group essay :)

Hey guys!


Here is the link to the revised version of our group essay :

http://andrina-suk.blogspot.co.at/2013/12/group-essay-eu-russia-relationship.html?m=1

Vocabulary Notebook

linguistics.ohio.edu

In order to improve my vocabulary and learn the words we need to know for the PCs, I print out the lists on vocabulary.com or write them down myself. I enjoy writing glossaries and I am used to it, because of my Russian classes. In my opinion this is also the best way to remember words. I search for synonyms, antonyms and also look up how all the words are pronounced correctly. I always print out all the lists and glossaries, because I can‘t learn by using the computer. 

If I have to look up a word, I mostly use online dictionaries, because then I can also immediately look at synonyms, antonyms and the pronunciation. In addition I am faster in looking up things on the internet and typing them into a document, than searching for them in a paper dictionary. I also have dictionary apps on my smart phone, thus I can look up a word wherever and whenever I need it. Websites like pons.eu, antimoon.com, dictionary.reference.com, englishpage.com are really very useful when it comes to looking for word definitions. 

I also use the games on vocabulary.com to improve my vocabulary, but it‘s easier for me to remember the words if I see everything I have to study on a printed version. When I study, I read through all the words, and mark the ones I don't know immediately. I keep writing down the really complicated ones and if I still haven‘t memorized them by then, I write them on a Post-it and attach them to my bedroom door. I do that in all my languages and I can really recommend it. Works every time ;).

When I read through an English article or watch my series and I don‘t understand a word I it comes into my personal vocab-book. Like all the techniques described above, I use these little books as well in Russian and in Spanish. 

Maybe that's not the most creative and modern way to study, but for me it's the most effective. 

Pecha Kucha: Problems EU interpreters face

http://languagerichblog.eu

One of our biggest projects this semester was the Pecha Kucha presentation in December. A Pecha Kucha presentation is a presentation style in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds. This means that the whole presentation lasts for exactly six minutes and 40 seconds. The advantage of this kind of presentation is that the speakers only can talk during a limited time and the audience stays interested.  

For our presentation my partner Dijana and I We had to choose a topic that was related to the EU. We picked the topic “Problems EU interpreters face”, as it is particularly important for our future profession. Moreover it is really interesting as you learn more about interpreting at the EU, especially about the obstacles and problems that may occur during an interpretation. First of all, we created two Google Docs, one for the draft and the other one for the final transcript. Before we started to look for sources we wrote down everything that came into our minds when thinking about problems that EU interpreters could face. Then we thought about where we could find the information we needed. As it is a topic that obviously involves the EU we looked at all the EU websites. There is also a blog called translationtimes, written by EU interpreters for people interested in EU interpretation and translation. There you can find all the information about the entrance exam for future EU interpreters, how the  workday of an interpreter at the EU looks like and which obstacles he might face. There is also a high number of forums that can be useful when looking for information regarding this topic. After we found all the sources we needed for our presentation, we read as many articles as possible. As we study transcultural communication we also knew some things from our classes. After we had gathered all the relevant information, it didn‘t take us too long to finish the presentation. Then we recorded our transcript and practiced again before the big day finally arrived.

Although the Pecha Kucha presentation involved quite a lot of work, I really enjoyed doing it. The topic was more than interesting and I think that many English students got an idea of what it means to be an interpreter at the EU and which obstacles he or she might face. 

Pronunciation Diary - Part 2

In order to find out where our weakness lies when reading an unknown text, we did a Pronouncing Diagnostic Exercise. The exercise consisted out of reading a tex aloud for about 30 seconds, while being recorded. Our teachers then listened to these recordings and gave us some feedback on our pronunciation, intonation, sounds that we had trouble with and voicing. 

In the following lines I am going to write about the feedback I got and what I did in order to improve my pronunciation. 

Feedback 

As I already knew I have got problems in pronouncing the “z in “zero“. I pronounce it as an “s”, rather than a “z”. My “t” and “d” sounds at the end of a word are also often difficult to distinguish and sometimes almost silent. I also have some work to do in order to be able to distinguish different sounds involving the letter “a”, like in can, bath, saw, for example. 

As you can see I still have a long way to go, before my pronunciation is perfect (if that ever happens). 

Practice, practice, practice!

www.missiontolearn.com

In order to improve my pronunciation I had a look at the following website: 

http://www.rachelsenglish.com/videos/s-pronounced-z

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFezTa9SGuU

http://www.speakmethod.com/sandzsounds.html

I consulted the following websites to get more information on the “d” and “t” sound:

http://www.grammar.cl/english/pronunciation-ed.htm

http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/-ed.htm

http://www.multimedia-english.com/videos/different-pronunciations-for-t-examples--3825

http://www.elementalenglish.com/past-tense-verb-pronunciation-t-d-id/

How to pronounce the letter “a” in a correct way I found on this website: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPP9BcuVklI

I also looked at different websites in order to get a better understanding of American English. I particularly found this one useful, because you really get the chance to practice your pronunciation: 

http://pronuncian.com/

Pronunciation Diary :)

Hey there! 

To begin with, I would like to ask a question: why is pronunciation so important? 

Many people think that pronunciation is not actually that important if your grammar and vocabulary in general is good. Wrong. Pronunciation is the key to a successful communication. Done right, it enables you to understand the person you are talking to without any problems. This fact is also more than important for becoming a good interpreter. Who is going to enjoy listening to an interpreter whose accent is much worse than Arny‘s? 

How good does the pronunciation have to be? 

For my part, I am a perfectionist (which is undoubtedly not the right way to start off the day), so I want to speak like an American, not like an Austrian that tries to talk like an American. However, I think in general it is not important if you do not sound exactly like a native. You should have a good, more or less neutrally pronounced English. That means that you should not pronounce a Spanish r instead of an English one, for example. 

How can you improve your pronunciation? 

• One of the best ways to improve your pronunciation is undoubtedly talking to natives. This means, get a tandempartner! There are so many Americans in Graz if you just start searching for them. First of all you will have the chance to generally improve your English (grammar, vocab, expression) and secondly you learn so much just by listening how they pronounce a word. In addition to that you also see what they do with their lips when they pronounce a word. Babies only learn by imitating their parents, for example. Why shouldn‘t that be possible for us too? Imitate, imitate, imitate! :)
• Now that we did pronunciation exercises in class and most of you know what you still have to work on, you can also ask one of your fellow students to help you. As we don‘t all have the same problems, this is also very helpful in improving your pronunciation. 
• I would also recommend watching TV shows or series. That's how you also learn how the words should sound. Even if you don‘t directly speak while watching them your brain is capable of memorizing the sound and after some time it automatically reproduces them. 
• Vocabulary.com and dictionary.reference.com are also good measures to improve your pronunciation. You can listen to the words, dictionary.reference.com also shows you where exactly the word is stressed and where the difference lies between pronouncing the verb and the noun. 

What have I done so far to improve my pronunciation? 

I love speaking English. That is why I try to talk as often as possible to my friends from the States. I also learn by imitating people and as stated before, I think that is one of the best ways to improve pronunciation. I also watch series and TV shows, which can be as well considered as learning by imitating. Vocabulary.com and dictionary.reference.com always help me to find out how to pronounce a word correctly and, again, as you can listen to how it is pronounced correctly, you learn by imitating. I am really a fan of learning by imitating (as you might have noticed), because if i hear a word once, it usually stays in my mind and I immediately memorize it. 

Hey guys!

Here is the link to the revised version of our group essay :

http://andrina-suk.blogspot.co.at/2013/12/group-essay-eu-russia-relationship.html?m=1

The European Council

Original version: 

The European Council

The European Council, one of the several institutions of the European Union, plays an important role when it comes to setting a general political direction. It became an official body of the European Union in 2009 when the Treaty of Lisbon came into force. As the EU is often confronted with difficulties which cannot be solved by the individual member states, the heads of state or government of every EU country meet and decide on a general political direction as well as on the EU’s priorities. The decisions are made by consensus. This means that a concept or an idea has to be accepted by every voter or by the qualified majority depending on the nature of the treaty. In addition, the Commission President, the European Council President and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy take part, but they are not allowed to vote. The meetings take place twice every 6 months usually in Brussels. However, the president Herman van Rompuy, can convene a special meeting if needed.

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Revised version:

The European Council

The European Council, one of several institutions of the European Union, plays an important role when it comes to setting a general political direction. This institution is composed of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the President of the European Commission, who is elected for a term of two and a half years and can be re-elected once. The European Council, which meets at least four times a year, focuses on setting the general political direction of the European Union, sets priorities and debates sensitive issues. The decisions are made by consensus. This means that a concept or an idea has to be accepted by every voter or by a qualified majority depending on the nature of the treaty. Although the European Council is not a legislative body, thus not allowed to pass laws, it is still the cornerstone of the European Union, setting all of its directions.

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