do brings a completely new level of meaning to the phrase ‘man’s best friend’. So thank goodness that there are humane folk out there with the willingness to provide well-deserved relief and affection for our four-legged friends when they are put out to pasture.