Students spend their summer holidays in a number of different ways. Maybe you are taking this time to acquire some work experience? Working on an exciting personal project? Perhaps you are asking yourself how to study effectively.
However you decide to spend your vacation, it can be an ideal time to develop some new, smaller skills. More and more, employers expect their employees to have an array of varied talents: with some time away from your major subject, you can look into other fields and develop some complementary skills that could make the difference when applying for positions in the future.
The team at EU have put together a collection of study tips divided by focus, which can inspire you and give you some direction.
Learn to Code
“Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows where you live” – John Woods
With IT jobs set to grow 22% through 2020 in the U.S. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics biennial update on employment projections), we can be sure that this will be part of a global trend. Whether or not you plan to work directly in IT, there is almost no way that it will not be a part of the work you do.
Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to have a deeper understanding of the systems that we use daily. With more machines and IT systems than ever before, it is a great skill to pick up.
Steve Jobs also believed that coding was a great skill to learn not only for the practical applications, but also for that fact that it can teach us how to think.
Here are some resources that you can use:
Codecademy.com
Codecademy was one of the first websites that offered practical, interesting and fun tasks to teach students a number of coding languages. A helpful and collaborative community rallies to assist learners with questions, and discusses how to get the most out of the various programming languages.
Even if you are familiar with the original website and haven’t visited in a while, it is worth checking out to see how the website has changed since the recent update, we believe Codecademy embody the teacher of the future.
CodeCombat.com
CodeCombat is awesome. With perfect graphics and mechanics, if you are looking to learn the Python programming language in a fun and addictive way, this is definitely the website for you.
CodeCombat insists that it is a multiplayer game and not a gamified series of lessons because “that’s what programming is about. It’s gotta be fun. Not fun like yay a badge but fun like NO MOM I HAVE TO FINISH THE LEVEL!”
Learn a New Language
“To have another language is to possess a second soul.” – Charlemagne
With a largely multilingual student body, the benefits of learning a language are not lost on EU Business School students. That said, it is always handy to know a few key phrases in another language, and the potential benefits are hard to predict; people love to share their language and culture, and knowing a stranger’s language could help you make a fantastic impression.
According to Luis von Ahn, the founder of DuoLingo, “there are more people actively learning a language through DuoLingo than in the entire US public school system.” The potential for online language learning is huge, and language students online are spoiled for choice. With apps, newsletters, free courses and forums to choose from, there really is a perfect learning method just waiting out there for you.
Duolingo.com
DuoLingo is perhaps the most famous website for learning a language online. The website pioneered the gamification approach to language learning, and continues to lead the way for other language learning websites today.
With new languages constantly being added and a supportive and friendly community, learning a language can be a fun and participatory experience. Even better, why not add some of your EU Business School classmates as friends and see who earns the most points in a week?
Livemocha.com
If you already have the fundamentals of a language down but want to make that next leap to writing and communicating with others, LiveMocha is a great option. With LiveMocha students, teachers, and language experts convene to help one another with their written communications.
Constant feedback is great, and a supportive atmosphere means that when mistakes are inevitably made, they are a true opportunity to learn rather than reason to be embarrassed.
Busuu.com
Busuu has over 50 million users that are learning a language with its platform. It has a huge online community and materials that can help with all elements of language such as reading, writing, speaking and listening.
One of the key advantages compared to DuoLingo and other language learning websites lies in the variety of languages offered. In addition to the common European languages, users can opt to learn Arabic, Japanese, Chinese and Turkish.
Improve Your Vocabulary
“Why Pete – you express your ideas very well!”
The benefits of having a developed vocabulary in a career in business are numerous: you will be able to communicate with your peers; win them over to your cause with convincing arguments; and earn the admiration of colleagues.
Also, the acquisition of new words becomes easier with practice. The process of memorizing and integrating new words into your vocabulary is a useful skill in business, where different professions and sectors have specific words that you will need to know.
Here are some key resources to help you improve your vocabulary online:
Dictionary.com
This might seem like an obvious place to start for many. Dictionary.com makes the most of having one of the most high-profile .com domains, and has produced an incredibly useful and well-designed website. There is an excellent Word of the Day feature that can help you to learn some fun words. Along with the definition and other information that you would expect, there is also information about the etymology of the word.
Watch out though, some of the words that are chosen to feature as the word of the day are pretty useless…
Thesaurus.com
The partner site of Dictionary.com, thesaurus.com does exactly as it suggests. There are some nice additional features on thesaurus.com that can help you get a valuable extra insight into the millions of words featured in the database, such as word trends and quizzes.
Word facts can also help you with the finer points of using a certain word, and there are interesting pieces of trivia and interesting articles related to synonyms and language in general.
Build Your Vocabulary
The educational film Build Your Vocabulary was produced in 1948 to help the U.S. population find the exact words to express their ideas. The film itself showcases the benefits of a developed vocabulary; the clear and precise language used throughout create an incredibly informative and educational film.
The film is steeped in utterly charming WWII-era Americana. The film follows the story of a man who is hoping to develop his vocabulary so that he can contribute to a civic association meeting, and at just over 10 minutes, it is a film that is definitely worth watching.
We offered you many ways to improve study habits, we will leave you to enjoy your summer, and improving yourself using the web.
