LEARNMATE: Keeping You Safe While You Learn

How to Study in Times of Stress

This article has been written by Lydia McClelland, a VCE French, Music Theory, Literature & VCE English Tutor at Learnmate. If you’re interested in private tutoring from Lydia then please check out her page here.

For many students in Australian schools, grammar is something that an early primary school teacher touched on, and then never returned to. You might remember that verbs are doing words, adjectives are describing words and nouns are things, places and names. But beyond that? Most students are largely unaware of grammar, and instead prefer to use language intuitively. This is normal when English is your first language. You can get through life without knowing much about grammar, but it can be a great advantage to have a better understanding than others.

Why is learning about grammar relevant to you?

1. 1. 1. Having a better grasp of English grammar will help you to communicate better. Understanding grammar terms will give you the confidence to write strong, convincing prose. Here are some examples of areas which, if worked upon, can dramatically improve your communication skills:
         • Consistency of tenses
         • Subject-verb agreement
         • Avoid run-on sentences and sentence fragments
         • Correct use of commas
         • Correct use of apostrophes
         • Avoid misplaced modifiers
         • Know the words you commonly confuse (e.g. effect vs affect)
      2. Get better grades in school. In school, everyone has to take English as a subject, and correct grammar is a key component of fluent, effective writing. Knowing the difference between ‘effect’ and ‘affect’ might seem like a small thing, but little things like this all add up – poor use of grammar will drag your grades down.
         By the way, ‘effect’ is generally used as a ‘noun’, and ‘affect’ is generally used as a verb. Let’s look at this in practice: ‘What are the effects of this medication? The last medication affected me a lot.’
      3. Knowing the rules empowers you to be a better writer. There are a bunch of grammar myths, and if you don’t know what they are, you might unnecessarily limit your writing. For instance, many people believe ending a sentence with a preposition is ungrammatical, but this simply isn’t true! In fact, the very first sentence of this article ends with a preposition. Another area of controversy is split infinitives, which means placing an adverb between ‘to’ and a verb: for example, ‘to casually walk’. Grammar dinosaurs will argue that split infinitives are just incorrect, but this is simply a myth – many skilled writers employ split infinitives.
      4. Good grammar is essential after you finish school. When it comes to applying for jobs in certain industries, poor grammar is an instant red flag for employers. It’s important you are able to communicate in grammatically correct English to convey professionalism and credibility. This is a skill which continues to be relevant when you enter the workplace.
      5. It will help if you ever want to learn another language. If you have ever started learning another language, many of the grammatical terms can be confusing, to say the least. What’s a past participle? Who knows how to use the pluperfect tense? What does a gerund have to do with my life? If you already know what these terms represent in English, it will make the learning experience much easier.

If you loved this article, you will LOVE all of our other articles, such as: Strategies to Build Self-Confidence in Students,  Top Tips for Scholarship Exam Preparation and Benefits of Meditation for Students.

 – LearnMate Tutoring.

LearnMate is Australia’s leading tutoring agency offering private lessons in all primary & high school subjects including English, maths, science, humanities, foreign languages, and so much more. Our mission is simple: to provide professional, engaging and enthusiastic tutors to students, while also ensuring the student feels empowered and confident during their assessments! Ultimately, our goal is to empower students all over Australia to achieve amazing results and make their dreams come true!

Homeschooling vs School: What’s Better?

This article has been written by Lydia McClelland, a VCE French, Music Theory, Literature & VCE English Tutor at Learnmate. If you’re interested in private tutoring from Lydia then please check out her page here.

Across Australia, parents are given the option of enrolling their children in a school or in homeschooling education. While most children go to school, parents who choose to homeschool their children must get permission from the relevant authority in their area and make sure the learning is aligned to the national curriculum.

According to this 2019 article on homeschooling, around 20,000 children in Australia participate in homeschooling, which is a number that has risen significantly since 2013.

Let’s look at some of the main reasons that parents might choose to homeschool their children:

• Religion. Some parents with religious beliefs might prefer homeschooling, particularly if there are no schools which match their religion close to them, or if religious school fees are too expensive for their budget.
• Location. For families that live in regional or rural areas, or far away from most schools, homeschooling can represent simply the most practical option.
• Specific educational needs incompatible with traditional schools. Some children struggle more than others with traditional schools, whether it be from special educational needs, bullying or simply not fitting in. Increasingly, families with these children are choosing to withdraw from school and enrol in homeschooling, instead of facing the stress of moving from school to school multiple times to find the right fit.
• Parenting philosophy. Some parents are ideologically opposed to the teaching methods used at schools and prefer to take over their children’s education themselves.
• Educational outcomes might be better. Research on this topic is limited in Australia mainly to NAPLAN results – homeschooled children are shown to overall score higher on NAPLAN. Perhaps the one-to-one level of attention not available in schools helps children flourish. However, it’s worth noting that NAPLAN is not necessarily a measure of success!

What are some of the benefits offered by traditional schools?

• Socialisation. The most common reason many parents are hesitant to take up homeschooling is that it might limit opportunities for their children to form social bonds with others, an essential part of setting them up for life with social skills.
• Structure. The school day is inherently structured and regimented, which suits some learners more than others. Many students benefit from having a strong sense of routine, and it helps them to learn better.
• More subject options. If a parent is their child’s only teacher, it is likely the child misses out on the opportunity to learn about some areas, such as art, music and sports.
• Teachers with pedagogical training. Teachers in schools must have a teaching qualification, which means they should be experts in learning – your child could have a great learning experience with a variety of teachers.
• Independence. From school, students begin to learn how to take care of themselves outside of the home. School is a great way of introducing different responsibilities to children as they begin to learn more about the world.

There are pros and cons to homeschooling as compared to a more traditional education. There is no one-size-fits-all recommendation when it comes to weighing up homeschooling and traditional schooling – everything depends upon the needs of the child and parents.

If you loved this article, you will LOVE all of our other articles, such as: How to Develop Problem-Solving Skills in Students, Benefits of Using Technology in the Classroom and How to Study in Times of Stress.

 – LearnMate Tutoring.

Need an In-Person or Online Tutor? Search for a Tutor Here Today!

LearnMate is Australia’s leading tutoring agency offering private lessons in all primary & high school subjects including English, maths, science, humanities, foreign languages, and so much more. Our mission is simple: to provide professional, engaging and enthusiastic tutors to students, while also ensuring the student feels empowered and confident during their assessments! Ultimately, our goal is to empower students all over Australia to achieve amazing results and make their dreams come true!

LearnMate’s Dmitri Dalla-Riva Winner of the EO Accelerator Of The Year 2020

Earlier this month, LearnMate owner, Dmitri Dalla-Riva, was awarded the prestigious Entrepreneurs’ Organization Accelerator of the Year Award. The recipient of this award successfully shows outstanding business growth as well as significant entrepreneurial and leadership development while contributing back to the EO Accelerator program.

The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) is a global business network of more than 10,000 leading entrepreneurs in more than 142 chapters and 46 countries. EO provides an opportunity for business owners to come together to learn from others who have also faced similar opportunities and challenges to develop on both a professional and personal level.

“Being a part of the EO Accelerator Program has been such a positive step as I work to build LearnMate. Meeting with fellow entrepreneurs has provided me with a wealth of information that has helped me to grow my business. It is a privilege to be a part of this support network in Melbourne.” Dmitri Dalla-Riva, Owner, LearnMate.

LearnMate is Australia’s leading tutoring agency offering in-person and online lessons in primary & high school subjects. For more information, contact email Emma Paull at LearnMate.

Need an In-Person or Online Tutor? Search for a Tutor Here Today!

LearnMate is Australia’s leading tutoring agency offering private lessons in all primary & high school subjects including English, maths, science, humanities, foreign languages, and so much more. Our mission is simple: to provide professional, engaging and enthusiastic tutors to students, while also ensuring the student feels empowered and confident during their assessments! Ultimately, our goal is to empower students all over Australia to achieve amazing results and make their dreams come true!