PRONUNCIATION, TAKE II. ACTION!

(Or It's All Fun and Games until the Exam Starts)

There. That's the sad truth. Not that I didn't do study, it's just that it looked a bit less... efficient than it was meant to? I mean, I'd love to say I went through all the videos online and invented some new ones in the process, and then learnt all the words forwards and backwards, but that would mean getting a bit too creative with the truth...

Anyway. I might not have done all that, but I did something (apart form finally noticing what I was doing particularly wrong before and at least trying to be careful about that when I speak now), so here goes.

Those David Appleyard sentences turned out to be really amusing, by which I mean they were funny enough that repeating them for a while didn't make my brain spontaneously turn to stone. Also, they do kind of force you to really hear and think about the sound (mostly because they're so over the top you can't ignore it, but hey, they get the job done, so I'm not complaining).

Somewhat more boring was the process of getting through the Porter words. That included a bunch of dictionaries, headphones, several foreign computers, tea, and all those bad things with too many calories. My pronunciation practice mostly consisted of listening of repeating, which I admit is not the most exciting way, but desperate times call for desperate measures, right?

A side product of my study process (and that of a few other amazing people) is this little thingie. See, I'm being nice here and sharing it (yes, I'm thinking of you, future generations). It's far from finished, of course, but it should be better than nothing as we got at least some words done. If nothing else, somebody might  be spared from copying that entirely too long list of words into a document.

And because I promised myself I'd post pictures...

There. Now let me go study some more... 

PRONUNCIATION DIARY PART I

(Or What Language Are You Speaking Anyway?)

I'm going to start this with a question that just begs to be asked: why is it that in twelve years of grammar and high school the only person who bothered to ever correct my pronunciation of English sounds was my father?

I know that sounds somewhat odd, right, but it's true. Sure, there have been people who'd have us practice 'v' and 'w' and 'th', but they never corrected anyone. Which, frankly, sucks.

It was the 'th' sound my dad started bothering me with because 'three' sounded like 'free' when I said it. Admittedly, I was ten or so, but still, that's pretty bad, and I didn't want to end up in a joke.

HERE WE GO AGAIN

(Or the Second Vocabulary Learning Post)


In the first vocabulary post, I mainly focused on my ideal vocabulary learning strategy. Which, you know, is all well and good, but sadly I often don't have time or energy for everything I should do in order to really master new words. So what I want to focus on today are little tricks I found in other people's posts that could help me make vocabulary learning more time efficient, and some ways that aren't really ideal but can still be useful. 
Part I: "Borrowed Ideas"

• Sticky notes. I saw this idea here and here, and I saw it in use before. I know an American who's married to a Slovene woman, so he's trying to learn Slovene. They have sticky notes all over their apartment, and I suppose if you see a note that says hladilnik every time you open the fridge, it's eventually going to stick (pun not intended). I know this is an example of somebody who can already speak English, but I'm sure sticky notes are useful for learning any language.

THE CRISIS OF CREDIT SUMMARY

(Or Why Obsessively Stalking Lecturers' Websites Is Always a Good Idea)

I'm not sure if we were supposed to post our summaries, too, or just reflect on them, but considering the first thing I said to my schoolmates after I'd got the corrected version was "We shall never speak of this again", it's probably safe to say that sharing my foolishness with the world is not very high on my bucket list. Then again, I can describe the mistakes well enough.

You are not my sun,

Nor I your moon,

No bright-shining light,

No pillar of steadiness

We are trees,

You and I,

Growing together

From the same soil,

The same grass,

Intertwined,

So our trunks 

May lean on each other

When winter-cold wind comes

And we shiver for warmth

Random Thought of the Day

Apparently, lemon balm tea helps with depression. How about that.

VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES

(Or Sometimes Sharpies Are Not Enough)

Not that I could afford sharpies, mind you; they’re way too expensive in Europe, and if I had them, I certainly wouldn’t be using them to help me learn vocabulary. No, I’ve been forced to find other ways.

Before I start talking about those ways, I should probably mention what learning a new word means to me. I used to believe, once upon a time in grammar school, that knowing a word meant knowing its most common translation, and that was it. Well, maybe the preposition that went with it.  Oh, the ignorance.

AUTUMN FAVOURITES

(Or The Things That Caught My Eye in the Last Few Months)

I saw somebody on youtube do this, namely list random favourite things she'd come across that month, and I thought why the hell not. It's something to write about, and at the same time a nice way to spread word (*cough* shamelessly advertise *cough*) about all the awesome things out there that are absolutely worth attention and time.

(A/N: Stating again that these are things I  enjoyed. Meaning, you might hate them, and that's fine. Personal taste and all that. Just don't say I didn't warn you.)


* The first thing I want to mention is definitely The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Let's just say it's a bestseller that actually deserves to be a bestseller. I will do my best to write a separate post about it.

* Dr Perkins tea with camomile and lemon balm. Can be bought in Hofer (found under the name Erneuerunstee). For me, it works as a stress reliever. I might not be the best judge since almost any kind of tea would help me against stress...  Then again, lemon balm does have calming effects. I probably don't even have to start on the benefits of drinking camomile tea, do I? (Sadly, I have yet to find some health benefits of dipping chocolate into hot, freshly-brewed tea. Someday, though...)

















*Creator shoes. You can't see it in the picture, but they're actually the prettiest forest green ever. I've been watching Creator's shoes for ages, and now—I still don't have them. I only get to watch them on my favourite person in the world and save money for when I do buy them. Because yes, you guessed right, they're a bit pricey.

* The Hundred Foot Journey.

That's a movie about an Indian family that moves to Europe after losing everything in a fire.  They end up in a French town somewhere in the countryside and open a restaurant across from an already-established restaurant with a Michelin star. Rivalry ensues and new friendships are born because hey, if you can't beat them, join them. Full of family dynamics, tasteful humour, and genuine emotion.

NOT NEEDED ANYMORE?

(Or What Happens Now)

When I was told last year I would have to blog as a part of my university course, my reaction looked something like this: -.- Seriously??? Blog? Ugh. I survived, of course I did, and I figured this year, this year I'm going to start writing the posts early, so that I won't have to do everything at the eleventh hour.

And then they told me I wouldn't need to write blogposts anymore. At least not blogposts that aren't specific assignments (which ugh. Nope. I don't like those at all. It somehow gives me the feeling that the blog isn't really mine. Which sucks.)

The thing is, I came away disappointed. I had all this wonderful ideas and a bunch of topics to rant about (*cough* inappropriate anger channelling *cough*), and now I don't need them? What else am I supposed to do with all that material???

I thought it wouldn't just stay somewhere in my mind forever. It took me a while to even consider continue blogging. Firstly, because of the aforementioned obligatory
posts, secondly because of time issues, and thirdly, because my fellow college students were probably my main audience. (Yes, I lack self-confidence.)

But here's the deal. I need this blog. I need a place to occasionally rant, I need it to force me to organise my thoughts so they don't explode all over the place, I need to be excited, I need it. The things I write here don't belong anywhere else. So I guess life proved me wrong again: I ended up liking something that was torture to me at first. (The first time it happened with dancing. I used to dislike dancing. Heck, I trained karate, I thought would never dance. Long story short, I danced for four years and was then forced to stop due to studying in a different country. I still miss it.)

I guess there are two points I'm trying to make:

1. I will probably continue blogging. No idea how it will turn out, but hey--who cares. :)

2. Staying open for life pays off.

Sometimes you find things that would never even enter your life otherwise. Sometimes you fall in love with them.

~s

CULTURE PRESENTATIONS

(Or Getting Up Earlier Wasn't the Only Thing That Was Different That Day)

June 16 and 17. Two days of one presentation after another. I was actually surprised by how well this idea has worked out. Whenever my classes were filled with presentations in high school, everybody's attention would jump right out of the window and not come back until the break (and even then limp in very slowly). I don't think this happened here, at least not to me.

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT TIME ORGANISATION REAL QUICK

(Or Why the Lack of It Could Sometimes Be Better)

With out culture presentations approaching, another idea for blogging came up: we could write about which presentations we're planning to see and why. Yeah. We could. But these days, it's been all about planning. Plan your time, plan your studying, figure our when to take which exam, decide on your presentations... Just planning, planning, planning.

Of course organising your time is very useful and very helpful in more stressful times. I'm not against it. It's a matter of opinion, though. I don't hold time organisation in very high esteem. Perhaps because it's always come so easy to me that I've never had to do it consciously. Or perhaps it's simply because I know I would stray from any schedule I'd create for myself, and I really don't want to guilt-trip myself for doing something so entirely human.

UNTOUCHED BOOKS

(or In Defence of Books And Condemnation of Literature Classes (in Slovenia...))

I'm sure everyone's been forced to suffer through a few books they would never have picked up if they hadn't been forced to do so by their teachers. Right? Right. So you'll understand why Sara went and wrote about here. If you don't feel like reading, let me just sum up her main points:

• our school system fears we wouldn't see the 'classics' as God-given gifts and tries to do all it can to make sure we do see them that way;
• it focuses on the authors too much;
• even poking trivial literature with a ten-foot pole seems to be a mortal sin;
• discussing books and expressing opinions is not encouraged (except in essays. The ones that get graded);
• literature is taught, not discussed;
• giving us the opportunity to express our own opinion would actually help people appreciate the works more.

All right, now let me add my own two cents.

WATCH ME RANT ABOUT ARTICLES AGAIN

(Or Nope. Sorry, Nope. I Disagree with Your Purity Opinions)

Every now and then, I see stuff on the internet (*cough* I'm looking at you, Facebook *cough*) and foolishly click on it. This time, it was an article titled 5 Lies That Make Sexual Purity More Difficult, and I wondered what lies could there possibly be? Folks decide not to have sex until marriage. What's the lie in that?

I must say I was very pleasantly surprised at first. Before the shit hit the fan. (Yes, I'm taking a clear stand here. I have nothing against purity itself and people who decide for it. It's their choice, and I respect that. I just find the reasoning a bit... Well. Let's just say there's a reason for this post).

HISTORY SHOULD BE WRITTEN IN NOVELS

(Or How a Name Could Be So Much More Than Just a Name)

Writing historically accurate novels about every important event and/or person may sound like a strange idea. It certainly seems impossible, and most likely is, too. That doesn't mean learning history wouldn't be a lot better this way, though.

SO... THE EU ELECTIONS HAPPENED

(Or OMG, Would People Just Vote?!)

I don't spend much time thinking about politics. In fact, I avoid politics like a plague. But then this is more about people than politicians, so I guess it can be excused...


Right. The election for the EU parliament.Not really a big deal in Slovenia. Well, not compared to other elections. But the attitude... God, the attitude. I really don't understand people. Okay, maybe a bit. I get that some people think everything is hopeless and are completely apathetic when it comes to politics. After all, it seems the people (or at least some of them) who are supposed to be leading this country, are too busy proving how much better they are than the other parties to remember they're actually there to serve the people. Yeah, that's right. Somebody should tell them that.

BEHIND ROMANTIC COMEDIES

(Or Why Do They Think a Happy Ending Can Make Us Overlook a Tragedy)

It was just my (bad) luck that I managed to stumble upon one disturbing romantic comedy after another in the last few months. Not to say they're not all cheesy, but sometimes, they're cheesy in a positive and funny way (really, TPTB tend to forget the "comedy" part in "romantic comedy" way too often). And sometimes, they're just... well. They don't work.

I'll rant about three films here, namely Letters to Juliet, The Accidental Husband, and Leap Year.

 No worries, I'm not planning to bore you with summaries. I'll just focus on what they all have in common, and why it bothers me.

THE LOVE SONG OF THAT MEDIOCRE MAN FROM 1910's

(Or Why I Don't Believe Critics Anymore)

Apparently, I'm feeling brave today. Maybe. Not really. But I'm still going to go and disagree with all the established interpretations of all those high-and-mighty literary critics or whatever they were. Seriously. It's almost bizarre how many life-altering symbols people tend to find in pieces of art in which the author did nothing more than talk about a lazy afternoon that wouldn't leave their mind for months, or a death scene from a film (that will make everybody wonder who the hell died in the author's life that he should write such sad poetry), or whatever. I'm not really a fan of all that deeper meaning mumbo jumbo (unless it's about fandoms. Then I'm all for it). I usually don't waste my time with it, either.