[podudsco-deactivated20240714]

December Challenge | #1 Week: Improvements and set of activities

Hey there!

As I have said in my first post I want to finish with my A1 level until the end of this month, so that I can start 2020 with a “finished” goal ahead. I am doing this because everytime I get paralyzed as soon as we go for a new year and all my wishes and goals just stay as wishes and goals, because I froze and do anything!

Not this year, 2020! I will laugh at your face!

Being this my first week (from 01/12 to 07/12) I will start by sharing one of the tools I decided to use in my learning, and how I am managing to do it so (my daily and weekly goal).

I am also thinking about sharing some pieces of german learning I am getting from each tool (maybe vocabulary lists, german conversations, and so on), because I find really useful to see some post like this in my dashboard, it’s learning without noticing.

Goals x Tools:

I have decided to go with some small activies, knowing that with less than a hour a day I can have everything done (which makes me feel powerful, ha!) and also if I had a busy day, the chances are I won’t skip it that easily as if it was 2 or 3 hours a day, because it’s just 30 minutes, most of the time.

So here’s my first tool and goal for the first week challenge:

1. Goal: Improve my “basic knowledge” with practical listening x Podcast: Coffee Break German (this link goes to spotify).

When I was learning english everything was pretty quickly because I had too much contact with it (musics, tv shows, movies, etc), I had a rich vocabulary without even trying it, it was natural.

I don’t have it with german - despite the fact that now I’m living here in Germany, I never had too much contact with it before. So I find listening to a podcast that is willing to teach things to use in your regular life (how to order things in restaurant and how to make a reservation in a hotel) a way to feel more confortable with the language.

How I do it:

Step 1: Pick up a notebook, a pen or pencil, sit down and listen to an episode a day (most of the time they are less than 30 minutes!).

Step 2: go to google translator or any other similar tool (I like to use deepL as well).

Step 3: While you’re listening to it, try to type on your translator tool what they are saying (I think typing is better because is faster, so that you can follow their speaking and also my typing in google translator, it checks your spelling, so if you’re writing something wrongly the chances are that the tool will fix it for you and I find it very useful).

Step 4: pause the episode when you feel is too much and then write the information you’ve learned in your notebook. It should be something only to you return back if you forget, to review and etc, it’s supposed to be fast, so I like to use just a pencil and that’s it. First I thought I should do everything colorful and make it pretty notes, but I realized that it was only taking my time, and it wasn’t making my learning any better. But this is up to you.  

Why using it?

I like the idea of achieving a goal a day, and in the end of the week and in the end of the month you have a big amount of small tasks acomplished, that together turn to be - in the case of this podcast - 30 episodes of 30 minutes each, with lessons about counting numbers, learning how to say your age, learning how to ask for food in a restaurant, learning the 4 different cases in german, how to ask for directions, etc. And by the end of it, basically in the end of a month, you would have all these informations with you. Just by sitting less than a hour a day to do so.

Then you can say “yeah, I not fluent at it, but I sure know how to speak german.” And the magic just happened.

My status

I am currently on episode 30 of the first season (I didn’t listen all the 30 episodes in a week, I’ve slowly listening to it, and now I’m looking for a consistency), and I realized that I’ve been improving my learning in many many ways. One of them, that for me is the most challeging is understanding someone speaking a little bit better, and also understanding some expressions such as “genau” and “aso”, that in the beginning would make me a little bit confused.

So, my tip is basically: don’t just listen to it, but sit down with a notebook and actually write down. Maybe go back a few times if you didn’t understand as well. And do it once a day.

It’s better than nothing!

Hope you liked this post and have a great week!

PS: I know that Coffee Break German has a paid version, that allows you to have some pdf and premium stuff, but I think just listening to the episodes is enough, at least for my goal - to get more confortable with the language.

[wonderful-language-sounds]

This is a list of tools that are helpful for those learning German. They are supplementary materials meant to improve your knowledge of the language and should be accompanied by a course/books. If you want resources/books to start learning German, they can be found here: [x]

Apps

Duolingo: This is great for learning translation between German and English/other languages. 

Memrise: I know most people use it for vocabulary, but I used it to learn the principal part of verbs. For example, I would put to begin on one side then anfangen - fing an on the other side. 

Deutschakademie [iOS] [Android]: This app offers exercises by grammar topic and is suitable for beginners as well as advanced learners as it goes to C1. 

German Class [iOS] [Android] : This app provides you with vocabulary drills, grammar explanations, and various exercises. The demo is free but the full app is $3.

German Listening [Android]: Listen to German articles read out loud.

HelloTalk: If you want to talk to native speakers, this is a great app. You can choose to text or call within the app, and have them correct your texts.

Learn German [iOS] [Android]: App designed by the Goethe Institute meant for beginners. It helps you learn vocabulary by theme in an interactive story way. 

Adventure German [iOS] [Android]: An interactive game where you must find a stolen item. This is was also developed by the Goethe Institute and is meant for high beginners as well as low intermediate students. This is a fun way of improving your vocabulary and reading comprehension.

A Mysterious Adventure [iOS] [Android]: This is mystery game by the Goethe Institute meant for intermediate students as it is all in German. You play as a woman trying to solve a mystery. I enjoyed playing the game and it helped my listening/reading comprehension.

Der Die Das [Android Only]: App meant to help you learn the correct articles of German words.

Beelinguapp: Read stories with translation side by side. It includes audio.

Listening/Videos

Slow German: Podcast that is slowly read to improve your listening comprehension in German.

FluentU: Interactive video website where you watch videos with the subtitles in both languages and learn through immersion. This is a paid service, but you can get a free trial.

Yabla: Similar to above, but cheaper. Also has a 2-week trial period if you want to try it.

Bodowartke: Listen to songs in different German dialects.

Lyricstraining: Learn German through song lyrics. You listen to a song and fill in the blank according to your level of the language.

NatifyMe: Learn German through videos. You can choose their videos or upload your own to make video flashcards of vocabulary.

Sounds of Speech: This is a phonetics teaching tool that teaches you German pronunciation with animations

Elemental Sounds: Learn the pronunciation of German.

DW: Several video courses with exercises fo different levels.

Verbs & Grammar

Verbix: Verb conjugator.

Verben: Verb conjugation practice.

Verbformen: Verb conjugator

Canoo: Dictionary of German inflection.

Cheatography: Make your own German cheat sheets about cases/vocabulary such as the one linked.

Dartmouth: Grammar review.

Vocabulary

Babadum: Vocabulary game

Linguee: A dictionary tool where you can see words and their definitions in different contexts.

Tatoeba: Look up a sentence/word and see how people have translated it.

Quizlet: Look up or make your own vocabulary lists in German. There are many ways provided for you to learn.

Lingvist: Learn vocabulary in context.

Goethe Institute B1: Vocabulary for the B1 exam.

Reading/Immersion

Readlang: Read various texts and watch youtube videos with the text in sync. You translate any words you do not know.

Clozemaster: A sentence game where you learn a language in context and choose the word that fits in the sentence.

Parallel.io: Read stories with translation side by side.

Lang-8: Write in German and have it corrected by native speakers. 

Influent: A language learning video game where you learn vocabulary by acting as a character exploring a house. It is fun and has different modes to learn the words. Cost is $10 but can be $3 during the sales in winter and summer.

German Stories: Read fairy tales by the Grimm Brothers in a dual language format

Spruecheportal: German idioms

German-glossary: A glossary of German idioms and their explanations/origins.

[veganfoody]

How to make German Mulled Wine (Glühwein)

[learngermanblog]

Folgen Sie uns auf YouTube

www.youtube.com/learngermann

[bonjourfrenchwords]

Je serai là pour toi • I’ll be there for you • /ʒə sə.ʁe la puʁ twa/ Happy anniversary, Friends fans! Who’s your favorite character?

[mienar]

commission for Emma!

instagram | shop | commission info

[mondlichty]

[cancerbiophd]

15 steps on making a sweet sweet powerpoint presentation*

*for class presentations and seminars, like at conferences or meetings. Lecture notes for teaching are different, though some of these may still apply:

Tell a story. A story always has 3 parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end. Create a compelling narrative so the audience feels invested in knowing what’s next. 

Know your audience, and adjust accordingly. Presenting to people with our same background (like students in our program) will differ from presenting to a broader audience like the general public, who may not care (or understand) nitty gritty detail. 

Use large readable font. Especially on graphs and figures, and..

Limit text. A busy intimidating slide = a distracted/zoned out audience

Refrain from using pastel colors with a white background, or dark colors with a dark background. Projectors =/= your computer screen, and these colors may not have the same contrast during a presentation. 

Also related, be considerate of the color-blind/visually impaired. Make figures accessible to them by not just relying on color but also patterns, shading, symbols, etc.

Show only what’s necessary. Try not to overwhelm an audience who’s seeing all this for the first time. Always remember: presentations are not data dumps; they’re stories. Simplify figures by remaking them if possible, or block out unimportant areas. 

And walk the audience through complicated slides. We should never assume everyone in the audience knows exactly what we’re talking about. Use animations to show only one point or figure at a time if necessary.

Speaking of figures, use high-quality ones! None of the deep fried-jpegs please. 

Also refrain from putting things that have no meaning. Examples include gratuitous eye candy (which are only acceptable in title and closing slides) or points that won’t be talked about. They’re just distracting.

Show interest when speaking. If the speaker sounds bored talking about their work, then I assume it’s boring and not worth my attention.

Refrain from going wild with that laser pointer. It’s there to bring attention to certain key points, not to continuously circle around the entire slide like we’re playing with cats. (If your hand holding the pointer is shaking, it helps to grab your wrist with your other free hand, or rest that arm on something (like the podium) to “root” it.)

Refrain from going wild with the animations/transitions also. Super cool in 4th grade; slightly nauseating at a national meeting. A simple “appear” animation will do just fine. 

Rehearse rehearse rehearse. Being well-prepared can combat stage-fright, as it takes away the anxiety of “not knowing what to do next” or “mental freezes”. You may also find yourself editing a few things as you rehearse, because something that seemed ok while making the ppt may not flow so well when you actually get to talking about it. Also, pay attention to the usage of filler words (like “um”, “sorta”), and body language: are you leaning on the podium too much? pacing a lot? looking at the screen and not the audience? 

Adopt a “power pose” to instantly feel more confident and relaxed. Stand up straight, chest out, shoulders back, uncross those arms, and smile. Hold yourself up like royalty, baby! Here’s a TedTalk on power poses. 

[bonjourfrenchwords]

Embrasse-moi • Kiss me • /ɑ̃.bʁas mwa/ Illustrated by @andrinamanonillustration

[weststudies-deactivated20210622]

23.04.19 | 17:24

Doin 4 Alevels feelin like Thor in infinity war holding open that bloody iris in the heat of a burning star so giant Peter Dinklage can melt some space steel bc that’s the amount of pressure I’m under I swear

[elkstudies]

This description is how final year feels

[bonjourfrenchwords]

Arc-en-ciel • Rainbow • /aʁ.kɑ̃.sjɛl/ Illustrated by @andrinamanonillustration

[20aliens-deactivated20200625]

Inside a fashionable coffee house IRAN. Tehran. June, 2001 Abbas

[incidentalcomics]

Good Morning

I wrote this comic while it was raining. 

[questionyourculture]

Animal Rights March Berlin 2019

[shenannygans]

Awesome pictures, thanks for sharing!

Hoffe 2o2o sind wir da dann gemeinsam! ♥

[nasa]

Celebrating Women’s Equality Day Across NASA

August 26 is celebrated in the United States as Women’s Equality Day. On this day in 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was signed into law and American women were granted the constitutional right to vote. The suffragists who fought hard for a woman’s right to vote opened up doors for trailblazers who have helped shape our story of spaceflight, research and discovery. On Women’s Equality Day, we celebrate women at NASA who have broken barriers, challenged stereotypes and paved the way for future generations. This list is by no means exhaustive. 

Rocket Girls and the Advent of the Space Age

In the earliest days of space exploration, most calculations for early space missions were done by “human computers,” and most of these computers were women. These women’s calculations helped the U.S. launch its first satellite, Explorer 1. This image from 1953, five years before the launch of Explorer 1, shows some of those women on the campus of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

These women were trailblazers at a time when most technical fields were dominated by white men. Janez Lawson (seen in this photo), was the first African American hired into a technical position at JPL. Having graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, she later went on to have a successful career as a chemical engineer.

Katherine Johnson: A Champion for Women’s Equality

Mathematician Katherine Johnson, whose life story was told in the book and film “Hidden Figures,” is 101 years old today! Coincidentally, Johnson’s birthday falls on August 26: which is appropriate, considering all the ways that she has stood for women’s equality at NASA and the country as a whole.

Johnson began her career in 1953 at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the agency that preceded NASA, one of a number of African-American women hired to work as “human computers.” Johnson became known for her training in geometry, her leadership and her inquisitive nature; she was the only woman at the time to be pulled from the computing pool to work with engineers on other programs.

Johnson was responsible for calculating the trajectory of the 1961 flight of Alan Shepard, the first American in space, as well as verifying the calculations made by electronic computers of John Glenn’s 1962 launch to orbit and the 1969 Apollo 11 trajectory to the moon. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama on Nov. 24, 2015.

JoAnn Morgan: Rocket Fuel in Her Blood 

JoAnn Morgan was an engineer at Kennedy Space Center at a time when the launch room was crowded with men. In spite of working for all of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, and being promoted to a senior engineer, Morgan was still not permitted in the firing room at liftoff — until Apollo 11, when her supervisor advocated for her because of her superior communication skills. Because of this, Morgan was the instrumentation controller — and the only woman — in the launch room for the Apollo 11 liftoff. 

Morgan’s career at NASA spanned over 45 years, and she continued to break ceiling after ceiling for women involved with the space program. She excelled in many other roles, including deputy of Expendable Launch Vehicles, director of Payload Projects Management and director of Safety and Mission Assurance. She was one of the last two people who verified the space shuttle was ready to launch and the first woman at KSC to serve in an executive position, associate director of the center.

Oceola (Ocie) Hall: An Advocate for NASA Women 

Oceola Hall worked in NASA’s Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity for over 25 years. She was NASA’s first agency-wide Federal Women’s program manager, from 1974 – 1978. Hall advanced opportunities for NASA women in science, engineering and administrative occupations. She was instrumental in initiating education programs for women, including the Simmons College Strategic Leadership for Women Program.

Hall’s outstanding leadership abilities and vast knowledge of equal employment laws culminated in her tenure as deputy associate administrator for Equal Opportunity Programs, a position she held for five years. Hall was one among the first African-American women to be appointed to the senior executive service of NASA. This photo was taken at Marshall during a Federal Women’s Week Luncheon on November 11, 1977 where Hall served as guest speaker.

Hall was known for saying, “You have to earn your wings every day.”

Sally Ride: Setting the Stage for Women in Space

The Astronaut Class of 1978, otherwise known as the “Thirty-Five New Guys,” was NASA’s first new group of astronauts since 1969. This class was notable for many reasons, including having the first African-American and first Asian-American astronauts and the first women.

Among the first women astronauts selected was Sally Ride. On June 18, 1983, Ride became the first American woman in space, when she launched with her four crewmates aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-7. On that day, Ride made history and paved the way for future explorers.

When those first six women joined the astronaut corps in 1978, they made up nearly 10 percent of the active astronaut corps. In the 40 years since that selection, NASA selected its first astronaut candidate class with equal numbers of women and men, and women now comprise 34 percent of the active astronauts at NASA.

Charlie Blackwell-Thompson: First Female Launch Director 

As a part of our Artemis missions to return humans to the Moon and prepare for journeys to Mars, the Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket will carry the Orion spacecraft on an important flight test. Veteran spaceflight engineer Charlie Blackwell-Thompson will helm the launch team at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Her selection as launch director means she will be the first woman to oversee a NASA liftoff and launch team.

"A couple of firsts here all make me smile,” Blackwell-Thompson said. “First launch director for the world’s most powerful rocket — that’s humbling. And I am honored to be the first female launch director at Kennedy Space Center. So many amazing women that have contributed to human space flight, and they blazed the trail for all of us.”

The Future of Women at NASA

In this image, NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch pose for a portrait inside the Kibo laboratory module on the International Space Station. Both Expedition 59 flight engineers are members of NASA’s 2013 class of astronauts.   

As we move forward as a space agency, embarking on future missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond, we reflect on the women who blazed the trail and broke glass ceilings. Without their perseverance and determination, we would not be where we are today.

Follow Women@NASA for more stories like this one and make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

[disneybroughtmehope]

[plutothewitch]

september will be kind. september will be magical. september will bring the missing energy. september will be working towards our goals and self. september will be a month full of growth.