Tutoring Kids on Spelling Can Be Fun

Tutoring Kids on Spelling Can Be FunTutoring kids on spelling is often done with the help of a program. But, what if you and your child could be tutored on the same thing? A program is a self-contained course that can be used to teach a variety of skills and improve all sorts of areas of a student's life.There are many different types of programs available today, and a lot of them can teach you more than one skill. For example, how about your child learning how to use a word processor? It's not often that this type of software is used to teach spelling, but it's a terrific addition to any classroom. How about your child being able to make and edit word documents with his or her own writing?Or maybe you and your child are a little bit more advanced in your spelling skills, and you'd like to boost them even further. You can make the most of any new program by providing your child with some great tutoring. The main thing to remember when you're tutoring kids on spelling is to keep it si mple, practical, and fun.You can use a program for spelling for practice, or to learn a fun, challenging spelling challenge of your own design. If you're teaching your child how to take pictures, your child may be quite taken with pictures and may want to learn how to write with pictures as well. If you're the type of person who likes to be creative, then you'll enjoy using a program for spelling to develop your creativity as well.You may also find that an effective spelling program can help your child when it comes to communication. Say you have a relative or friend who is shy about speaking in public or communicating with people in person. You can easily fix this problem with tutoring kids on spelling, because all you need to do is read a few sentences out loud and then speak the sentence again. When your child has practiced this, they'll be able to speak quickly and confidently.You may also find that teaching your child with a program helps them develop other language skills. Hav e you ever noticed how some people seem to understand more languages better than others? The same is true of kids on spelling games, who will learn to read and write faster and more effectively.Tutoring kids on spelling games also helps them to remember what they're learning. If you've taught them how to read and write, you can often tell them what to do next. However, when you show them how to write, read, and speak a language, you can create a way for them to look at the language from all perspectives. You can also help them become familiar with foreign words that don't often come up when they speak a language.Kids will generally enjoy getting out and doing things with you. No matter what program you use, it's important to allow your child to enjoy the experience, and make sure that you keep it fun. It's best to start this activity before your child starts school, but even then, it's best to be careful. Even though you want to begin to encourage your child to learn, it's still imp ortant to keep the tutoring simple, and avoid too much pressure.

Find the Right Geometry Tutor Online Course For You

Find the Right Geometry Tutor Online Course For YouYou can hire a Geometry Tutor Online to help you learn and retain your higher mathematics. There are many advantages that you will enjoy from online learning, one of the biggest being the possibility to learn and study from the comfort of your own home. Just like all things in life, there are some things that you must keep in mind and this is one of them.The first thing that you must do is find out if the online course you are looking at offers the same kind of material that is being taught in the classroom. In other words, are the lessons just a cut and paste job from the textbook or can the professor provide you with more advanced materials to use in your online course?After that, you need to decide if you want to pay an annual or monthly fee for the classes that you want to take. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. If you think that you want to pay an annual fee, then you would also need to pay some monthly fees if you want to continue with the class. Alternatively, if you think that you do not want to pay the fees, then you could go for the free online course that many providers offer.For those who want to save a few dollars, then there are certain things that you can do. For example, you can ask your employer for a special discount if you have an office or home that you can use as a home study area, which will certainly save you some money.After making your decision, it is important that you choose the right online course that is right for you. There are many different courses, some more appropriate than others. It is important that you look into different institutions and consider the pros and cons of each program before you start taking a course.For example, if you choose to go for a new course, it is important that you visit the site and ask questions to get an idea of what they are offering. Also, check out the quality of the materials used in the course and see if the syllabus of the cours e can be followed or not. This will give you a good idea of whether you are going to enjoy the material that you are using.If you choose to go for a Geometry Tutor Online, you will definitely enjoy the learning experience and feel better about your education. This is something that you will never forget.

How to Find an English Writing Tutor in Vancouver

How to Find an English Writing Tutor in VancouverIf you are planning to hire an English writing tutor in Vancouver, you can take your pick from a number of excellent agencies, both large and small. Just make sure that you hire one who is experienced in the field and will not be just doing what he is told. You may also need to find out what are the requirements that you will need to meet in order to hire an expert writer in Vancouver.One requirement is the professional background and experience. As long as the tutor has already passed the written exam, he can provide you with an extremely fast turnaround. Most probably, he will want you to come to him for the interview.You may have to commute to such large cities as Toronto, London, and San Francisco. For this reason, you may have to be sure that the writing tutor in Vancouver has at least one year of experience in his field. Ideally, he should have worked in schools, hospitals, law firms, businesses, and educational establishments. A fter having achieved this point, you may want to see whether he can still provide you with a valuable service.The first thing that you will need to do is to write a literary resume. Your writing skills will be the major factor in this job. Here, you will need to use the ability to write about particular incidents, anecdotes, emotions, or personal experiences related to your expertise in the field.If you wish to have the letterhead personalized, you may contact a printing company, which will help you with the necessary papers that will guarantee that you will look professional and will not give off any negative impression. After this, you will need to make an appointment to visit the office of the English writing tutor in Vancouver.Calling is a good way to find out whether they will accept your application or not. In fact, you may get several applications for the same position. However, if you would like to know whether the person that you will be meeting is a certified teacher, you may want to write the name of the individual on a business card.A good English writing tutor in Vancouver will be able to teach you how to write effectively, yet maintain a level of professionalism. It is very important to avoid plagiarism as much as possible. If you get caught, you will be losing your position and possibly losing your job altogether.

What is the STEAM Movement

What is the STEAM Movement In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on STEM subjects Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Here are some great tips to help succeed in science and engineering. This emphasis is accompanied with the belief that these four subjects should be prioritized in education to match rapid growth in these fields in the industry. Here are 4 benefits of STEM studies. There is evidence to show that while jobs in these areas are increasing, there are not enough individuals with sufficient education to meet the workplace demand. In fact, studies have shown that the United States has fallen behind in both interest and education in these areas. Thus, STEM programs have been receiving support at both the national and state level in order to increase student interest and success. What is STEAM? With innovation in mind, some educators are calling for an integration of the arts back into the curriculum. This movement changes STEM to STEAM, by adding a critical piece left out of the STEM subjects: Art. The STEAM movement seeks to add Art and Design as another education area that should be focused on, with the idea that innovation and creative thinking are gained by uniting art and design with science and technology. Here are some great reasons why the arts are crucial to education. Why should STEAM be implemented? While the arts may seem quite distinct from science and technology, proponents of the STEAM movement maintain that the two can, and should, be integrated. For one, they state that in our media-saturated culture, integrating the arts (specifically visual and media arts) will make STEM subjects more appealing to younger generations, thus sparking increased interest in these fields. Additionally, art and design are important, although sometimes overlooked, areas of expertise, especially in the field of technology. Even employers who are hiring students in traditional STEM fields can benefit from the STEAM movement and the addition of arts and design to the fields of science and technology. Several recent studies have shown that up to 95% of employers want to hire individuals who are innovative. Additionally, similar studies have shown that around 85% of employers are actively seeking creative people to hire, yet struggling to find them. Advocates of the STEAM movement believe that the arts lead to creativity, and that creativity in turn leads to innovation. Hence, by teaching students the arts and integrating art and design into the fields of science, students of technology, engineering, and mathematics can become more innovative thinkers within those fields. According to this program, the alliance of Art with STEM will help students become more creative, increase their employability, and be successful in needed industries.

How to Take Advantage of Online Services to Excel in Your 12th Grade

How to Take Advantage of Online Services to Excel in Your 12th Grade 0SHARESShare The final year of secondary school is a crucial period for you, since it is the entrance gate for your further studies and exuberant grades. It is mentally irksome and physically tiresome to sit for assignments, homework and test preparations at this critical hour. Why not try online services and exhibit your talents in the form of high scores that pave way for great promises in your academic achievements? What to do to achieve good scores in 12th grade? Search for a good online tutoring website that can figurehead your potentials and bring out the best of you in major subjects. Choose proper Math tutors online, who could explain even the difficult sums with proper examples, endorsed by their expert knowledge. Go in for Science Fair projects that will epitomize your unique thought process in the field chosen and thereby enable you to get due accreditation. Consult an English expert who can suggest practical tips to build your vocabulary and heighten your sense of the language. Use online calculators to calculate problems in Physics and Math and obtain the best possible solutions. Why to use Acceleration due to Gravity calculator? All of us know gravitational force is responsible for the physical processes in the world. Acceleration, otherwise known as a change in speed over time, can be calculated with the help of online calculators. This calculator helps you do gravitational acceleration calculations with ease. Feed the input and calculate the acceleration due to gravitation with the help of online calculators. Step by step explanation is available for you. How to do algebra in college? Algebra in college can be overwrought with complex concepts which may prove beyond your comprehension. Or, you need an experienced tutor to explicate the related issues in Algebra to your maximum satisfaction to come out with outshining results in the subject. Approach an online algebra tutor to clarify your doubts in Exponents, Radicals, Equations and Inequalities, Function and graphs, Exponential and Logarithmic Functions to get deeper aspects of Math. It is wonder some that online help can make you achieve what you wish in senior year in High School and college Math. [starbox id=admin]

Learning Cantonese Characters Tips and Tricks.

Learning Cantonese Characters Tips and Tricks. Some Shortcuts to Learning Cantonese Characters. ChaptersLearn to Speak Cantonese before You Learn to Write Cantonese.Get to Grips with How the Character Looks.Break the Character into Radicals â€" Rather than Individual Strokes.You’re Learning How to Write Cantonese â€" Not to Draw It.Keep on Writing the Chinese Character.Speak the Chinese Characters Aloud as You Write Them.Use Apps and Computer Software.Return to Your Practice Every Single Day.We all know that learning Chinese â€" learning to read and write its script â€" is a bit of a daunting task.For those in the western world, the experience of approaching the writing system is an experience of being faced with something completely alien. The simplified Chinese characters â€" just as much as the traditional Chinese characters â€" give you no reference, no real way to navigate them at first glance. They just stand there in their total difference.However, for those looking to start learning Chinese characters, this sense of otherness won’t last long. Cantonese â€" and other languages that use the Chinese writing system â€" is a language whose learning is hardest right at the beginning. With all this stuff to learn â€" and the great challenge that learning to write in Cantonese poses â€" that’s hardly a surprise.But when you get through that first hurdle, everything becomes a little easier. We promise.So, to get you over the hump of Cantonese language learning, we want to give you a few tips and tricks on how to learn to read and write the Chinese characters.Reading and writing in Cantonese is much harder than Chinese speaking â€" owing to precisely the difficulty of learning Chinese characters. However, with these guidelines and recommendations, you’ll be becoming slowly more fluent in no time. Learning Mandarin Chinese and Learning Cantonese.First, just a note on the difference between Mandarin and Cantonese, for those who don’t know.Both languages use the same alphabet: standard Chinese. However, where those Mandarin speakers in mainland China use the simplified characters, Cantonese speakers â€" in Guangdong, Macau, and Hong Kong â€" use the traditional characters.These are general the same until the traditional characters have more than about eight strokes, at which point, in simplified Chinese, they are simplified.Whilst the alphabet is similar, watch out: the languages are generally pronounced differently and they have a different grammar. So, they are mutually unintelligible. When you are learning Cantonese characters, make sure that it is Cantonese that you are proceeding with and not Mandarin. Find new vocabulary from your reading. NingChinese Teacher 5.00 (10) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LorraineChinese Teacher £10/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JoyceChinese Teacher £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicoleChinese Teacher £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors KatyChinese Teacher £16/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YangChinese Teacher £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ChengChinese Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsLearn to Speak Cantonese before You Learn to Write Cantonese.We have said this before in our pieces on both learning to write Cantonese and learning to read Cantonese. However, we will say it again.For those seeking to learn a Chinese language, put away the script at first. In your first few months of learning Cantonese, put aside your concerns about writing systems, stroke order, and trying to read a Chinese text. Just forget about the written language completely.We said that Cantonese is a language that is the hardest right at the very beginning. Given that this is the case, don’t make it too difficult for yourself at first: don’t overwhelm yourself with too many concerns. Rather, focus on your conversational Cantonese. Think about how a particular sentence might be pronounced. Work on your communicative skills rather than your reading and writing skills. Once you have nailed this, you can go back to basic Chinese script â€" knowing that you are already a step further towards fluency. You’ll have confidence, you’ll have a little sense of the language â€" and you’ll be much better prepared to learn how to write Cantonese.Find out how to learn Cantonese.Get to Grips with How the Character Looks.The first step in learning how to produce â€" as in write â€" your own Cantonese characters is to develop your skills in recognising them. This means reading them well, focusi ng on their structure, and building your familiarity with their shape.Look at what the stroke order may be â€" and examine how you will begin to write this yourself. At this point, you don’t actually need to be writing anything. Because the first step in learning to write Chinese words is to learn to read them. You aren’t going to be able to write anything if you don’t know precisely what you are writing. Learn to write in Cantonese yourself!Break the Character into Radicals â€" Rather than Individual Strokes.Whilst Chinese characters can look just like a collection of lines, they aren’t. You will begin to learn this as you become more familiar with them.Chinese characters are structured units of meaning, to which the lines themselves only contribute so much. What’s more important to recognise within the character is the radicals, the sub-structural units that, together, make up the full character.There are 214 radicals in Cantonese that you need to know. Whilst this may seem a lot, you should be focusing, as a beginner, on the most common twenty or thirty. Once you have these down, you’ll begin to see them everywhere. And it’s these that will help you navigate the semantics of all the other characters.So, rather than getting bogged down with the individual strokes of a character, focusing on the radicals themselves. This will speed up your learning dramatically â€" and give t he range of characters a bit more coherence. NingChinese Teacher 5.00 (10) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LorraineChinese Teacher £10/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JoyceChinese Teacher £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicoleChinese Teacher £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors KatyChinese Teacher £16/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YangChinese Teacher £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ChengChinese Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsYou’re Learning How to Write Cantonese â€" Not to Draw It.Remember â€" and this might sound â€" silly, in Cantonese, you are learning to write not to draw. Whilst as a beginner everything â€" the shapes and structures of the characters â€" will look very beautiful, we’re not really very interested in the aesthetics. This is a language, not a picture. And so, whilst you should be making an effort to make your characters legible, regular, and clear, don’t care too much for the flare and flourish. Good handwriting matters, but only insofar as it helps understanding.Here are some strategies on how to learn Cantonese.Keep on Writing the Chinese Character.Once you have considered the structure of the character and the compounds â€" the radicals â€" that make it up, now you just need to memorize it.This is easier said than done, and it is said that Chinese people struggle to memorize a lot of their characters too. However, repetition is the key â€" however boring that might sound.Use Spaced Repetition Software â€" Not Just Brute Repetition.However, repetition is one thing â€" and effective repetition for memorization is quite another.That’s where spaced repetition comes in. Whilst repetition â€" let’s call it ‘basic’ repetition or brute repetition â€" requires that you merely repeat and repeat and repeat, spaced repetition will help you better to learn the Chines e word or character and will be a bit more interesting to do.Rather than just copying the same character again and again, spaced repetition brings repetitions of the same character at irregular and increasingly extended intervals. As you learn a character, it will need to be repeated much less often â€" but just enough to keep it there in the back of your mind.There are apps that do this â€" such as Anki and Quizlet â€" as well as computer software. Download one now.Use Square Paper.Cantonese characters need to be regular in size and as symmetrical as possible. And when you are writing out these characters by hand, blank paper â€" or lined paper â€" is not the best thing with which to achieve this effect.Rather, you should do as the native speakers do: use square paper to practice your writing. This will ensure that you have the right dimensions â€" and you will have axes on which to ensure symmetricity and neatness.Speak the Chinese Characters Aloud as You Write Them.In language, t he written representations of words are not separate entities from the verbal, phonetic form. This sounds obvious â€" but when you are slaving away trying to remember the shape and strokes of Chinese characters, it is easy to lose track of the pronunciations that go along with the written form.So, every time that you write a character out, repeat to yourself the verbal form. This way, written and spoken go together every time.Learn the Character with the Romanization.A way to help with this is to write out the romanized version of the word with the character â€" every time.Romanization systems include Jyutping, Yale, and Cantonese pinyin. These are indispensable for learners of Cantonese, as they render the sounds of the Chinese words into a script with which we are more familiar.Whilst later you will have to ween yourself off the Romanization, use it as a beginner.Use Apps and Computer Software.The internet and mobile technology have revolutionised the way languages can be learned. And whilst it is important to get your handwriting down â€" as this will ensure that you’ll remember the characters â€" there are tools online that can make your learning easier. Google Pinyin, for example, is a plugin through which you can write in Cantonese characters online and through the Office suite.Meanwhile, the Pleco app is a Cantonese to English dictionary that you can download to your phone. A Chinese dictionary is hard work when you don’t know your characters. But with this, it all becomes much easier.Find out how to develop your Cantonese vocabulary. The internet is a great place to learn Cantonese vocabularyReturn to Your Practice Every Single Day.Finally, if you are serious about successfully developing your knowledge of Cantonese characters, you have to commit some time every day to your practice. This, unfortunately, is not debatable: the more you practice, the better you get. End of.Happy learning!

5 Educational Podcasts Every College Student Should Be Listening To

5 Educational Podcasts Every College Student Should Be Listening To As a college student, youre busy with classes, extracurriculars, meetings, and friendsnot to mention keeping up with current events. With all of that, youre likely to have more than enough to read. An excellent bridge between readingfor fun or for classand watching TV is the podcast, which walks the line of entertaining and educating. Looking to enhance your learning this semester through podcasts? Keep reading to discover five educational podcasts every college student should listen to. Educational podcast #1: Invisibilia Produced and hosted by NPR, Invisibilia is the Latin term for invisible things. Now in its fifth season, the podcast discusses all manners of invisible things, but particularly unseen or little-known forces that influence our perspectives and behavior. The episodes, which generally run from 30 minutes to an hour, cover a range of topics like: Culture Medicine Science Technology Educational podcast #2: Revisionist History Started in 2016, Revisionist History is hosted by Malcolm Gladwell, an author known for the books The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers, among others. Similar to Invisibilia, Revisionist History focuses on the lesser known, revisiting something from the past that has been misunderstood, misrepresented, or ignored for one reason or another. Different from Invisibilia, though, episodes focus on history and the past. Episodes are between roughly 30 and 40 minutes in length, and the show is in its fourth season. [RELATED: 5 Benefits of Using Videos to Learn] Educational podcast #3: Reply All This podcast, created in 2014 and hosted by PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman, is a technology-focused podcast. This unique podcast focuses on the internet and technology, discussing how it has influenced both individuals and groups. Reply All tackles topics like internet privacy and marketing yourself online. Educational podcast #4: Girlboss Radio with Sophia Amoruso Girlboss Radio with Sophia Amoruso is an interview-style podcast focused on trailblazing women, some of whom are household names, but all of whom are groundbreaking in their respective fields. Conversations explore what it means to be successful in a variety of fieldsfrom media to makeup. [RELATED: 3 Efficient Ways to Study on the Go] Educational podcast #5: The Daily The Daily from The New York Times is, as it sounds, a news podcast that airs nearly every weekday. Hosted by political journalist Michael Barbaro, each episode goes in depth on a single current event, and is based around interviews conducted by The New York Times journalists. This podcast is an excellent way to consume the news and keep up with current events. [RELATED: How Online Learning Helps Students] Whether youre doing chores or errands, walking to class, driving, or simply enjoying a moment sitting down, podcasts are an excellent use of the small gaps in your day. Beyond these recommendations, the world of podcasts is blossoming at a great rate, so youre sure to find other podcasts that fit you well. Any topics you want to know more about? Let us know! The Varsity Tutors Blog editors love hearing your feedback and opinions. Feel free to email us at blog@varsitytutors.com.

10 Famous French People

10 Famous French People 10 of the Most Famous French Celebrities Chapters1. Brigitte Bardot2. Catherine Deneuve3. Gérard Depardieu4. Jean Reno5. Luc Besson6. Jacques-Yves Cousteau7. Serge Gainsbourg8. Edith Piaf9. Coco Chanel10. AstérixFrance is known for its croissants, the Eiffel Tower, the Marseillaise and the palace of Versailles. But who are the people who have formed our view of France, the celebrity ambassadors of the tricolore? Who are the actors, actresses, the singers and fashionistas who make everyone want to visit France? Here are ten of the most famous French men and women.The young girls of Rochefort in 1967 further cemented her careerTristana (1970)Donkey Skin in 1970The April Fools starring alongside Jack Lemmon in 1969, an American filmThe Slightly Pregnant Man, another American film with Marcello Mastroianni, the father of her second child, daughter Chiara MastroianniDeneuve won the César for Best Actress for her role in François Truffaut’s The Last Metro in 1980 and was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of plantatio n owner Éliane Devries in the 1992 film Indochine. More recently, she has starred in Dancer in the Dark, which was nominated in Cannes for a Palme d’Or in 2000, Potiche in 2010 and Bonne Pomme in 2017.She, too, was the face of the Marianne for a time.3. Gérard DepardieuAfter two female sex symbol actresses, a French actor who, though perhaps not a heartthrob, has made the headlines more than once, whether with his name on a marquee or, in defiance of French etiquette (or indeed etiquette anywhere) his bare buttocks on a plane.Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu was born in 1948 in Châteauroux. He left school at thirteen to work in a printworks, but after some run-ins with the law for petty crime went to Paris at sixteen, where he landed a job as an actor in the Café de la Gare, a comedy theatre.His first film was Betrand Blié’s les Valseuses in 1947 (Going Places). He became known on the French film circuit and won a César for Best Actor for his work in Truffaut’s The Last M etro in 1980 where he starred alongside Catherine Deneuve.He became known internationally for the title role in Jean de Fleurette in 1986, where he played a hunchback who found love. His portrayal of another physically deformed man in Cyrano de Bergerac, an adaptation of the play by famous French writer Edmond Rostand, won him international acclaim in 1990, earning him a second César, an award at the Cannes Film Festival and a nomination for the Oscars.Most recently, he is best known for his roles as Porthos in The Man in the Iron Mask and as Obelix in the live-action Asterix films.4. Jean RenoBorn in Morocco of Spanish parents while Morocco was still a French protectorate in 1948, Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez grew up trilingual, speaking Arabic, Spanish and French.His family moved to France in 1970 and he acquired French citizenship. Upon deciding to become an actor, he adopted the French version of his name, shorter and easier to remember.His first film was in 1978, as a charac ter in a painting in The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting. He first truly became noticed for his role as the Drummer in Subway (1985), directed by Luc Besson who first noticed him on the set of  Le Dernier Combat and who would give him his greatest successes. He cast Jean Reno again in Le Grand Bleu (The Big Blue), for which he was nominated for a César as best actor. He truly became famous in France for his role as the Count Godefroy in Jean-Marie Poiré’s time-travel comedy Les Visiteurs (1993) (earning him yet another César nomination), which was remade for Hollywood in 2001 under the title Just visiting, with Reno once more in the main role.However, it was Luc Besson’s 1994 classic Léon: the Professional starring alongside Nathalie Portman that cemented his international success (and a third César nomination), landing him roles in movies such as Godzilla (1998), Ronin (1998) and the DaVinci Code (2006).French actor Jean Reno was born in Morocco to Andalusian parents. Ph oto credit: david_shankbone on VisualHunt.comHe is the father of six children from three different marriages. He has never forgotten his Andalusian roots.District 13 (2004), and all the Taken (2008-2014) films with Liam Neeson.6. Jacques-Yves CousteauA whole generation grew up with Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s underwater documentaries.Born in 1910 in Saint-André de Cubzac. He studied at the École Navale to become a gunnery officer in the French navy. He broke both his arms in an automobile accident, cutting short his dreams of becoming a naval pilot but allowing him to indulge in his passion for underwater exploration.He had started some underwater experiments while still serving in the navy. In 1943, he won a prize for the first ever French underwater documentary, produced with alpinist Marcel Ichac: Par dix-huit mètres de fond, made entirely without breathing apparatus. In the same year, he and Ichac tested the first prototypes of the Aqua-Lung to make another documentary, Épaves (Shipwrecks). Cousteau had first used Fernez goggles (a breathing tube with a pump to equalise pressure), then the LePrieur apparatus with a portable air supply. Unhappy with the amount of time these systems let him stay underwater, he improved the LePrieur apparatus with the help of Émile Gagnan. With the aqua-lung, he was able to fulfill numerous scientific and military missions for the French navy.He left the navy in 1949, founding the French Oceanographic Campaigns a year later. He leased his famous research ship the Calypso from British philanthropist for a symbolic franc a year, refitting it into a mobile laboratory. One of his missions was accompanied in 1954 by filmmaker Louis Malle; The Silent World won at Cannes in 1956.Even models of Cousteau's ship the Calypso bring a nostalgic tear to many an eye. Photo credit: Tilemahos Efthimiadis on VisualHuntHe created and perfected various versions of deep-sea submarines, manned and automated, and in the 1960s and 1970s produced documentary series for American television.He was a vocal advocate for environmental issues, work continued by the Cousteau Foundation. All in all, he produced more than 120 television documentaries. In 1988 he was elected to the Académie Française, which he held until his death in 1997.Among other things, he was a Commander of the Legion of Honour, earned the Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.7. Serge GainsbourgSerge Gainsbourg is a famous French musician. Born as Lucien Ginsburg in Paris in 1928, he changed his name to Serge in honour of his Ukrainian ancestry. He was a remarkably multitalented artist. Singer, pianist, composer, songwriter, painter, actor and director, he is best known for his music that runs the gamut of styles from chanson to disco to reggae to funk.He is known for his affair with Brigitte Bardot in 1967, to whom he dedicated an album with the titular song Initiales BB.He worked with such influential sing ers and artists as Michèle Arnaud, Jacques Brel, Minouche Barelli and longtime partner Jane Birkin. He also wrote several songs for the Eurovision Song Contest, for various countries including Luxembourg and Monaco.Gainsbourg was known for his often sexual and provocative lyrics and frequent drunkenness during public appearances.His daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg is a singer and actress.8. Edith PiafVocally the best known French singer, Edith Piaf was born Édith Giovanna Gassion in 1915 and specialised in chanson and love ballads.  When her mother walked out after she was born, she was raised in a brothel run by her paternal grandmother in Bernay.As a teenager, Edith worked as a street singer first with her father, then with her (possibly) half-sister Simone Berteaut. She had her first daughter at 17 by a man called Louis Dupont, who died from meningitis at the age of two.In 1935, she was discovered by Louis Leplée, owner of the club Le Gerny near the Champs Elysées. She performe d under the name “La Môme Piaf”, “the urchin sparrow” in historical French slang. She first donned her signature black dress in the Le Gerny. The nightclub attracted people and artists from every walk of life, and she produced her first two records in the same year.A year later Leplée was murdered by gangsters with ties to Piaf from her street-singing days. To rehabilitate her image, she teamed up with Raymond Asso, who gave her the stage name Édith Piaf and had Monnot write songs mentioning her life on the streets. During the German occupation she continued to flourish, writing the lyrics to many of her songs herself.After the war, she became known internationally. Her most famous song is La Vie en Rose, written in 1945 and covered numerous times.She struggled with alcohol addiction, exacerbated by an opiate addiction after several car accidents, and died of liver cancer in 1962.9. Coco ChanelGabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born in 1883. Her father was an itinerant peddler, and after her mother’s death when she was 12 he sent her and her sisters to the convent orphanage of Aubazine, where she learned to sew.When she left the orphanage at 18, she earned her living as a seamstress and cabaret singer in Moulins, where she earned the nickname Coco. There she met Étienne Balsan, heir to a firm that made military uniforms and became his mistress. In 1908 she became the mistress of his friend Arthur “Boy” Capel, who payed for an apartment in Paris and kept up their relationship even after his marriage and to his death in 1919. He would help her set up her first shops.Coco had started designing hats as a hobby but became a licensed milliner in 1910. Her hats became popular after a famous French actress Gabrielle Dorziat modeled them onstage and for the magazine Les Modes. In 1913 she opened her first clothing shop in Deauville with sports and leisure attire in cheap fabrics such as jersey and tricot. Another shop in Biarritz, a popular seaside resort c atering to the wealthy, became so popular that she was able to purchase an entire house in 1921 to offer the full range of Paris fashion: clothing, hats, accessories and later also jewellery and perfume, including the now-iconic Chanel N °5. Her designs freed women from the corseted silhouette, ushering the more airy, shorter styles popular after the Great War.Famous French fashion designer Coco Chanel with photographer Cecil Beaton. Photo credit: Dovima-2010 on VisualHuntFrom 1923-1937, she designed the costumes for the prestigious Ballet Russe; in the 1930s she dressed several Hollywood stars for their on-screen roles, then for French films such as Jean Renoir’s La règle du jeu. However, her design aesthetic was slowly going out of style. With the occupation of France, she closed her fashion houses, only  re-opening them in 1954. Her once avant-garde designs were now conservative, but she remained in business until her death in 1971.Coco Chanel was a known anti-semite and her r ole during the Second World War has been the subject of much controversy, but her legacy to the world of French fashion lives on.Next to Louis Vuitton’s iconic bags, Coco’s Chanel N °5 (ironically now in the hands of a Jewish firm) remains the epitome of Haute Couture.10. AstérixAnd finally, let’s not forget the French ambassador among children and the young-at-heart. The well-known Gaul, small and clever, and his large, strong friend Obélix were first created by the author-artist team René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo for the French-Belgium comic magazine Pilote in 1959. Since then, their adventures have taken them to Egypt, England, India and even the Americas. After Goscinny’s death in 1977, Uderzo continued to produce on his own before selling the rights to the publishing firm Hachette in 2009.Comic book celebrities from France, Asterix and Obelix are ambassadors of French culture to children all over the world. Photo credit: dolanh on VisualHunt.comThe series is known for its caricatures of famous politicians and personalities as the “guest villain”, its puns and hidden jokes and its sense of fun. A fine way to learn French! Search for French course London to find the most face to face tutors on Superprof, or why not search for french lessons online?

A Guide to Drum Kit Maintenance

A Guide to Drum Kit Maintenance How to Maintain Your Drum Kit ChaptersCleaning Your KitHow to Clean Your CymbalsRepairing a Cracked CymbalStands, Pedals and MountsBeing as their essential purpose is to be beaten, one would think that drums must be particularly rugged and, judging on how some drummers pound on them, indestructible.If you’ve ever been to a metal, acid or rock concert, you surely know that a vigorous drum solo is a big part of the show, especially if the drum is in a cage and pyrotechnics flare whenever the cymbals are hit.Nope, never been to one of those concerts... not me!!!But what happens to all of that equipment after the house lights come up, the concertgoers leave and the roadies pack it all up?And what happens to your drum kit over time, the more you play?If you are still just learning to play the drums â€" barely beating out paradiddles and only just discovering what you can play on the snare drum and the toms, perhaps taking your kit apart and cleaning it doesn’t concern you right now.Nevertheless, you will need to k now how to take proper care of your equipment so that you can enjoy making music with it for a long time to come.Before you can channel your inner John Bonham or Ginger Baker â€" or Gene Krupa, if you are more into jazz, you need to learn how to completely tear down, maintain and rebuild your kit.Let Superprof show you how to keep your drums in top shape!Once a year or so, depending on how much you play, you should tear into your set and give it a good, thorough cleaning: removing the heads, and possibly even breaking them down completely so that even the chrome will gleam when you’re finished!Here is what you should have on hand before getting started.Cleaning Agents:Goo Gonewhite spiritT-cut colour fast scratch removerColron finishing waxAutosol metal polishTools:Cordless drilla drum keya fileblade â€" a box cutter or Exacto knifemasking tapefine wire woola soft polishing clotha plastic tub (preferably with a lid)Make sure you have everything at the ready; nothing is more frustr ating than having to disengage and retrieve a needed tool or solvent!Once you have everything at the ready, it is time to disassemble your kit.After loosening the tension rods, you can remove the hoops and heads.With the drum thus open, you can remove the lugs â€" not a strictly necessary step, but if you do, you will get better, more even results when you polish the shells. Besides, it is good practice!Tip: any hardware you remove, be sure to place in the lidded container to prevent losing any piece.Your drums’ badge will be difficult to remove so you may want to simply cover it with masking tape prior to cleaning and waxing the shell. However, you should carefully cut away any extra masking tape, making sure your blade does not cut into the shell itself.If your drums are relatively new or have not seen much action yet, wiping them down with a soft cloth might be all the cleaning they need. But if, after buffing them out, you think they could do with a coat a wax, use only a smal l amount.Should the lacquer appear lacklustre, apply a coat of T-cut before applying the wax.Once the wax is dry, buff the shells again: you will be amazed at the depth of colour and shine!Don’t forget to polish the metal components while they’re not mounted!Feel free to reassemble them at any point after that. Don’t forget to unmask the badge!Have you ever wondered what are the best drum kits on the market?Keeping your kit exposed to the elements in a garage or shed is a recipe for disaster! Source: Pixabay Credit: Creation GuitarHow to Clean Your CymbalsThere is a lot of conversation on this topic, with some swearing that lemon juice and vinegar work best, while others maintain that Groove Juice is the ticket.There must be some merit to the lemon juice and vinegar method, especially as Groove Juice is itself acidic.Whichever solution you prefer, be sure to work with the grooves, not from hub to edge, so you don’t compromise the tonal quality of the cymbal!Also, watch out f or the label. Whether Zildjian, Sabian, Meinl or Paiste, you will want to show that you play quality equipment, and lemon juice (or Groove Juice) could eat into those brand names.A part of the aforementioned debate is whether metal polishes such as Brasso or Wenol are actually worth the effort.As it is essential to follow the cymbal’s lathing when cleaning and polishing, some drummers report that trying to buff every bit of wax out of those minuscule furrows is an exercise in frustration.Such an accumulation of wax, over time, could really impact how your cymbals sound!However, all of the experts agree: using household cleaners such as glass cleaner or dish liquid is a definite no-no: the residue such products leave will make your cymbals look dull and affect their sound.You might know that some drummers prefer not to clean their cymbals because the patina seems to add to the tonal quality of the instrument.However, if you and your band have just landed your first gig, you would l ikely rather have shiny, polished equipment that will catch the light each time you hit the crash cymbal or the china cymbal!Bottom line: clean them but don’t polish them, and be sure to inspect them for cracks.Repairing a Cracked CymbalNow that you know how to clean cymbals, you may train your eye on the edges of your hi hats, ride cymbal and splash cymbal to look for minute cracks.They’re not there because you’re a beginner and play badly; you may simply have the wrong cymbal for the type of music you play.An extreme metal drummer should play on something sturdier than 14-inch crashes.The important thing about cracks is to catch them early and repair them quickly, and there are two ways to go about doing so.Using a file or a Dremel tool, you may simply wear away that part of the cymbal that is cracked.Granted, your Zildjian K will no longer be perfectly round, but on the other hand, you won’t have to worry about your cymbal’s sound being compromised.If you’d rather not wear into the metal, you may choose to drill just above the crack â€" but you must be very careful in selecting your bit and while drilling.You may find this tutorial most helpful in repairing your cymbals...Final note on cymbals: be sure to check your felts and sleeves. If they appear even a bit worn, be sure to replace them at once!You might be wondering how much a drum kit costs if you haven't already bout one...Once your band really takes off, you may invest in a drum rack such as Megadeth's! Source: Wikipedia Credit: Bizu LavoroStands, Pedals and MountsUnless you march in a band, most likely your kit will be mounted and your cymbals will be on stands.Although not much could go wrong with them save a height adjustment lock, wiping them down while giving them the once-over is a good idea.Of special note would be any jointed stand, such as for your snare drum, and any drum stand that has a memory lock.Also, if your cymbals are mounted on boom arms, you should pay special attentio n to them, especially if your kit is kept in a garage or shed, where moisture and humidity could affect them.Do you know all about these types of drums?What you really need to focus on is the hi hat rod and clutch assembly, and its pedal.While you’re examining pedals, your obvious next step would be the bass drum pedal(s).Your pedal needs smooth movement and quick action; it wouldn’t do to have a bearing seize up mid-play, nor would you want anything to get caught in its chain or strap!Here, common sense should prevail: you may use compressed air to clean dust from the intricate pedal parts, and lubricate your bearings with a quality bearing grease. Only use it very sparingly lest your pedal become sluggish!Please do not use vegetable oil, as one hapless would-be drummer did, rendering his pedal useless in a matter of days!As long as you have smooth action, good tension on the spring and no squeaking, you can say you’ve done your bit to keep your pedals maintained!That is all we’ll cover on pedals; they are far more complex than what we have room for in this article!Winding Down the BeatYou’ll note we’ve not said anything about drum heads other than removing and replacing them.We’ll go more in depth on that subject in our article on how to tune a drum!Nor have we said anything about drum sticks and brushes, and we haven’t uttered a word about electronic drums! At least, not in this selection...Still, we hope you find some of these tips helpful in keeping your kit in optimum playing shape.Incidentally, roadies aren’t called that anymore; in fact, that term is considered rather derogatory.Instrument techs take care of the musical equipment these days. It is a highly specialised job involving lots of skill... as you can surely see from this outline of how to take care of your drum kit.Now find out what you need to know before buying your first drum set......including drum lessons in your area like  drum lessons london.