studenting

hi, friends! happy (almost) september! 🤓

download this calendar for free here: https://linktr.ee/studenting ✏️

if you’re using the calendar, i’d love to see it!

tag your photos with #studenting on tumblr or @studenting on instagram. 📷

enjoy!

APPS

All the apps listed are free to download (iOS). However, those that are not bolded offer in-app purchases and may require you to upgrade to premium or pay extra to access everything. Bolded = completely free.

Duolingo

Mango Languages

iTunes U (search “French” and browse courses)

WordReference (dictionary)

Quizlet (search for specific topics, such as “French Greetings”)

MosaLingua

Memrise

busuu

Learn French by MindSnacks

Learn French by Brainscape

Penyo Pal (made for kids)

activities and worksheets

Babbel (only one free lesson for each course)

FluentU

Conjugaison

Tigercards (go to “Course Bank” next to the “+” button)

French by Nemo

Radio France

Radios France (not the same as Radio France)

News in Slow French

WEBSITES

Some of these websites are not aesthetically pleasing, but they get the job done. 

Carnegie Mellon Elementary French I

Carnegie Mellon Elementary French II 

Français Interactif

Tex’s French Grammar

BBC French

Ma France

Lingvist

Livemocha

french.about.com

TV5Monde (click “Émissions” to watch TV shows in French)

Apprendre Le Français Avec TV5Monde

Talk in French

Beginner Level

Intermediate Level

Advanced Level

7 jours sur la planète (video news)

BrainPOP in French

Games for Language

The French Experiment 

Bonjour

Informal French and French Slang Tutorial

ielanguages.com

Language Guide

Polymath

MyLanguages

FrenchSpanishOnline

To Learn French

french-online.de

Enhancing French Skills

Quizlet that correlates 

QC French

French Vocabulary for Beginners

“Glue” Words

VERBS + CONJUGATION

How To Conjugate French Verbs

Reverso Conjugator

Conjugationfr

Conjuguemos Conjugation Activities

verb2verbe

TEXTBOOKS/WORKBOOKS/BOOKS/DICTIONARIES 

Barron’s 501 French Verbs

French-English Bilingual Dictionary 

McGraw-Hill Tune Up Your French

Collins French with Paul Noble

Modern French Grammar 

Modern French Grammar Workbook

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Learning Fench on Your Own

French Demystified 

Beginning French for the Utterly Confused

Learn French the Fast and Fun Way

Horizons

Easy French Step-by-Step

Practice Makes Perfect French Vocabulary 

Practice Makes Perfect Complete French Grammar

Collins Easy Learning French Grammar

Liberté: A First-Year French Textbook

French Learning Package

Rosetta Stone French Level 1

Course Content

Student Workbook

Tests

Answer Key

Rosetta Stone French Level 2

Course Content

Student Workbook

Tests

Answer Key

Rosetta Stone French Level 3

Course Content

Student Workbook

Tests

Answer Key

Bon Voyage Level 1

Textbook

Workbook

Listening Activities (under red book)

Practice Quizzes

Bon Voyage Level 2

Textbook

Workbook

Listening Activities (under green book)

Practice Quizzes

Bon Voyage Level 3

Textbook

Workbook

No Listening Activities :( 

Practice Quizzes

French from Wikibooks

French Children’s Stories (such as goldilocks and little red riding hood)

Children’s Books Forever

GET STARTED

Start Learning French

French for Beginners

Self-Study Checklist

 i figured i would never be 100% content with this masterpost because i keep finding new things i want to add, so i’m just going to post it now and update it every now and then! bonne chance!! :) 

how i use google drive for university - pt 1: digital notetaking  by kkaitstudies

idk about you but i’ve tested a bunch of note taking methods. in my last few years of university, i was indeed lazy and rarely referred back to the professor’s slides in the course shell. i opted to read off the slides in lecture and take notes. while MS OneNote is great, i found myself enjoying Google Drive much more. so here is a quick overview of how i take notes using Google Docs. 

folders are your friends

make separate folders for each of your courses. google drive even gives you the option to change the colours of the folders. in these folders, add any relevant coursework such as the syllabi, readings, and your notes document.

use one doc for notes per course

once you receive the syllabi, take some time to take note of required readings, and assignment deadlines. i have created a free template you can save to your own google drive that you can access here. fill out:

- course code & name - prof’s name, office hours, and email - date(s) for each week of class - weekly readings (tip: if you have online readings, you can link them in the doc!) - & open the document outline (view > show document outline)

you also don’t have to use all these features. T B H, i didn’t do weekly readings. a lot. oops. BUT i did always pay attention in lecture. i simply deleted the “reading notes” header every week i didn’t bother to read.

make use of early access to lecture slides, headers, etc. 

some profs (bless their souls) post the slides sometime before the lecture. if you have the time, copy the lecture slides into your notes. and if they don’t…type real quick to get all the info as it’s happening (or go back to slides online after lecture to see what you missed out on). i separate lecture topics with headers, with the bullet points underneath (see above). if there is anything that the prof says during class that isn’t in the lecture slides, i will change the colour of the text to a different colour. any important concepts or testable material are highlighted.

…and that’s how i take notes! everyone is different. not all note-taking methods work for everyone. this is what worked for me in my last 2 years of uni. hopefully a similar structure works for some of y’all! also, let me know what you think and @ me if you end up using my template. have a great semester!

I decided to share my notes taken from this amazing 1 hour Youtube lecture by Marty Lobdell. i really liked him and his tips, i think they are super effective and cover a lot of situations! i highly recommend it!!!!! wow

but here are the tips and examples Marty mentions, so if you don’t have the time to go through the full hour, you can just scroll down. hope this helps somebody!

Break your study time in chunks with breaks

most students lose focus at 25 minutes

it’s a mistake to keep going once you do, since you won’t actually learn anything and you’ll hate every minute of it

so when you start losing focus take a 5 minute break

do something nice like talking to someone or listening to music

it’s something you practice so with time you’ll be able to work for more time without losing focus

in the end of the study session have a big reward you look forward to

Create a study area

environment highly affects the way you act. Bedrooms are for sleeping, kitchens for eating: you’ll feel sleepy in your bedroom and hungry in the kitchen. So if you have a study area, it’ll be easier to start studying and staying focused.

study in a specific room like an office or school library if you can

if you have to study in your bedroom use a specific object you only use for studying: a lamp/desk. Make it a no-distraction, away from your bed, blank walls area.

 The more active the learning, the better

80% active learning 20% passive

ask yourself: is it a concept or a fact?

learning a concept: understand/grasp/know it

put it into your own words

really think about the meaning of it

relate it with something you already know

teach somebody else. Recapitulate what you’ve learned. Talk out loud even if you don’t have anyone to teach - talk alone. Or at anyone that listens.

learning a fact: memorize it

use mnemonics

Acronyms (e.g. colours of the rainbow RoyGBiv – red orange yellow green blue indigo violet)

 Coined sayings - anything popular or sayings you’ve heard since you were a child.

Interacting images – work even better if they’re weird. Creative associations make you never forget specific details. (e.g. 1 gram of fat has 9 calories: picture a fat cat – each cat has 9 lives)

any time 2 things are highly similar but not the same you will get maximal interference!! USE mnemonics!! (e.g. afferent vs efferent neurons: SAME - Sensory Afferent Motor Efferent)

Be a part of  study groups

others can help you in ways you never thought before

Recognizing VS remembering

never confuse the two

while reviewing a chapter you may recognize concepts but not actually know them

and when you get to the test you won’t be able to remember any of it

so quiz yourself without looking at it

or stop in a page of your notes/textbook and ask yourself what is the concept immediately after and before it

Get your REM Sleep 

get ~8 hours so you don’t undo your studying

this is how your brain stores permanent memories

without it you’re ability to remember seriously decreases

most people don’t even begin to take the advice but it’s simple: sleep better. Do better.

There’s 162 hours in a week. There is time.

reflect on what you are doing with your time and what activities you have to prioritize to succed as a student

Taking notes is vital.

right after the class take 5 minutes to expand everything you’ve jotted down, give it depth.

NOT hours later. You won’t remember half the things you wrote down.

Ask your questions to class mates and teachers.

teachers want you to succeed and it’s more than ok to ask your question in the teacher’s office or in the next class

How to use a textbook: SQ3R technique

Survey Question Read Recite Review

Survey: skim through the entire chapter in a couple of minutes.

Raise questions: e.g. what is osmosis? What is this graphic about? What is a prototype?

it causes you to look for answers and you’ll find the information better once you actually study it after. If you intend to find something you learn it better.

Start studying for tests early.

don’t undo yourself. You should only be reviewing the days before the test. don’t leave it till the last minute!