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Why Age Is Not An Impediment In Learning New Languages

From the age when they can only babble till the point when they can utter coherent sentences, they’re listening to full-fledged conversations happening in their immediate environment. This is bound to leave a lasting impact on children’s impressionable minds because they’re only beginning to make sense of the world with the help of their sensory apparatus.

This is why you can never really identify the age at which you were taught your mother tongue because the learning process never really happened actively. It was a part of your lived experience and instilled regular lessons in your daily routine without making it obvious. This is why we’re under the impression that the only language that we can learn is during our early years. Beyond the ‘learning age’—as most of us like to call it—it’s nearly impossible to learn a language as well as your native tongue.

However, linguists have proved that age is not an impediment in the learning process and languages are not an asset that could only be accumulated during childhood. Even though their learning behavior may be different, the end result is more or less the same.

In fact, as an adult, your age offers you an edge over young learners and helps you learn a language better.

Cognitive

As you grow, your cognitive abilities also mature and develop to incorporate changing life experiences. This is why we associate age with wisdom and greater self-awareness because you’re able to discern between what makes it easier for you to grasp a concept and what impedes the process. As an adult, you know more about your needs than most youngsters do. This gives you the advantage of knowing which technique works best for you in training your mind for a new language.

Experiential

As you age, you also gather more knowledge of the world and people living in it. This gives you greater experiential wisdom to make connections between what you’re learning and how that applies to reality. This is particularly helpful for those who are struggling to understand a foreign language. These associations can be based on your pre-conditioned notions of people, places and emotions or be entirely unique and personal. Each language also operates on a distinct cultural structure and its underpinnings which must also be taken into account. A child is incapable of understanding these complexities as best as an adult.

Witty Learning is a language learning center that offers language classes for people in Dubai. You can also try out other programs that they offer such as adult classes, homeschooling support and test prep for SATs and other exams.

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Top Ways Poetry Can Boost Children’s Literacy

When it comes to teaching poetry in schools or other educational institutes, teachers take two vastly different approaches. There are some that welcome it and others that don’t wish to include it as part of the curriculum. For the second group, the reasons for excluding poetry usually include not viewing it as beneficial for children.

According to HuffPost, poetry is noted to boost creativity, language development, writing skills, creative language usage, and vocabulary. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the ways in which poetry is able to boost children’s literacy.

Improve Speaking, Reading, and Listening Skills

A common feature found in almost all poetry classrooms is that participants are required to read the poems aloud. When children hear poems being read, they learn to listen to different words and try to understand what they mean together – enhancing their listening skills.

Initially, having different sentences rhyme together can be a bit difficult. However, the process is what accustoms children to repeated reading and sentence structure. The child’s brain attempts to connect the dots when they hear or speak poems.

Often, teachers ask children to visualize what they’ve written. This forces them to make sense of different ideas and helps in the development of a creative mind.

Develop a Love of Reading

As children read different material, it exposes them to a variety of texts and writing styles. Reading books can be a bit challenging for children that struggle with grammar or difficult words. Poetry, on the other hand, is different. It requires the reader to visualize and the rhyming pattern is a unique ingredient that makes poetry fun to read and learn.

Children are highly curious and poems can encourage them to imagine and experience the world in a completely different way.

Improves Language and Vocabulary

Poetry equips teachers with a tool that can be used to break down and evaluate language in small parts. The rhyming effects teach children about different letter sounds and phonics. Poetry is also effective for teaching numerous grammar skills, parts of speech, and sentence structure. For children who may be struggling with grammar, poetry can be a massive help!

Poetry also builds vocabulary as children get to hear new words they haven’t heard before. Reading out a poem of the week and asking the kids to identify new words or words that sound similar proves effective in this regard.

Children who are exposed to poetry have better language skills than those that haven’t had any exposure. Witty learning is an educational institute that provides a number of beneficial courses for both children and adults in Dubai which also includes poetry classes. The following is a list of the courses that they offer for the year 2019:

Young Entrepreneur Business Camp (14th July)

Summer Camp for Children (14th July)  

Free Arabic classes (1st June)

Coding classes (Already started, until 6th July)

Poetry classes (Coming soon)

Summer Arabic immersion programs for adults (Starting 28th July)

Contact them today for more information!

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You’re Never too Old to Learn: The Value of Learning New Languages

Source: Freepik

There's no cap set on the best age to learn. As humans, we learn something every day; from the people, we meet to our experiences and from our mistakes. This means we’re capable of learning irrespective of our age or the stage of life we’re at.

But why learn a new language?

Learning a new language is exciting, fulfilling, and has many benefits. Some of the benefits are listed below:

You can explore a new culture

Learning a new language means learning a new culture. When you start understanding a language, you also understand its music, poetry, and history; all of which are a great way to learn about a culture. You can make new friends who speak that language and learn more about their culture.

Plus, you’ll no longer have to rely on subtitles or dubbing! You can enjoy movies and dramas in their purest form.

Increases your employability

Businesses have become global and are dealing with clients from different countries. To communicate with clients effectively, companies are looking for people who can speak multiple languages. Being multilingual is a valuable addition to your CV.

So, let’s say you get shortlisted for a job with two other candidates with similar credentials. But you speak three languages while others speak only one. There are high chances that you’ll get the job because you have a competitive edge here.

It keeps your mind healthy

Yes, you read it right! A study showed that learning a new language decreases the chances of Alzheimer’s. If you’re fluent in more than one language, your mind stays active, which prevents it from memory loss.

According to Gulf News, the prevalence of Alzheimer's will rise by 600% by 2030. Isn’t learning a language a fun way to protect yourself from the disease?

It makes traveling fun and affordable

Language is one of the biggest challenges for travelers. Every time you go to a new country, it takes a while to figure out the public transport, restaurants, and places to visit if you don’t speak the language. Taxi drivers can rip you off because you won’t understand what they’re saying. You can end up eating at horrible restaurants giving you a bad impression of the local cuisine.

 Imagine, if you knew the native language, how fun that’d be? You can interact with the local people and learn about their culture. You can ask directions when you forget your way. You can read the menu and order what you like. And good luck to taxi drivers trying to fool you! You’re a pro at their language now, so you know what they’re talking about.

Makes you more confident

Learning something new makes you more confident in your capabilities. When you learn a new language, you’re stepping out of your comfort zone. You’ll make mistakes, and you’ll mispronounce words, at times. But when you’ve finally learned the language, you’ll get the sense of accomplishment. You can boast about it proudly in front of friends and family because you’ve achieved something extraordinary in your life.

Ready to learn a new language and embrace all the exciting things that come with it? Witty Learning offers Spanish, English, and Arabic language classes for adults in Dubai. Contact them at (+971) 4 557 9008 and find out more about the fun language classes they offer!

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Psychological Benefits of Bilingualism for Young Brains

What sets humans apart from animals? It’s our ability to communicate via language. So, just imagine if speaking one language has given us superiority over the entire animal kingdom; what the psychological competence would be of people who can speak more than one language!

In fact, according to a review carried out by the National Education Association of America, people who learn a second language at an early age are mentally and intellectually more sound than the average Joe speaking just one language.

So what are the psychological benefits of bilingualism anyway?

The Power of Rhetoric

Young minds that have a command over two or more languages hold the power of rhetoric; this means they can more conveniently put their point across and convince people to their cause. They can do this because they have better and wider understanding and exposure to figures of speech and in general more words than someone who can only communicate in one language.

Communication = Confidence

When a child can communicate their feelings and emotions in more words, it brings them on the same intellectual level as their adult counterparts. This boosts their self-esteem and gives them the confidence to reach out to people they normally wouldn’t.

The Cognitive Switch

If you can speak and understand two languages, you would be familiar with the mental switch that between the two languages and how flexible it is that happens when you’re trying to understand concepts. This is an indication of how sharp your brain and cognitive ability is that you can easily swift between entire languages to make sense of things around you.

Bigger Brain!

Believe it or not, but learning a second language can actually increase the size of your brain! Well, almost. It actually increases the size of your language centers and the hippocampus, this subsequently helps you store and retrieve concepts and memories and help you remember better!

Moreover, it creates for faster blood flow in your brain which helps you think faster and take spontaneous decisions!

Learning a new language is a rite of passage that everyone should go through and the younger you are the better! This is because young minds have a lot more potential than adult brains that are burdened with other responsibilities. So learn a new language today! Head over to one of Dubai’s leading language learning centers, Witty Learning and enroll in any of their language programs to improve your cognitive skills!

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The Rising Demand for Coding Skills in the UAE Job Market

The UAE is known for its love of technology and innovation. In recent years, the country has become a center-point for emerging digital transformations. Its most famous city, Dubai, is committed to becoming a hub for digital financial inclusion. All of this includes copious amounts of data that needs to be mined, accurately analyzed and improved upon.

The Big Data boom in the UAE is now spurring the growth of numerous data analysts, programmers and coding professionals in the region. We anticipate that learning how to code will eventually become an important skill for anyone who wishes to break into the UAE job market. Here are three reasons why we think so.

1. The More You Know

Knowing how to code is considered a form of technical literacy. After all, coding is how we create all these amazing software and web apps that live in our smartphones.

If you know how to read codes, you’ll be able to harness the power of technology unlike your non-coding counterparts ever can. The coding insight will help you understand the structure of new tools, how they work and how they can be used to make work more efficient. Plus, you’ll be ten steps ahead of your peers in the workplace.

Tech-giants like Facebook and Google are always on the lookout for coding pros. So you can expect to receive those six digits in relatively less time than your non-coding peers. 2.  It’s The World We Live In

We’re living in a world that’s essentially made up of binary codes. Computers of all shapes and sizes are the bread and butter of our work. With so many of our financial transactions being made digitally, we can’t deny that coding is around us all the time.

Coding isn’t just used by professionals in the tech sector. Accountants trying to speed their way through a spreadsheet will need to know a little bit of coding to get through the menial tasks. 3. Machines Can’t Code

Though many jobs markets have died due to the introduction of automated machines, it’s only coders who decide what becomes automated and what doesn’t. This means that us humans will have to do the coding for all types of artificial intelligence until the day machines figure out how to auto-code. So yes, your job as an up and coming coding professional is safe and booming. If you’re looking to build your coding skills then get in touch with a top quality language center in Dubai. Call Witty Learner at (+971) 4 557 9008 or send in an email at info@wittylearning.ae to get personalized coding lessons, language classes, and more!

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For The Love of Books – How to Inculcate Good Reading Habits in Students

Other than using language to communicate thoughts and feelings, a rich linguistic environment also positively affects the cognitive and neurological systems of the brain.

Studies have found that learning a second language improves our cognitive abilities; especially the ones that help perform tasks more effectively.

Moreover, people that are bilingual or multilingual are often better at multitasking as their brain is trained to switch between two or more languages.

If you’re interested in mastering a foreign language, you’ll need to dedicate time and effort to increase your knowledge bank by reading books and consult dictionaries to improve your vocabulary.

Let’s take a look at the importance of reading and how it helps with learning a foreign language.

Start Small, and At the Basic Level

Don’t dive headfirst into reading complicated literature and newspapers in a foreign language. Reading children’s books and short stories is a great way to practice reading and developing a steady pace. There’s no shame in tackling the easier books first and then moving on to more difficult literature.

Read Things You’ve Already Read in Your Native Language

There are many famous and best-selling books available in different languages. Pick a translated copy of your favorite book and start your journey to better learn and understand a second language.

If you’re already familiar with the characters, story, and scenes, you’ll do better at keeping up with the translated version of the book.

Read Books with Their Accompanying Audiobooks

While reading helps with the grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary, listening to an audiobook simultaneously helps train your ears to the speed, accent, and cadence of the native speaker.

E-books and audio books are easily available online for your perusal. Select a story that interests you and play the audio version as you read the text.

Read Anything—And Everything—That Interests You!

Start by reading fiction or non-fiction books that interest you. If you read a boring book with complicated prose, you’ll be uninterested and find yourself discouraged to read further.

Keep a Dictionary Close

Underline words you don’t understand and keep a physical dictionary at hand or simply search for the meaning online.

Use a pencil to write down meanings in the margins or use a separate notebook for new words as you discover them.

Read Comic Books (Pictures Aren’t Cheating!)

Whether you’re learning Spanish or Arabic, go online and search for comic books by native authors or translated comic books.

With pictures and art adding to the context, you’ll understand the storyline better and not be bored with the book.

Join a Foreign Language Course

Facilitate your curiosity for learning a foreign language by enrolling in language classes.

If you’re on the lookout for the best language centers in Dubai, reach out to Witty Learning.

They offer language courses for adults and children alike that provide theoretical and practical learning of Arabic, English, Spanish, French, and Mandarin.

Get in touch with them at (+971) 4 557 9008 or drop an email at info@wittylearning.ae for more information on their language programs in Dubai.

[wittylearningblog]

Reasons Why Your Child May Be Falling Behind at School

When it comes to your children’s hopes and dreams, as parents, you want them to have it all. So if your child is falling behind in school for some reason, it can be really hard to sit back and watch them struggle. It can be even more frustrating if you don’t know what the cause is. A lot of children struggle with their schoolwork for many reasons. But the good news is they can be helped with some work and effort.

The reasons can be either physical or they can be psychological, circumstantial, or behavioral. But for a child, they will be beyond control and parents will have to step in and help them out. If your child is showing warning signs of falling behind at school, these could be the reasons.

Physical Reasons

Does your child complain of frequent headaches? Have you noticed them squinting when they’re trying to read something? It could be that they have visual difficulties and need glasses. Not being able to focus on what they’re reading can be a major reason holding them back from performing at school.

Behavioral or Learning Disabilities

A learning disability can be either physical or psychological and it can prevent your child from living up to their true potential at school.

One of the more common learning disabilities is dyslexia in which the child cannot process written information properly. For example, you can see letters and numbers written on a page as they are. But for a dyslexic kid, these can appear to be backward or all muddled up.

Those with behavioral or learning disabilities will also have trouble grasping new information and concepts, remembering new information, concentrating on something for long periods of time, and difficulty taking directions.

Situational Problems

A child will also have trouble performing well or even concentrating at school if there’s something else bothering them in their surrounding environment. It could be a case of divorcing parents, a home with frequent fighting, a school bully, or even the loss of a beloved pet.

They’re Too Smart for Their Grade

It could also be the other way around. Your child may be well ahead of their current school grade at school. It could be that they’re bored with the work being taught at school because they already know all of it so they don’t bother paying attention.

It can be fruitful to talk to your child or seek proper professional help to determine what the cause is so that you can get to remedying it.

If you’re looking for a homeschooling and language learning centre in Dubai, Witty Learning is the place to go! They offer private learning and language lessons at reasonable pricing.

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Home-School Heroes – 3 Successful People Who Were Homeschooled

For a long time, homeschooling was considered to be the only method of teaching, all the way until the 19th century.

And though schools have become quite the norm now, a reason why many parents are reverting back to the traditional methods of education is simply this; not only is it easier, it’s more effective and your child gets to learn more!

In fact, even with some noted figures, we’ve noticed this trend that they were homeschooled.

Don’t believe us? Here are three well-known personalities from the modern age who received their education at home!

¬ Venus and Serena Williams

The Williams sisters were homeschooled all the way from elementary to high school by their parents.

Whereas Serena Williams went on to play Tennis full-time (ranked World No. 1 in Singles 2002-2017, holds most Grand Slam Titles in singles, doubles, mixed doubles than all active players combined), Venus did the same but alongside maintained an interest in education.

And in 2015, received her ‘Bachelors of Science’ in Business Administration from Indiana University, all the while, maintaining her own position in the tennis world as a formidable champion.

¬ John Eccles

Perhaps you know him! A neurophysiologist, philosopher and winner of the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, John Eccles was homeschooled from the age of 12 by his mother, who was a former school teacher.

At age 17, Eccles was awarded a scholarship to the University of Melbourne where he went on to study medicine, and ultimately became a neuroscientist.

He graduated with first-class honors, was awarded the Rhodes scholarship to study at Oxford University, was awarded the Knight Bachelor, the Royal medal and was appointed a companion of the Order of Australia. In short, the man was a force to be reckoned with.

¬ Agatha Christie

Probably the most famous mystery novelist in the world, Agatha Christie was quite the woman, but as a child, she was so shy that she just couldn’t attend school. Because of this, Christie was homeschooled. This is what Christie credits for her creativity, since being homeschooled gave her the freedom to be more creative and artistic, since she probably had enough time, and just the right tutor to point her in the right direction.

Are You Interested in Homeschooling?

Homeschooling in the Middle East has become quite popular, especially in Dubai.

So if you’re interested, but don’t know where to start, why not contact an institute that can provide you with homeschooling support?

Witty Learning has an inclusive homeschooling program that can help homeschooling families improve their education level through interactive, fun ways.

For more information, contact Witty Learning at (+971) 4 557 9008 to learn all that homeschooling can offer for your child!

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Benefits of Being Multilingual | Infographic

Stand out

Opportunities

Increase your social circle

Brain power

Travel At Ease

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The Amazing Benefits of Being Multilingual

Despite being a successful multi-billionaire with a lucrative business, Bill Gates regrets that his business might have benefited even more had he not lacked multilingual capabilities. Mainly because from a business standpoint, being multilingual could have helped him connect with far more businesspeople.

Being multilingual or even bilingual for that matter is indeed an important skill, one that many educationalists have stressed on. Despite that, according to recent statistics, it is found that around 40 percent of the world is still monolingual.

Now, it’s not all doom and gloom though. As a globalized society, most of the world – around 43 percent – is bilingual, with 13 percent of the population being trilingual.

Yet, only 3 percent of the world is multilingual, with less than one percent being polyglot, which is someone who has complete fluency in more than 4 languages.

Now, even for the bi- and trilingual speakers out there, you may think ‘why should I bother being multilingual when I already know several languages?’

The answer is more straightforward than you think!

} It Presents You with More Lucrative Employment Opportunities

Think of the revenue a company would gain if they were able to market their products to a worldwide audience. By having a multilingual employee onboard, these businesses would be able to gain a substantial edge over their competitors and it would all be thanks to your language skills.

} It Allows You to Connect with the World

Especially if you were to work with a humanitarian organization! With you on board as a social worker or even a school teacher, you’d be able to help other communities, learning about their troubles and bridging the gap by basically diminishing the language barrier.

} It Helps You Travel

Even if you don’t have a college degree or experience, knowing different languages can still open doors in the professional world for you. You can travel to different countries and work as a tour guide or a translator or even teach your native language.

} It’s better for Your Mental Health

According to the British Council, your brain is more than capable of handling two languages at once. In fact, knowing more than one language can have positive effects on your brain’s structural and functional properties. It can also affect your brain’s efficiency and development, mainly of your brain’s core executive control system.

How to be a Multilingual!

If you’re an adult that’s interested in learning different languages such as Spanish, Mandarin or Arabic in Dubai, contact a reliable institute like Witty Learning.

Enroll yourself along with your children and attend of the best learning centers in Dubai and reap the benefits that being multilingual can offer!

[wittylearningblog]

Mastery Based Learning: Basic Principles

Mastery based learning is an approach to education quickly gaining popularity in academic institutes the world over. Though there are many who are well familiar with the benefits of this educational approach, some are still unclear about what mastery-based learning involves. Research and study conclusions often suggest that this form of teaching and learning is highly effective.

What is it Exactly

Simply put, mastery based learning is an education system where focus is placed on the teaching and learning of certain skills. The skills focused upon are those that may be deemed crucial to personal or academic success and progress. The entire teaching and assessing system is focus on the eventual honing and internalizing of taught skills and processes as well as their practical application.

Cutting it Down Further

There are certain principles that can be associated with mastery-based learning. These may be cut down as follows:

Communication of Expectations/Goals

Whatever is required from the students in such programs by way of academia is clearly and precisely conveyed to both the students as well as to their parents or guardians. Both short term and long term academic targets are elaborated upon to allow individuals to achieve said goals by means that best suit them.

Student Centered

Whether it is the personalization of lesson plans or the freedom students have to choose where they want to focus their learning efforts, this system is greatly student centered. Success of the system rests in the success and academic satisfaction of the student!

Separation of Criteria

There is no mixture between the criteria of academic learning and other skills including social, behavioral and those relating to personal management. Though other skills are also observed and assessed, they do not have any bearing on academic standing. Academic standing is measured by the ability to achieve preset goals and targets alone.

Goals not Percentiles

Another thing that stands out in this system is that performance is evaluated not comparatively but by the student’s individual ability to achieve certain set goals. Standards remain consistent across the board and success is associated with meeting said standards.

Room to Improve

This method does not work by culling those who seem like they can’t make the bare minimum from the system. Those who do not meet the standards are provided with support and additional guidance as well as an opportunity to improve upon their academic standing.

Winding Down

The above pointers are the bare basics of mastery-based learning. Those of you looking for Mathematics, Arabic, Science or other classes in Dubai where mastery-based learning is the prime educational paradigm followed, you’ve got some viable options!

Witty Learning offers students in the UAE a variety of courses and personalized classes including English, Arabic, Spanish and Mandarin language classes. They also offer home schooling support and courses for adult learners.  

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Top 10 Tips for Learning a New Language

Daydreaming at your cubicle about the big vacation you’ve been planning for over a year? We often tend to forget the language barriers, blinded by the Majorcan sunsets. The zeal for learning a new language before visiting/moving to a new country is surreal and provides motivation to actually go through with language classes.

Handfuls tend to naturally be inclined to the art of speaking in tongues. Here are a few ways to make sure you get your money’s worth since being bilingual is found to be correlated to better financial decisions (who knew!).

Quality over quantity

Focus on one language—be it Spanish or Arabic. Master that. If you take up more than one new language, together, you’re going to be overwhelmed. Study with an open mind, with understanding over rote learning.

Look up the most used words in that language

You’d be doing yourself a huge favour. Remember your SAT prep? How many of those words do you realistically use every day? Common words are your best friend and it makes sense.

Learn on the go

Download a translation dictionary or keep a pocket one on you.  Hear a word in the language you’re learning; look it up. The entire experience will compel you to remember the word.

Indulge in entertainment in the language you’re pursuing

It will take some time getting used to, but it’s a much more interactive way to learn; not to mention your attention won’t be swayed.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

When you learn a new word, enunciate and try to incorporate it in conversation or your internal monologue—all of us have one!

Revising as you wake up

Waking up with a refreshed mind means more room for exotic sounding Portuguese words. Make the most of that clear head space.

Don’t break momentum

Never skip a day of learning your five new words or revising the old ones. Think of it this way; why do we still remember the alphabet? Because of the number of times, it was repeated to and by us when we were little.

Listen to the language

Obvious right? Be mindful of the diction and emphasis on syllables in every word. We take it for granted that we will never sound like the guy in the patisserie in Paris but it’s only because we don’t listen attentively enough.

You’re going to make a fool of yourself

At least you will initially. You may end up asking someone for their typewriter when you mean to ask directions to your hotel.

Make conversation

If you’re surrounded by people who don’t speak the language then enroll in one of the language centres in Dubai and make the most of conversing with people who know what they are saying.

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Why Traditional Schooling Fails to Prepare Students for the Modern Workplace

The traditional schooling system has been criticized heavily for failing to prepare students for the real world. The traditional schooling system may have been sufficient in the past but the modern workplace is very different to what it used to be.

Earlier, recruiters would make their way to top institutions in search for the best students but today recruiters are looking past school grades. They are looking for well-rounded, knowledgeable students who are ready to build new skills, work collaboratively with co-workers and show creativity – all of which the current educational system fails to do.

Let’s take a look at the specific areas where traditional schooling is lacking:

It promotes competition instead of collaboration:

In many parts of the world, students are pitted against each other as students are ranked based on their test scores. When students are given assignments, they are reluctant to help each other out of fear that their peers may score higher.

Carrying this competitive mindset into the workplace is toxic. In a company, all employees should have a common goal – to improve the company’s performance. In a professional setting, internal competition is considered a waste of resources and an obstruction to progress.

Students need to learn how to work collaboratively with their peers. They need to understand how to resolve conflicts, divide workloads, compromise, negotiate, etc. – all important skills for the real world.

Rote memorization vs Critical-thinking:

One of the most criticized aspects of the traditional schooling system is that it tests students on memorization skills rather than their critical thinking abilities. The current education system appears to confuse learning with a student’s ability to hold information in their minds.

Just think of how long you retain information after you’ve given a test. It probably doesn’t stick around for more than a week because you haven’t actually given the information a second thought, you just temporarily imprinted it in your mind.

Educational systems that incorporate application-based learning and promote critical-thinking allow the students to better understand concepts and apply them to real situations – the same way it needs to be applied once they begin their careers.

Limits creativity

Traditional schooling systems teach student that there’s always a right and wrong answer; this isn’t always the case though. Students should be able to look at a problem from different perspectives. Companies like Google do not ask potential candidates questions out of an engineering textbook, they ask them open-answer questions like “how many golf balls can you fit into a bus?” to test their creativity instead.

Just because a student provided an answer that wasn’t in the textbook or that they solved a math problem using a method that wasn’t taught in class, doesn’t mean their answers are incorrect.

Learning should be self-directed

School and teachers can only teach you so much. Once you join a workplace, you’re on your own. Fresh graduates can’t expect to know everything on their first month of work. At some point they will need to teach themselves.

Students that are heavily reliant on their teachers usually don’t have the abilities to keep up with the dynamic workplace and emerging technology and trends.

To fix the shortcomings of the traditional schooling system, certain educational institutions have decided to offer alternative teaching methods.

Witty Learning is an educational institution based in Dubai that incorporates mastery-based learning in its programs. Mastery-based learning requires students to show complete proficiency in a subject before progressing to advanced levels. According to Mastery Learning there is no ‘weak student’ as all students are able to become achievers.

Witty Learning offers homeschooling support programs, educational support programs, language classes and more. Contact them today for more information.

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5 Good Reasons to Take up Poetry Classes

Poetry has its own way with words; poets can express their opinions on a topic using beautiful metaphors and powerful verbiage that are both profound and inspiring. It is a universal way to express feelings and thoughts, philosophically, and provide freedom of expression that a 3-page essay fails to deliver.

In addition to this, poetry opens door for many other learning avenues.

Shortest Thing Ye Will Ever Witness

Poetry explains its subject and purpose in a short and crisp manner. This reduces reading time. Another important writing lesson that you learn from poetry is to express yourself in fewer words. You can explain the weather in a paragraph, but describing it in a single line is a talent one needs to learn.

Improves Thy Vocabulary

If you suffer from abulia (loss of will power) and never-ending deliberation when you read a poem, it’s a good sign.

You are introduced to new writing style and vocabulary with every new poem you read.

You or your child may not be competing in a spelling bee, but command on vocabulary brings more character to your speech and writing style.

Ye Will Learn Rhythm

It’s easier for children to read poetry that rhyme; children can pronounce words better and acquaint themselves with learning through sounds.  

Reciting poetry develops phonemics skills. You can emphasize different sounds, learn new ways to control your pitch and tone during recitation, and get a better grasp on English language.  

Improve Thy Memory

Memorizing a poem is easy, and reciting it without any aid is an ability that can impress an audience anywhere.

Apart from this, poetry improves memorization by linking sounds to words. Well, that’s not it; with improved memory and exposure to multi-culture literature, you can improve your ability to learn new languages.

Thy Shall Learn To Express Yourself

Poetry has been used as a platform to express thoughts and feelings for centuries. People forced into silence by the society used poetry as an expression of their emotions and thoughts. By reading and writing poetry, you will explore new and creative ways to express yourself.

Awaken the poet/poetess in you with the help of Witty Learning Institute. They are one of the best language centers in Dubai, offering personalized learning and poetry classes to children and adults.

Call (+971) 55 553 0784 to avail homeschooling support, adult classes, test preparation services, language programs, and enrichment programs.