Price is what you pay; value is what you get.

12/02/2016- What a beautiful sight! How many tutors are getting paid before services are rendered and have students agree to a 24-hour cancellation policy? Only those that run themselves properly as a business and in these parts that is few and far between.

Students, parents, and decision makers of companies and organizations:

Don't put the training of you, your family, and your organization in the hands of an amateur. Work with the trailblazing organization that focuses on value not price. If you are paying cheaply, you are getting what you pay for!! As Warren Buffett says it better than no other, "Price is what you pay; value is what you get."

What is a Descriptive Essay?

Purdue OWL 


The descriptive essay is a genre of essay that asks the student to describe an object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation, etc. This genre encourages the student’s ability to create a written account of a particular experience. What is more, this genre allows for a great deal of artistic freedom (the goal of which is to paint an image that is vivid and moving in the mind of the reader). 

One might benefit from keeping in mind this simple maxim: If the reader is unable to clearly form an impression of the thing that you are describing, try, try again! 

Here are some guidelines for writing a descriptive essay: 

Take time to brainstorm 

If your instructor asks you to describe your favorite food, make sure that you jot down some ideas before you begin describing it. For instance, if you choose pizza, you might start by writing down a few words: sauce, cheese, crust, pepperoni, sausage, spices, hot, melted, etc. Once you have written down some words, you can begin by compiling descriptive lists for each one. 

Use clear and concise language. 

This means that words are chosen carefully, particularly for their relevancy in relation to that which you are intending to describe. 

Choose vivid language. 

Why use ‘horse’ when you can choose ‘stallion’? Why not use ‘tempestuous’ instead of ‘violent’? Or why not ‘miserly’ in place of ‘cheap’? Such choices form a firmer image in the mind of the reader and often times offer nuanced meanings that serve better one’s purpose. 

Use your senses! 

Remember, if you are describing something, you need to be appealing to the senses of the reader. Explain how the thing smelled, felt, sounded, tasted, or looked. Embellish the moment with senses. 

What were you thinking?! 

If you can describe emotions or feelings related to your topic, you will connect with the reader on a deeper level. Many have felt crushing loss in their lives, or ecstatic joy, or mild complacency. Tap into this emotional reservoir in order to achieve your full descriptive potential. 

Leave the reader with a clear impression. 

One of your goals is to evoke a strong sense of familiarity and appreciation in the reader. If your reader can walk away from the essay craving the very pizza you just described, you are on your way to writing effective descriptive essays. 

Be organized! 

It is easy to fall into an incoherent rambling of emotions and senses when writing a descriptive essay. However, you must strive to present an organized and logical description if the reader is to come away from the essay with a cogent sense of what it is you are attempting to describe.

Japanese Language- Message from a satisfied adult language learner:

Japanese Language- Message from a satisfied adult language learner:

先生のレッスンに関してですが、仕事上、日常で上手く表現できなかった点などを、レッスンに取り入れ、単語・表現力向上を中心にし、センテンスを作る練習では単語の理解度とレスポンス速度の向上などが、得られていると感じてます。

特に改良が必要な点は現状ありません。希望していたレッスンに今までで一番近いです(日本でのレッスンも含めて)。レベルが上がった段階でレッスン内容のアレンジが必要になったらその時相談させてください。

ありがとうございます。

Mr. K, An engineer at a supplier to Honda located in Dublin, Ohio.

First Annual CEU Awards

11/27/2016- (Columbus, OH)

Two Birds One Stone Learning, LLC is thankful for the committed students that we have had the pleasure to serve over the course of 2016. Twelve working expats and/or trailing spouses qualified for our first annual Continued Educational Units (CEUs) Program in the areas of:

Skills Enhanced English Training, 
Survival English, and 
Test Preparation. 

Qualification for this programs was to have been a student for at least six months of 2016 and maintained attendance of at least three times a month and showing continuous improvement in Oral and/or Written English.

Best Regards,

ダニエル・ストーン
Founder and Principal Consultant
Two Birds One Stone Learning, LLC
3700 Riverside Drive, #21861
Columbus, OH  43221
Web:  www.onestonelearning.com
Facebook-  https://www.facebook.com/twobirdsonestonelearning/

Daniel J. Stone, MBA

Office:  614-219-9757

****A fusion between Quality Life Enhancement and Professional Enrichment through Language Training**** 

Two Birds One Stone Learning is a language training boutique that specializes in tutor dispatching to individuals, families, and organizations of the expatriate and business communities of Columbus, OH. 

Top 10 problems Adult Language Learners have in the Workplace

Question to Workplace Supervisors-  What sort of communication problems does your non-English speaking team have in the Workplace?

Here’s what we have identified from past and current clients:

Background:  Information was gathered from a group of eight language learners from China and Africa working at a retail distribution center, auto parts supplier, and restaurants during the Summer of 2015.

1. Sometimes I don't understand what the supervisor says.  The supervisor speaks too fast.  Example:  "Can you find/bring me...."
2. Conversation changes directions without me knowing.  Example:  Appropriate use of "To change the subject..."  
3. Calling something by more than one name.  Example:  Shrink-wrap vs. Wrap  
4. Quantifying orders/supplies and preparing orders.  Reconciliation with the purchase order.
5. Reporting maintenance issues.
6. Understanding slang/inappropriate English.
7. Being given multiple tasks at one time verbally.
8. Communicating via two-way radio.  Example:  "Copy that."
9. Doing something step-by-step and having to improvise or adlib due to missing parts/supplies or time constraints.
10. Receiving directions (location).  

Daniel J. Stone, MBA
Founder and Principal Consultant
Two Birds One Stone Learning, LLC
3700 Riverside Drive, #21861
Columbus, OH  43221

E-mail-  daniel.stone@onestonelearning.com
Web-  www.onestonelearning.com
Facebook-  https://www.facebook.com/twobirdsonestonelearning/

****A fusion between Quality Life Enhancement and Professional Enrichment through Language Training**** 

Two Birds One Stone Learning is a language training boutique that specializes in tutor dispatching to individuals, families, and organizations of the expatriate and business communities of Columbus, OH.  

‘2-Pass’ Technique

The ‘2-Pass’ Technique is good for language test takers that are dealing with words that they do not fully understand or have no clue to their meaning.  For example. if the student does not know the key words, there is little they can do about it during the test so they shouldn’t waste time.

It is recommended for handling this challenge efficiently by deploying the ‘2-Pass’ technique.  The way it works is on the first pass, the student goes through quickly answering all the questions that they find easy.  The rule of thumb is that if they don’t know the answer within ten seconds, they skip to the next question. 

On the second pass, the student goes back to the more difficult questions left blank. If they still aren’t sure of the correct answer after 30 seconds they should make an educated guess and move on. 

By using the '2-Pass" Technique, it ensures that language test takers don’t get stuck on the more challenging questions and end up wasting a lot of time.

Inference, Previewing and Making Predictions

What is inference? 

The act of reasoning from factual knowledge or evidence.

For example, a student's clothes were wet when he came to Daniel Hall this morning.

What can we infer from this example?

A- This student took a swim in the pond in front on the library.
B- This student took a shower with his clothes on.
C- This student took the bus to school and was splashed with a water puddle as a passing truck drove by his bus stop.

By using reasoning and since we know that this student takes the bus to school, we can infer that "C" is the correct answer. Furthermore, choices "A" and "B" are very strange.

Previewing and Making Predictions

What is previewing?
Looking for information before your read. This can be the title, subtitle, pictures or other bits of information.

What is making predictions?
Making guesses about a reading. We do this to keep engaged in the reading.

My Favorite Memory from JET- Daniel Stone, Assistant Language Teacher, Kawaguchi BOE, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

【My Favorite Memory from JET】#3

https://www.facebook.com/cgj.detroit/

We are posting a series of stories from the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program Alumni. The Alumni will feature some of their favorite experiences in Japan. This week we will feature Daniel Stone:

"My favorite experience with JET occurred on my second year. It was a cool, clear day in October in Saitama at one of the biggest elementary schools in our school district. All of the stars had aligned as I worked really hard my first year to improve my Japanese since at the elementary schools, there weren't many, if any teacher that knew English which was different at the junior high schools with the Japanese Teacher of English. I also worked really hard developing a "bag of tricks" and improving my conditioning since lessons at the elementary schools required a lot of energy and non-textbook material and games.

On this particular day in October, I was really connecting with a group of 2nd graders. Unfortunately, it was my last day, but I was going to return the following January. I bid farewell and told the students, "See you next January!" Mata, Tsugi no ichi gatsu, ne. With that, the students all smiled and cheered and began to chant over and over, Tsugi no ichi gatsu!!

I remember walking back to the nearby train station and saying to myself, "How many people are getting this chance? I remembered my days of working long and hard hours a few prefectures away on the American aircraft carrier, Independence, my first time to Japan and I remembered my days stuck in the "rat race" in LA. I thought to myself how I could be stuck in those bad situations but I was blessed to have the good fortune of being able to be back in Japan putting a smile of children's faces."

For more information about JET, please visit https://jetprogramusa.org/
Official JET Program USA

General Test Taking Tips regarding the TOEIC Exam- Reading Section

The Test of English for International Communications (TOEIC) will be changing in May 2016.  While this may be the case, there are many things regarding this test that will remain the same.  Below are some general test taking tips for this examination regarding if you take the test before or after May 2016:

1. There is no way around the fact that unless a student knows a lot of English, they can't score highly on the TOEIC test.  A good way to know if a student is ready or not for the exam is for the student to partake in a structured training program either in a class or on a one on one basis.  If the student misses most of the instruction simply because the instruction is give in English instead of their native language, they should wait to take the test till their English has improved.
2. A prerequisite to taking the TOEIC exam is for the test taker to be at a minimum at the upper beginner/lower intermediate level AND to receive instruction in English for a minimal score of 500.
3. The reading section demands the critical skill of time management.  This is managed by becoming proficient with the reading techniques of scanning and skimming.  Unlike the Listening Section, test takers can take Parts 5, 6, and 7 in various orders in an effort to manage the clock.
4. We suggest that students that are weak in the area of vocabulary to obtain a copy of the "Essential Words" for the TOEIC.  With this manual as your guide, start a word journal  and consistently find words that you don't know that are essential for success on the TOEIC and add to your word journal.
5. The "Essential Words" for the TOEIC is also good for the determining parts of speech due to the essential words being broken down in their word families.  
6. Are you able to look at a practice test problem and determine what "sounds" right?  If so, you are ahead of the curve and will be doing yourself a favor when it comes to time management.  Many have to look at the choices and eliminate based on the blank's position in the sentence or correctly choosing the right vocabulary word.
7.  If the student does not know the key words, there is little they can do about it during the test so they shouldn’t waste time.  One recommended approach for handling this part efficiently is called the ‘2-Pass’ technique.  
8. On the first pass the student goes through quickly answering all the questions they find easy. If they don’t know the answer within ten seconds, they skip to the next question. On the second pass, the student goes back to the more difficult questions left blank. If they still aren’t sure of the correct answer after 30 seconds they should guess and move on. This technique ensures that students don’t get stuck on the more challenging questions and end up wasting a lot of time.
9. The skimming reading technique is used in parts 5 and 6.  To skim is to read quickly and superficially, in order to pick up the important or significant details.
10. The scanning reading technique is used in part 7.   To scan is to look for specific information in the various targets in part 7.  The best technique for getting through this is to use PSRA.  This is to Predict what the target will be and how many questions, Scan the target by reading the questions and four possible answers before reading the target, Read around the scanned area if necessary, and the selecting your answer and moving on.  The whole PSRA process should take no more than 30 seconds per problem.  Two targets will have five problems and one target sets will have three problems.  If time management is a challenge, we suggest that you do Part 7 first.  

For more information and service request, contact Daniel Stone at daniel.stone@onestonelearning.com

May 2016- The format of the TOEIC Test will change (ENGLISH Explanation)

       Background-  More authentic communication is needed according to Educational Testing Service (ETS).  The degree of difficulty and quality of tests will stay the same and the points are not changing.   

       Other factors regarding the new format that will not change are as the following:

•     The amount of time to solve listening problems (100 questions, 45 minutes) and reading problems (100 question, 75 minutes) 
•   Test takers will need to solve 200 questions in two hours and there will be no breaks during this time.
•   The listening section will have all problems answered after listening to the conversation.
•   The reading section, will have have the test taker read the sample writing and answer.
•   Listening ranges between 5 to 495 points.  Reading ranges between 5 to 495 points.  Total is 10 to 990 points.  Scoring will be counted by 5.  For example, 450, 455, 460, 465, etc.
•   Test is all in English with the format of multiple choice.  
•   No translation will be done by student.          
•   American, British, Canadian, and Australian English is used.  

         Things to prepare for that are different for the new version are as the following:

•       New communication style such as texting, instant messaging, and multiple people chatting (3 or more).

•  In particular, test takers will focus on the use of multiple information sources and choose the right answer. 

Ex-  New version of Part 2, Question-Response-  Some of these problems will have a map or graph and test taker listens to the conversation and answer the questions.

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·        ·         Listening Change Points-  The number of problems have been reduced for Parts 1 & 2, but,  additional problems have been added for Part 3.  Also for Part 3, the conversations are shorter but there is more talking and there are problems using three people talking.  Furthermore, elision, the sound or syllable when speaking, (gonna=going to) and commonly used fragment sentences are used as well.

·         Parts 3 and 4 have listening conversations where a picture/drawing is linked to the conversation.  Test takers are to listen to the conversations and guess the intention.

·         Reading Change Points-  Part 5 will be reduced, but, Part 6 questions will be increased to four questions.  Questions that will confirm if the student is understanding the overall confirmation of a document will be added.  For example, choose the most appropriate sentence type of questions will be added.   Part 7 will have test taker choose the most appropriate place to add the sentence.  These kind of problems will be added.  There will be targets where texting, Instant Messaging, Online chatting with multiple people.  For example, the following questions will be added-  Read 3 related paragraphs and answer.  More questions will be added for reading.  Lastly, questions that will ask what is the intention of the writer will be added.

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