Boost Productivity With The Right Keyboard Layout

Boost Productivity With The Right Keyboard Layout IT For Beginners: How To Switch Your Keyboard To QWERTY? ChaptersHow To Recognise A QWERTY KeyboardWhy Does The Keyboard Layout Matter?The Reason QWERTY Was Invented?How To Switch Your Keyboard To QWERTY In Windows?How To Switch Your Keyboard To QWERTY On MAC?How To Switch Your Keyboard Layout  To QWERTY On A Smart Phone?You may not realise that the humble keyboard that we all type on every day has a history and isn't the same for everyone. Keyboard layouts are designed to make it easier and more efficient for the computer user to input their text and prompts. This efficiency is based on the language that they are typing. But with so many different languages worldwide, computer keyboards had to adapt too.IT for beginners is essential because it allows you to learn about the differences between technology and for you to know the things that you need to learn. For example, the keyboard that you are using if you have a keyboard that has been made in the UK is called a QWERTY keyboard. Don't worry I won't ask you to repeat it, but it is somet hing that you should learn to recognise.You should also know that there are many different keyboard layouts around the world. Of which QWERTY is just one. While QWERTY is one of the most popular layouts, there are also popular layouts such as:AZERTY: The most distinctive difference the number keys appear on the letter keys and are activated with the shift key. Used commonly in French-speaking countries.QWERTZ: The most distinctive difference is some keys have been replaced by characters such as  Ã„, Ö, ß. Used commonly in some part of eastern Europe Like Switzerland and GermanyQÃœERTY: The most distinctive difference is W is not on the keyboard at and letters are moved around. Used commonly in countries like Iran and TurkeyÄWERTY: The most distinctive difference is C, Q, V, and X  are not available on the keyboard. Used commonly in countries like Turkmenistan and central AsiaThese layouts are all quite similar to QWERTY with minor changes such as changes in key positions, added special characters and of course some missing keys. However, when you are used to your layout, these minor changes can cause a big headache.Take a screenshot of the problem and ask for help. Photo Source: Unsplashlanguage.’Next, Go to ‘Region language.’ click English in the list of languages to open its menu.You should see the option to add a keyboard here. Make sure you click it and check that it is installed.Exiting this area, click the language again and this time activate the ‘set as default’ option. The last step is to restart your machine, and your keyboard layout should be back to QWERTY.* Please note that this was for windows 10 OS, The name or placements of things may be slightly different depending on the version of your software.How To Switch Your Keyboard To QWERTY On MAC?Click on the Apple icon. Located in the top left of the screenScroll to and click system preferences in the menu list.When the box opens, go to the keyboard optionYou will now see 4 options; keyboard, text, shortcuts and input sourcesGo to Input sourcesClick the + button and add the keyboard layout that you want.QWERTY will be the keyboard for the UK.Close the box, and your Keyboard layout should have appropriately updated.Changing the layout on an Apple device. Photo Source: UnsplashHow To Switch Your Keyboard Layout  To QWERTY On A Smart Phone?In the past, it didn't matter much about what layouts you had on your phone. But as technology gets smarter, and tech gets smaller. It is now essential to have a good keyboard for your phone and tablet devices.This allows you to work on the go, reply to emails even edit reports. The portability of the smartphone means that you don't just want to optimise your pc for the keyboard layout, but you want to optimise your phone as well.Keyboard Layout On An Iphone And IpadChanging the layout on an Apple device is relatively easy, keep in mind that the operating system version of your device may change the way that this is done. Foll ow these steps:Go to your setting app. (Black and grey bike wheel  icon)Scroll down and go to the general tab.Now scroll down to reach the ‘keyboard’ section. Now tap the keyboard menu itemYou will see the list of installed Keyboards on your device.Click your current setting which shows as a language. In this case, it should be English.Click on to the language to open up your keyboard options.You will now see some keyboard layoutsSelect QWERTYExit and your keyboard will be updatedKeyboard Layout On AndroidOn Android there are many different versions available from kit kat to Oreo, each has a slightly different approach to changing your keyboard, but these steps should be similar enough for you to find your way.Go to  the settings area (gear icon)Scroll down to the systems area (icon of a circle with an ‘i’ inside).Go to the Languages and input area. (The icon is a circle with horizontal and vertical lines going through it. )Now the second entry is keyboards, click virtual keyboard.You will see the active keyboardsYou can click one of the options, and you will be able to select QWERTY from thereYou can also click the + symbol and activate a new keyboard.Writing on digital devices is only made possible because of keyboards, having them set up correctly and optimised for your use will make your life much more comfortable and help to you achieve whatever outputs you have in mind. If you found this useful, why not check out our blog on Learning to use your PC.

Basic Probability - Online Math Tutoring

Basic Probability - Online Math Tutoring Probability is the chance that something will happen; there are two kinds of probability, theoretical and experimental. Experimental probability = numberofeventoccurences / (Total number of trials) Theoretical probability = (Number of favourable outcomes) / (Total number of outcomes) Example 1: Which of the following is an experiment? Tossing a coin Rolling a single 6 sided die Choosing a ball from a jar All of the above Answer: d Example 2: A number from 1 to 13 is chosen at random. What is the probability that the selected number is a prime number? Answer: Prime numbers from 1 to 13 are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13. Number of prime numbers = 6 Probability of selecting a prime number = 613 Example 3: What is the probability of drawing a red colored ace from a set of cards ? Answer: Total number of cards in a set = 52 Total number of red colored cards = 13 x 2 = 26 Number of aces in red colored cards = 2 probability of drawing an ace from a red colored card = 226 = 113

4 Study Tips When Youre Completely Stuck in a Rut

4 Study Tips When Youre Completely Stuck in a Rut Suzy S. Feeling burned out? Reset your brain with these helpful study tips from Chicago, IL tutor Hilary B... Do you ever feel like your brain is in a rut? It’s happened to all of us maybe there are a set of vocabulary words you just can’t seem to memorize, or a new concept you understand in theory but can’t seem to put into practice. Maybe you just don’t feel quite as sharp as you usually do. But one thing is certain feeling frustrated and angry isn’t going to help you learn anything. In fact, it’s probably hindering you. Here are four study tips to help boost your learning and get your brain out of its rut: 1. Pay attention to your state The first thing I always ask my students when they tell me they are having difficulty with focus, memorization, or comprehension is whether they drink caffeine. I ask this question because state-dependent learning is a real thing, and every student should be using it to their advantage. The principal behind state-dependent learning is simple: our brain absorbs and processes information differently depending on its state. There are a myriad of factors that can go into your brains state. Of course, there are the obvious factors like caffeine and alcohol, but there are also other factors like the music you are listening to or how recently youve had a meal. The point is to identify the state factors that help you learn, and to recreate them. So if you learn best when you are listening to the Spice Girls and drinking a cup of Earl Grey, then go for it! 2. Eat a good meal Weve all grown up hearing it: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And as much as we hate to admit it, our mothers were right on this one. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but the other meals are important too. If you find youre stuck on something, go make yourself a well-rounded meal (leafy greens included). Just the act of getting up from your desk to do something healthy will reset your brain, and a hearty, healthy meal will keep your brain going a lot longer than sheer willpower. 3. Put away the flashcards Sometimes the oldies are not always the goodies, and in the case of memorization this is definitely the case. There are many different methods for memorizing bits of information like dates, places, and vocabulary that dont involve hunkering down with a stack of index cards. Try creating a mental map of the information you need to remember visualize each bit of information as corresponding to a detail about a place you know well, like your bedroom. If that doesnt work, try processing the information differently by drawing it into a picture or incorporating it into a song. 4. Give up but make a plan for tomorrow Sometimes your brain just isnt going to do what you want it to do, no matter how many study tips and tricks you try. Maybe you didnt get quite enough sleep last night or the neighbors dog wont stop barking. Maybe you just arent feeling sharp or motivated. If you feel like youve tried everything and it still isnt clicking for you, then get up from your desk and go do something else. I guarantee using your time productively will ultimately feel better than tearing your hair out over difficulty focusing. If you need to give up for the night, then give up for the night. But always make a plan to start fresh in the morning. Decide on a time and a place you are going to pick things back up and stick to it that way you can really relax during the time between deciding to do something else and picking up where you left off. After all, sometimes you just need to let your brain do its thing. Hilary B. teaches study skills, college admissions, and essay writing in Chicago, IL. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from  Sarah Lawrence College and her  Master of Arts in Religion and Literature  from the University of Chicago. Hilary specializes in tutoring those who struggle with mild to severe ADD, ADHD, and similar academic and intellectual challenges. Learn more about Hilary here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo  by  CollegeDegrees360

Food Groups Fruits and Vegetables

Food Groups Fruits and Vegetables Why are Fruit and Vegetables So Good for Us? ChaptersFruitVegetablesThe Best Way to Consume Fruit and VegetablesAs children, most of us can remember sitting down to dinner with a side of greens and being told that eating them would make us big and strong. Who can’t remember being told that eating carrots would help us to see in the dark?Children tend to have a love-hate relationship when it comes to eating fruit and vegetables and the sweeter the fruit or neutral tasting the vegetable, the easier it is for them to consider eating them. But, as our taste buds begin to mature, so do our love for all kinds of foods the earth has to offer.As adults, we start to enjoy the different tastes and variety that these natural foods provide as well as understand the importance of eating them. As with many things, we realise our parents were right all along. Fruit and veggies are the building block to a healthy diet.The Eatwell Guide has a huge section dedicated to these natural foods. The remnants of the government’s Five-a-day campaign launched back in 2003 is still seen today.Find out about the five food groups here.The push to consume more fruit and vegetables is a worthy one. These natural foods provide us with so many vitamins and minerals that help our bodies thrive. They are pivotal to our health and our body’s organs and processes.Children are given reasons to eat their vegetables, especially when it comes to carrots and anything green. (Source:  Brad Stallcup on Unsplash)There are so many wonderful variations of fruit and vegetables. It is hard to pinpoint all the nutrients they contain, and how they can protect, heal and maintain our bodies.Vitamin E protects our bodies from cell damage as well as being a powerful antioxidant.   Therefore, this vitamin can help to delay the ageing process of our skin.Finally, vitamin K is very important for bone and heart health; it helps our blood to clot and prevents calcium from being deposited in our arteries.These are just a few examples of the vitamins one fruit contains. The benefits of making fruit a significant part of our diet are huge! Do not underestimate the power of the right foods on our bodies. Nourishment is key.The amount of vitamins and minerals contained in fruit alone seems endless. There is a reason why we need to consume natural foods, produced by the earth; these foods cannot only sustain us but also heal and protect the body.We are now able to consume more variety of fruit than ever before. There is an abundance of choice at our local supermarket from oranges, bananas and apples to passion fruit and mangos; we can make the most of all the benefits fruit can provide.Another great, nutritious example is the banana: a fruit that has become a staple in so many people’s diets, even babies love them! What are the benefits of eating this yellow food?The banana is a staple fruit in a lot of people's diets. (Source:  Pop Zebra on Unsplash)Bananas are not just a great source of carbohydrate and fibre; they also contain the miner als, potassium and B6. Potassium allows the body to regulate water and acid in both the blood and tissues. It is also great to build muscle, keep nerves working correctly and help our kidneys to filter blood.B6 is a mood regulator, helping the body to produce two hormones called serotonin and norepinephrine both helping to prevent depression and cope with stress. If that wasn’t enough, it also helps our bodies to create melatonin, a hormone to boost a healthy internal clock and sleep patterns.Comparing bananas with passion fruit, the benefits are different yet again. Passionfruit is a great source of vitamin B3 (niacin) and iron. Vitamin B3 can boost brain and digestive functions as well as help to lower cholesterol and the pain of arthritis.It very easy to have a colourful fruit bowl and consume many different fruits on a daily basis. Fruit can help us in so many different and natural ways.Get the help of a nutritionist near me here.VegetablesMoving onto vegetables now and, like fruit, there is a multitude of them to choose from. A good way to separate vegetables is by their colour and leaves.Green vegetables for example, especially the leafy ones, such as kale, broccoli and spinach are rich in vitamins C, K and E similar to kiwis but they are also high in calcium, B vitamins and antioxidants.Another great example is orange and yellow vegetables as these tend to be full of vitamins and minerals. Vegetables including corn, sweet potato, peppers and carrots are high in vitamin A (great for eye health and the maintenance of teeth, bone and tissue), potassium, zeaxanthin (prevents retina damage) and flavonoids (brain protection).Carrots are considered the best source of beta-carotene found in vitamin A so they really do help us see in the dark! A raw carrot makes a perfect snack or why not add one to a smoothie. Just a  few alternative ways to get the daily intake of nutrients if having them cooked with evening meals is not your thing.Butternut squash is also a great source of these vitamins and minerals and an ideal ingredient in soup, especially during the winter months.The colour red also reveals a lot  about the nutritional contents. Tomatoes (although technically a fruit) are a great example. Just one tomato contains  high quantities of lycopene, an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, which is great for our skin, helping to prevent clogged pores and breakouts as well as reducing blood pressure.The Best Way to Consume Fruit and VegetablesEating more fruit and vegetables is great for the body but going one step further is to understand the best time and form of these natural foods that will have the most benefit for your health.Fruit is best consumed in the morning, preferably after a drink of water and throughout the day 30 minutes before a meal and 2 hours after. This seemingly strict period to eat fruit is because, at any other times, the nutrients may not be absorbed properly.There is no problem, however, in mixing yoghurt or cereal with fruit. It is also important to eat fruit as quickly as possible once cut to prevent losing vital antioxidants and fresh and frozen fruit is better than tinned.Check out the nutritionist courses here.Colourful fruit and vegetables are a great source of vitamins and minerals. (Source:  Thomas Martinsen on Unsplash)The same goes for vegetables. Frozen vegetables still provide plenty of nutrients but if they are chopped before freezing, they will always contain fewer nutrients. With vegetables, it is best to avoid boiling them as most as the nutrition ends up in the water rather than the vegetable. The best way to cook vegetables is to steam them but roasting is another option especially Mediterranean vegetables.Interestingly, some vegetables are, in fact, better cooked. These include the red coloured vegetables previously mentioned, containing the antioxidant, Lycopene. The cooking process breaks down the cell walls producing more of the mineral.Generally, placing fruit and veget ables at the heart of our diets is a step to becoming happier, healthier people.The benefits described by eating these types of fruits and vegetables is not an exhaustive list. Each piece of fruit or portion of vegetables can contain other benefits aside from the ones mentioned. It really is remarkable the amount of natural goodness and remedies these natural foods provide.Although we have plenty of choices when it comes to fruit and vegetables, it is a good idea to buy local, seasonal produce. In doing this, we can support local, farming markets, avoid plastic packaging  and reduce the food’s mileage. This is not to say, we should stop eating fruit and vegetables that have come from outside of the UK but be mindful about where produce can be purchased if there are choices in the area.Another option available to us is growing them ourselves. Not all of us are lucky enough to have a garden or an allotment close enough, especially those that live in the city but if this option is po ssible, growing fresh fruit and vegetables can be a hugely beneficial and a rewarding experience.Understanding what natural foods need in order to grow and provide for us is something that we often lack in the modern world we live in but it can be liberating, helping us to save money, reduce our carbon footprint and make us less reliant on over packaged food.Read about proteins in diet here.Find out about fats in diet here.Discover more about dairy's role in our diet here.

Easily confused words in English Hear and Listen

Easily confused words in English Hear and Listen As Im preparing to move back to the United States from Argentina and more appropriately out of the city and to a very small town, there are a few things Im not going to miss. One of these is the noise.I will be glad to go to bed without hearing my neighbors and walking without hearing the sounds of traffic. I will be able to listen to the sounds of nature again, the sound of wind in the pine trees which I really miss or the sound of my skis swooshing (a soft noise) through the snow. So, I wanted to talk about these easily confused words in English: hear and listen.HearHear (verb: past=heard) hear is a sense. You hear with your ears. It doesnt need any thought or brain activity. Hear is passive. I heard a loud noise last night when I was sleeping. Hear also is to be informed by someone. I heard that she was moving back to Montana.ListenListen (verb: past=listened) Listen is active. You must use your brain as well as your ears to listen. You must make an effort to listen. (to/for)I lis ten to music everyday.I was listening for the baby.Read these questions, then watch the video below and see if you can answer them. What was the Hindu saying?What can your ears hear?Ears are made not for _____ing but for _______ing.Who said: I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.______ing is an active skill.Whereas, _______ing is passive.Listening is something we have to _______ at.What is reductive and expensive listening?Who listens reductively?and expansively?Sign up for: Online English Classes | Aulas de Inglês | Cursos de Inglés

Anaheim English Tutoring Four Points about Semicolons

Anaheim English Tutoring Four Points about Semicolons Tips From an Anaheim English Tutor: Semicolons Tips From an Anaheim English Tutor: Semicolons As a private Anaheim tutor, I often see the semicolon as an area of confusion and misunderstanding for my students; they have wild misconceptions of how it is supposed to be used and often believe it is something for only very advanced writing. Luckily, this confusion is not because the semicolon is a type of punctuation that is overly difficult to use; instead, it is because the semicolon is simply taught late and usually taught briefly. Semicolons are effective in many situations; they can connect thoughts in a more organic way, and they can avoid ambiguity in some sentences. Students in early years master punctuation like periods, exclamation points, and question marks; in later years learn to use commas, quotation marks, and apostrophes; and ultimately conclude with some education on semicolons, colons, and em dashes call TutorNerds today to book you private Anaheim English tutor. They are taught last, they are used least, and they are given lackluster, limited emphasis; but that is not to say that they should be taught last or that they aren’t useful and easy to learn. Now, semicolons may seem a little clunkier when they are used one after another in a single paragraph, but they can add some quality variety when used occasionally in your regular writing.   You can see some examples of how a semicolon can be used in sentences above.   Now let’s break down some key points to remember when using a semicolon to help you learn it.   This won’t be a thorough examination of the punctuation and grammar; instead, it will just help you know the main places you can use it and how to use it grammatically correct. Use it to combine two sentences. This is the most common use of the semicolon.   It is the main use in the first three sentences of this article and is also how the last sentence in the paragraph above uses it.   You can have transitions or conjunctions also to help connect the sentences, or you can just have the sentences be related by subject.   Use a semicolon when you could use a period and start the next sentence, but you want the two sentences to be more connected and show that they have similar significance. Check your grammar by replacing it with a period. If you are using the semicolon to combine two sentences (two independent clauses), then you should be able to replace it with a period and still have to complete sentences.   If you replace it with a period and suddenly it doesn’t make sense, then you used it incorrectly.   Both parts have to be full sentences on their own and not just phrases. Don’t capitalize the first word. Because it is used as a period, many students want to capitalize the first letter of the word following a semicolon.   Don’t do this.   It is still just one sentence, don’t add extra capitalization. Use it to clear up the confusion of too many commas. This is the less common use.   You can see it in action in the last two sentences of the first paragraph above.   If you have a “list of lists,” then the repetitive commas can be distracting or confusing to read.   For example: “The four teams each have specific colors on their uniforms: red, blue, and yellow, green and gold, black, brown, and orange, and magenta.”   This can be confusing or even ambiguous.   Use semicolons for the big list, and commas for the small ones inside: “The four teams each have specific colors on their uniforms: red, blue, and yellow; green and gold; black, brown, and orange; and magenta.”   You can use a semicolon in place of a comma in a compound sentence if you feel there are too many commas complicating the sentence, like in the last sentence of the first paragraph (this is an uncommon usage of the semicolon). The first three points will help you get through almost all of your semicolon usage grammatically correctly.   The fourth point is far less common but helpful to know in case you see it.   The best way to get better at using it is to practice; so start adding some semicolons to your writing to create beautiful, complex sentences! Michael C. is currently a private math, science, and standardized test tutor with TutorNerds in Irvine and Anaheim. All blog entries, except for guest bloggers, are written by Tutor Nerds. Are you an education professional? If so, email us at pr@tutornerds.com for guest blogging and collaborations. We want to make this the best free education resource in SoCal, so feel free to suggest what you would like to see us write.

Fun Run 4 Keys to the Ability to Learn Languages Quickly

Fun Run 4 Keys to the Ability to Learn Languages Quickly 4 Keys to the Ability to Learn Languages Quickly Its a fast-paced world out there.How many times have you seen someone waiting at the bus stop, constantly checking their watch, getting more and more frustrated with a delay of just two or three minutes?Its no surprise, then, that when people ask for advice on learning languages,  the main thing on their minds is often speed.Language learning involves a hump to get over, an initial investment of time where you put in effort but cant see the results yet.A week or even a month of regular study usually wont get you far in a language, and dropping your studies at that point means youll probably forget whatever you did pick up.But there are plenty of people out there who can pick up languages with incredible efficiency. They can add them to their CVs one after another like a daisy chain.Have you ever seen a video of someone switching between nine languages?These people arent superhuman.Theyre just ordinary people like you and me, but theyve poured so much time into this activity that they ve discovered the key principles to learning a language fast and holding on to it.Lets see what those principles are. 4 Keys to the Ability to Learn Languages QuicklyThe difference between beginners and experienced language learners is that the experienced ones know how to use their hours efficiently.Imagine a polyglot picking up Spanish to a conversational level in six months.Sounds crazy, right? The average person might say I spent two years learning Spanish and I dont remember anything!But what they really mean was that during those two years they had a class five times a week and summers offâ€"in other words, plenty of opportunities to forget.To a polyglot, six months learning Spanish likely means that they were devoting more than an hour of serious, effective study time every day, plus regular review of their material.They probably had a similar count of hours on taskâ€"but they used them a lot more effectively. Heres how you can do the same.1. Identify Goals Relevant to Your LifeUnstructured learning is sometimes called dabbling, as in Im dabbling in painting.  But in the context of language learning it might as well be called flailing.Its all too common for learners to start half a dozen beginner courses at the same time without any real plan for when they want to finish or how much time they want to spend per day.Inevitably, after a few weeks, theyve made little progress, repeated the same first-lesson material over and over, and given up.Thats not just learning slowlyâ€"thats not learning at all.Lets say you really want to pass your universitys required foreign language course.Your target should certainly be mastering the vocabulary and grammar in the textbook and required readings.In the same few weeks that you might spend on a general beginner course, you could probably learn half the words in the textbook!Or, lets say youve planned a trip to a foreign country for next summer. Youll want to focus a lot of your energy on the tourist situations most likely to happen to youâ€"reading a menu is a big one, as is checking into a hotel.Brainstorm some situations that you might find yourself in and the likely interactions or vocabulary that will come up. Then use that as a jumping-off point for learning related vocabulary and sentence structures.Where a general course might have you writing an email to an imaginary pen pal youll never meet, you can choose to spend your valuable time on practicing what you know is going to be relevant to you.Use the topic and format menus on  FluentU  to find content that matches your needs the best. FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language lessons.By thinking of targeted things to learn, youll find yourself advancing far, far faster than if you were just learning in a general fashion.2. Never Miss a DaySleep is directly linked to memory. That’s significant for anybody, but especially so when youre tryi ng to learn and remember all the pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary of a new language.Advice that boils down to more studying may seem out of place in an article about speed learning, but the point is that you have to study efficiently.Spending three hours once a week on the language is way less efficient than 15 minutes a day, even though in the second scenario youre only studying about half the time.If you dont study regularly and give your brain time to absorb that information overnight, youll spend a lot of your study sessions in review time instead of advancing through the material.How can you keep yourself honest about your study time? Track your hours. You can use a time tracking app or simply keep a regular log.The simple act of writing down your study time and comparing it to previous days is a natural motivation to do more.3. Fill Your HoursWell, dont literally fill your hours. Seriously filling every waking minute with your target language is a good recipe for burnout and failure.The mind simply cant handle that kind of pressure, especially with a new language. No wonder lots of people in immersion programs end up taking refuge with movies and books in their native languages!What I mean here is to keep touching the language regularly throughout the day. Use some of your dead time to do quick review sessions of what you learned during your longer study periods.I suggest review sessions because your attention during these short bursts is unlikely to be as fully focused as it would be if you were sitting down and studying. But review doesnt take as much concentration, and therefore is ideal for multitasking.This can come in the form of re-listening to an audio course on the bus, messaging an exchange partner on your lunch break or even flipping through a couple of flashcards while youre standing in a line.This fits with the previous section about studying every dayâ€"by keeping the language fresh in your mind, youre not only fitting in more study mi nutes, but youre also preventing yourself from forgetting and having to waste time re-learning later.4. Learn with Laser PrecisionFiguring out what to learn is a very important step. Weve already talked about goals, but knowing what to learn to achieve those goals is another factor to consider.With so much of the language out there in books, movies and websites, you cant attack it all at once.One of the most common strategies is to use a frequency list of words to kick-start your vocabulary acquisition. You find, say, the most common 1,000 or 2,000 words in the language and work systematically through the list.When you know the first 1,000 words, you may be able to understand up to 80 percent of the words you encounterâ€"depending on the genre of the text, of course.With 2,000 words, that number jumps up to around 85%.Thats a good strategy, but a better strategy is to target your information and resources  even more precisely. Most frequency lists are drawn from newspapers because t hose are easy to get tons of data for. And thats great for your purposes if one of your goals is to be able to read a newspaper in your target language. But what if your goals are more speaking-oriented?If you learn from vocab lists based on subtitles, youll find yourself learning what people say instead of what they write.Depending on your goals for the language, that could make a big difference!Speaking of speaking, a lot of us have certain turns of phrase that we use more than others. Little things that perhaps set us apart from others in our speech communities.For instance, I tend to begin a lot of sentences with I feel like and one of the most common idioms I use is out of the blue.To avoid the feeling of being regularly lost for words in your target language, learn how to say these things relatively early.It doesnt matter if some teachers consider them to be more advancedâ€"the point is, youre going to have a desire to express certain sentiments in your new language fairly oft en, and youll speak more fluently at an earlier stage if you know how.Theres one more way to learn a language quickly, and thats simply practice.The more you try learning languages, the more effort you put into teaching yourself this concept or that conceptâ€"and the faster it all comes.Thats partially because you get used to seeing links and patterns between languages, and partially because you get to know the way you personally learn.You know whats worked for you in the past, and you know what will work for you in the future.So to really get fast at learning new languages, keep doing it!