强大，而不粗鲁。善良，而不软弱。勇敢，而不欺凌。谦逊，而不胆怯。自豪，而不傲慢。

8 Body Language Tricks To Instantly Appear More Confident

If you’re not as confident as you’d like to be, some slight modifications to your body language can have a huge impact. 

Learn to fake it until you make it with these eight tricks:

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我会在伤痛中找到力量并改变我的方法。

I’ll find strength in pain and I will change my ways.

想象的力量，给予我们无限可能。 The power of imagination makes us infinite.

不要因为失败而觉得丢脸，从中学习，重新再来。

Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.

理查布兰森 Richard Branson

Traveling in Chinese

放假 - (fang4 jia4) to go on vacation

      假 - (jia4) vacation

护照 - (hu4 zhao4) passport

签证 - (qian1 zheng4) visa

打算 - (da3 suan4) to plan (verb) ; plan (noun)

旅行社 - (lü3 xing2 she4) travel agency

文化 - (wen2 hua4) culture

导游 - (dao3 you2) tour guide

有名 - (you3 ming2) famous; well-known

订 - (ding4) to reserve; to book (hotel, tickets, etc.)

Learning a foreign language is intimidating to many students, so I though I’d share some of my best tips for effective language studying!

MEMORIZE SMARTLY

Be selective about vocabulary. If you’re learning a language for class, you most likely won’t have much control over the material you learn. However, if you’re self-studying and you do have a choice, invest your time and energy wisely by prioritizing vocabulary to memorize based on what is significant and relevant.

Significant words are the ones that are the most common in the language. Learning these core words and phrases will give you a bigger return by allowing you to sooner start comprehending more things. For example, studies show that 0.5% of the English language, or the 3000 most common words, makes up 95% of the content in any given conversation or written text (source). You can search online to find lists of the words that appear most frequently in your target language. I used this list of the top 1000 French words to get me started.

Relevant words are the ones that pertain to your unique needs and interests, such as vocabulary to describe yourself, your career, and/or your family members. If you’re traveling to another country, you may need phrases for introducing yourself, asking for directions, or buying things. If you’re a gourmand, you may want to learn the names of different types of food. You’ll be more likely to retain and use words that are interesting and relevant to your own life.

Use spaced repetition to memorize faster. I explain how to use the spaced repetition method in this post, although you can also achieve the same effect without using Anki.

Apply the vocabulary you’ve learned. You can engage with new vocabulary by doing the following:

Make it a goal to incorporate the word you’ve just learned into your next three conversations.

Learn phrases and idiomatic expressions that include the new word (ex: if you’ve just learned the English word green, learn green thumb and green with envy next).

Research the context the word is usually used in– is it formal? casual? vulgar? specific to one particular use or topic?

Write funny, creative sentences or stories using your new word(s) to help them better stick in your memory. This is especially important for verbs, so you can see the conjugations in action instead of merely memorizing a table of endings.

Don’t neglect memorizing correct spelling, accent marks, or the genders of new words. These often seem like trivial details to beginning language learners, but slacking off on these will come back to bite you down the road. Even small mistakes can change the entire meaning of what you want to say. Genders, especially, are hard to memorize but imperative to know for making adjectives and object pronouns agree.

AVOID TRANSLATING

Most language learners will hear/read something being spoken/written in their target language, mentally translate it to their native language and formulate a response in their native language, then translate their response back to their target language. This direct translation will slow down your rate of comprehension and expression, make you unable to speak naturally and fluently, and increase your chances of making mistakes with idiomatic expressions (ex: incorrectly writing Je suis 12 ans instead of J’ai 12 ans). Aim to avoid internally translating as much as possible.

Instead, learn to think in your target language by using the following methods:

Connect new vocabulary and phrases with images and ideas, not translations or definitions in your native language.

Draw doodles that represent new vocab words you receive. This doesn’t work for all words, but I try to draw a picture for all the words on my weekly French vocabulary list, and I’ve found it very helpful.

When making flashcards, put the new word on one side and an image to represent it (as opposed to the translation in your native language) on the other.

Look around you and describe items you see in your target language (color, size, use, etc.)

If you’re reading and you come across a word you don’t know, attempt to ascertain its meaning through context clues instead of immediately looking it up.

Once you’ve reached an intermediate/advanced level, use a monolingual dictionary so definitions for all new vocabulary will be in your target language instead of your native one.

However, don’t feel discouraged if you find yourself frequently translating in your head. The way most schools teach foreign languages focuses on translating, not thinking in the target language, so you’ll likely have some tendencies and habits that are hard to break. Practice, practice, practice, and you’ll get better!

IMMERSE YOURSELF

Obviously, the fastest way to learn a new language is to travel to a foreign country where you’ll be forced to use it. But if you don’t have the resources to take a trip, there are many ways to get the immersion effect from the comfort of your own home.

Consume a variety of written and spoken language though television, movies, music, news, blogs, poetry, comics, podcasts, audiobooks, YouTube videos, and/or children’s books.

If you’ve already completed your Duolingo course, try doing it backwards.  Instead of the native language to target language course, do the target language to native language course. If you know 3+ languages, do the Language 2 to Language 3 course for an extra challenge!

Speaking of Duolingo, the immersion feature is a great way to find articles in your target language that are both appropriate to your skill level and relevant to your interests. I tend to avoid the translation aspect for reasons stated in the previous section, but I still think reading the articles is useful.

Find a pen pal who’s a native speaker. You can communicate through email or online chat, but snail mail could allow you to also send each other trinkets and souvenirs from your respective countries/cultures. HelloTalk is a great app that allows you to connect with native speakers of your target language who are learning your native language, so you can teach and help each other.

Change the language on your phone, laptop, and/or browser to your target language. You can change the language in your device settings, and I personally use the extension Language Immersion for Chrome for my browser. Just make sure you know how to change it back!

Lastly, have confidence and take risks! Make an attempt to say something even if you’re not 100% sure it’s correct. I know how embarrassing mistakes can be (I once used “un baiser” as a verb and I still cringe thinking about it. Yikes!), but ultimately it’s all part of the learning process and leaving your comfort zone is the only way to improve. Trying to learn other languages is admirable in itself, so take pride in that and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there!

Thanks for reading! If you have questions, feedback, or post requests, feel free to drop me an ask.

+Click here for the rest of my original reference posts!

—Sophia :)

小王子 vocab (mandarin) pt. 1

描写 miáoxiě to describe

原始 yuánshǐ primitive, first, original

幅 fú classifier for textiles or pictures

扣人心弦 kòurénxīnxián  exciting, thrilling, to thrill

书名 shū míng book title

叫做 jiàozuò to be called

丛林cónglín jungle

奇遇 qíyù adventure

吞吃 tūn chī to devour

野兽 yěshòu beast, wild animal

蟒蛇 mǎngshé python, boa

复印件 fùyìn jiàn duplicate, photocopy

囫囵 húlún complete, whole

猎物 lièwù  prey

躺 tǎng to lie down

消化 xiāohuà to digest

种种 zhǒngzhǒng all kinds of

奇事 qí shì marvels

产生 chǎnshēng to come about, to arise

自信 (zi4 xin4) - self confidence; literally: 自 = self 信 = believe

Ex. You can increase your 自信 over time. It is something I try to improve everyday.

So I made another collection! This round of inspirational quotes goes to the philosophers. Like the other times, I hope you enjoy these inspirational quotes and find them inspiring too!

Plato

“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”

“A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.”

“The good is the beautiful.”

Lao Tzu

“From caring comes courage.”

“Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.”

“At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.”

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”

Aristotle

“Happiness depends upon ourselves.”

“You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.”

Socrates

“Be as you wish to seem.”

“It is not living that matters, but living rightly.”

“Let him that would move the world first move himself.”

Epictetus

“No great thing is created suddenly.”

“The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.”

“It takes more than just a good looking body. You’ve got to have the heart and soul to go with it.”

“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”

“Practice yourself, for heaven’s sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.”

“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”

“Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.”

“Do not seek to bring things to pass in accordance with your wishes, but wish for them as they are, and you will find them.”

“It is not he who reviles or strikes you who insults you, but your opinion that these things are insulting.”

“Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope.”

“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”

“The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.”

“You may be always victorious if you will never enter into any contest where the issue does not wholly depend upon yourself.”

Soren Kierkegaard

“Be that self which one truly is.”

“Life has its own hidden forces which you can only discover by living.”

“The highest and most beautiful things in life are not to be heard about, nor read about, nor seen but, if one will, are to be lived.”

“Face the facts of being what you are, for that is what changes what you are.”

“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”

Hypatia

“Life is an unfoldment, and the further we travel the more truth we can comprehend. To understand the things that are at our door is the best preparation for understanding those that lie beyond.”

“Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all.”

Confucius

“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.”

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”

“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.”

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

Albert Camus

“To be happy we must not be too concerned with others.”

“Basically, at the very bottom of life, which seduces us all, there is only absurdity, and more absurdity. And maybe that’s what gives us our joy for living, because the only thing that can defeat absurdity is lucidity.”

“I know of only one duty, and that is to love.”

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”

“You cannot create experience. You must undergo it.”

“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”

有生命就有希望。  While there’s life, there’s hope.