penned in pink: a studyblr

[studycell]

Hi guys! After I posted this picture, some people have approached me and asked me about some resources. Since a few of you wanted to know, why not make a whole masterpost and add some other useful stuff!

First of all, I am officially at B2+ level of German, having passed my Goethe Zertifikat and the DaF-Test. If you have any questions about these exams, please, don’t be afraid to ask!

Grammar books/websites

Übungsgrammmatik für die Grundstufe - this one is for the basic level (A1-B1)

Hueber Übungsgrammatik für die Mittelstufe - this is the one in the picture and it is for an intermediate level

Hueber Übungsgrammatik für Fortgeschrittene - this one is for the advanced level

Schubert grammar

German grammar - +some pretty pictures of the German cities

Duden - Deutsche Grammatik - a very detailed grammar book! (haven’t used it but you can’t go wrong with this publisher)

Pons

Hueber - the same publisher of the first three books, here you can search for more useful books that suit your needs!

German news (reading + videos)

Deutsche Welle - one of the best websites to learn German from! Has language lessons, videos, podcasts, slow spoken news, exercises and much more!

Zeit

Spiegel - this one is a little harder if you are just beginning to learn German

Tagesschau

Dictionaries

Dict.cc - the best one so far in my opinion with many examples

Collins - you can also order one online if you wish

Pons  - also available for order if you don’t want to use the online version

Tip: If you can, avoid using Google Translate and Bing! They are great for simple things, but sometimes useless and confusing if you want to translate longer and more complicated texts.

Library

I’ve seen many resources for books but honestly the best thing you can do is join your local Goethe Library, if you have one. If not, try searching for some German libraries that offer online registration. If you join your local Goethe Institute library, they probably offer an online registration to the Onleihe service, where you can rent books online and read them on your computer/phone/tablet - just ask the librarian (and it’s completely free!)

Goethe Bibliothek in your neighbourhood

Die Onleihe 

Vocabulary

Memrise

German flashcards

Cerego

Language guide

Babbel

Vocabulix

Deutsch richtig

Wortschatz & Grammatik - yet another book, this one is for the basic A1 level, but in the sidebar you can see more advanced books

Listening

Deutsche Welle podcasts - again, an amazing resource, use it wisely!

A list of German radio stations you can listen to online

Youtube podcasts with very basic lessons

Some german youtubers

Michael Buchinger - an Austrian youtuber, personal favourite!

Heimatfilme - old German movies

Easy German

Useful apps

Duolingo

Memrise

HelloTalk - this one is a personal recommendation!

italki

Rosetta Stone

HiNative

Lang-8 - not really an app but a website, really useful tho!

Final tips

make your own little grammar notebook (you can see a glimpse of mine on the photo above) put grammar rules, examples and illustrate it however you like!

if you have the money/time, invest in private/group lessons (Goethe institute also offers these!) it’s a great investment since you can actually practice SPEAKING the language with living people and not just reading it

set a goal, and then stick to it

DAILY. PRACTICE. GUYS!!!

if you can’t afford lessons, use the apps mentioned above like hellotalk, italki and hinative

film yourself speaking

start a langbrl to motivate yourself

find a study buddy

watch movies and TV shows!!! these you can find on netflix, if not, you can always choose a subbed version of your favourite english speaking TV show on netflix

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

[bookishandslovenly]

studyblr

“Stablio, staedtler, midliner,” they chant “stablio, staedtler, midliner!” The sisters, heads bowed, are circled around their altar; a mind-map in the shape of a pentagram, drawn on the floor in white out. “Stablio, staedtler, midliner!”

The priestess steps forward, raising her arms high. 

“Great Mother Muji hear our prayer, accept these offerings from your humble servants!” 

Each sister places an offering on the floor; a bowl of fruit #studysnack, a framed inspirational quote with attractive typography #motivation, a water bottle that says DRINK ME on the side #stayhydrated, a laptop opened to the momentum extension #mydesk, a free printable planner page for your study schedule #stayorganized.  

Each sister lifts her bullet journal high.  The priestess calls out in the ringing voice of an undergrad, “May our exams be easy, our notes accurate, and our mochithings delivery on time! So mote it be!”

“So mote it be!” The sisters reply. 

It is done. They leave the sacred place.

They reconvene at starbucks #caffeineboost

[loganstudies]

This is the most hilarious and accurate thing I have ever read like I’m laughing so hard I’m crying

[listandnote]

HAHAHAAHAHAHHA

[little-tealeafs-nook]

Ohmygod I spat out my green tea

[briellestudies]

note to self: don’t wait until the day before it’s due to write a paper

another note to self: you said the exact same thing for the last paper assignment you had, ya fuckin’ slacker 😂😂😂

08.26.15 // 3:52pm

[studying-giulia-deactivated2021]

29th August// 16:26

Studying anatomy in the kitchen and getting really nervous about the exam… it’s in only 10 days!!

[sofiestudy]

Free Printable Watercolor Weekly & Monthly Planner

sized to 8 1/2in by 11in paper

undated, can be used for any month/any week

please don’t repost/claim as your own 

have fun planning! 

[barelyfunctioningangel]

PSA for everyone writing term research papers right now

Mendeley is the greatest program ever

I want to weep with joy every time I use it

Just click a button when you pull up an article and it will automatically save it to your library

And cite it for you

And you can use it on your mobile devices

And it’s free

Just download it and you won’t have so many urges to kill everyone in sight while writing a research paper

[dynastylnoire]

Thank you so much!

[anthrocentric]

Guys, I cannot stress how amazing this program is. 

You can use it to highlight, write notes, mark up, etc. What I do is I highlight all the important jazz, use the comments to write notes on the document, and on the side bar, I write an annotated bib for it for future me. It save everything you write on it forever for you and you can put the articles in folders and organize it.

But that’s not the best part, the best part is that you can access your articles ANYWHERE. Literally anywhere. Forgot your laptop and at a public library? No worries! You can go to the Mendeley website and ACCESS ALL YOUR ARTICLES WITH YOUR NOTES ONLINE. You don’t even have to download the program to access it! It is a life saver and I suggest everyone in academia use it!

[byebyethinspo]

note to self: if you were able to believe in Santa Claus for 8 years, you can believe in yourself for like 5 seconds ok u got this

[lavidapoliglota]

self-teaching a language like am I pronouncing this right? Am I using the right grammar? Was that list of ways to say ‘I love you’ actually just a list of swearwords? There’s no way to tell!

[pennedinpink]

me *listening to radio and watching tv in target language* : yeah i'm so fluent omg

me *travelling to the country and listening to a native* : lol nope

[thestudyspace]

What to do the night before an exam.

[zenpencils]

FRIDA KAHLO: Strange Like Me

[attackonstudying-deactivated201]

Study in order to understand rather than just for the grade.

attackonstudying (via attackonstudying)

[steadily-glowing1]

15:03 02/08/2015
Starting to love my bullet journal :)

[steadily-glowing1]

15:03 02/08/2015
Starting to love my bullet journal :)

[anilag]

[rosiewhitely]

[sgfhjsfbhjsbvhjfdf-deactivated2]

This picture is ballsy: it says, “Yes, mofo, I am rich and loving it. Look at what I can afford and how enjoyable it is. Here’s a glimpse into the fantasy life I lead.” It doesn’t dress itself with any hints of moral superiority or claims of virtuous character in the person experiencing the breakfast with a view.

Yet, when I peruse the various study motivations blogs or the studyspo tag, I can’t help but feel class is getting suspiciously mixed in with studying — an activity I often think to be indicative of good morals and virtuous characters.

Stick with me here. I am not accusing anybody of a wrong. I am just trying to explore why I’ve grown to find studyspo cringe-worthy.

I have always thought studying to be a laborious, praise-worthy activity. Somehow, for me, education makes for a better world and it takes a good deal of self initiative and idealism to bring one’s self to pursue it wholly. Not just for the degree, but for the education itself.

Now look at this, these typical studyspo pictures. The desk shot.

It screams upper class. The macbook, the omniprescent (as you realize when you’ve seen enough studyspo) Starbucks coffee, the cute notebooks, planners, pencil holders, drapes, the huge assortment of colored utensils you know cost a pretty penny. It’s all very, very expensive.

To me, this presents the idea that studying has been stripped of its virtuous and moral quality, switched out for the idea that the study life is simply something that can be bought. The “uni-lifestyle,” afternoon revisions at Starbucks, drooling over expensive, cute study materials and photographing them to post between classes. Studying is reduced to a lifestyle choice afforded to the rich.

It’s not that the rich can’t bedeck their studying with cute and luxurius surrounding and supplies. It’s that blogging about studying should be goal directed. What Tumblr should be focused on is the end result of studying, the knowledge gained. More posts about what you learned today, how your level of sophistication, enlightenment and awareness has been increased. Studying is just a process to achieve a higher end. The process itself shouldn’t be what we’re all idealizing.

Because, you know, this is studying too and it ain’t that glamorous. Studying under streetlights because they have no electricity at home.

Insofar as I too make modest contributions to the studyspo on Tumblr, I made this post to express my unease about something that I also do. I know I am a more efficient learner when I feel comfortable and organized, but I would hate for the studyspo community to eclipse the greater point of studying and treat a comfy and carefully curated study environment as an end in itself.

[studyspo]

This is exactly how I’ve been feeling for some time too.

The number of asks I get about whether one should buy stabilo or staedtler fineliners has reached a level of ridiculousness that means I no longer add photos with them in to my queue.

Yes, basic tools are needed.

Yes, nice ones are nice.

But no, having a Macbook, endless Starbucks, and yellow-barrelled fineliners is not going to actually make your studying any more efficient.

Furthermore, from my experience that’s just not what uni life is like! Uni life for me and my flatmates was much more laptops breaking down at the wrong time (they can sense when you have a deadline), drinking tea/coffee made at home, and using bulk standard supplies from the local uni stationers.

The commercialisation of studyspo is something that has been bothering me for a while - it suggests that it’s not the amount of effort you put in, but the amount of money you can afford to spend and I think that’s really sad.

I don’t want to see adverts for stationery, if I did I’d be following more stationery blogs.

I want to see how people are studying, what they’re studying, how accomplished and excited they feel about it.

I want to see that to increase my own knowledge of studying - is there some slightly different note-taking system I haven’t come across yet? What techniques are there that I haven’t tried for learning grammar? Is there a new website that’s great for making flashcards? etc.

[appsademia]

This is why I’m not a photo-based studyspo blog. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but that’s not my thing. Personally (and again, this is just my preference), I find it more helpful to reblog resources and studying tips than to reblog photos of Moleskines and MacBooks. While it’s always exciting to see people proudly working hard, I’m worried that this sort of studyspo alienates students who don’t have access to such expensive materials.

I strive to be an accessible blog. I believe that everyone, regardless of social or economic status, deserves access to a good education. If you can’t afford to get a private tutor, to enroll in SAT prep classes, or to hire someone to write your college app essays, it’s okay. I’m here for you. This blog is here for you.

Everyone deserves to be equipped with the tools for a good education.

[mxifu]

I’ve been thinking this ever since I discovered the appblr/studyblr communities, but couldn’t figure out how to put my discomfort into words. As much as I love pretty pictures, this is exactly why I rarely reblog or post studyspo!

[chuustudies]

 note: obviously it’s not the biggest masterpost ever, but it’s made up of tons of other masterposts and important info so keep that in mind! also i’ll add more as i go :9

general study/school tips: x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

helpful youtubers & videos | tips & websites  | back to school tips (!!!) | dealing with a bad grade | huge masterpost (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) | free SAT & AP books | study guides for most subjects | useful websites | download literature legally | things top students do | studying math (1) (2) | proofreading | creativity | becoming a morning person | SAT & ACT sites | mindmapping | learning styles | geographically accurate names of the world | amino acids | APUSH (1) | essay checklist | make an A in AP | more descriptive english words

language: learning new languages (1) (2) | helpful apps | resources (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) | etc (1) (2) (3)

employment/work/The Real World: x x x x x x x x x x

college/college prep:

tips for entering college | general tips (1) (2) (3) (4) | scholarships (1) (2) | the no bullshit guide to college | packing guide | textbooks (1) (2)

general health\mental health/self care: tips (1) |  feelings of inadequacy | anxiety | living healthily w/ depression | avoid stress from school | general life advice | 

organization: organizing your study space | printables (1) (2)|  handwriting | supplies (1) (2) (3) (4) | annotating (1) (2) (3) (4) | extra tips (1)

(bullet) journaling: x x x x x x x

productivity: ios apps for studying | tips/resources (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) | sunday night productivity | how to use microsoft onenote | how to take notes from textbooks (1) (2) | how to take notes in general (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) | apps for going paperless | summer productivity (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) | how to beat laziness | how to make flashcards | more apps | study music (1) (2) (3) |