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~ what I like about sundays ~

put a # in my ask

1) how would you describe your relationship with your mom/dad

2) when was the last time you cried and why

3) whats your favorite/least favorite quality about yourself; why

4) do you smile at strangers

5) how often do people (not family members) tell you they love you

6) how is your life different now from two years ago

7) would you ever cheat on someone 

8) are you a jealous person

9) whats the worst pickup line someone has asked you

10) do you believe in ghosts

11) what are your ambitions

12) 3 deal breakers in a relationship

13) what is one thing you’ll never do again

14) whats your most bizarre pet peeve

15) what is your favorite memory

16) whats your zodiac sign

17) what ‘small things’ things terrify you

18) do you like your laugh

19) have you ever stalked someone/been stalked

Bonjour! We all know language learning is fun, but it’s still studying, and sometimes you just get really tired of studying. And if you’re like me and you’re intermediate in a language, it gets to the point where you want to start using the language instead of just endlessly reading textbooks and doing the same practice questions over and over. So I’ve compiled a list of things you could do where you’re learning a language without it feeling like you’re studying!

- ̗̀ Reading ̖́- 

Books. Pick up a book in your target language and just read it, with no need to analyze it or answer end-of-chapter questions. Don’t worry about every single foreign word you come across, try to get the general idea of it from the context. But if a word shows up a lot and you still don’t get it, you can look it up! Children’s books are great, too.

Comics. Basically just dialogue with pictures to help you understand what the characters are talking about. Need I say more.

Blogs. Follow a blog in your target language which posts about something you’re interested in. Blogs usually have less formal language than novels, are of course a lot shorter, and have lots of pictures.

Wikipedia. Whenever you’re curious about something and want to casually look it up, switch to the page in your target language. If you want to, you can always read the article in your native language first to understand the topic.

- ̗̀ Listening ̖́-

Films and tv. Some have more complex dialogue than others, some have simpler, so there are films and tv shows for almost every level of language learning. If you can’t find a movie originally in your target language, find a dubbed version, it’s better than nothing!

Cartoons. Or live-action movies/shows aimed at children. These usually have dialogue that’s easier to understand than those aimed at older viewers. Also they’re fun!

Youtube. If you can find vloggers who upload videos in your target language, then go ahead and watch them. Kind of the same thing as with blogs, where the language is more “everyday”!

Music. Listen to songs in your target language. It’s okay if you don’t understand everything or even anything, the most important thing is to get used to how the language sounds!

- ̗̀ Writing ̖́-

Keeping a diary. This is by far my favourite thing to do when it comes to language learning. The point of this isn’t to write a flawless essay with no mistakes, no one has to read your private diary anyway. The point is to get used to producing a text and expressing yourself in your target language. Start with writing about your day in the present tense. Go on to write about something that happened yesterday. Write about your feelings and what you think will happen in the future. If you want to express something but don’t know the word, look it up. Woo, new vocab word! 

Short stories. Similar as above, but experiment with verb tenses and sentence structure. Use the fanciest words you know to make that description extra descriptive. Learn to use idioms and similes and metaphors. Your story can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be. And this time, get someone to correct it!

Letters and texts. Get a pen pal who speaks your target language, if you can! Or even just an internet friend you can text with. You can even practice speaking with them via Skype or maybe even in person if that’s possible. What better thing to do with a language than do what it’s meant for: communication!

Anything else. When writing down your daily to-dos in your planner, write them in your target language. Jot down that reminder on a post-it note but do it in your target language. Anything.

Study repeatedly - Overlearn. Take advantage of life’s little intervals (i.e.- riding the bus, walking, waiting in the grocery checkout line)

Spend time actively thinking about material - Exercise weak memories with rehersal and critical reflection. No skimming!

Make material personally meaningful - Write notes in your own words. Form as many cue associations (i.e.- images, experiences) as possible! 

Use mnemonic devices for lists - Associate items with peg words, create a vivid story involving the items, or chunk items into acronyms 

Refresh your memory by activating cues - Mentally re-create situations/moods where you orginally learned the material or physically return to the location 

Minimize interferences - Study about an hour before sleep. Don’t study similar subjects back-to-back (i.e.- Studying Spanish then French right after) 

Test your knowledge - Don’t be overconfident about recalling the material. Test yourself with the learning objectives. You can outline sections, define terms/concepts, create practice tests, or explain the topic to a friend without using your notes

Someone asked me to make a post about this, so here it is:

agacer - to irritate/annoy sb

brouter/prendre le chou à qqn - to get on someones nerves - e.g. ça me broute

chicaner - to annoy/provoke sb

courir sur le haricot de qqn - to get on somebody’s nerves - apparently this is quite gentle, someone thought of it as a way a parent would talk to their child/ren who are being annoying.

crisper - to get on sb’s nerves/to be on edge - sa voix aiguë me crispe

embêter - to annoy/pester/bother sb

énerver - to annoy/irritate sb - this is still fairly polite

irriter - to irritate sb

gêner - (in this case) to annoy/irritate sb - softer/gentler than agacer 

gonfler - to get on somebody’s nerves - e.g. ça me gonfle

Taper sur les nerfs/le système de qqn - to get on somebody’s nerves

As always, let me know if there are any errors or if you have suggestions:)

-Lucy

It’s a throwback to - Ça nous ramène à

To get to the bottom of things - Aller au fond des choses

You can’t put the clock back - Ce qui est fait est fait

It looks like a dead end street - On est dans l’impasse

To take a turn for the better - Prendre une meilleure tournure

To be scared to death - Avoir une peur bleue

That drives me crazy - Ça me prend la tête

He had a narrow escape - Il l’a échappé belle

They were beaten hands down - Ils ont été battus à plate couture

To throw money down the drain - Jeter de l’argent par les fenêtres

To face facts - Se rendre à l’évidence

An ace in the hole - Un avantage secret

At a drop of a hat - Sans hesitation

To start from scratch - Commencer à partir de zero

I worked my fingers to the bone - J’ai travaillé d’arrache-pied

Once in a blue moon - Tous les trente-six du mois

To buy something for a song - Acheter quelque chose pour une bouchée de pain

To do one’s utmost - Faire de son mieux

To face facts - Voir la vérité en face

To be all the rage - Être à la mode

To deter somebody from doing something - Dissuader quelqu’un de faire quelque chose 

To come into office - Prendre le pouvoir

To have a grip on something - Avoir une emprise sur quelque chose 

To cope with - Faire face à

To be on the edge of - Être sur le point de

To turn out to be - S’avérer

To devote oneself to doing something - Se consacrer à

To get one’s life back - Reprendre sa vie en main

To be short of - Être en rade de quelque chose

To resume work - Reprendre le travail

In the name of - Au nom de

To hit rock bottom - Toucher le fond

It’s the pot calling the kettle back - C’est l’hôpital qui se moque de la charité

Money can’t buy happiness - L’argent ne fait pas le Bonheur

When there’s a will there’s a way - Quand on veut on peut

To pass out - Tomber dans les pommes

To pretend to - Faire semblant de

Don’t judge a book by his cover - L’habit ne fait pas le moine

To make ends meet - Joindre les deux bouts

To cost an arm and a leg - Coûter les yeux de la tête

To look forward to - Être impatient de 

To be skating on thin ice - Avancer sur un terrain glissant

Let alone - Sans parler de

To keep pace with - S’adapter

Out of necessity - Par nécessité

Be it as it may - Quoi qu’il en soit

The flipside of the coin - Le revers de la médaille

To be on the brink of doing something - Être à deux doigts de faire quelque chose

State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia 1024 x 688