Online coaching for entrance tests

By Sanjeev Singh Bariana

If you cannot afford tuition fee to assess your potential for entry into a management course, GMAT or GRE, take a simple online test at the tcyonline.com website and plan for your future. The test can be attempted free of cost. In a novel endeavour, Top Careers and You, a Ludhiana-based company, which provides coaching classes for a range of entrance tests, including MBA, MCA, GRE, GMAT, SAT and law courses, has launched the site recently. Within a short span of a little more than a couple of months, the enrollment figure has crossed 40,000.

Giving the details, Kamal Wadhera, Chief Executive Officer, said benchmarking is a key issue in planning for any entrance examination today. Benchmarking done by individual coaching classes don’t give the correct standing of a candidate vis-à-vis students in other institutes. “Thus, we decided to create a common pool where a student could make his comparisons with students all over the country.”

Wadhera said, “We have exposed students online to all our contents in our eight years’ experience. We have taken a big risk, however, the initial response tells that the site will save our financial interests as well while giving quality offer of assessment to students. As far as our financial gains are concerned, we have been approached by certain institutes for their online advertisements. We are looking into the matter and in case we get decent return, we might also make free the expert coaching classes which we will provide at a level higher than the entry level. Students will have a liberty to choose their levels.”

It is also possible for students to pick any section of the testing material like IQ, general knowledge or numbers to estimate their potential based on the standings that the computer result would offer. The site allows teachers, or just passionate mentors and writers, to share their questions and tutorials with thousands of students by uploading their content in any format.

“We are working out the details of financial costs of Value-Added Services (VAS) under which students will have the option to choose tests, based on their preparation levels. Just clarifying on front of payments by students, our institute will offer free online testing to all students who want to check their standings in the general merit at the national level before joining expert coaching. The exercise will save a lot of time and money and also tell students their actual standing before they choose to commence their journey in preparing for any entrance examination,” Wadhera added.

HOW CAN ONE START SPEAKING ENGLISH?

Any course for learning a language has a focus that deals with one or more of its different aspects or the ways in which a language is used i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing. No doubt, when it comes to learning a language, all these skills relate to one another in one way or the other that focus on any one of these will naturally cover the other areas as well; but different learners face different problems.. For example, there may be an individual who has quite a flare for writing but unable to speak confidently.

In this article we’ll consider some of the methods and procedures that can help a learner. We generally come across such students, at the beginning level, who bother too much about the slang. Firstly, it is necessary to make this fact clear that, in speaking, slang matters the least. As a matter of fact, today the number of non-native users of English language is much more than that of the native users. So, it is time to get rid of the feeling that slang is something fashionable and unavoidable. However, it is definitely beneficial to understand slang for many reasons in the sense that knowledge of slang will help a reader to understand the style of writing and speaking followed by users in different geographical regions. Secondly, some of the beginners also have a craze for using heavy sounding words. When one talks to such people, it seems as if they are walking dictionaries.

Another pitfall that the beginners tend to worry about is the ACCENT.

To put it in brief, the best is what is understood the best. So long as, others do not face any difficulty while listening to you, accent does not matter. No doubt, the correct and clear pronunciation of all the sounds is an area of concern. Any non -native speaker of an international language must work on his particular problem sounds in order to reach a level of proficiency where listener of any origin or nationality is able to communicate with him without any difficulty.
Learning International Phonetic Alphabet not only helps to produce different sounds correctly and effortlessly but also distinguish between similar sounding vowels and consonants. Generally, people do not realize the importance of being particular about the pronunciation of words. Here are some tips that a beginner may find helpful in learning English as a second language.

1. “Speak, Speak & Speak “

At this level, the best tool for any learner of English language is that he/she misses no chance of being in conversation with others at any cost. Make sure that you use this language for most part of the day and for different communication purposes. Listening is also important at this time as it helps the learner acquire a greater understanding of a language.
Learning a language is a two way process.

LISTENING………………………………◄
INPUT
READING………………………………◄

►…………………………………..SPEAKING
OUTPUT
►…………………………………..WRITING

The more carefully you listen to other speakers, the more accurate your own speech will be. Secondly, being a regular listener of some selected radio programs will surely help you. The best thing about radio is that our listening process is not disrupted by the constantly flashing visuals on the screen as in case of the TV and it does suffice the learner’s purpose of listening carefully. Besides, watching popular English TV shows and movies is also beneficial. Reading is another key area. It’s but natural for any well read learner to have a fairer chance of knowing more about a certain topic or situation which automatically enables him/her to for longer durations and that too with great confidence. Reading story books at the initial stage is a good option especially for the poor readers.

For those who feel too much hesitant to express themselves at the initial stage; writing the key words or the hints proves to be beneficial. In case you don’t have someone to talk to, for most part of the day, do not idle away your time, instead prepare a list of general questions like What are you currently doing, your career plans or your home town etc. and write down the responses in your notebook. Keep your eyes open to those colorful, attractive and informative sign boards all along your way as they keep you updated about what’s new?

The next step is to take help of some lessons in English language or join such classes to learn the fundamentals of grammar and improve your speaking skills. These tutorials must include activities like general conversation, dialogues, discussions and debates on various issues or current events. Along with these activities of speaking; attempting various work books for basic and functional grammar is also necessary. Solve the practice exercises that focus on particular problem areas or the usage of different parts of speech.

Gradually, when you would begin to feel more confident about your speaking skills as compared to your performance in the past; you’ll discover a new problem and say to yourself “I need more words!”

The next step, therefore, is to build up a good vocabulary. Though it’s a lifelong and unending process, yet a little more focused effort can bring a great change. Try out maintaining a diary everyday, write down all the new words that you come across, look for the meanings in the Dictionary and also form exemplary sentences for each word. Read newspapers and magazines. Different sections of such publications keep you informed about the vocabulary in current usage.

Further, if possible make e-pals amongst the native speakers via internet. There are various communities that you may join and talk to. This will not only enhance your communication skills, but also enables you to grasp the correct pronunciation and the native accent of the language. Visiting an English speaking country, if possible, would surely improve your understanding of the native culture, literature and social life in general which can act as the final step of the process of learning English language.

4 phonetic alphabet.

5 Work on one problem sound at a time./ Read slowly concentrating on the pronunciation of particular words. Record yourself, keep the tape and record yourself later, have you improved? Don’t be shy - ask a friend to listen to the tape too.

6 Read short stories out loud and try to see, say and hear the

7 Talk to friends who are also learning English. Go out together for coffee and only speak English to each other

• You can find ePals on the Internet!
• Visit an Irish / English / Australian theme pub. Often, the waiters and waitresses come from English-speaking countries, the menu is often in English too!
• You can find pen pals through specialist magazines. See my Resources Page for details of a few.

Join an English club or conversation group. Around the world there are many English speaking clubs, these clubs aren’t just for expats but for people interested in the English way of life. They are friendly and fun. For a list of English clubs click here. Check magazines as well as your phone book, your local newspaper and your local university. Or if there isn’t one in your area - start one! Place an advertisement in your newspaper for people interested in starting a group or go to Meetup

HOW CAN ONE START SPEAKING ENGLISH?

Any course for learning a language has a focus that deals with one or more of its different aspects or the ways in which a language is used i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing. No doubt, when it comes to learning a language, all these skills relate to one another in one way or the other that focus on any one of these will naturally cover the other areas as well; but different learners face different problems.. For example, there may be an individual who has quite a flare for writing but unable to speak confidently.

In this article we’ll consider some of the methods and procedures that can help a learner. We generally come across such students, at the beginning level, who bother too much about the slang. Firstly, it is necessary to make this fact clear that, in speaking, slang matters the least. As a matter of fact, today the number of non-native users of English language is much more than that of the native users. So, it is time to get rid of the feeling that slang is something fashionable and unavoidable. However, it is definitely beneficial to understand slang for many reasons in the sense that knowledge of slang will help a reader to understand the style of writing and speaking followed by users in different geographical regions. Secondly, some of the beginners also have a craze for using heavy sounding words. When one talks to such people, it seems as if they are walking dictionaries.

Another pitfall that the beginners tend to worry about is the ACCENT.

To put it in brief, the best is what is understood the best. So long as, others do not face any difficulty while listening to you, accent does not matter. No doubt, the correct and clear pronunciation of all the sounds is an area of concern. Any non -native speaker of an international language must work on his particular problem sounds in order to reach a level of proficiency where listener of any origin or nationality is able to communicate with him without any difficulty.
Learning International Phonetic Alphabet not only helps to produce different sounds correctly and effortlessly but also distinguish between similar sounding vowels and consonants. Generally, people do not realize the importance of being particular about the pronunciation of words. Here are some tips that a beginner may find helpful in learning English as a second language.

1. “Speak, Speak & Speak “

At this level, the best tool for any learner of English language is that he/she misses no chance of being in conversation with others at any cost. Make sure that you use this language for most part of the day and for different communication purposes. Listening is also important at this time as it helps the learner acquire a greater understanding of a language.
Learning a language is a two way process.

LISTENING………………………………◄
INPUT
READING………………………………◄

►…………………………………..SPEAKING
OUTPUT
►…………………………………..WRITING

The more carefully you listen to other speakers, the more accurate your own speech will be. Secondly, being a regular listener of some selected radio programs will surely help you. The best thing about radio is that our listening process is not disrupted by the constantly flashing visuals on the screen as in case of the TV and it does suffice the learner’s purpose of listening carefully. Besides, watching popular English TV shows and movies is also beneficial. Reading is another key area. It’s but natural for any well read learner to have a fairer chance of knowing more about a certain topic or situation which automatically enables him/her to for longer durations and that too with great confidence. Reading story books at the initial stage is a good option especially for the poor readers.

For those who feel too much hesitant to express themselves at the initial stage; writing the key words or the hints proves to be beneficial. In case you don’t have someone to talk to, for most part of the day, do not idle away your time, instead prepare a list of general questions like What are you currently doing, your career plans or your home town etc. and write down the responses in your notebook. Keep your eyes open to those colorful, attractive and informative sign boards all along your way as they keep you updated about what’s new?

The next step is to take help of some lessons in English language or join such classes to learn the fundamentals of grammar and improve your speaking skills. These tutorials must include activities like general conversation, dialogues, discussions and debates on various issues or current events. Along with these activities of speaking; attempting various work books for basic and functional grammar is also necessary. Solve the practice exercises that focus on particular problem areas or the usage of different parts of speech.

Gradually, when you would begin to feel more confident about your speaking skills as compared to your performance in the past; you’ll discover a new problem and say to yourself “I need more words!”

The next step, therefore, is to build up a good vocabulary. Though it’s a lifelong and unending process, yet a little more focused effort can bring a great change. Try out maintaining a diary everyday, write down all the new words that you come across, look for the meanings in the Dictionary and also form exemplary sentences for each word. Read newspapers and magazines. Different sections of such publications keep you informed about the vocabulary in current usage.

Further, if possible make e-pals amongst the native speakers via internet. There are various communities that you may join and talk to. This will not only enhance your communication skills, but also enables you to grasp the correct pronunciation and the native accent of the language. Visiting an English speaking country, if possible, would surely improve your understanding of the native culture, literature and social life in general which can act as the final step of the process of learning English language.

4 phonetic alphabet.

5 Work on one problem sound at a time./ Read slowly concentrating on the pronunciation of particular words. Record yourself, keep the tape and record yourself later, have you improved? Don’t be shy - ask a friend to listen to the tape too.

6 Read short stories out loud and try to see, say and hear the

7 Talk to friends who are also learning English. Go out together for coffee and only speak English to each other

• You can find ePals on the Internet!
• Visit an Irish / English / Australian theme pub. Often, the waiters and waitresses come from English-speaking countries, the menu is often in English too!
• You can find pen pals through specialist magazines. See my Resources Page for details of a few.

Join an English club or conversation group. Around the world there are many English speaking clubs, these clubs aren’t just for expats but for people interested in the English way of life. They are friendly and fun. For a list of English clubs click here. Check magazines as well as your phone book, your local newspaper and your local university. Or if there isn’t one in your area - start one! Place an advertisement in your newspaper for people interested in starting a group or go to Meetup

Earn and learn online, tcyonline style

April 5, 2008 at 7:24 am · Filed under Edu-News, Teachers, Career Counseling

Shifting gears to move with the changing times, the modern student in the country today prefers to supplement his classroom education with online learning, be it his regular exam preparation for school or college, or any competitive exam.

At the same time, ‘not-so-computer-savvy’ students are getting jittery following the recent announcement of elite CAT going online next year. Such students are feeling a sense of insecurity and are making hectic efforts to learn net-surfing fast.

The broadband internet has made e-learning the modern buzzword and the students are taking a full advantage of free downloadable tests made available by www.tcyonline.com, the largest student-teacher platform in the country.

It is worth noting that the website is fast moving towards its target of 100,000 enrolments. On an average over 6000 students visit the site daily and are being benefited in their exam preparations, be it for IELTS , Medical or MBA.

Scores of free downloadable tests are available on the website for school and college examinations apart from some competitive tests being held in the country from time to time. These practice tests help the student in not only assessing his or her level before the actual exam, but are a wonderful way to benchmark himself or herself with anybody and anywhere in country.

The company is also making long strides through its two programs called ‘BetterThink’ and ‘STEPS’ in imparting quality education to the students and trouble-shooting their problems with the help of Live support by subject-experts and technical experts at tcyonline.com.

Boon for teachers:

Tcyonline.com is a real bonanza for teachers as well. An ‘attractive’ revenue model for teachers, launched about couple of months back, has evoked an ‘overwhelming’ response from the teaching community nationwide. Hundreds of satisfied teachers are uploading their tests on this unique website and are being financially benefited.

“This largest teacher-student platform in the country is a real boon for teachers because now they can earn a life-long income through our website,” said Mr. Kamal Wadhera, the CEO of tcyonline.com, an online initiative of Top Careers & You (TCY).

“Surpassing our all expectations, more and more teachers are flocking to this democratic platform every day and earning a handsome income,” the CEO said.

This education company launched this unique platform mainly for teachers to enable them earn a steady monthly income by uploading their content on the website.

Since the launch of this platform about couple of months back, over 1500 teachers have registered themselves on the site and are making ‘good’ money.

The encouraging part of the whole exercise is teachers are getting used to uploading their content on the website, thanks to the technical support offered by tcyonline.com experts.

Mr. Javed Ahmed, an IT professional-turned-online teacher from Hyderabad, who started uploading his MBA tests about two months back, is a happy man today thanks to the initiative by this website. “I couldn’t imagine teachers can make such easy money until I came across this website while net-surfing one fine morning. Basically I am an IT guy but money through uploading tests has really supplemented my income,” he said.

Mr. Ahmed, however, suggested that the financial gains of online-teachers like him should be based on number of downloads. “It’s a wonderful side-income for teachers and I would suggest other teachers, especially the retired ones, to come to the site to earn some good money,” he added.

For a blogger-turned-online teacher from a small city off Mumbai, Mr. Rajiv Vashisht, this website has come as a ‘good lucrative business’. He has uploaded quite a good number of MBA and English tests since the last one month. Mr Vashisht is of the view the tests should be ‘better categorized’ for the convenience of the students and the payment system for the teachers should be further streamlined.

Mr. Manoj Dogra, an online teacher from Himachal Pradesh, is all praise for this ‘totally unique’ website. “While other websites charge money, to my knowledge tcyonline.com is the only website which is totally free for the teachers and the students,” he said. Mr. Dogra, who is also running his own coaching institute for competitive exams like MBA suggested that the tests should be in a ‘more systematic order’ for the convenience of the students.

For the uninitiated, this unique concept is a real windfall for the teachers because now they can start earning through this website right from the day one as they can get their works published even if it is a couple of tests. Just with an effort of three-four hours on a single test, a teacher can make good money and can also keep track of his earnings in very transparent platform.

tcyonline is currently paying a good amount to the teachers as per each test uploaded. On top of that, they are also making money since the students have started attempting these tests. So, in a way they can turn their one-time effort into a life-long earning. This website is very particular about the originality of the content but does not bind them for an exclusive content.

About tcyonline.com:

Tcyonline.com is an online initiative of Top Careers & You (TCY). Founded in 1998, TCY provides college level test preparation and school level supplemental education services. The company serves almost all the sections of student community, through classroom teaching, and online mode; from K-12 to students preparing for competitive exams. TCY is present at 34 locations, and is tying up with more like-minded individuals and businesses, to further extend its footprint across the country.

TCYonline.com Challenge Zone

ne 20, 2008 at 4:22 am · Filed under Edu-schools, Edu-News, TCYonline, Tests Preparation, Teacher-Student Platform

The real way of exam preparation

NEW DELHI, June 20 - TCYonline.com, India’s number one web-portal for teachers and students, today launched the ‘Challenge Zone’ – a unique testing competitive tool — on its website which takes pride in having more than 1.15 lakh enrolled students and 3600 registered teachers across the country.

This free ‘challenge’ is something the students have always imagined but never had a chance to experience it anywhere. “The idea behind this initiative is to give a required boost to student-benchmarking through this thrilling learning experience, “ said Mr. Kamal Wadhera, the CEO of TCY, while launching this state-of-the-art ‘testing tool’, meticulously prepared by TCYonline.com experts with their decade-long experience. “I must say, no student can ill-afford to miss this testing tool,” he added.

“It is something we probably needed but never knew it could happen”, was the common feeling among a bunch of test-takers we spoke to during ‘test-rides’.

“Our experience tells that students desperately need such tools for customised testing but they don’t know what they need. It’s like what Henry Ford said,” If I’d asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for a better horse…” Drawing such a comparison of what the world’s motor-car giant, Henry Ford, had once said, Mr. Wadhera observed that the modern student couldn’t have asked for more.

Better benchmarking being the key to better scores, thanks to education portals like www.tcyonline.com, today a student in the country is in a better position to judge himself with anybody, anywhere and anytime. Touted as the success mantra by online education pundits, this ‘testing tool’ is sure to take students’ scores to dizzy heights, thereby giving them a great morale-boost.

This online unique competition puts a student on a sound pedestal, in full cruise-control. Now he can even choose to play a host. He can either ‘throw’ an on-the-spot challenge or schedule it at a later convenient time. Forming internet groups and scoring over each other is all set to be the in-thing in the Indian education arena. This Challenge Zone is just a beautiful beginning towards TCYonline.com’s objective of giving a new meaning to student-benchmarking in India.

The methodology: Just imagine, on a particular day and time an MBA aspirant in Chandigarh decides to benchmark himself against four other such aspirants in different parts of the country, say in Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. All he has to do is log on, select a test, invite his opponents, schedule his time and date. And, there you go!

“The beauty of this whole testing exercise is that a student can keep track of his performance (with onscreen score display) by controlling his speed and accuracy,” the CEO added. This is akin to keeping a tab on your running-mate.

Even inviting other students to the site, who are not online at that time, is as simple as sending a simple SMS. Students with the same goal can compete with each other. The benefits of this ‘challenge’ are many which include choice of better peers, better test, better time and better speed.

At the end of the test all the participants, including the host, will be able to see their scores on a scoreboard which will give them an idea as to where they stand and in what areas they have to improve upon. This testing tool may also shatter many of their false hopes that they might have developed during their course preparation.

The student might feel he is good in one subject but to his shock and dismay may face a stark reality like, “Oh, my God, I am nowhere as compared to that guy in Chennai.” Chances are he would work harder and overshoot his own goals. Now, that’s the beauty of this whole cerebral exercise. Want to jump on the bandwagon and take a ‘joy-ride’?

Salient features:-
• Ultimate form of customization
• Better peer choice
• Flexible time, better tests
• Self-motivating learning thrill
• Healthy competition for mutual benefit

About TCYonline.com:-
www.tcyonline.com is an online initiative of Top Careers & You (TCY). Founded in 1998, TCY provides college level test preparation and school level supplemental education services. The company serves almost all the sections of student community, through classroom teaching, and online mode; from K-12 to students preparing for competitive exams. TCY is present at 36 locations, and is tying up with more like-minded individuals and businesses, to further extend its footprint across the country.