As English grows in size, knowledge becomes more important

As English grows in size, knowledge becomes more important If you've noticed an extraordinary amount of new English words in use over the past few years, you've noticed one of the most striking phenomena to hit the language in recent memory. The English language has doubled in size over the last century, giving it an unprecedented level of growth. That's according to a new survey by Harvard University and Google, who have found that the language is expanding by 8,500 words a year. There are now 1,022,000 words in the English language and it has grown by more than 70 per cent since 1950. With this unprecedented level of growth, it can be hard to keep up. An English tutor can provide the skills needed to communicate with poise and aplomb. Sorting the wheat from the chaff In the previous century, according to researchers, the English language only grew by a tenth. Now, the rapid rate of growth in the English language means that we need to understand new words on an almost daily basis. Importantly, many of these new words are not included in the official dictionaries. Linguists class these as slang or made-up jargon. The challenge for students of the English language, then, is to learn how to separate 'good' new words from 'bad' new words. Sorting the source It may sound obvious, but for many younger students of the English language, this is an important point. The source of the new word you have just learnt can help to identify whether this word is suitable for use in formal and written communication or not. For example, many children may use a word they have heard on TV in an essay at school. If that word is slang, or even rude, then they will be penalised for it. On the other hand, by reading quality journalism and good books, children can be exposed to 'good' new words as they become part of everyday English. The new word challenge The challenge, then, as speakers of an ever-growing language, is to encourage pupils and students to use new words only when they have seen them used in a reliable source and in an appropriate context. If you or your child needs help getting to grips with our changing English language, why not enlist the services of one of specialists? Simply search our database for a tutor near you.

Avoiding the Freshman 15 A Foolproof Method

Avoiding the Freshman 15 A Foolproof Method Et tu, Jared? Photo courtesy of Josh Bozarth via Flickr.com Me. You trust me. In case you doubt my reputability, these pictures indicate that I’ve lost a significant amount of weight and have been able to successfully keep it off: Left (2009): Oprah looked at this photo to feel better about her weight.Right (2010): Boom. Ryan Lochtes got nothing on me. Since the cornucopia of links youve just ingested have undoubtedly filled you up, allow me to carry you through the process of avoiding the Freshman 15: Understand the system There is no secret weight-loss system that works aside from counting calories. Think of your body as a car. Maybe you’re driving a Camry (we can’t all be born with silver Mercedes keys in our mouths.) You need energy to run your car, but cars can work on a variety of fuels like gasoline, ethanol, or goose fat. Likewise, your body can run on carbs, proteins, and goose fat, but if you eat too much of any of them, your check engine light is going to come on. Or you’ll become overweight. Check your owner’s manual to be sure. Hit the campus gym Tis the season for bright-eyed freshmen and freshmenettes to visit the gym and examine the bounty of exercise opportunities available to them. Don’t miss this chance to learn from other young people who have no idea how to properly lift weights. Try waiting in line to squat 3 reps of entirely too much weight. You’ll impress all the other bros with torn shirts in the room, and I hear weight lifting is great for your health. Embrace your pretentiousness Ice cream or fro-yo? If you’re a respectable human being, the answer is always ice cream. But pretentious human beings lose weight better than respectable folks, so let’s emulate the snobs. Buy as much tofu, free range eggs, and organic products as you can, and please, don’t forget to gloat about it. Gloating is a known calorie burner. If you’re struggling with eliminating humility, imitate these fine gentlemen. Notice the gloating? Notice how they’re all svelte? I’m not saying there’s causation there, but there’s totally causation there. Sabotage your peers If the unthinkable happens, and you do gain that Freshman 15, you have one final option: turn your friends into chubby buddies. I recommend infusing their diets with Hot Pockets and Mountain Dew. Traditional gamers should adapt to this diet with relative ease, while vegetarians and hipsters may react violently. Push through will the knowledge that your cause is just, and soon your misery will have its desired company.