9 Epic ( Hilarious) Examples of Car Singing to Aspire To

9 Epic ( Hilarious) Examples of Car Singing to Aspire To Suzy S. Summer is the season of freedom and fun, and whether youre a parent or a college student on summer break, epic road trips come with the territory.  Singing in the car  can make running an errand the best part of your day, and  when youre driving for hours at a time, theres nothing like the energy boost of a car singalong. The following  nine  YouTube performances star in-transit singers and lip-syncers who know how to tap into the power of music. From toddlers with potential to superstars backing their own tracks, these music lovers will show you how its done. 1. TJ Smith Serenades Roadside Buttercups TJ Smith is already a working actor and singer, but his Highway Sing-a-Long series made him a bona fide YouTube star. If you want to spread joy everywhere you go, follow TJs lead, and embrace the contagious, shameless joy of singing in the car with an open window. He isnt afraid to engage every driver he passes in his energetic rendition of Build Me Up Buttercup by the Foundations. Thats one way to build up your resistance  to road rage! 2. Jennifer Hudson Does Carpool Karaoke with James Corden She won an Oscar for her work in Dreamgirls and came in seventh on American Idols third season; he held his own in the Sondheim adaptation Into the Woods and started his career in a West End musical. But when Jennifer Hudson played carpool karaoke with James Corden, the two proved that their talents arent restricted to traditional mediums. Jennifer one-ups her own vocals during the eight-minute montage, while James stands in for Iggy Azalea in Trouble and channels R. Kelly in a fast-food drive-through. 3. Baby Ella Impersonates Elvis Adorable Ella Mae wasnt even two years old yet when she wowed the Internet with her rendition of Elvis Presleys An American Trilogy. The little girl doesnt just know the words; she also knows how to keep her act entertaining, with heart-melting Hi, Daddy asides and a drum-roll of her very own. Right before Elvis brings it home with a bombastic finale, she reminds us to Get ready! and plays the air drums like a rock star in training. 4. SketchShe Lip-Syncs Through the Decades This talented Australian comedy duo earned millions of international fans with their Mime Through Time singing in the car montage, which takes place in a parked car but spans decades of musical movements. They start by  channeling the Andrews Sisters in throwback pompadours and military uniforms, then move  onto iconic looks like Elvis Presleys rhinestone-studded jumpsuit and Beyoncés  one-shouldered leotard. They even  sing along to The Beatles as kidnapped flower girls, go grunge with some intense Nirvana  air guitar, and take everything off as  Miley Cyrus. 5. Family Takes on Frozen Another lip sync success, this video by parents Sam and Nia went viral right in the height of the Frozen frenzy. Our favorite part, however, is their daughter in the back, who doesnt even seem to be paying attention.  Who says  family road trips  are boring? 6. Greg James  Taylor Swift  Lip Sync Blank Space Even talented singers cant resist the fun of lip syncing! Here,  British radio DJ and TV presenter Greg James takes Taylor Swift on an entertaining commute remember, the more  expressions and hand gestures you do, the better  (drivers, keep your hands on the wheel!). 7. A Cappella Sweet Child O Mine If youve ever seen the movie Step  Brothers, you probably remember this scene, in which actor Adam Scotts fictional family takes on an a cappella version of Sweet Child O Mine. Just remember, cut the negative talk! Singing the car should be fun, not full of pressure! 8. Drive-Through Mash-Up by Andie Case Who needs a radio when you have a guitar and a couple of amazing singers? YouTube star and singer-songwriter Andie Case first went viral with her mash-up of  Me My Broken Heart / Lonely No More, in which she and her band bring the stage to the car. In this video, she returns with a mash-up of  Want To Want Me and  I Want You To Want Me by Jason Derulo Cheap Trick. 9. Cruising Cop Shakes it Off The car singalong that started it all wasnt even staged. Police departments issue dashboard cameras  for serious reasons, but the only serious thing about this video is the amount of dedication this on-duty cop puts into his lip-syncing routine. Officer Jeff Davis is happy to keep cruising for crime, as he shakes off the haters and puts his whole body into a Taylor Swift singalong. His enthusiasm took the Internet by storm. Songs to Sing in the Car Feeling inspired? Although some of the best car karaoke is  often an impromptu thing, longer road trips call for a perfectly-crafted road trip playlist songs you can sing along to, dance along with, and all-around make a fool of yourself. Nows not the time to be shy! Nervous about  unrolling the windows and sharing your voice with fellow drivers at that red light? Working with a  singing instructor  can help you improve your voice, whether youre blasting  Joan Jett or Miley Cyrus (no judgement).  As you head from one destination to the next, music  will transform your mood and make memories good enough to go viral just like these epic examples of singing in the car. 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

Are Mnemonic Devices Right for My Learning Style

Are Mnemonic Devices Right for My Learning Style Many of us use mnemonic devices without even realizing it. This is in part because mnemonic devices can be an extremely helpful tool when attempting to make information more relatable and interesting, and therefore easier to memorize. If youre wondering which mnemonic devices work best for your learning style, here are several that you can try that suit visual, auditory, verbal, and kinestheticlearners. Here aretips to help you figure out your best study style. 1. Visual As a visual learner, youre likely to best remember concepts by connecting them with mental images. You can do this by physically drawing a picture, or imagining a scene that you can associate with a key fact. If youre sketching an image, try doing so in the notebook where you take lecture notes.These tips may help you organize your notes. You can also create a 2D or 3D model to help you recall information. Use pie charts and pyramids, for example, to divide information into more manageable parts. Lastly, experiment with the Method of Loci. This involves picturing a place that you are familiar with, like the route to school from home, or the rooms in your house. Then match words or concepts with landmarks along the route or rooms in the house. If you practice often enough, you will be able to recall the associated concept when you think of each part of the route or the house. 2. Auditory If you are an auditory learner, consider using songs and lyrics to help you remember important information. Write a song or jingle using the information you would like to memorize. Use melodies from your childhood, as they are easy to improvise to. You may even be able to find existing songs, jingles, or rhymes related to your topic online. If you are the musical type, consider posting the song online with or without video so others can benefit from it, too. 3. Verbal If you are a learner who tends toward reading and writing, you will be able to utilize many different mnemonic devices. Acronyms, in which the first letter of each item in a list are arranged to make an easy-to-remember word, are very popular. Some common ones are Roy G. Biv for the colors of the spectrum; the order of operations as PEMDAS (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally); and the method of multiplying two binomials, FOIL (First Outer Inner Last). There are other sayings like, I before e, except after c, or, In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Use alliteration to make your own for example, Memorial Day is in May; Labor Day happens later in the year. You can even think of these mnemonic devices as acrostic poems! 4. Kinesthetic As a kinesthetic learner, these devices might not seem as intuitive to you. You learn through doing, so science experiments, sports, and acting may make more sense to you. However, you can still use mnemonic devices by translating them into physical movement. Trace them with your finger, rewrite them, or re-type them. Use physical flashcards the act of writing these flashcards and flipping them front-to-back may be very helpful. Regardless of your learning style, you should be able to use some sort of mnemonic device. By trying one or more of the mnemonic devices listed above, you will likely stumble across a methodthat works for your learning style and can be adapted to different subjects and courses. If you are stuggling with your test prep consider contacting a test prep tutorto help you better grasp yourbestmnemonic device.

Desert Food Web Diagram Online Biology Tutors Tutorpace

Desert Food Web Diagram Online Biology Tutors Tutorpace The food web is interlocking of two or more type of food chains at different trophic levels in such a way that a particular food becomes available to two or more types of populations while a consumer has choice of two or more types of food. The plants and animals in desert region have evolved adaptations to survive in high temperatures and very little water. A few shrubs and deciduous plants are found scattered in desert. The animals in deserts are usually burrowing animals. Most of them are nocturnal. Desert animals include many kinds of insects, Ground Squirrels, Jack Rabbits, Kangaroo Rats, and Antelopes. In a desert the primary producers are the Cacti, Euphorbia,Thorn Acacias,Creosote Bushes,Sage Brush,Ocotillo,Rabbit Brush and flowering Annuals. The primary consumers include small mammals, insects, lizards, kangaroo rat, ground squirrel etc. The secondary consumers include Snakes and Lizards, Scorpion and Tarantula. The tertiary consumers include Hawk and fox. In this food web the producers are the cactus species. They are eaten by insects, small lizards and kangaroo rats. Insects are in turn eaten by scorpions and large lizards. Kangaroo rats are eaten by Hawks, Snakes and Desert foxes. Snakes are eaten by Hawks and Desert fox. Small lizards are eaten by large lizards in turn eaten by Hawk. So we can see an interconnected food chain in this food habit which is called a food web.

What Are The Best Ways to Learn Russian

What Are The Best Ways to Learn Russian Best Learning Methods for the Russian Language ChaptersHow to Learn Russian on Your OwnSpeaking Russian: What Are the Principal Difficulties to Watch Out For?How Long Until One Speaks Russian?Is It Possible to Work in Russia Without Learning Russian?Can You Learn to Speak Russian Quickly?Russian is spoken by 260 million speakers and is considered the third most complex language to learn according to the MosaLingua learning platform.So what are the best ways to learn to speak Russian like a local?There are enough American companies that are well established in Russia. This will make your job when trying to seek a job easier.Can You Learn to Speak Russian Quickly?Even if Russian is deemed difficult, if you have a good learning method and great motivation, you can quickly learn the basics of Russian.After a few Russian language lessons, a learner will master the alphabet and some essential Russian expressions. This means it will be possible for the learner to have a basic conversation with a native after a few weeks or months. The f ocus will be on speaking rather than on any one grammatical aspect so as not to be discouraging at first.It will take a little more time for the learner to reach an intermediate level or even an advanced level.  We do not master all the subtleties of a language in a few weeks.Linguistic experts believe that for someone to be fluent in Dostoevsky's language, it takes about ten years. To boast an advanced level, it takes between 2 to 5 years, depending on, of course, the pace of the learning, the seriousness of the learner, and the methodology used.MosaLingua or Babbel offer turnkey solutions to take Russian classes online and improve quickly.Taking some private lessons with a tutor is not useless either, especially if your budget allows it. It will help you pronounce complicated words or learn more about Russian culture, for example.Searching for Russian course London  still produces the most results for Russian tutors but there is a lot more choice if you're willing to learn Russian online.Finally, working a little every day, we can not say enough, is the best way to progress quickly and hope to master the Russian language quickly.If you are going to live in the biggest country on Earth, check out our article about expat life in Russia.In short:Several methods are available to a beginner in the Russian language: learning alone, taking classes, learning with a native Russian Skype correspondent...It's up to you to choose the method that suits you best.Just keep in mind that Russian is a language that holds some difficulties such as: the alphabet, phonetics, or grammar. But nothing is insurmountable with the right amount of work and rigor.Becoming bilingual in Russian takes between 5 and 10 years but mastering the basics of conversation is possible in a few weeks or months at the most.Finally, if you are hoping to go work in Russia, it is better to have some basics in the language if you want to find work more easily.

Theres More to Getting a Promotion Than Great Results - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / There’s More to Getting a Promotion Than Great Results - Introvert Whisperer There’s More to Getting a Promotion Than Great Results A tough lesson many Introvert Leaders sometimes don’t learn is that getting a promotion is much more than simply performing well. If you think about what I’m saying for a minute, you’ll realize that it’s true. What other reason can you possibly come up with for seeing unqualified or lesser skilled people get promoted ahead of you? Performing well is not enough to get you a promotion. (Tweet this!) Do I have your attention? Many of us introverts seem to think that to hunker down and deliver amazing results is enough. To make matters worse, when we see self-promotion or sucking up to the boss, we get self righteous about the dynamic, thinking we’re above it all. Is this you? If so, you’re in for a disappointing and frustrating future. You MUST Create Value for the Boss Of course delivering well in your job is important. You also have to be savvy enough to realize the other things to keep your eye on. There are several moving parts to creating value in the mind of the person who holds power over your next paycheck. You understand their priorities. If you don’t spend time learning what is most important to the boss and then delivering, you fail. Those priorities may or may not have much to do with your job responsibility but it’s your job to find out. You have their back. The boss is between a rock (upper management) and a hard place (you, your peers and the business results). They have a cast of characters to make happy and they’re out there on their own. Are you helping them look good up the food chain? Are you supporting them? Or just doing your job? You are a whole-system thinker.  If all you do is think about you and your work without looking at the bigger picture of what the “right” thing is, the boss will move on. Getting an employee to think beyond their office is hard to do and usually impossible to accomplish. The boss will simply move on to someone who can think that way. You have a personal relationship. People hire people they like. They also promote people they like. Are you likeable? How would the boss know if you don’t spend time connecting with them? Do you have a good attitude or one they can relate to? You have to help them understand your value. Yes, performing well is important, but you have to help the boss understand the eloquence of what you accomplished. Have you done that? You can think it’s their job to know what you’re doing all day long. Does that ensure they really know? No, that’s your job to constantly be informing the boss what you do, why it’s great and why they should care. The person that creates the greatest value in the mind of the boss will get paid more and get the promotions more frequently. That is the point of your career, isn’t it? You can call this being a suck up, boss’s favorite or whatever label you want to put on it. The point is that in order for you to make the climb up the leadership ladder, you have to give management a reason to help you climb. Go to top What’s the hardest obstacle for you to overcome when it comes to working with your boss? Let us know in the comments! Image: Flickr Power-Influence-Office Politics: it comes down to your Strategic Relationships and understanding of how you build each one of these elements. I want to help you accelerate your career by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my video that outlines all of this and meaningful actions you can take today!  Start watching now by clicking here! Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleashing your professional potential. Introvert Whisperer

Common Problems in Interviewing from the Interviewers Perspective

Common Problems in Interviewing from the Interviewer’s Perspective The following piece was written by Jason Lum. Jason has been featured in our Admissions Expert series and is a former application reviewer for the Harvard University Admissions Office. He is the president and founder of ScholarEdge College Consulting. I have conducted alumni interviews with prospective students at Harvard University and Washington University in St. Louis for many years. For me, it is a labor of love; I enjoyed attending both schools. Moreover, I find it enjoyable to volunteer my time to help students learn more about these universities, as well as to help the admissions offices of both institutions learn more about their applicants. Even though fall is my busiest time of year, interviewing students is something I greatly look forward to. However, many students are terrified by the prospect of these interviews. This has absolutely nothing to do with the students stories they usually have great stories to tell about their lives in school and outside the classroom. In addition, interviewers want students to succeed in their interviews. So whats the problem? For starters, many students have never been told what to expect, how to prepare, and what impresses and irritates alumni interviewers. For both parents and students, here are some things to watch out for, based on my 15 years of experience interviewing students. Problem #1: Each interviewer is different There is a fundamental misunderstanding about who becomes an alumni interviewer. You become an interviewerby simply volunteering to do so. The only thing many interviewers have in common is that they happen to belong to a given colleges local alumni association. Interviewers are not paid. As volunteers, they agree to interview a certain number of applicants each fall, given their usually frenetic schedules. So what does this all mean to the student being interviewed? Parents and students think that we are employees of the college or university who have gone through extensive, annual training to be very, very good at what we do. The truth is that we get little to no training just guidelines about what to ask in general and how to conduct the interview. We are always taught what not to ask about (e.g. religion or sexual orientation), but we have wide flexibility in terms of what we want to ask. This is exactly why students will have no idea about the interviewing style of the interviewer. You may have an interviewer who does all the talking. You may have an interviewer who hardly says anything. The interviewer could be an attorney, homemaker, surgeon you name it. For students, this means that you need to be prepared for a wide variety of interview styles. You will also need to learn to adapt to these different interviewing techniques. Problem #2: Students sometimes dont take the interview seriously Im continuously shocked by how a small minority of students dont seem to take the interview terribly seriously. How can I tell? They will dress like they are going to the beach. They dont even try to establish and maintain eye contact. Some even create problems in setting up the interview. Even though my time is valuable and scarce, a recent student forced me to dramatically rearrange my schedule to accommodate a local, regular-season hockey game that happened the day before. Other examples that Ive seen in recent years: I had a student who met me during my lunch break wearing torn jeans, a faded t-shirt, and a backwards baseball cap. He was also 10 minutes late to the interview. On another occasion, one of my interviewees looked out the window for most of the conversation. No matter who your interviewer is, that volunteer is at least worthy of your attention for half an hour, especially if youre applying to a world-class university. Problem #3: Students may be struggling with shyness Almost all students are initially shy during a college interview, and many students are petrified about this. Thats a shame; as alumni interviewers, we expect our interviewees to be shy initially. Its normal most 17- or 18-year-olds dont have much experience in an interview setting. If the alumni interviewer is doing a good job, he or she should make you feel at ease right from the start. However, if shyness is preventing you from doing a good job, just remember that many college interviews are entirely optional. Its usually a better idea for a student not to interview if he or she is going to be shy and unresponsive for 30 to 40 minutes. That being said, I find that virtually all students I work with can be coached to do very well during the interview even if they are extremely shy in what they perceive to be a high-pressure situation. Problem #4: Students may not anticipate whats going to be asked The most important thing that Im shocked by is the utter lack of anticipation of what might be asked during the interview. An alumni college interview is not a high-pressure interview with a management consulting firm or with Google. Its meant to be conversational. It should be a back-and-forth conversation about why the student wants to go to the school, and a place for the alumni to give the student information about the great things the school has to offer. Spending just a few minutes with pen and paper will probably reveal 90% of the questions youre going to be asked. You can take it as a given that the interviewer is going to ask the student about their best classes, favorite activities, whether they play a sport or an instrument, how they volunteer their time, and all sorts of things about the students hobbies and interests. These questions arent difficult when you know they are going to come up in the interview. Yet students sometimes sit in front of me and pause to think about answers to what are virtually guaranteed questions. Remember that you only have about 40 minutes to talk to your interviewer. That time will seem like five minutes. Dont waste time during the interview searching your mind for an answer to a relatively easy question. A final piece of advice With the advent of smartphones, it is now easier than ever to record yourself doing an interview. A good idea is to have someone with experience interviewingdo a mock interview with you. It may be a high school guidance counselor, a private education consultant, or your favorite relative. Whoever that person is, just set up your phone to record the mock interview. Once the interview concludes, sit with the person and go over every question and how you answered it. Never rehearse your answers: you dont want to come across as staged. This is ultimately a conversation. What the video or soundbite will do is show you any nervous mannerisms that you may be committing unconsciously. Maybe youre tapping your fingers. Maybe youre looking at the ceiling as you answer a question. Maybe youre playing with your hands in a distracting way. Perhaps youre interrupting the interviewer when he or she is asking a question. Ive been doing interview prep for students for such a long time that I can tell you that students never notice these things. They will do things during interviews that they are completely unaware of only because they feel like theyre under a lot of pressure. They focus on their thought processes, not their mannerisms. An experienced interview preparer will walk you through the mock interview, pinpointing all your strengths and weaknesses. In short, do the college interviews because they do add value to your application to a college or university but be sure to engage in some preparation before the interview. Work with people who know how the process works, record yourself practicing, and anticipate the questions. And please, no torn jeans and t-shirts even if the interview is in Florida in August. Check out ScholarEdge College Consultingfor more information. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

English Listening Exercise The Future

English Listening Exercise The Future As we enter into the last month of the year 2013, we may start to think about the past and wonder about the future. Talking about predictions and the future can be difficult in English.We use will for general predictions but if we are talking about probability. We can also use could, might, or may. This weeks English listening exercise  uses a TED video featuring Pete Alcorns prediction for the 2200 uses these words frequently.Answer the questions below in comments, and well respond.1. How long does he think we are from a new enlightenment? 2. The worlds population is expected to ____ ___ at something hopefully a bit less than 10 billion. 3. What are the 2 benefits of a declining population? 4. What happened in Europe after the plague? (4 things) 5. Human history is kind of viewed as this _________ ____ from the good old days. 6. Why talk about the future? 7. Fear for the future can lead to some ____ decisions. 8. What does he predict for your great great grandchildren?What do you th ink about the worlds future? What about your countries future? As always if you put your answers in comments Ill correct them. Carlos 1. 150 year2. Top ..3. Few people make investment in properly about that / drives wages increase4. rises wages / land reform / technological innovations / .. the middle class5. downhill fly6. to avoid the nasty murders past7. rush decisions8about.I tried but I couldnt understand any words, Thanks LOIEnglish CarlosGood work.Question #2: top out-it means to level off Question #3: two things: property prices drop and wages increase Question #4: Good! you had it all the verb you are missing is: birth of the middle class.Question #5: downhill SLIDE; when something decreases in value or importance.Question #6: good; murder is the the verb and noun the adjective is: murderous.Question #7: rash-this means too quick without thought. It was a rash decision to buy the house.Question #8: a new enlightenment and a general positive future. Carlos can you try th e writing exercise? Ilka 1. How long does he think we are from a new enlightenment? 150 years. 2. The world’s population is expected to top out at something hopefully a bit less than 10 billion. 3. What are the 2 benefits of a declining population? Price of land drops, wages increase. 4. What happened in Europe after the plague? (4 things) Rising wages, land reform, technological innovation, and birth of the middle class 5. Human history is kind of viewed as this downhill flied from the good old days. 6. Why talk about the future? Because transitions are dangerous times. 7. Fear for the future can lead to some rash decisions. 8. What does he predict for your great great grandchildren? They will forget all about mouths(?) and instead they will be planning for the future and starting to build the 20sth century enlightenment. LOIEnglish Ilkagood listening skills!Question #5: downhill slideQuestion #8: They will forget all about malaise-malaise |m?'laz, -'lez| noun: a general feelin g of discomfort, illness, or uneasiness whose exact cause is difficult to identify: a society afflicted by a deep cultural malaise | a general air of malaise. Ilka Not that good! I need to repeat the listening many times Thanks a lot!

Healthcare Communication Problems with Linguistic Minorities

Healthcare Communication Problems with Linguistic Minorities Dissatisfaction with Healthcare Communication in the Second Language By Gabriel Émile Édouard Nicolet (Swiss, 1856-1921) [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsEffective communication between healthcare providers and their patients is an important factor in patient satisfaction. Global patient satisfaction with healthcare has been found to be lower among patients who have more provider-patient communication problems (Charles, Goldsmith, Chambers, Haynes, Gauld, 1996). The most commonly reported problems involve failures on the part of providers to communicate when communication is expected, such as failing to explain what the provider is intending to do while examining a patient, keeping the patient in the dark about daily routines, and failing to communicate adequately during discharge planning. Dissatisfaction with Healthcare Communication in the Second Language Global dissatisfaction with healthcare becomes more acute, however, when the provider and patient cannot effectively communicate in each other’s language. In a study of 26 international medical graduates enrolled in an Internal Medicine residency program at Wayne State University, a significant correlation was found between language proficiency and patient satisfaction (Eggly, Musial, Smulowitz, 1999). In another study, Spanish-speaking patients in San Francisco were also found to be less satisfied with the care they received from non-Spanish speaking physicians (Fernandez et al., 2004), and in the North-eastern United States, a variety of non-English speaking patients reported less satisfaction than their English-speaking counterparts with emergency room care, courtesy and respect, and with discharge instructions (Carrasquillo, Orav, Brennan, Burstin, 1999). Comparisons made between members of the same linguistic minority group also showed a correlation between language proficie ncy and satisfaction levels. For example, low-English-proficiency Korean patients over the age of 60 in the U.S. were less likely to be satisfied with the healthcare service they received than Koreans with higher levels of proficiency (Jang, Kim, Chiriboga, 2005). Indeed, not speaking the language of the patient adds to a patient’s suffering. One emergency department study found that Spanish-speaking Hispanic patients were half as likely to receive analgesia in the treatment of their long bone fractures as their English-speaking counterparts (Todd, Samaroo, Hoffman, 1993). Worse still, a failure to anticipate communication problems and accommodate low-language proficiency clientele can turn fatal, as was recently illustrated in a news story of an Albanian immigrant who killed himself, thinking his wife had been diagnosed with AIDS when hospital staff told him his wifes blood type was A-positive (The Canadian Press, 2007). Improving Healthcare Access for Linguistic Minorities One obvious solution to increasing healthcare access to linguistic minorities is to use interpreters. Whereas the use of hospital-trained interpreters in pediatric emergency departments was found to increase parents’ satisfaction with their physicians and nurses (Garcia, Roy et al., 2006), in primary care medical interviews a reliance upon interpreters is somewhat more problematic. Aranguri, Davidson, and Ramirez (2006) observed that during regular doctors’ appointments with Hispanic patients about half of the words exchanged between doctor and patient were missing from interpreters’ translations. All small talk, known to increase patients’ emotional engagement in their treatments and their doctors’ ability to get a comprehensive patient history, was eliminated. Patients’ questions, an important indication of patients’ engagement with their own care, were also significantly reduced when an interpreter was used. To reduce the heavy reliance on interpreters in healthcare, Zambrana et al. (2004) recommend hiring more minority, linguistically competent, and culturally competent healthcare providers in managed care networks. They argue that having healthcare providers that speak the same language as their patients will lead to lowered costs, greater healthcare access, better health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and patient compliance. There is evidence to support this claim. One study investigating patient outcomes found that asthma patients cared for by doctors who spoke their language were more likely to take their medication and less likely to miss office appointments or make resource-intensive emergency room visits than patients with doctors who did not speak their language (Manson, 1988). Another study found that patients whose doctors spoke their language asked more questions and had a better recall of their doctor’s recommendations (Seijo, Girmez, Freidenberg, 1991). A Resource Medical Professionals Learning English The Virtual Writing Tutor grammar checker is equipped with a number of pronunciation tools, including a text-to-speech engine that can help medical professionals refine their pronunciation in English. To practice the questions needed to perform a  medical history interview, the Virtual Writing Tutor provides a Flash-based simulation of a medical history interview with an English-speaking diabetic man. To help medical professionals become better aware of their medical English and to develop their medical vocabulary, the Virtual Writing Tutor also has a vocabulary checker. References Aranguri, C., Davidson, B., Ramirez, R. (2006). Patterns of Communication through Interpreters:   A Detailed Sociolinguistic Analysis.  Journal of General Internal Medicine,  21(6), 623â€"629. Carrasquillo, O., Orav, E. J., Brennan, T. A., Burstin, H. R. (1999). Impact of language barriers on patient satisfaction in an emergency department.  Journal of General Internal Medicine,  14(2),   82â€"87. Charles, C., Goldsmith, L. J., Chambers, L., Haynes, R. B., Gauld, M. (1996). Provider-Patient Communication Among Elderly and Nonelderly Patients in Canadian Hospitals: A National Survey.  Health Communication,  8(3), 281. Eggly, S., Musial, J., Smulowitz, J. (1999). Research and Discussion Note The Relationship between English Language Proficiency and Success as a Medical Resident.  English for Specific  Purposes,  18(2), 201â€"208. Fernandez, A., Schillinger, D., Grumbach, K., Rosenthal, A., Stewart, A. L., Wang, F., Perez-Stable, E. J. (2004). Physician language ability and cultural competence an exploratory study of communication with Spanish-speaking patients.  Journal of General Internal Medicine,  19(2), 167â€"174. Jang, Y., Kim, G., Chiriboga, D. A. (2005). Health, healthcare utilization, and satisfaction with service: barriers and facilitators for older Korean Americans.  J Am Geriatr Soc,  53(9), 1613â€"7. Manson, A. (1988). Language Concordance as a Determinant of Patient Compliance and Emergency Room Use in Patients with Asthma.  Medical Care,  26(12), 1119â€"1128. Seijo, R., Girmez, H., Freidenberg, J. (1991). Language as a communication barrier in medical care for Latino patients.  Hisp J Behav Sci,  13(363). The Canadian Press. (2007, December 11). Caregivers must be open to cultural differences,  commission told. Retrieved January 2, 2008, from http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/12/11/qc-bouchardtaylor.html Todd, K. H., Samaroo, N., Hoffman, J. R. (1993). Ethnicity as a risk factor for inadequate emergency department analgesia.  JAMA,  269(12), 1537â€"1539. Zambrana, R. E., Molnar, C., Munoz, H. B., Lopez, D. S. (2004). Cultural competency as it intersects with racial/ethnic, linguistic, and class disparities in managed healthcare organizations.  Am J Manag Care,  10 Spec No, SP37â€"44. Please follow and like us: