You Know, In My Family House I Have A Neighbor With 3yr Kid Who Cries 20h Per Day. So I Moved To My Holiday

You know, in my family house I have a neighbor with 3yr kid who cries 20h per day. So I moved to my holiday house and ques what. The son of our neighbors has small daughter. She's terrible that when she shouts I answer with some similar noises. And it really works! She's so confused about that - every time. Sometimes she calls her dad like repeating "DAAADDAAADDAAADDAAAD" million times, so I answer as a dad and she is soooo embarrassed and I love it 😈😈😈 ((Also neighbors have fun with my try-hard methods ... ))

I’ve got all my windows open to try cool my study down but the problem is my neighbours have two young kids and they honestly sound like they are being murdered a solid 90% of the time

hiya! when you get this, if you want, answer with five things that make you happy, then send it to the last ten people in your recent activity list. have fun! (- studycrim)

Okay, so...

1. The smell of early morning. Love it.

2. Corey Taylor's concerts.

3. Doing projects with my friends from studies, but only when they care about our work.

4. Making surprises to someone. I could collect the reactions like stamps.

5. Cosy evenings under the blanket with book, dog, quiet calm music and soft light.

How to ACE the IELTS Test (Pt 2)

On the previous post I already tell you how to prepare for the IELTS test in the long term. In this post, like I promised before, I’m gonna tell you about the technical or the “how to” in preparing for the IELTS test. Oh yea, you also can check in here to see WHAT I REALLY DO IN PREPARING MYSELF FOR THE TEST. Okay, I think my keyboard just broke. Let’s get to it then!

2. Preparation (Short term)

First thing first, you have to decide whether you want to take the IELTS Preparation Course or you want to self-study. Well, since the preparation course is commonly known as a pricey program, then make sure if you have enough saving. If so, it’s better if you want to take the course. Otherwise, IMO it is enough to prepare for the test even only by yourself or so called self-study. 

For my first test, I only study by myself because I can’t afford to take the course all over again. So, what you’re gonna do in self study for IELTS test?

Make the action plan!

Make the schedulling about what you’re going to study for the first week, the 2nd week, and so on. 

Also, DO NOT FORGET to take the Simulation Test two or three weeks before the D-Day. By taking the simulation test you can measure in which skill that still need to be improved and also you can get the idea about how the situation going to be like in the actual test.

In my case, I practiced listening and writing for the first three weeks. Then, I forced myself to take the simulation test. If I need to be frank, I was not that in a good condition when taking the simulation test. I couldn’t get enough sleep the night before and I didn’t have my breakfast before the test. Not Good, yes. The result came out 4 days later. As can be predicted, I got 5,5. Utter shame, I know. 

Unlike the days before the simulation test, I begun to do my IELTS preparation seriously. I even push myself to study although I’m not in a good mood to study. For me, studying alone in my room can be not quite productive. So, I tend to find other places like cafes or library (as long as there are other people that have their own business too) to trigger my mood to study. Well, you know how your mind and body work, so you can get the idea about how to push yourself to study. :)

Here are the tips for the D-Day! Let’s roll!

1) Listening

The only key in listening test is you have to read or skim the question first before the audio begin to play. For me, I underlined every word that I thought become the keyword in the conversation. It was helpful.

I know, in listening section, we tend to zone out or somehow out of focus. It was also happened to me. But, hell. Do not let that ruin the rest of the listening test. Once you realize you can not find the answer from the conversation/monologue, forget it, and prepare to listen carefully the answer for the next question. 

What if you have no idea what’s the answer to fill the blank?

Do not leave any question blank, GUESS. Guess by the question context. You might get lucky. ;)

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: read the instruction first! Be careful about the rule of “two words only” or “no more than three words”. Also, the “F” or “False” and “T” or “True”, you have to know the rule first! You will lose point if you break the rule.

Oyea, be careful about the prural nouns! If the answer is “cars”, but you only write “car”, well, you know what will happen.

2) Reading

You know what they always say when it comes to the reading test?

Skimming and Scanning. Yes, YOU DO NEED  TO DO THESE.

For me, when the reading section begin, I directly read the question first, at least to know what’s the reading topic.

Then, I scan for name, year, number, or anything specific in the passage. I underlined them with pencil. For some people, they use a colouring pen like red, or other colors that stand out!

Afterward, I do the skimming part, reading in a full speed to know what’s the idea in each passage.

Gradually, you’ll get the idea and you’ll be able to answer the question.

The reading section is all about the time. Do not read anxiously and in rush, take your time. Take your time responsibly. For me I try to do the reading section in 15min, 20min, and 25min for each section (there are 3 section in reading test).

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: read the instruction first! Be careful about the rule of “two words only” or “no more than three words”. Also, the “F” or "False" and “T” or “True”, you have to know the rule first! You will lose point if you break the rule.

3) Writing

Well, this is the hardest part for me. Because I only got a 6 in this part. There are various type of the writing test task 1 (chart, table, graph, map, etc) also various type for task 2. The key is you have to practice in writing them all. I can not tell you much about this section. This section depends on yourself.

But, for me. First thing when it comes to writing test, do not directly write what’s on your mind! Brainstorming is what you needed. 

Also, pay attention to the grammar (you can find tons of books about grammar out there).

Use uncommon words (instead of “get”, you can try “obtain” or “acquire”, etc). Of course, you have to know the actual meaning of the words before you put them in a sentence.

Write systematically, from introduction to conclusion.

Use examples to explain about your main idea. It is helpful to reach the minimum words amount (150 words and 250 words).

Proofread! I didn’t get the chance to proofread my writings. So,yeah, it was my regret on the writing test. 

The only thing you have to do is practice, practice, practice!

4) Speaking

Many youtube videos can show you how to do the speaking test well.

For me, it was also my regret. The examiner’s voice was so low, I couldn’t barely hear it, also she was mumbling all the way the speaking test. So, yeah, IMO, I didn’t give my all during the speaking test.

The keys:

Try not to say “No”. Lie if you have to.

Because IELTS test is not about a lie detector test. It is about a test to measure your skill in English Language. 

Use examples to explain your opinion. 

Be fluent, therefore practice! Practice for any possible questions! 

Use unusual words.

Also, FOR GOD’S SAKE, DO NOT TRY TO REMEMBER THE ANSWERS!

Because the examiner will recognize it and in some point you will not sound fluent or in ease. So, don’t!

The last, of course, PRACTICE!

Well, I think that’s all about my short term preparation and the tips for the IELTS test. I managed to get 7, praise the Lord. 

I will update this post as soon I have some things to add. It’s enough for now I think. :)

Kick some ass, test takers!

May the force be with you.

Lots of love, AFS

Falling water

This pandemic situations cancel my plans for holidays, erasmus, ect. Now, in the middle of the year I feel soo lost. It's like looking at the time and it's a falling water. And you try to stop it or just catch it, but it falls through fingers.

I hate waiting for nothing. How I can plan whatever when I don't know that maybe my country will be closed in October. Who knows. No one. And that's the problem.

How do you deal with these problems?

language learning made easy

I’ve summarized professor  Alexander Arguelles’ video, because I think this is crucial for language learning. 

There is no magic trick that will help you become fluent in 1 month, but there are very effective approaches to learning a new language and if you combine them, you will surely become fluent.

If you’re learning a new language, the most important thing you need to consider is – what type of language learner are you? 

1. If you:

have a more deductive approach, which means that you’re better at listening to and observing the language first and learning through that, rather than starting with plain grammar points from a textbook

have a fair degree of intuition

like to observe a phenomenon

feel somewhat comfortable with ambiguity for a while, until things become clear

are someone who can feel comfortable being corrected when they realize they were wrong, rather than getting confused and frustrated because they went down an initial path that turned out not to be correct (so you actually learn from being corrected and you don’t get confused by it)

then, these manuals are best suited for you: the Assimil Language Series, the Linguaphone Series, the Cortina Methods.

2. If you:

have a desire to have things explained to you beforehand in a nice and clear way

have a logical and analytical mind (which is usually the product of education in general)

have a need for a systematic approach (basically if you’re most comfortable with a book which is going to introduce the grammar according to an agreed set of methods or an organized plan)

then, you should try out some of these manuals: the Hugo Series, the Made Simple Series, the Teach Yourself Series, the Buske Series. 

3. PAY ATTENTION TO PATTERNS!!!

the most important part are the patterns of a language

no matter what type of language learner you are, I think it’s really clever to incorporate this method into you learning. 

a language is actually made up of patterns which constantly repeat themselves and that is THE KEY TO FLUENCY

repeating the patterns over and over again, until they become natural, until you no longer have to conjugate the verbs in your head before speaking

when you become really good with patterns, your sentences will come out naturally, and patterns are what will get you to fluency

I’ve provided the links, where you will find a review of the books, so that you can have an idea of what they look like. You can find most of these on amazon.

There is also an amazing blog on here, which provides free books, and I think that you can find half of these series for free there.  @lovelybluepanda

#piccrew tag! Thank you @lattesandlearning! This is awesome! I’m shocked about this glasses, cause I hate my glasses and I ALWAYS WEAR IT LIKE THAT, and it looks pretty similar. Tagging: @reinestudies, @en-decouvrant-le-monde, @kawaiibutinuniversity