so i found this pic in my gallery
When talking to french people, focus on innocuous topics like the weather, current events (âavez-vous lu Ă propos de..?â Have you read aboutâŠ?), and cultural topics like food, movies, art, music, and so on. And remember to use vous instead of tu!
I only speak a little French. Je ne parle qu'un peu le français.
I am learning French, but I am only a beginner. J'apprends le français mais je ne suis qu'un débutant.
I have been learning french for 2 days / 2 weeks / 2 months / 1 year / 2 years. J'apprends le français depuis deux jours / deux semaines / deux mois / un an / deux ans.
Will you please correct me? Peux-tu me corriger, s'il te plaĂźt?
What does ___ mean? Que veut dire ___?
What does that mean? Qu'est-ce que ça veut dire?
Can you explain in French/English to me? Peux-tu m'expliquer en français / anglais?
What does that mean in this context? Qu'est-ce que ça veut dire dans ce contexte?
What is the French word for ___? Quel est le mot français pour ___?
Is this/that correct? C'est juste?
Am I wrong? Je me trompe?/Est-ce que j'ai tort?
Am I correct? Est-ce que j'ai raison?
Do you understand? Est-ce que tu me comprends?
I do not understand. Je ne comprends pas.
I want to improve my level in French. Je veux améliorer mon niveau de français.
I need to practice French. J'ai besoin de pratiquer le français.
Do you have time to speak with me? As-tu le temps de parler avec moi ?
Can you help me to learn French? Peux-tu m'aider à apprendre le français?
Do you mind if we speak in French? Ăa te dĂ©range si nous parlons en français?
Can you please speak in French? it helps me to learn. Peux-tu me parler en français s'il te plaĂźt? Ăa m'aide Ă apprendre.
How do you say â___â in French? Comment dit-on â___â en français ?
I struggle with spelling / reading / writing / listening / pronunciation. J'ai du mal avec l'orthographe / la lecture / l'écriture / la compréhension orale / la prononciation.
Can you please repeat? I did not understand. Pouvez-vous répéter s'il vous plaßt ? Je n'ai pas compris.
I donât speak French fluently. Je ne parle pas couramment le français.
I am confused. Je suis perdu(e).
I donât know how to say it in French. Je ne sais pas comment le dire en Français,
Sorry (or âpardonâ), what did you say? Pardon, qu'est-ce que tu as dit?
Iâve never heard of that. Je n'ai jamais entendu ça.
That makes sense. Ăa se tient.
That does not make sense. Ăa n'a aucun sens.
Whatâs happening? / Whatâs going on? Qu'est-ce qui se passe?
What do you mean by â___â ? Qu'est-ce que tu entends par â___â? / Qu'est-ce que tu veux dire par â___â?
Here is a list of phrases you can use and practice when giving and asking for personal information. Take note that the list makes use of the formal âvousâ.
Comment vous appelez-vous? What is your name?
Je m'appelle Christine. My name is Christine.
Quel est votre nom? What is your name?
Comment allez-vous? How are you?
Je vais bien, merci. I am doing well, thank you.
TrĂšs bien, merci. Very well, thank you.
Quel Ăąge avez-vous? How old are you?
J'ai # ans. I am # years old.
J'ai trente ans. I am thirty years old.
J'ai quarante-deux ans. I am forty two old.
Quelle est votre nationalité? What is your Nationality?
Je suis canadien(ne). I am Canadian.
Je suis américain(e). I am American.
Je suis chinois(e). I am Chinese.
Je suis coréen(ne). I am Korean.
OĂč habitez-vous? Where do you live?
J'habite en Californie. I live in California.
Quel est votre numéro de téléphone? What is your phone number?
Mon numĂ©ro de tĂ©lĂ©phone est le ⊠My phone number is âŠ
OĂč ĂȘtes-vous nĂ©(e)? Where were you born?
Je suis nĂ©(e) Ă âŠÂ I was born inâŠ
Ătes-vous mariĂ©(e)? Are you married?
Oui, je suis marié. Yes, I am married
Non, je ne suis pas marié. No, I am not married
Je suis célibataire. I am single
Est-ce que vous avez des frĂšres et soeurs? Do you have any brothers and sisters?
Je suis fille unique. I am an only child/daughter
Je suis fils unique. I am an only child/son
J'ai - frĂšre(s). I have - brother(s).
J'ai - soeur(s). I have - sisters(s).
Je n'ai pas de frĂšres. I donât have any brothers.
Je n'ai pas de soeurs. I donât have any sisters.
Quel est votre métier? What is your job?
Quelle est votre profession? What is your profession?
Que faites-vous dans la vie? What do you do for a living?
Je suis ingénieur. I am an engineer.
Je suis boulanger/boulangĂšre. I am a baker.
Je suis médecin. I am a doctor.
Je suis infirmier/infirmiĂšre. I am a nurse.
Quel est votre sport préféré? What is your favorite sport? (formal)
Quel est ton sport prĂ©fĂ©rĂ©?Â
What is your favorite sport? (informal)
Mon sport prĂ©fĂ©rĂ© est⊠My favorite sport isâŠ.
J'aime faire du sport et garder la forme. I like to do sports to keep fit.
Quelle saison préférez-vous? What season do you prefer? (formal
Quelle saison préfÚres-tu? What season do you prefer? (What season is your favorite?) (informal)
Quels sont vos passe-temps préférés? What are your favorite pastimes? (formal)
Quels sont tes passe-temps préférés? What are your favorite pastimes? (informal)
Mes passe-temps prĂ©fĂ©rĂ©s sont⊠My favorite pastimes areâŠ
Qu'est-ce que vous faites dans votre temps libre? What do you do in your free time? (formal)
Qu'est-ce que tu fais dans ton temps libre? What do you do in your free time? (informal)
Est-ce que vous avez un animal de compagnie? Do you have a pet?(formal)
Est-ce que tu as un animal de compagnie? Do you have a pet? (informal)
Non, Je n'ai pas un animal de compagnie. No, I donât have a pet.
Oui, J'ai un chat. Yes, I have a cat.
Oui, J'ai un chien.Yes, I have a dog.
Qu'est-ce que vous aimez? What do you like?
J'aime le jazz. I like jazz.
J'aime le rock. I like rock.
J'aime le hip-hop. I like hip-hop.
Je n'aime pas le rap. I donât like rap.
Je n'Ă©coute pas de la musique trĂšs souvent. I donât listen to music very often.
J'aime les films d'amour. I like romance films.
J'aime les films d'aventures. I like adventure films.
Je nâaime pas faire du ski. I donât like skiing.
Qu'est-ce que vous aimeriez faire dans la vie? What would you like to do in life ?
J'aimerais ĂȘtre chef. I would like to be a chef.
J'aimerais ĂȘtre un bibliothĂ©caire. I would like to be a librarian.
I just love the feeling you get while studying something that you love with all your heart.
Learning new things about it makes you feel like floating in a sky full of coloured fluffy clouds...
fuck knows/100
yes i am definetly restarting this thing
WELL I JUST FINISHED MY EXAMS AND IT WENT ACTUALLY PRETTY FUCKING WELL HOLY SHIIITTT
now time to study whatever the fuck i want
I have been waiting for this moment a long time
Tips For Studying When You're Burned Out:
(ideally, you shouldn't even be studying if you're burned out but we live in a shitty world and sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do)
don't look at your assignments as something you have to do. that leads to frustration and constant anxiety over procrastination. instead, think of them as something you want to do!! do them well for the sake of doing them well, not because you have a deadline in two hours.
start with the least emotionally taxing stuff first, like readings or some math warm-ups to get you into the groove. it'll help you ease into the right mindset so you can work properly.
use lifeat.io if you're on a computer!! they have amazing virtual study spaces which have helped me focus whenever i'm in a less-than-ideal situation with a lot of noise and distraction.
listen to calm music if you're the type that needs headphones in to do anything. a good example would be lofi hip-hop or some uplifting classical music. angsty indie is fine, but crying in the middle of your economics essay probably isn't the best use of your time.
if you've been working on something for a few hours and don't understand the topic, take a break and do something else (don't scroll through social media, you'll end up losing an hour or so procrastinating). recharge with a warm drink and let your brain reset. you're more tired than you know.
khan academy and photomath are your best friends. use any and ALL online resources you have, it'll save you a lot of energy!!
if you absolutely can't cope up/know you can't prevent the inevitable, please, please email your prof beforehand!! state clearly the reason why you're not able to complete the work they assigned and what you're going to do to make it up. most of the time they'll be understanding and extend your deadline.
but if your prof is that 5% which doesn't care about your mental health and/or thinks you're slacking off, you probably should have a conversation with your mentor and re-evaluate whether being in that class is the right thing for you.
stay safe and take care of yourself lovelies, you'll make it through this!! <3
my grandpa saw my gemsona on facebook and now he wants me to draw him a gemsona
adapted from this response
1. Write your notes in a way where you can test your retention and understanding.Â
Many people write notes that do a great job summarizing their materials but their notes are not designed to promote learning, retention or diagnosis of their weaknesses. But my notes can â and so can yours. Simply put my notes can be used like flashcards because I write them in a form where I separate a âstimulusâ from a âresponse.â Â The stimulus are cues or questions (think: front side of flashcard), while the response is the answer to the cue (think: back of flashcard). Â But the stimuli are to the left of a margin, while the responses are to the right. The key advantage of this is that just by putting a sheet of paper on top of your notes, you can hide the responses, while leaving the stimuli visible. You can have multiple margins and multiple levels of stimuli and response for greater information density. When you get good at this you can write notes in this form in real-time. To get some idea of what Iâm talking about google for âCornell Notetaking methodâ. My notetaking method is a variant of this. I usually use completely blank paper to do this because regular lined paper has too small a margin. To give you an idea of how powerful this notetaking method can be, I learned several courses just hours before the exam and still got an âAâ in all of them during a difficult semester where I had too many competing priorities to spend long hours studying. Had it not been for this notetaking method I donât think that would be possible. 2. Develop the ability to become an active reader (this is the perhaps the most important advice I have to share).Â
Donât just passively read material you are given. But pose questions, develop hypotheses and actively test them as you read through the material. I think the hypotheses are part of what another poster referred to when he advised that you should develop a âmental modelâ of whatever concept they are teaching you.  But a mental model can be much more than simple hypotheses. Sometimes the model resembles a story. Other times it looks more like a diagram. But what they all have in common is that the explain what is going on. Having a mental model will give you the intuition and ability to answer a wider range of questions than would be otherwise possible if you lacked such a mental model. Where do you get this model? You creatively develop one as you are reading to try to explain the facts as they are presented to you.  Itâs like guessing how the plot of a movie, before it unfolds. Sometimes you have to guess the model based on scarce evidence. Sometimes it is handed to you. If your model is a good one it should at least be able to explain what you are reading. Having a model also allows you to make predictions which can then be used to identify if your model is wrong.  This allows you to be hypersensitive to disconfirming evidence that can quickly identify if your model is wrong. Oftentimes you may have two or more models that can explain the evidence, so your task will be to quickly formulate questions that can prove one model while disconfirming the others. To save yourself time, I suggest focusing on raising questions that could confirm/disprove the mostly likely model while disproving the others  (think: differential diagnoses in medicine). But once you have such a model that (i) explains the evidence and (ii) passes all the disconfirming tests you can throw at it then you have something you can interpolate and extrapolate from to answer far more than was initially explained to you. Such models also make retention easier because you only need to remember the model as opposed to the endless array of facts it explains.  But perhaps more importantly, such models give you intuition. Of course, your model could be wrong, but that is why you actively test it as you are reading, and adjust as necessary. Think of this process as the scientific method being applied by you, to try to discover the truth as best you can. Sometimes you will still be left with contradictions that even your best models cannot explain. I often found speaking to the professor after class to be a time efficient of resolving these contradictions. I discovered mental modelling as a survival mechanism to pass my studies at the University of Waterloo â where their teaching philosophy is misnomer because their teaching philosophy is to not teach as well as they could. You can see this from their grading philosophy. Although they donât use a bell curve or other statistical grade adjustment, they make their exams so hard that the class average is usually between 68 (C+) and 72 (B-) in spite of the fact that their minimum admission grades are among the highest in Canada (you need more than A+ to get into several of their engineering programs). The only way they can achieve such low test averages from otherwise high performing students is by holding back some of what they know, and then testing what they didnât explain well in lecture on their exams; or by not teaching to the best of their ability.  This forces students to develop the ability to teach themselves, often from materials that do not explain things well, or lack the introductory background knowledge needed to understand the material. I realized I could defend against such tactics by reverse engineering the results into theories that would produce those same results; i.e. mental model induced from scarce facts.   Then when I got to MIT I found myself in a place with the opposite teaching philosophy. Unlike Waterloo, if the whole class got an âAâ the MIT professors would be happy and proud (whereas at Waterloo an âAâ class average would be the cause for a professorâs reprimand). The mental modelling skills I developed at Waterloo definitely came in handy at graduate school because they enabled me to learn rapidly with scarce information. 3. Be of service to your fellow classmates.
Iâve personally observed and heard anecdotal stories that many students in highly competitive programs are reluctant to share what they know with their peers; a good example being the vast number of students in a top ranked science programs competing for the very few coveted spots in med school. Iâve seen people in such situations be afraid to share what they know because the fear it could lead to the other students âgetting aheadâ while leaving them behind. I would actually recommend doing the opposite: share liberally. You canât expect help from others if you are unwilling to help others yourself. I spent hours tutoring people in subjects I was strong in. But, conversely those same people were usually happy to help me with my weaknesses when I needed it. I also found it easier to get good teammates â which is essential to getting good grades in team-based classes. I found I learned a LOT from other people. And their questions helped me to prepare for questions I may not have thought of â some of which would appear on the exams. 4. Understand how the professor grades.Â
Like the real world, the academic world is not always fair. You need to understand who is grading you and what they are looking for. Oddly, if you actually answer questions as written, you wonât get full marks from some teachers. Some professors expected more than the answer. Some only accepted the answers taught in class as opposed to other factually correct answers â which coincidentally can easily happen if you rely heavily on mental models. Some expected you to not even evaluate whether the answers to their multiple choice answers were true or not; only to notice which answer choices aligned or did not align with the theories taught in class. Â Some highly value participation in which case you ought to have a mental model of what they are teaching based on their assigned readings. The sooner you know who you are dealing with, the sooner you can adjust to their way of grading. Thankfully I considered the vast majority of my professors to have graded in a fair manner. 5. Get involved in research while still in undergrad.
Academics is a means to an end. To me that end was âsolving problemsâ and âbuilding stuffâ specifically systems and organizations. Â Depending on the school you apply for, your research may be just as important, if not more important, than your grades. In fact if all you have are good grades your chances of getting into a top ranked CS program with a research component (e.g. MIT, CMU) are slim to nil; though you might still be able to get into a top-ranked courseware-based Masters (such as Stanford where there is no masters thesis). I did an Artificial Intelligence research project in undergrad and posted it on the internet. Not long after it was cited in three patents from IBM, AOL and another inventor. Then 40 other people cited my work. I feel this helped me get into MIT because they saw that I could come up with theories with practical applications. It also led to internships with top research teams whose work I am still in awe of. This research also helped my graduate application. None of this would have been possible if I didnât do research in undergrad. 6. Attend classes.
I do not understand the students who claim they did well without attending class. Many professors will only say certain things in class. Many classes only present some of the material in class. If you donât attend class you simply wonât get that material. You also wonât be able to ask immediate follow-up questions. I also found speaking to the professor after class was an efficient way to resolve contradictions I had found with my mental model. 7. Time management is key â especially in undergrad.Â
In my competitive undergrad program I once learned that a friend who achieved top 5% status actually timed how long he ate. While I do not suggest going to such extremes I offer this modest advice. I suggest spending no more than 30 minutes trying to solve a problem you canât solve by yourself before appealing to office hours or another knowledgeable student. I also suggest you ask questions of your professor during or after class as opposed to leaving the class confused. This reduces wasted time in an environment when time is a very precious commodity. 8. Going out and having fun is conducive to good grades.Â
In my early undergrad years I studied as hard as I could. And I thought this meant putting in as many studying hours as possible. But I later realized that going out and having fun refreshed the mind and increased grades. Unfortunately it took at least 2 years for me to understand this lesson. 9. Learn how to do advanced Google searches.
This is an essential skill that enables you to answer your own questions, quickly. At a minimum I suggest you learn how to use the following Google search operators  ~, -,*, AND,OR, and numeric ranges via the double dot (â..â) operator.  The âsite:â operator is also often helpful. I also found adding the word âtutorialâ to a Google search often yields great introductory materials.Â
10. Turn weaknesses into strengths.
While studying for standardized exams I learned the importance of addressing oneâs weaknesses as opposed to ignoring them.  If you make a mistake on a question, it is because of a weakness within you. If you do not address that weakness it will follow you to the exam. I learned this lesson when studying for standardized exams. I was able to legally buy 30 old exams and thought the best approach to studying for the exam was to do as many old problems as possible. But as I completed each exam I kept getting the same score  (+/- 5%) over and over. I had plateaued! But then I made a tiny tweak and my scores kept going up. Specifically, after each old exam, I would identify my weaknesses that led to each wrong answer, prioritize the weaknesses according to the degree to which they affected my score, and would address them in that order.  When I did that, my scores increased steadily all the way to the highest possible percentile (99%). I later realized that such standardized tests are designed to provide consistent scores (if the student does not study in between the subsequent exams to address their weaknesses). In fact that is one of the statistical measures used to measure the quality  of a standardized exam and itâs called âReliabilityâ  (Google for âpsychometric reliabilityâ to see what Iâm talking about).
Klaus Hargreeves, legendary
Reblog with who you get stuck with~
I SWEAR I SWEAR I SCREAMED ALL THIS MORNING AFTER BINGING IT
I sat through Casanova only to have THIS KIND OF ENDING????????????
Subjects that belong in academia proletaria (and should be more appreciated):
Religious Studies - theology, polytheism, ancient evidence of religion in Cape Town cave paintings, timelines of Zoroastrianism and Judaism, Animism and Taoism, Yoruba and Zulu. Respectful visits to Mosques and Temples, puzzling your own spirituality together piece by piece or not at all, never loving the study of it any the less
Geography - glaciers, entire ecosystems in decomposing logs on the forest floor, wildfires and serotinous pine cones, how the Himalayas themselves have stopped wars - documentaries and encyclopaedias, memorised walking routes through rainy heathlands, the scrappy camaraderie of the university mountaineering society and a devotion to the breadth of learning that academics so often dismiss as the generalistâs science
Language - Mandarin, Arabic, Russian, Hindi, Amharic, Portuguese - the dialect of the changing modern world and the roots of the very essence of communication deep in history, audiobooks you can hardly keep up with and pocket books stuffed full of vocabulary
Civil Engineering - bridges, train tracks, redbrick and brutalism - drawing out entire towns in a notebook, scale models and the smell of fresh paint, a wardrobe very clearly divided into âclothes I have already ruinedâ and âclothes people are surprised to see me in because they arenât covered in oil or superglueâ, a good pair of boots
Education - having loved your subject so much that you couldnât bear to leave education behind, seeing great things for the next generation even if they donât quite know where theyâre going yet, backpacks full of books to mark and nostalgic home-town teaching placements, a bad photo on your lanyard and students hanging back after class to talk (even when its sixth period and getting dark)
Social Policy, social work - setting off lively debates in the local state school on one day, and speaking quietly with an angry kid while the rain falls outside your office window on another - protecting libraries, community meetings, union strikes and non-gov organisations, posters made with the help of local youth groups and jackets with âthe young are at the gatesâ stitched across the chest
Subjects that still belong in academia proletaria even if they are already appreciated:
Literature and poetry, of course, donât let them make you think these are out of your reach or disregard their romanticism. War poems, American literature, Anne Carsonâs Antigone and the joy of reading books that indulge just a little on your childish side, experiencing again the ability to read books like breathing air as you did when you were young (the bone clocks by David Mitchell (READ IT!!))
Mathematics, thinking in numbers and seeing patterns everywhere. Adding up your late-night corner-shop haul sum in your head before you see the numbers on the cash register, harbouring a strange attachment to prime numbers, the careful chronology of a formula breaking numbers into their hidden parts down the side of your page (lots of pencil shavings)
Music, picking up an instrument in a high school music tech cupboard and never putting it down again, finding tutoring where you can and vehemently keeping up with the kids who took lessons since they were six, scratching out compositions on printer-paper manuscript and knowing the garageband software inside out. âPlay me a song to set me free, nobody writes them like they used to so it may as well be meâ
Art, We All Hate Damien Hirst, sort of getting what the Dadaists where going for at this point, borrowing (stealing) materials from the department and stepping in paint, genuinely compelling photography and a friendly relationship with the local photo printing shop in town, sometimes taking things too seriously but more often not taking them seriously enough, CARBON PAPER !!
History - the brilliant âbeware of the dogâ mosaic in Pompeii, Italy, Horrible Histories songs, an unusual depth of knowledge to do with the Great Fire of London, mental maps of historical museums and books about everything from Genghis Khan to the Six Day War. Digging up the time capsule you buried when you were 11 because you put that CD you really loved in and want it back even though you had hoped it would outlast the centuries
âFind something you love to do and then⊠do it for the rest of your life.â
Tim | it/they/he | INFJ | chaotic evil | ravenclaw | here for a good time not for a long time
184 posts