Deborah M.'s Blog at WyzAnt.com

Test Prep Students-2: “We don’t know what we don’t know” About Selecting Test Dates

posted by WyzAnt tutor: Deborah M.

I struck up a conversation with a home-schooling mom the other day. Parent of a middle-school student, she told me I should talk to middle school parents about this topic because, as she put it, “We don’t know what we don’t know.”

In my blog post “Test Prep Students 1: Before Our First Session, Please,” I mentioned planning ahead to give yourself more time to prepare. Since then, I’ve come to believe that you can’t have too much time to prepare, regardless of what you are testing for

* High school graduation (Minnesota GRAD)

* College National Merit Scholarships (PSAT/NMSQ)

* Advance college credit (AP, CLEP)

* College admission (ACT, SAT, TOEFL, IELTS)

* Professional licensure (such as the Minnesota Teacher Licensing Exam—MTLE)

* Graduate school admission (GRE, GMAT, and again TOEFL or IELTS).

Students as young as 12 or 13 can successfully answer many of the ACT Questions of the Day (QOTD) http://www.act.org/qotd/ and SAT QOTD http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-question-of-the-day. Students and their supporters may receive the SAT QOTD by email or by downloading an iTunes cell phone app.) Making these QOTDs a daily part of your online activities is a great, low-impact way (for even the busiest students) to prepare for those specific tests and many others. If you are reading this, it is time to start doing this. To add a competitive edge to the activity, dare your parents, siblings, or friends to compete against you for a prize.

The next element to consider when selecting a test date for the budget conscious—or the schedule conscious—student or parent, I stand by my advice that less-frequent lessons and independent test prep work spread out over a longer period of time are more effective than fewer weeks of more frequent test prep work. For example, see me weekly for one two-hour session for three months (12 weeks) rather than two 2-hour sessions for 6 weeks. Students need time to absorb what they are learning on a proverbial back burner while their conscious minds are doing other things—or sleeping. (The science is in that teens need almost as much sleep as infants do. Do any of them?)

Students cannot cram for these tests—and it breaks my heart when I first hear from a test prep parent less than a month before their student’s test date. The same goes for you college students pursuing a professional license or admission to graduate school. I have a nice heart. Don’t break it.

So, what are my test date options, you ask? As of today:

ACT (United States, US Territories, and Canada)
Remainder of the 2012–2013 school year

February 9

April 13

June 8

2013–2014 school year

September 21
October 26
December 14
February 8
April 12
June 14

SAT (United States, Saturdays during the 2012–2013 school year)

January 26
March 9
May 4
June 1

For registration, late registration, deadlines for changes, and subject test dates, go here: http://sat.collegeboard.org/register/sat-dates#subjectTestList3

PSAT/NMSQ (United States, 2012–2013 school year)

October 17 (Wednesday)
October 20 (Saturday)

The PSAT/NMSQ is offered on just two days in October each year. Each high school offering the test chooses just one of these two test dates. No test centers offer the test. [The College Board advises home-schooling parents to reach out in June (or as soon as possible thereafter) for permission to test at a nearby high school in October. On test day, the Minnesota home school code for this test—to put down as the school code on the answer sheet—is 992499.]

TOEFL (iBT, Minnesota through XXXXX, 2013)

Minnesota test centers: Edina, St. Paul, and Woodbury (Also: Rochester and Winona. No test dates in St. Cloud or Faribault.)

Coming Soon!

GMAT (Administered on demand all year long)

The counsel at the Official GMAT® Web Site is to identify your intended school(s)’s application deadline(s) prior to scheduling an appointment to take the test. Students find out what dates and times the test is offered at their chosen test center when they initiate the registration process. In Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, Pearson Professional Centers in Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, and Eagan administer the test. (Pearson has out-state sites in Duluth, Hermantown, and Rochester as well. St. Cloud State also administers the test.)

GRE (Administered all year long)*

Test centers in Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area include: Edina (0064 and 0065) and Woodbury (9056). Out-state test centers are Duluth (0087), Rochester (5404) and St. Cloud (7517).

* Students find out what dates and times the test is offered at their chosen test center when they initiate the registration process.

MTLE (Testing windows all year long)

The MTLE test centers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area are located in Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, and Eagen. (Out-state centers are located in Grand Rapids, Hermantown, Mankato, Marshall, Morris, Rochester, and St. Cloud.) Students may make appointments to take the test at any MTLE Test Center during the following Monday-Saturday testing windows (holidays excluded):

2013 Coming Soon!

IELTS (St. Paul, MN) 2013

Coming Soon!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please, write me if you find any inaccuracies or to suggest other tests to include on my next update.

Those Perplexing Prepositions-Part 1.

posted by WyzAnt tutor: Deborah M.

This afternoon, I found myself writing to one of my ESL students:

______________________

Hello, XXXXXX---

I am imagining you and your dog having a fine time at the cabin as I write this.

I bet you are in the cabin as well. In the first sentence at the cabin is correct, just as you would say "I am at home" rather than in home. It would also be correct to say "I'm in the house" rather than outside in the yard.

When you are at home, the yard is included. When you are in the house, the yard is excluded. With cabin, the same word is used both ways. When you are at the cabin, the exterior property is included, but when you are in the cabin, it is excluded.

By the way, while you might be in your yard, you would be on your property.

______________________

Preposition problems are common to all but the most advanced English language learners, including many native speakers. After sending my student this email, I realized the word office is like cabin. Saying you are at the office, you are including the building and the lot on which it stands. When you say you are in the office, you are defining an interior space surrounded by and possibly subdivided by walls. To take this example a step further, if you indicate you are in your office, you are defining a space that typically has just four walls—unless you are a high-ranking business executive or the president of your country. Then you may have a suite of rooms, one for your desk, for example, and another for small business meetings.

Here is a link to a highly-regarded online dictionary to help you understand other challenging words in this blog post:<http://www.learnersdictionary.com/>

To quote Jason Nesmith (actor Tim Allen) in Galaxy Quest <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177789/>, that marvelous spoof of science fiction movies released in 1999, “Never give up. Never surrender.” When it comes to mastering pronouns, you will prevail.

Fun English Practice 1: A Simple Christmas Call-And-Response Song

posted by WyzAnt tutor: Deborah M.

(STUDENTS: Remember to write new words in your vocabulary journal. Do not worry if you cannot find any. I said it is a simple song!)

INTRODUCTION
A CALL AND RESPONSE SONG is sung by two or more people. One SOLOIST sings the "call." It may be a question, but not always. Everyone else sings a "response" after the call. If the call is a question, the response will be the answer. In our Christmas song "Must Be Santa", singers sing only a few lines this way. ALL sing the other parts of the song. (For more fun, people can take turns being the SOLOIST!)

The YouTube MITCH MILLER video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42_vCV2_gf0 includes art that will help you understand some of these words. (You can sing along with it too!)

A list of hard words and holiday terms appears after the LYRICS to the song.

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MUST BE SANTA
(COMPOSERS: Hal Moore and Bill Hendricks)

CALL: Who's got a beard that's long and white?
RESPONSE: Santa's got a BEARD that's long and white.
CALL: Who comes around on a special night?
RESPONSE: Santa comes around on a special night.

ALL:

Special night, BEARD that's white,
Must be Santa must be Santa,
Must be Santa, Santa Claus.

CALL: Who wears boots and a suit of red?
RESPONSE: Santa wears boots and a suit of red.
CALL: Who wears a LONG CAP on his head?
RESPONSE: Santa wears a LONG CAP on his head.

ALL:

Cap on head, suit that's red,
Special night, BEARD that's white,
Must be Santa, must be Santa,
Must be Santa, Santa Claus.

CALL: Who's got a big red CHERRY nose
RESPONSE: Santa's got a big red CHERRY nose.

CALL: Who laughs this way: HO HO HO?
RESPONSE: Santa laughs this way: HO HO HO!

ALL:

Ho Ho Ho, CHERRY nose,
Cap on head, suit that's red,
Special night, BEARD that's white.
Must be Santa, must be Santa,
Must be Santa, Santa Claus.

CALL: Who very soon will come our way?
RESPONSE: Santa very soon will come our way.
CALL: Eight little REINDEER pull his SLEIGH,
RESPONSE: Santa's little REINDEER pull his sleigh.

ALL:

REINDEER SLEIGH come our way,
Ho Ho Ho, CHERRY nose,
Cap on head, suit that's red,
Special night, BEARD that's white,
Must be Santa, must be Santa,
Must be Santa, Santa Claus.

CALL: DASHER, DANCER, PRANCER, VIXEN
RESPONSE: COMET, CUPID, DONNER, AND BLITZEN

ALL:

REINDEER SLEIGH, come our way,
HO HO HO, CHERRY nose,
Cap on head, suit that's red,
Special night, BEARD that's white,
Must be Santa, must be Santa,
Must be Santa, Santa Claus!

-------------------------------------

Can you see that list of hard words and holiday terms yet? It is not not far away now.

Do you or someone you know play the guitar? Links to the guitar chords for the MELODY and to the LYRICS for this song are available to view or print here:http://guitar.about.com/library/blsongs_mustbesanta.htm.

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HARD WORDS AND HOLIDAY TERMS

BEARD: (noun) hair on a man's chin

CALL AND RESPONSE SONG: (sung by two or more people. One SOLOIST sings the "call." It may be a question, but not always. Everyone else sings a "response" after the call. If the call is a question, the response will be the answer.) In world history, this way of singing was often used in African and African-American songs.

CHEERFUL: (adjective) giving people good feelings or happiness

CHERRY: (metaphor for a bright red color) a small, round, red (or black!) fruit

COMPOSERS: (plural noun) people who write songs and music

DASHER, DANCER, PRANCER, VIXEN, COMET, CUPID, DONNER, AND BLITZEN: (Proper nouns) the names of Santa’s eight (8) reindeer

LIKE CATTLE OR HORSES: This is a simile telling you to compare reindeer with cows (or reindeer with horses) in your mind.

LONG CAP: (adjective + noun, archaic or old English) a warm knitted cap that fits closely around the head but is loose on top. A TASSEL or POM-POM may be sewed to the center of the top.

LYRICS: (noun) words to a song

MELODY: (noun) music to a song

MITCH MILLER (1911-2010): (proper noun) an American POP music MUSICIAN, singer, and recorded music PRODUCER. He played the oboe and English horn. As a PRODUCER, he made POP songs sound CHEERFUL. He also chose many NOVELTY songs to record. Some people did not like his work.

NOVELTY: (adjective) new, different, and interesting

POM-POM: (noun) a soft round object made the yarn and sewed onto the center top of a knit cap

POP: (adjective) popular, liked by many people

PRODUCER: (noun) someone who is in charge of making a movie, television show, or recording of music

REINDEER: (noun) a large type of deer that live in northern parts of the world where people keep them LIKE CATTLE OR HORSES. In some northern areas such as Alaska, the same animals are called caribou.

SLEIGH: (noun) a large, open vehicle usually pulled by horses (but Santa’s is pulled by reindeer, eight of them!)

SOLOIST: (noun) a person who sings alone in a singing event

TASSEL: (noun) a thick group of strings tied together at one end and sewed onto the center top of a knit cap

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Happy New Year, Everyone!

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My gratitude to Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary online for assistance in defining terminology in this post.

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Fun English Practice 2: A Harder Holiday Song and a Little European History Too

posted by WyzAnt tutor: Deborah M.

(A glossary of the words spelled in all capital letters in this blog post appears at ITS end. See how much you can understand without looking at the glossary. Students: Remember to write new words in your vocabulary journal.)

Introduction

EVIDENCE of the Christian holiday Christmas is everywhere in December. The TWELVE days of Christmas begin on December 25, commonly called Christmas Day. December 26, more commonly in the United Kingdom than in the United States, is known as Boxing Day. However, at the time that this Christmas CAROL was written, BOXING DAY was also called the FEAST OF STEPHEN. This refers to Saint (St.) Stephen, a ROMAN CATHOLIC SAINT.

The Holiday Song

The LYRICS of “Good King Wenceslaus” (below) were written by John M. Neale (1818–1866). This carol was first published in Carols for CHRISTMAS-TIDE, by Neale with Thomas Helmore (1811–1890). This book was published in 1853.

The MELODY comes from a 13th-century (1200s A.D.) Latin spring CAROL, not a winter or Christmas carol. This title of this Latin spring carol is “Tempus Adest Floridum.” In English, this means "The time is near for flowering."

Online, search for the title of this carol in quotation marks “Good King Wenceslaus” (or spelled Wenceslas) to hear it SUNG on websites, such as YouTube. On websites like NetHYMNAL, you can hear the melody and practice singing the lyrics as you listen.

A Piece of European History

Though “Good King Wenceslaus” is a popular Christmas carol in the 21st century, parts of it are 800 years old. John Neale may have confused King Wenceslaus I (1205–1253) with an earlier Wenceslaus I (907–935), who was a Roman Catholic SAINT. Our Wenceslaus I ruled Bohemia (Czech Republic in modern times) from 1230 until his death in 1253. (Death ends more ROYAL CAREERS than any other lifetime work I can think of!) His sister Agnes (1211–1282), was the ROMAN CATHOLIC SAINT in the family, St. Agnes of Bohemia. She is mentioned in this CAROL.

Read more about these saints in Catholics Online. Find them by using the “Saints Index” you will find here: http://www.catholic.org/saints/stindex.php.

Good King Wenceslaus

Good King Wenceslaus LOOKED OUT ON the FEAST OF STEPHEN,
When the snow lay ROUND ABOUT, deep and crisp and EVEN.
Brightly SHONE the moon that night, though the frost was CRUEL,
When a poor man came in sight, gathering WINTER FUEL,

“Hither, PAGE, and stand by me, if you know it,
YONDER PEASANT, who is he? Where and what his DWELLING?”
“Sire, he lives a good LEAGUE hence, UNDERNEATH THE MOUNTAIN,
Right against the forest fence, by SAINT AGNES’S FOUNTAIN.”

“Bring me food and bring me wine, bring me pine logs HITHER,
You and I will see him DINE, when we BEAR them THITHER.”
Page and MONARCH, FORTH they went, FORTH they went together,
Through the cold wind’s wild LAMENT and the BITTER weather.

“SIRE, the night is darker now, and the wind blows stronger,
FAILS MY HEART, I know not how I can GO NO LONGER.”
“MARK my footsteps, my good PAGE, TREAD now in them boldly,
You SHALL find the winter’s RAGE FREEZE YOUR BLOOD LESS COLDLY.”

In his MASTER’S step he TROD where the snow lay dented;
Heat was in the very SOD which THE SAINT HAD PRINTED.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or RANK POSSESSING,
You who now will BLESS the poor SHALL yourselves find BLESSING.

---------------------

GLOSSARY OF WORDS AND PHRASES

BEAR: (verb) carry (not the large animal with long teeth and sharp claws!)

BITTER: (adjective, metaphor for the coldest cold) a strong, often unpleasant flavor that is the opposite of sweet

BLESS: (verb) help

BLESSING: (noun) help

CAREER: (noun) lengthy employment, often lifelong

CAROL: (noun) a holiday (usually Christmas) song or HYMN (See HYMNAL)

CHRISTMAS-TIDE: (noun, object of preposition) Christmas-Time

CONTEXT: (noun) the words that are used with a certain word or phrase and that help to explain its meaning

CRUEL: (metaphor) harshly cold

DINE: (verb) eat a meal

DINTED: (adjective) dented or marked

DWELLING: (noun) home

EVEN: (adjective) flat

EVIDENCE: (noun) something which shows that something else exists, is true, or is happening

FAILS MY HEART(archaic, or old English expression) I’m feeling weak

FEAST OF STEPHEN: (Proper noun, referring to St. Stephen, the first disciple, or student of Jesus, the founder of Christianity. Stephen was martyred, or murdered for his religion.) a holiday occurring on December 26, the second (2nd) day of the TWELVE days of Christmas holiday. The Feast of Stephen is also called Boxing Day.

FLOWERING (adjective) plants blooming, or growing flowers

FORTH (adverb) forward (Not to be confused with fourth)

FOUNTAIN: structure that sends a stream of water into the air

FREEZE YOUR BLOOD LESS COLDLY: (archaic, or old English expression) chill you less

GO (verb) NO LONGER (adverb): (archaic, or old English expression) walk any farther, or more

HAD PRINTED: (past tense compound verb) had stepped or left footprints

HITHER: (archaic, or old English adverb) here

HYMNAL: (noun) a collection of Christian or Hebrew (Jewish) religious songs, or hymns.

ITS: possessive form of pronoun it

LAMENT: (noun metaphor for the sound of the wind) a song expressing sorrow

LEAGUE: (noun) a distance of 2.4-4.6 miles or 3.9-7.4 km (Nothing to do with the American sport baseball!)

LOOKED OUT: (verb) such as through, or out of a window or a door

LYRICS: words to a song

MARK: (archaic, or old English verb) see

MASTER’S: (possessive adjective) boss’s or employer’s

MELODY: (noun) music or tune

MONARCH: (noun) king or queen

ON: (preposition) in the context of this CAROL, during

PAGE: (noun) servant

PEASANT: (noun) poor worker of low social status standing

POSSESSING: (progressive present tense of verb possess) having, owning, or showing

RAGE: (noun, metaphor for strong wind) sudden, violent anger

RANK: (noun) social status, in this CONTEXT high social status

ROMAN CATHOLIC: (proper adjective) belonging or relating to the Christian church that is led by the pope

ROUND ABOUT: (Archaic English adverb) everywhere

ROYAL: (adjective) kingly or queenly

SAINT AGNES’S: (possessive form of a proper noun) St. Agnes of Bohemia (1211-1282) was the sister of our King Wenceslaus I.

SAINT: (noun) a person who is officially recognized by the Christian church as being very holy. In this carol, Neale wrongly, or incorrectly refers to our King Wenceslaus I as a saint.

SHALL: (Archaic English, part of a compound verb which describes an action that will take place in the future) will, in this carol will find

SHONE: (VERB) past tense of the verb shine

SIRE: (Archaic English formal form of address) Sir or Mister (Mr.)

SOD: (noun) soil or earth

SUNG: (verb) past tense of the verb sing

TELLING: (Archaic English) tell me

TREAD: (Archaic English verb) walk

TROD: (verb, Archaic English past tense of the verb tread) walked

TWELVE: 12

UNDERNEATH THE MOUNTAIN: (prepositional phrase) in a cave inside of a mountain

WINTER FUEL: wood (such as pine logs), chips (a piece of dried waste matter from an animal), or peat (material or soil made of dead plants) to burn

YONDER: (Archaic English adjective) standing or lying some distance away

Cultural Bias in Online College Courses: This Inequity in Higher Education Should Anger Everyone

posted by WyzAnt tutor: Deborah M.

My emerging tutoring passion is assisting ESL college students with their coursework. Most of them must also hold full-time jobs to support themselves and often their families as well. Many require online courses to get college educations. They could not earn a college degree any other way.

Do textbook publishing companies realize how much cultural bias is written into their online ancillary (supplemental) materials? Do teachers of online college courses realize how hopeless these students feel about merely passing a class when their grades depend on online multiple-choice exams consisting of 60 items to be completed in 60 minutes (60 in 60), for example? This may be a subtle form of cultural bias, but bias it is.

Frankly, as a native speaker of American English with a master’s degree in journalism from University of Wisconsin—Madison, I’m not sure I could pass a 60 in 60 exam. I would like to challenge the instructors who teach these online courses and college administrators who authorize use of publishing companies' tests to sit for one of these tests with me. Would YOU pass? Would any of us pass?

For more overt (and heartbreaking) cultural bias, just add just one instance of cultural bias in misuse of idioms. Here's an example from a current web quiz for a chapter about adolescence in a developmental psychology textbook crushing one of my brightest ESL college students: The illusion of invulnerability is best defined by the phrase: (a) "once bitten, twice shy" (b) "nothing is worth the risk of dying" (c) "slow and steady wins the race" (d) "dangerous but fun."

Is this fair?

Test Prep Students-1: Before Our First Session, Please

posted by WyzAnt tutor: Deborah M.

You have educational goals. Next, you have a test to take. It's one of those big milestone tests for admission to college, such as the ACT, SAT, or GRE--or other standardized tests such as the SSAT, ASVAB, GED, or a professional licensing test. You want a tutor who works hard to get you ready.

Help me be that tutor. Do these three things before our first session together.

1. If you have already set a date to take your test, tell me what it is. If you are not that far along yet, tell me the dates you are considering. This will assist me in developing a schedule for our sessions, and, if you'd like, I will suggest a study schedule for you for the time between our meetings.

[PLEASE NOTE: It is far more effective to meet with you once a week for three months than three times per week for one month. Even when you are not studying for your test, your mind is preparing for it. Since your mind is busy in many other ways as well, it makes sense to give yourself ample time to fully absorb your test preparation activities.]

2. Please complete a timed practice test consisting of all the sections we will be working on together. Give me a copy of the test, your answers, and your scores at least two days before our first session. Either scan and email me the pages or let's arrange to hand it off in person. [If you are a minor, this might be a good opportunity for me to meet one or both of your parents as well, a prerequisite for working with me.]

3. Ask yourself what percent of your preparation challenge is test-taking anxiety. Report it to me along with any special or significant symptoms you experience. Then ask at least one other person who knows you well—such as a parent, an older sibling, a savvy younger sibling, or a teacher. Tell me what she or he says or let that individual email comments to you. Then forward them to me. I want to be ready to address your anxiety too, if that’s a significant issue.

With my expertise for your training wheels, you'll be ready to ride solo on test day!