Goodbye second semester - hello summer - goodbye Austria - hello new adventures!

Hey guys,

This is going to be my last post for this semester. I just wanted to wish y'all good luck for your KGP - we can do this!!

Many of you might know that I won't be around for the next two semesters - I'm going to go back to the States in August in order to study at Oklahoma State University as an exchange student. I'm really excited about it and can't wait for August to be here but am also sad that I won't be able to spend the next semesters with you guys - some of you have become really good friends of mine.

I'm sure you've realized by now that I really enjoy blogging. That's  why I've decided to keep my blog going during my two semesters abroad - so make sure to check back! :)

Enjoy your time off and never forget:

Paul Pizzera - Perfect study break on Wednesday evening

Hey guys! :)

After all the studying for PC II we can finally go swimming, enjoy the nice weather and relax....

Unfortunately that's not gonna work - with next week's Culture Presentation Days, German and Russian exam and KM presentation ahead of me this weekend is gonna be a long one with little sleep and a lot of studying. I bet pretty much all of you have at least the same amount of work to do.
Anyway, that's just the way it is - three more weeks and everything is going to be over. But if you need a break between all the studying: Paul Pizzera, a young and talented cabaret artist, is going to play his show "Zu wahr um schön zu sein" next Wednesday evening (June 19th, 19:30) in Werndorf.

If the weather is nice (let's hope for the best!) the event is going to take place outside - otherwise it will be in the "Kulturheim Werndorf".

As you might know I'm a member of the "Kulturteam Werndorf" (which is the organizer of the show in Werndorf), so I'll be there for sure.
Everyone needs breaks, so if you have time feel free to stop by, it's definitely going to be a great and hilarious show.

Until then: Good luck with your studying, see you next week!

IT’S FUN TO BE A NERD!

“Oh no, I hate studying” – I bet all of you have used this (or a similar phrase) at least once in your life. Today I want to show you that learning a new language is not only about doing grammar exercises and studying vocabulary from your textbook.

My English teacher showed us three links this week – and I’d like to introduce them to you and show you that it can be “fun to be a nerd” ;)

Link #1: http://breakingnewsenglish.com/

Every week an English teacher writes one (or two) short articles about current events. You can choose between the categories Business English, Environment, Health, Issues, Lifestyle, Famous People & Gossip, Technology and World News – so I’m sure you'll find something that you are interested in. You can read the article the teacher wrote and afterwards do some exercises – like “Fill-in-the-blank”, play “Hangman”, “Missing words” or “Crosswords” and much more – all fun ways to improve your vocabulary and reading comprehension.

Link #2: http://eslnotes.com/synopses.html

Who doesn’t love movies? Another English teacher provides information about a bunch of classic movies (like Apollo 13, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Cast Away, Dumb and Dumber, Psycho, …). The document for the movie you choose will give you a lot of information about the main characters, a pretty good plot summary and some words and expressions that you may not know. It also has a list of possible questions you may have after watching the movie, which you can discuss with your friends and family.

Link #3: http://www.lyricstraining.com

This site gives you the opportunity to listen to (and watch) your favorite music (-videos) – while learning new vocabulary. How? While listening to your song the lyrics will be displayed underneath the video. But the lyrics will have blanks in it, which you have to fill. There are three different game modes – Beginner (10% of the words are missing), Intermediate (25% of the words are missing) and Expert (all of the words are missing) – it’s actually trickier than it sounds, especially when you choose songs like “Love the way you lie”, where Eminem raps pretty fast ;)

So who says studying and learning a new language is boring? Give it a try – you will be surprised how much fun it can be to improve your language skills!