Littlelanguagefox - THE LITTLE LANGUAGE FOX

hey you!! stop for a second!!! think of all the things you have accomplished today!! you woke up?? fucking superb!! washed your face? i’m proud of you!!! what did you do this week??? walked your dog?? they are so lucky to have you!! made yourself a meal??? you are doing amazing!! remember that life mostly consists of small things, not big ones, and you need to learn to cherish them!! play your favorite song!! do your homework!!! water your plants!! throw away the trash!! put away the clothes you’ve been piling on that chair!!! drink some water!!! you can’t do the big things without doing the small ones as well!!!!

what to use a notebook for

planning and organising

dream house plan

recipe collection 

trip / vacation planner

bucket lists 

a bullet journal

pet book (dates of vet visits, photos as they grow up, etc)

baby journal (similar to pet one)

plan with me challenge 

idea dump

budget book

school

class / lecture notes

textbook notes

school planner or bullet journal

university research / application planner

reviews

cafe / restaurant 

books

movies

music

tv series

artsy craftsy

poetry 

writers notebook

sketchbook

sticker collection

gardening journal

photo journal

inspiration / moodpboard scrapbook

fun n cute

happiness journal (write one thing each day that made you happy)

gratitude journal

quote collection 

travel journal

dream journal 

sentence-a-day journal (write a sentence about every day)

journaling challenges (you can find a bunch of prompts online)

astronomy journal

Hi Studyblr/Gradblr Friends!

What are you all using to create portfolios to showcase your work? Any recommendations? 

Vocab: La Casa de Bernarda Alba - S

We’re getting close pals

Sábana - sheet

Sabor - taste, flavour

Salirse con la suya - to get one’s own way

Sandía - watermelon

Santiguarse - to cross oneself

Segador - reaper

Segar - to reap

Sentar - to seat, suit

Sentar mal - to disagree

Sentar la mano - to let someone’s feel (the weigh of) one’s hand

Sentir - to hear, mourn, feel, be upset over, be sorry

Señalado - appointed

Señalar - to point to

Siempre - always, still

Sien - temple

Siervo - servant

Sigilo - secrecy, stealth

Silbido - whistle

Sino - fate

Sinsabor - trouble, worry

Siquiera - at least

Ni siquiera - not even

Sobrar - to be more than enough

Sobras - leftovers

Sobrecogido - startled, taken aback

Solería - floor

Soltera - single, unmarried, spinster

Sollozar - to sob

Mala sombra - bad luck

Con sorna - sarcastically, mockingly

Suave - soft, gentle, sweet

Suceso - incident, action

Sudor - sweat

Sueldo - wage

Suelto - loose

Sujetar - to restrain, hold back

Sumiso - submissive

Suplicante - pleading, imploring

language learning is basically 95% mistakes with 5% inspiration

i’ve spent the past seven and a half years saying “qué peña” instead of “qué pena”.

me, a whole late bilingual, has been walking around saying “what a ROCK!” instead of “what a PITY!”

qué pena…

a collection of some of my favorite jonghyun quotes

for anyone who might need him right now.

• “time goes by. it’s just slower when you are having a hard time. if you try to enjoy the time, everything will be alright.”

• “there’s no such thing as useless emotion.”

• “it’s fine if you hurt a little. it’s fine if you fall.”

• “even if you don’t gain strength today, it’s alright to gain strength even tomorrow. i wanted to say that it’s okay, even if you have been worn out and had a hard time for as long as a month. please gain strength tomorrow! it’ll be fine as long as you gain strength when you feel like it.”

• “i’ll make everyone a promise. when you’re sad, i’ll cry together with you. if you’re happy, i’ll be even happier for you. i will do anything using my small, little effort to stand beside everone.”

• “cry out loud once. look at the mirror and shake it off. i’ve cried like that before and others will have times like that too. cheer up, you’re not alone.”

• “i think it’s okay to feel lost in your life. i think it’s okay to not reach that final goal (in your life). you may earn things while being lost or could make something out of it through the emotions you feel. i think it should be your judgement. you don’t have to make someone else judge the satisfaction of your life. i hope that you don’t feel too anxious about feeling lost in your life.”

• “when your tears are falling, just let them shed. i wish you’ll think of it as if that weight inside your heart is getting out of your body drop by drop.”

• “is there anyone out there that is crying alone tonight? not crying out of pity for something or someone, but instead because they cannot help asking why they are living in the way that they are? is there anyone that is feeling sentimental or guilty, needlessly? don’t be like that. i hope that you believe that these bitter days of crying alone will prove to be the most beautiful days of your life. you’ll realize, with time, that your life is actually pretty alright. i promise you. in fact, i’ll write you a guarantee! the most beautiful thing in all the world is right now. this moment. you. don’t ever forget that.”

• “life is a series of encounters and farewells. i believe we grow in the process. for now, it is very sad but we will meet again. we can hope for that day to come soon, and we will be able to greet each other with (a) much bigger welcome.”

Yeah sex is great but have you ever listened to a song in your target language and suddenly understood a new line for the first time

loving shinee is self care

General Language Learning Tips

I’ve tried learning a few languages (Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean and a bit of Mandarin) by self study and class study. Here’s what I’ve worked out does and doesn’t work for me. Take it with a pinch of salt!

1) Learn grammar, but don’t sweat it too much. There’s a debate about whether to ignore grammar completely and pick it up, or whether to rigourously study it. Do what you want, but in my experience, learning the concept, then constant application is best.

For example: Learn a new structure, make your own example sentences and then get a native speaker to check them. You’ll end up hearing the grammar too, which can be helpful

I tried the “just pick it up method” for Spanish and French, and it kind of worked, but I made a ton of mistakes with grammar and couldn’t work out how to correct them until I actually learned the concept

2) Don’t just use flashcards for vocabulary learning. They are a great tool, but not alone. Application again is really useful. For example, go through a deck on Quizlet and learn the words. Once you’re sure you’ve memorised them, look at the translation in your native language and write example sentences with those words in your target language, and again check them with a native speaker. This method could also pair with your grammar studies. This is just a recommendation, but try and find a way to apply the vocab.

3) For getting native speakers to correct you, there isn’t always a native or advanced speaker at your disposal. Apps like HiNative or a language exchange app like Tandem is good for this.

4) It’s so easy to get discouraged when you watch a TV show and you struggle to understand, or you read a book and don’t understand every other word. With harder sources, be a little lighter on yourself. Put on subtitles in your target language, or look up every word you don’t understand, then re-read the passage, glancing back at your vocab list. Eventually it will get easier as long as you keep doing it

5) Another way to learn vocabulary is to just look up words that you can’t translate as you come across them. This is how I learn the majority of my Italian vocabulary. I read an article or a text, and I annotate words I don’t know with the translation, then read over the text again. I don’t review the words, I just look them up again if I don’t recognise them the next time I see them. This is great for when you feel lazier or not in the mood to memorise. I used this method with Japanese song lyrics too, and it even helped me with Japanese sentence structure

6) Output>Input. Speak and write whenever you can. Speak to yourself, write a diary, write with a language exchange partner, repeat phrases you hear watching TV.

7) ^^ That being said, give yourself as much input as possible. Listening to music is my favourite method for this, but I’ve started watching a series in Spanish and Italian, which I recommend for intermediate learners. Reading books is also good for intermediate learners. Beginners, I recommend music and children’s books, but still check out stuff for intermediate learners if you wish.

8) When you hit a stump with grammar or vocabulary, or you feel like you can’t speak at all, target that for however long you can. Repetition of phrases and methods should help you. Check different sources for different explanations or a different method. If that really doesn’t work, revisit it in a week or so.

That’s all I can offer. Please message me if have any questions or queries, and I’ll happily answer!

So I’m in the final semester of my undergrad.

Which means its grad school application time for me (I’m starting a little late because of personal reasons (-: ) Anyway, I was wondering if anyone out there on the great blue gradblr had any recommendations or tips for writing a personal statement?