i’ve gotten questions multiple times about how to start learning swedish and how to go about when starting learning a new language, so i thought i’d make a masterpost about it. obviously learning differs from person to person, especially with languages, but this is what i do to study french, and what i’ve found best works for me
apps to get started:
if you know nothing about a language a good place to get started is with basic words and basic grammar. there are a lot of apps / websites to choose from, some of the most popular are
Duolingo, has the benefit of being free, and has 27 languages to choose from. with Duolingo you start with the basics of “hello”, “my name is” “i am” and it gradually gets harder the better you get. make sure you don’t only use it as an app though, because then you’ll miss the grammar explanations available on the website
Babbel, unlike Duolingo Babbel isn’t free, and Babbel only has 14 languages to choose from. starts off similar to Duolingo but with Babbel you get more detailed grammar explanations and you don’t fall into the trap of having to learn long lists of words relating to one very specific subject before learning basic grammar, as you do with Duolingo. In Babbel you can also choose the courses that feel relevant to you, and don’t have to clear a certain course to move on to the next one
Memrise, works similarly to the two above. there is a free version but you have to pay to get to PRO level
this type of course is a great foundation for learning a language, and almost vital when first starting out (if you’re learning on your own), but make sure it’s not your only source, and that you’re continuously talking to native speakers, reading, watching movies, listening to the radio and so on to get a grip on what the language is like when spoken naturally
hearing the language:
watching tv and movies
when watching tv and movies you could either do it in two different ways, with different benefits
with subtitles (in language spoken), the benefit with this is that you can read a word or sentence and directly see how it’s pronounced, and vice versa. the downside is that this way easily draws attention away from the speech, it’s easy to get carried away focusing on the subtitles
without subtitles, the benefit with this is that you have to really focus on what is being said and how it’s pronounced, and you learn to understand the language spoken, rather than just written as in the subtitles
watching documentaries
watching documentaries is a great way to learn how to understand the language spoken. the language used is natural and not simplified for people trying to learn it, but it has a naturally slow tempo which makes it easy to keep up with
listening to the radio
even if you don’t understand a single word of what is being said when starting, listening to the radio is always a great way to pick up pronunciation. after a while as you get better you’ll start recognizing words and sentences, and you start understanding more and more. listening to the radio is also good as you get to hear how native speakers actually talk, including slang, idioms, buffer noises and other things
listening to music
listening to music works in the same way as listening to the radio, but is often a lot more fun! you learn the pronunciation and can sing along. disney songs are usually quite simple and offer written lyrics, so i’d say that’s a good way to start!
reading:
reading is one of the most important things to do when learning a language, and has the added benefit of learning about the culture of the language if you read literature from that country (which i recommend you do). i recommend starting with children’s books and cartoons and then moving on to more advanced literature the better you get. you can go about reading in your target language in two ways
reading continuously without pausing and trying to understand the words you don’t know based on the context. it’s also good to go back and reread, if you do this chances are you’ll pick up things that you didn’t understand the first time
pausing and looking up every word you don’t recognize. doing this won’t really increase your ability to read in your target language, but it can be a good way to build up a vocabulary
writing:
writing a diary
writing in your target language is a good way to learn to think in your target language and to use it naturally. i write a diary in french every day, and it’s been incredibly rewarding! but make sure this isn’t your only source, as that could make your language sound quite alien and unnatural. i made a more detailed post about the benefits of writing a diary in your target language which you can find here x
chatting online
chatting with native speakers online is a good complement to writing a diary. it has the same effects of learning to think in the language and using it daily, but when chatting with someone else you’ll be corrected, which stops you from developing bad and unnatural habits in your target language. you’ll also see how the native speakers use the language and which formulations they use. there are two apps, that i know about, designed to let you talk to native speakers
HelloTalk
Tandem
they both work pretty much the same, you enter your native language and other languages that you may speak fluently, and which language you’d like to learn. then you’ll be matched with people who want to learn your language and who speaks the language that you want to learn
talking:
talking is the most essential, and hardest part of learning a language. i practice talking by repeating words from Duolingo and Babbel and reading out loud from books. if you’re using Tandem or HelloTalk you can also video chat and send audio messages back and forth. there’s always the classic way of practicing by talking in the shower or with your pet! the best way to learn how to speak in your target language though would be to go to the country where the language is spoken
i think the most important thing to think about when starting a new language is to emerge yourself in it as much as you possibly can, and making the language a natural part of your day
i hope this post was helpful! if anyone has some other tips, feel free to put them in the comments or in the reblogs, good luck!
How I break down anatomy and make it mechanical while still looking organic/streamline in shape. These guidelines can be stretched, squished, pulled, and widened however you see fit. They will work for any shape, from big and squishy to thin and spindly.
You can ref from this where needed, I encourage you trace this image in your private/personal studies, just please refrain from posting the image if you trace from this!
i hope youre all lying and hyping your cv/resume’s up
i have never gotten an interview and not been offered a job position after it
I mean lets be honest if everyone else is gassing theirs up like no tomorrow and you’re being as honest as you can who th are the recruitment team going to be more interested in
There’s people working in my banks head office with me WITH MUCH MORE EXPERIENCE than me BUT ARE GETTING PAID LESS
we’re doing the exact same job role
the point I’m trying to make here is if you’ve handled finances for a company you’re now what i would call a treasurer my g, if you’ve done admin work you are now a secretary (or as I’ve put Management secretary)
you help some kid with his homework? you’re a private tutor.
keep your bullets points for the job role as concise and important sounding as possible AND ALWAYS EMPHASIS THAT YOURE A TEAM PLAYER IF YOURE GOING TO WORK IN A TEAM.
go into that interview room and get your story straight the night before and remember that interviews are two way conversatons yes they might be grilling you but at the end of it make sure to grill them BACK. do you have any hesitations about my qualifications? my suitability for the job? any feedback on my cv? how long have you been working at this company? do you like it here? whats the work environment like?
I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS GET THE SAME FEEDBACK WHEN THEY GET BACK IN TOUCH WITH ME
“ive never been asked those questions before” / “you were one of the strongest candidates”
throughout the interview emphasise that youre about progression, that you want more responsibilities than you did at your previous job, tell them the hours here are more suitable for me than my last ones were, AND WHEN IT COMES TO SALARY NEGOTIATION its all about continuity. tell them again that it boils down to progression. make up a reasonable figure for how much you were paid in your last role (do your research for how much the industry youre applying to or the role youre applying for pays, base it on that) tell them you expect more than you were previously paid. do not give them a figure. progression is your primary focus, tell them if youre progressing youre happy. leave it at that.
LIE THROUGH YOUR TEETH AND GET THAT MONEY
I had an interview yesterday, at the place I’ve been temping, where I busted out the “is there anything about my skills or background that makes you concerned about my fit for this job” question for the first time.
Neither of my supervisors had never gotten it before either. They had to think for a while, and then it turned into them telling me how great I am and what they love about me.
This stuff is real. I would also say: none of it is lying. This is taking experience that you normally downplay and write off, and putting it in accurate words they’ll understand.
It’s hacking the capitalist system. Why ISN’T helping a kid with homework “tutoring”, when the only thing missing is a paycheck?
It’s especially important for anyone who isn’t a cis white man, because many of us are so thoroughly trained to feel like we are not good enough.
Privilege tells people they can fake it, and that they’re good enough just as people and can learn the skills on the job. Abuse and oppression tell people they aren’t good enough as people and that even their high skills are probably below average, and that unless they had the specific job title or were using certain skills officially, nobody will think it counts.
The goal is to at least fake the confidence of a privileged person, to give the employer a chance at seeing the skills that you’ve been trained to undervalue.
I would also say to answer any query of “Have you done [X small task] before?” with “I have, but it’s been a while.” Or, “I have, but it was a slightly different program.”
100% THEY WILL GLADLY WALK YOU THROUGH EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW, and I stress ‘gladly’ because claiming prior knowledge boosts their confidence in your abilities and any slips you make are already covered by your caveat.
blackstoic may have deactivated their account but this advice is fucking gold and all y’all looking for jobs or who think you might one day need to look for a new job PRINT THIS SHIT OUT AND STAPLE IT TO THE WALL.
Hey peeps, I’ve got some fish care for you. These are cheat sheets from my work, that we use to help our own fish and help customers with their fish. They’re not too comprehensive or technical, and of course you should do your own research, but I thought it may help. I have them for my own use.
The images are mine; the content in the images is not mine nor do I claim it to be.
You can’t just tell people to ‘get a VPN (Virtual Private Network)’. Buying a VPN is like buying a house. It’s very very important. Having no VPN or having a ‘wrong’ one can seriously damage your life. Especially for Americans because their privacy laws are garbage. I am going to try explain why you should get a VPN but bare with me, I am from Germany and my English is far from perfect.
Let’s start with a simple test. Click this link here: https://whatismyipaddress.com/ It will tell your IP adres, your ISP (internet service provider), and your location. The location might not be very accurate, but then again, it’s just a simple website. Imagine what the government can do!
So basically, everyone can find out where you live. But there is more danger. Your ISP. Your ISP logs your every move online and they are required to keep it in case the government wants access to it (or if a 3rd party wants to buy your data (yikes). They have everything. What websites you visit. How long you stay on a website. What you download. Your search terms. European laws are more subtle on this but if you are from the US you are #@*#&, especially because Trump doesn’t support the open internet. It’s scary but maybe in the future you can’t get a job because the recruiter knows your searched on ‘how to deal with depression’ or anythings else that’s supposed to be private because it’s your f*cking right. Or you get a $100k fine because you pirated a movie 15 years ago. You need a VPN. You’re dumb for not using one. but what does a VPN do?
A VPN encrypts all your data so if it were be intercepted no one can ‘crack the code’ and damage your privacy.
Usually being online goes like this (simplified): Your computer —-> ISP (—–> keeps data —–> sells it)
But with a VPN it goes like: Your computer —–> VPN (encrypts data)—–> ISP (ISP can’t see shit)
Furthermore, a VPN hides your IP address and location by giving you another IP address located in Spain for example (you can often choose from a list and change as many times as you want).
Now that you know why you should get a VPN and what is does it is important to educate yourself because people often choose the wrong VPN. VPN providers are also businesses and have to obey the law. If you choose a VPN provider located in the US then you are throwing your money away because the laws in the US shits on your privacy. If the US gov wants the provider to give all their logs they have to obey. The ISP still can’t see what you are doing online and sell your data but the US gov can interfere with your VPN provider so NEVER CHOOSE A PROVIDER LOCATED IN THE US.
I just wanted to make that very clear so my followers don’t buy false security.
There is still more danger! Who says your VPN provider isn’t selling your data? You need to check their logging policy. Do they keep logs? If yes, what for? For how long do they keep them? Tip: Choose a provider who doesn’t keep logs
More about law The US is part of the Five Eyes program (the worst):
The Five Eyes, often abbreviated as FVEY, is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. These countries are bound by the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence (source)
There is also a Nine Eyes (bit better) and Fourteen Eyes Program (better). You don’t want a VPN provider who is located in one the Five Eyes countries. If you had to choose go for a provider located in a country that’s part of the Fourteen Eyes Program or even better, go for a country that isn’t part of any program!
I know this is a shitty explanation and please pardon my english but now it’s time to do your own research. Take your privacy seriously. Maybe WWIII breaks out and you get killed for liking the ‘wrong’ FB-page.
Make sure that your future VPN provider both has green boxes for Privacy Jurisdiction and Privacy Logging.
I recommend ovpn.se and trust.zone. ovpn is located in Sweden so they are part of the 14 Eyes Program and they keep minimal logs. Their business ethics, however, are alright.
Trustzone is located in the Seychelles. No country can interfere and their privacy jurisdiction is the best you can get. The US want your data but needs to get it from Trustzone? The Seychelles will simply give them the finger and wave them goodbye. However, this makes this provider very appealing for people who torrent and criminals because they keep no logs (and that is how it shoud be) Also, there are almost no marketing efforts so this provider is one the cheapest)
Also, often providers such as ExpressVPN are being called ‘The Best’ on websites about VPNs but know that this is just marketing which also makes those provider more expensive (and they too shit on your privacy)
This must be the worst article you have ever read but please, please take your privacy very seriously.
I am also with Trustzone but I think you forgot to explain one of it’s most important features. It protects you when you are using someone else’s Wi-Fi. If you are at Starbucks and you use their Wi-Fi your privacy is at risk. Anyone with ill intentions could steal your information. Especially if you are using an unsecured Wi-Fi hotspot. With a VPN your data gets encrypted so no one can steal it.
Wait, what’s going, on? Did trump destroy internet privacy with a bill or something? Where’s the news? Oh wait, why am I getting visions of Alex Jones and selling water purifiers?
He hasn’t yet but he says he wants to. And if he is serious about it it would be really easy to do. Since all our data is already recorded, as the person above explained.
Trump wants more surveillance of Muslim Americans. This in a country where internet privacy is already close to non-existent.
To all my friends in the US, please read this entire post. Making everyone aware of VPNs is going to be my mission. Your privacy matters. Please reblog this post.
Don’t tell me you just wanted to scroll past this. Stop looking at pictures of cats for a moment, okay? Don’t you realize how important this is? This is dangerous! ‘America, the best FREE country in the world’ my ass.
With this new law your ISP can sell your Internet history which could include passwords, usernames, religion, credit card numbers, race and much more to the highest bidder. So here is what I want you to do.
You are going to read the whole thing and before you think ’this is so important. Let me reblog this real quick and go back to admiring cats again-’ NO! Don’t reblog this. Take action first. Then reblog. Sign up for a free trial! Trust.Zone offers one (here). Yes. It might be difficult to set up a VPN for some people. But is that going to stop you from protecting yourself and your family? 30 minutes. 30 minutes is all that it takes. 5 if you know how to install software. The problem with some of you is that you see ‘difficult’ as something negative. I want you to see difficult differently. I need you to push through this stuff. You are going to protect yourself. There is nothing negative about that.
VPNs are fun and costsaving too! A VPN bypasses geographical restrictions so you can access websites you normally can’t or you could start Netflix’s one month free trial over and over again- forever. And it’s legal! (unless you use it to buy weapons etc.,)
Don’t tell yourself that you are too tired and that you will do this tomorrow. Because that isn’t going to happen and you know it. You have to do this right now. You only have to click on it.
Don’t let this/shit/life just happen to you. Take yourself seriously. Get a VPN.
Privacy is not a privilege, it’s a fundamental human right
not only did Trump happen, Ajit Pai happened. I mean, come on. You use Tumblr. There’s NO WAY you haven’t heard about or seen a single post about how the FCC voted 3 – 2 to REPEAL Net Neutrality.
FOR MY FOLLOWERS THAT HAVE DIFFICULTY CARING FOR PLANTS AND ASK WHAT THEY SHOULD BUY, THIS IS REALLY GREAT!!
As a former florist this is hella helpful
Greenhouse Pro, this is all legit, with two bonus hints.
-If you have any loose animals, be sure to google if a plant is toxic for them (ASPCA has an amazingly comprehensive database, bless them). Even if a pet’s never showed interest before, it’s best to not have anything toxic in the house.
-”It’s dark in here” means “the house lights are on most of the time” if your place is even darker than that (No natural light + the lights are usually off) I reccomend grow-your-own mushroom kits. They’re fun, do fine in the dark and you can eat them!
thank you a lot anon!! ( /)w() here, i made a few notes about the steps i follow while drawing feet:
^ that’s assuming you’re not drawing from a low perspective, as if the camera was on the floor or something like that!
SORRY MY HANDWRITING SUCKS and i’m not really good at explaining things bc i don’t really follow a guide and stuff so yeah BUT I HOPE IT WAS HELPFUL TO YOU!!
Here you go buddy!!! I mean this is by no means a how-to, more just random tips that may be helpful to apply to your style! Also please bear in mind I massively over exaggerate butts and thighs and this may not be something you are into lmao
Oh hey– here’s a list ranked by Writing With Color’s most popular posts since opening in 2014 up till now, the start of 2017. Pulled together for the interest and usefulness for readers like you. Thank you.
Top 7 Popular Original Posts
Words for Skin Tone– This two part guide offers an array of words for describing skin color. Part I focuses on the problems with food descriptors. Part II provides alternatives. (68k+ Notes)
lav3nderwolftumblr 
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