Schlagwort-Archive: video

Steven Pinker on what our language habits reveal

10. Juli 2015English / Englischculture, language learning, videoMatthias Säuberlich

Today the LINGUA FRANCA Sprachschule blog is bringing you another video from the TED series. TED (Technology, Education, Design) is an international and interdisciplinary conference series based around the concept “ideas worth spreading”.

In this talk, world-famous linguist Steven Pinker looks at language and how it expresses what goes on in our minds — and how the words we choose communicate much more than we realize.

This video is suitable for a variety of levels. Higher-level English learners (B2+ and up) should just watch it as it is below. Intermediate students (B1+ – B2) – you can go to the video on the TED website and turn on the English subtitles. Lower-level learners (up to B1+) can turn on the German (or the language of your choice) subtitles, as well as look at a full transcript of the talk. Enjoy!

Lifeswap Episode 3 – The Winter Deniers

8. Juli 2015English / Englischculture, videoMatthias Säuberlich

In the third episode of the Lifeswap saga – a series about a Kiwi called Duncan living in Germany and a German called Jörg living in New Zealand, told through their Skype conversation with each other – the boys deal with one of the biggest differences between the two countries: how they deal with the cold of winter.

Corporate speak

16. Juni 2015English / Englischculture, idiom, videoMatthias Säuberlich

Have you actioned any blue sky thinking recently? Are you leveraging your core competencies and synergising for optimal output? If so, you have probably fallen victim to corporate speak (A.K.A. management speak, marketing speak). Characterised by long and unnecessary variations of common English phrases, corporate speak tries to hide the real meaning of what is being said, make the speaker sound more important and disguise negatives to make them look more attractive.

One of the truly terrible things about corporate speak is the way it is sneaking into other languages. Phrases like „Ich weiss nicht, ob ich das rechtzeitig gegreenlighted kriege“ or „Wir müssen die Relationship mit dem Stakeholder verbessern“ are not uncommon in German offices (both examples come from the SPIEGEL’s Bullshit-O-Mat)

If you need a little help formulating your own corporate speak, try The Corporate B.S. Generator.

And to end, a lesson from a master of corporate speak, David Brent from the TV show The Office (the „inspiration“ for Stromberg)

Lifeswap Episode 2: The Tea Towel Stinks

11. Juni 2015English / Englischculture, language learning, videoMatthias Säuberlich

This episode of Lifeswap – the series about a Kiwi and a German who swap lives – deals with a very important topic: German directness vs. Kiwi indirectness. Jörg learns how to beat around the bush Kiwi style, while Duncan is starting to appreciate the time saved by monosyllabic, German directness.

To see the first video from the series, click here

Business with Bob – Culture and Small Talk

5. Juni 2015English / Englischculture, reading, videoMatthias Säuberlich

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.

Lifeswap Episode 1: Complete Rubbish

1. Juni 2015English / Englischculture, language learning, videoMatthias Säuberlich

Lifeswap is a series of animations about a German and a Kiwi (New Zealander) who swap lives. We witness Joerg and Duncan’s Skype conversations as they discuss the problems they encounter and the discoveries they make in the other’s culture.

In this first episode, Duncan discovers the joys of the German national hobbies Mülltrennung and Pfand.

10 Denglish mistakes to avoid on your next business trip

22. Mai 2015English / EnglischvideoMatthias Säuberlich

Peter Littger, the SPIEGEL’s English language guru, has made a video to help Germans on their next business trips. Avoid these 10 classic Denglish errors!

Paid Family Leave – John Oliver Last Week Tonight

15. Mai 2015English / EnglischvideoMatthias Säuberlich

German parents can make use of a national system of paid parental leave when they have children. This allows German families to care for their child and make arrangements for the child’s welfare, as well as for the welfare of the mother and family in general.

It’s quite a different story in the US, which is one of only two countries in the world (the other being Papua New Guinea) that provides no paid leave for parents. In the video below, you will find an analysis of the American situation by comedian and satirist John Oliver.

Spelling Bee

16. April 2015English / EnglischvideoMatthias Säuberlich

If you have spent any time trying to learn English, you will probably have noticed the complicated relationship between how a word is written and how it is pronounced. This makes spelling a word correctly a particular challenge in English.

Such a challenge, in fact, that is has become the basis of a common competition for school children in America, and increasingly around the English-speaking world. In these contests – known as Spelling Bees – contestants are asked to spell a selection of words, usually with an increasing degree of difficulty. And it can be quite a big deal. The Scripps National Spelling Bee is shown on ESPN – one of the world’s largest sports broadcasters. See an example from the 2014 final below. In 2002 The National Spelling Bee was also the subject of an Academy Award nominated documentary – Spellbound

How language transformed humanity

26. März 2015English / EnglischvideoMatthias Säuberlich

In this talk, Biologist Mark Pagel shares an interesting theory about why humans evolved a complex system of language. He suggests that language is a piece of „social technology“ that allowed early human tribes to access a powerful new tool: cooperation.

This video is suitable for a variety of levels. Higher-level English learners should just watch it as it is. Intermediate students – you can turn on the English subtitles on the menu at the bottom-right of the video. Lower-level learners can go to the video on the TED website (here) and turn on the German (or the language of your choice) subtitles, as well as look at a full transcript of the talk. Enjoy!