Today the LINGUA FRANCA Sprachschule blog is presenting an article that looks at the relationship between language and music, or more specifically, language and rhythm.
Schlagwort-Archive: reading
Precrastinating
Everyone is familiar with the idea of procrastination (not starting tasks when you should, instead putting them off until the last minute) and knows people who are very guilty of this particular personality flaw.
But a new personality type has been identified by psychologists – the precrastinator. Precrastinators start to do things long before they have to, even if it means more work and time in total. They formulate endless „to do“ lists, create excel tables, and get everything organized, cleared and ready long before the task itself (which is often less work than all of this preparation) has to be completed. Does this sound familiar? Do you know any classic precrastinators? See more in the Guardian article below.
What Paddington Bear tells us about German and British Manners
Are Germans rude and the British liars? See what a translation of Paddington Bear has to tell us about the differences in how British and German people communicate.
Business with Bob – Culture and Small Talk
Are you a peach person or more of a coconut? To find out what this means, have a look at the video below, where business coach Bob Dignen talks about different cultural attitudes to small talk. Do you find it difficult to small talk with English native speakers?
You can find more on the topic of peach and coconut people in the following article from The Guardian.
Will Your Job Be Done By A Machine? (plus – Podcast Recommendation 10)
The team at Planet Money have been researching a question recently – Will your job be around in the future, or will you be replaced by a machine? You can click on the link below to go to a tool that will tell you the chance that your job will be automated in the future.
And to go with this topic is a new podcast:
Planet Money – Episode 622: Humans vs. Robots
The robots are coming. Find out who is next to be replaced. This podcast is best for students with a B1+ level or higher, although if you have a lower level, you can use the transcript to help you.
iTunes
The most difficult words to pronounce in English
There are many candidates. From the small furry „squirrel“ (which has an added bonus – its German translation „Eichhörnchen“ is almost impossible for English speakers to pronounce!) to the already-discussed Worcestershire Sauce, English is full of hard-to-say words. The list below includes some of the trickiest, as well as a couple of tongue twisters to keep you on your toes, such as „The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.“
Speaking a second language may change how you see the world
Do you have a different personality when speaking in a different language? Many bilingual people make exactly this claim – a claim supported by new research by psycholinguist Panos Athanasopoulos of Lancaster University in the United Kingdom.
How to learn a new language: 7 secrets from TED Translators
Want to optimise and speed up your language learning? Have a look at these tips from the language experts at TED.
How to learn a new language: 7 secrets from TED Translators
20 words that once meant something very different
Language is not a static. Words change meaning all the time — and over time. Language historian Anne Curzan takes a closer look at this phenomenon, and shares some words that used to mean something totally different.
How our European leaders use language
How do European leaders compare when it comes to foreign languages? What language do Merkel and Putin chat in? How French is Hollande’s English? Does Cameron speak anything other than English? This article from The Guardian will explain all…
