Logophile101

03.06.19 - monday

during exams i used to get really stressed out about not having enough time to study between, so i designed myself a lil study planner that maps out my week

it has a section for events, a checklist, and a time tracker so i can tell myself to stop freaking out :) if anyone wants the pdf, lemme know!

不要因为失败而觉得丢脸，从中学习，重新再来。

Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.

理查布兰森 Richard Branson

100 days of languages: day 10

day 10: learn 4 idioms

1. 如火如荼 rú huǒ rú tú like wildfire, unstoppable

他的生意如火如荼。

2. 大街小巷 dà jié xiǎo xiàng great streets and small alleys, everywhere in the city

每天晚上都有很多警察在全市的大街小巷进行查巡。

3. 赞不绝口 zàn bù jué kǒu to praise without cease, to praise to high heaven

游客总是对我们的优美环境赞不绝口。

4. 平易近人 píng yí jìn rén amiable and approachable, easy-going

好的领导平易近人。

不要降低你的梦想为了屈服现实。增加你的信念去匹配你的命运。

Don’t downgrade your dream just to fit your reality. Upgrade your conviction to match your destiny.

Hey! I am really late with this, but I though that some of you might like to see how I make my monthly spreads. I did this sort of “infographics” (??? am I even allowed to call this thing infographics??) and even though it looks like this, I had so much fun making it :D. I really don’t know whether this is helpful or not, I tried. In case you’d like to see more tutorials (and hopefully better ones) in the future, let me know please? And thanks if you read it till the end, it’s so long :D

(I totally ran out of space for pictures at the end lol)

Learning a foreign language is intimidating to many students, so I though I’d share some of my best tips for effective language studying!

MEMORIZE SMARTLY

Be selective about vocabulary. If you’re learning a language for class, you most likely won’t have much control over the material you learn. However, if you’re self-studying and you do have a choice, invest your time and energy wisely by prioritizing vocabulary to memorize based on what is significant and relevant.

Significant words are the ones that are the most common in the language. Learning these core words and phrases will give you a bigger return by allowing you to sooner start comprehending more things. For example, studies show that 0.5% of the English language, or the 3000 most common words, makes up 95% of the content in any given conversation or written text (source). You can search online to find lists of the words that appear most frequently in your target language. I used this list of the top 1000 French words to get me started.

Relevant words are the ones that pertain to your unique needs and interests, such as vocabulary to describe yourself, your career, and/or your family members. If you’re traveling to another country, you may need phrases for introducing yourself, asking for directions, or buying things. If you’re a gourmand, you may want to learn the names of different types of food. You’ll be more likely to retain and use words that are interesting and relevant to your own life.

Use spaced repetition to memorize faster. I explain how to use the spaced repetition method in this post, although you can also achieve the same effect without using Anki.

Apply the vocabulary you’ve learned. You can engage with new vocabulary by doing the following:

Make it a goal to incorporate the word you’ve just learned into your next three conversations.

Learn phrases and idiomatic expressions that include the new word (ex: if you’ve just learned the English word green, learn green thumb and green with envy next).

Research the context the word is usually used in– is it formal? casual? vulgar? specific to one particular use or topic?

Write funny, creative sentences or stories using your new word(s) to help them better stick in your memory. This is especially important for verbs, so you can see the conjugations in action instead of merely memorizing a table of endings.

Don’t neglect memorizing correct spelling, accent marks, or the genders of new words. These often seem like trivial details to beginning language learners, but slacking off on these will come back to bite you down the road. Even small mistakes can change the entire meaning of what you want to say. Genders, especially, are hard to memorize but imperative to know for making adjectives and object pronouns agree.

AVOID TRANSLATING

Most language learners will hear/read something being spoken/written in their target language, mentally translate it to their native language and formulate a response in their native language, then translate their response back to their target language. This direct translation will slow down your rate of comprehension and expression, make you unable to speak naturally and fluently, and increase your chances of making mistakes with idiomatic expressions (ex: incorrectly writing Je suis 12 ans instead of J’ai 12 ans). Aim to avoid internally translating as much as possible.

Instead, learn to think in your target language by using the following methods:

Connect new vocabulary and phrases with images and ideas, not translations or definitions in your native language.

Draw doodles that represent new vocab words you receive. This doesn’t work for all words, but I try to draw a picture for all the words on my weekly French vocabulary list, and I’ve found it very helpful.

When making flashcards, put the new word on one side and an image to represent it (as opposed to the translation in your native language) on the other.

Look around you and describe items you see in your target language (color, size, use, etc.)

If you’re reading and you come across a word you don’t know, attempt to ascertain its meaning through context clues instead of immediately looking it up.

Once you’ve reached an intermediate/advanced level, use a monolingual dictionary so definitions for all new vocabulary will be in your target language instead of your native one.

However, don’t feel discouraged if you find yourself frequently translating in your head. The way most schools teach foreign languages focuses on translating, not thinking in the target language, so you’ll likely have some tendencies and habits that are hard to break. Practice, practice, practice, and you’ll get better!

IMMERSE YOURSELF

Obviously, the fastest way to learn a new language is to travel to a foreign country where you’ll be forced to use it. But if you don’t have the resources to take a trip, there are many ways to get the immersion effect from the comfort of your own home.

Consume a variety of written and spoken language though television, movies, music, news, blogs, poetry, comics, podcasts, audiobooks, YouTube videos, and/or children’s books.

If you’ve already completed your Duolingo course, try doing it backwards.  Instead of the native language to target language course, do the target language to native language course. If you know 3+ languages, do the Language 2 to Language 3 course for an extra challenge!

Speaking of Duolingo, the immersion feature is a great way to find articles in your target language that are both appropriate to your skill level and relevant to your interests. I tend to avoid the translation aspect for reasons stated in the previous section, but I still think reading the articles is useful.

Find a pen pal who’s a native speaker. You can communicate through email or online chat, but snail mail could allow you to also send each other trinkets and souvenirs from your respective countries/cultures. HelloTalk is a great app that allows you to connect with native speakers of your target language who are learning your native language, so you can teach and help each other.

Change the language on your phone, laptop, and/or browser to your target language. You can change the language in your device settings, and I personally use the extension Language Immersion for Chrome for my browser. Just make sure you know how to change it back!

Lastly, have confidence and take risks! Make an attempt to say something even if you’re not 100% sure it’s correct. I know how embarrassing mistakes can be (I once used “un baiser” as a verb and I still cringe thinking about it. Yikes!), but ultimately it’s all part of the learning process and leaving your comfort zone is the only way to improve. Trying to learn other languages is admirable in itself, so take pride in that and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there!

Thanks for reading! If you have questions, feedback, or post requests, feel free to drop me an ask.

+Click here for the rest of my original reference posts!

—Sophia :)

Hello this is Nina, your local depressed college girl that’s decided to work on turning her life around and starting the new year with a more positive and happy attitude.

I know there a hundreds of similar lists and tips out there but I just thought I’d get all my favourites in one place and that way maybe motivate myself to actually follow them for once. I know my wording isn’t the best but I tried. 

Here’s the few tips I’ve picked up so far and I hope they might help some of you if you are struggling a bit also:

Physical:

Space - your personal/work/study space plays a big role in making you feel productive and motivated. Doesn’t matter if its your dorm room, bedroom, office…you should make it your own as much as you can. Put a plant on your desk, get a nice picture for the wall, hang some fairy lights, get a fluffy blanket for your bed, repaint your walls in your favourite color if you can, just make it cozy and comfy and nice to look at and I guarantee you’ll start to feel better. Try to keep it clean and neat, I know it’s hard sometimes, but working in a clean space makes you ten times more productive.

Self care - start with physical things, drink those 8 glasses of water and keep a tab on it until you get used to it, use handcream everytime you wash your hands, put on moisturizer every morning and sunscreen when you go out, go for a walk around the park at least every other day, and for fucks sake go to sleep at a reasonable hour, you’ll be so grateful in the morning if you do. Show your body some appreciation. 

Mental:

Take some ‘me’ time - we might we don’t have time for this, but it’s so important we make some time. First thing in the morning, during the day or before bed, just take a few minutes and relax. Put on your favourite song, burn a scented candle, drink a hot cup of tea, sit down and just breathe. 

Be proud of yourself regardless - take that ‘me’ time and reflect on your day, pat yourself on the back for everything you did even if it was just getting out of bed. Life is a bitch sometimes and you should be just as proud of yourself for the little things. It’s okay to sometimes be lazy, to procrastinate, to not do anything. You aren’t a machine, you’ll burn out if all you do is work.

Appreciate the little things - on those lazy days it’s sometimes hard to not feel miserable about it. That’s when you should appreciate the little things in life. Get yourself that coffee you love so much and enjoy it, go to a roof, watch the sunset and appreciate the colors, take a photo of anything you find pretty and look back at them when you feel down…make yourself believe those moments made your whole day and suddenly it’ll feel like your life’s meaning isn’t just getting up and working/studying all the time, but enjoying everything you get to do and see in between too.

Other:

Find your interests - and stick to them!! We all like to give up on things if we aren’t immediately good at them. But no one was born an expert. And as cliché as it sounds practise does make perfect. Join a drawing class, a dance club, a writing class, get a course book on your target language, download editing softwear and play around with it, watch documentaries about your favourite subject. If you fall out of your hobby in the end it’s no big deal, but you’ll know you gave it a try and didn’t miss an opportunity to learn something new. 

Journaling - this might not be for everybody, but I found it helps me clear my mind a lot to put my thoughts on paper and have everything organized in written form. I just love having all my things in one place where I can just look and see where I’m at, whether it’s plans for the day, my thoughts, my playlists, pretty pictures, anything really. It’s also a great way to be creative. 

Start now - this is the most important one! Kick yourself in the ass and start taking care of yourself today! Get that glass of water right now, light a scented candle, read that book you’ve been putting off, watch that documentary about your favourite thing. Start enjoying your life right now, even if it’s only for a second, tommorow it’ll be two and three the day after and hopefully soon it’ll be a whole day. 

不要在畏惧中失去自我。

Don’t lose yourself in your fear.

我会继续跑下去，不管有多想放弃∼

I will keep running, no matter how much I feel like giving up.

两个人之间最坏的距离就是误解。

The worst distance between two people is misunderstanding.