dictionary review transcription

Presentation about an online dictionary

During our last English class we had to check out several online dictionaries. One of them we presented in groups and filmed the whole thing.

As we didn´t have a lot of time to practice the presentation, everybody had to talk really spontaneously and due to that some grammatical and pronunciation mistakes happened. In my group, everybody presented a specific part of what the online dictionary offers. When it was my turn, I got quite nervous and just started to talk, without thinking about my grammar or pronunciation anymore. I suppose everybody feels the same about hearing himself talking in a video, so I already knew that I am going to hate my part. When we were done we watched the video and I was really pleased with our work. It is really not easy to judge yourself. I can say, that my pronunciation seems okay to me, but I really have to work on the grammatical mistakes I tend to make when I am talking, because there is not enough time to think about each sentence. So I have to automate my spoken English, so that it is no longer necessary to think about the grammar and so on during the talk.

Generally I think it was a nice idea to make a video of us while we are talking, because this is the only way to notice what it really sounds like when you are talking in English and to improve something, you have to be aware of your own mistakes. 

The city of Vigo

Vigo – the city of the sea

In this blog entry I would like to introduce you to the unique city of Vigo, where I was living from 2011 to 2012 and the Au pair of a five years old Spanish girl.

Vigo is situated in north-west Spain and although most people have never heard of it, it´s the largest city of Galicia.

The city is surrounded by incredibly beautiful beaches and the port is where the largest quantity of fresh fish is handled in Europe.

Vigo´s horizon is speckled by the Cies Islands, one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and the beach there is even said to be the most beautiful in the world.

Porta do Sol is the name of the central point, it connects the beautiful old town with the main shopping street called Principe, where you can find all kind of stores.

Another important thing to mention is Vigo´s amazing nightlife. A typical night of partying doesn´t end before 8 o´clock in the morning.

I could endlessly talk about this city and really recommend everybody to visit Vigo, which is still a secret spot. 

the "Oktoberfest"

It´s  „Oktoberfest“ time

Every year autumn comes along with a very special and beautiful tradition: the „Oktoberfest“.

Actually a Bavarian tradition, it has been celebrated in Austria´s villages and cities for ages as well. Next to drinking lots of beer, dancing to beer tent sing-alongs and eating brezel and sausages, wearing the traditional garb has also become important to be part of the festivities. More and more people wear „Lederhosen“ and  „Dirndl“, while sharing that special feeling of togetherness and joy. Anyone, who has ever been to a real „Oktoberfest“, knows what I´m talking about. It´s just great fun and October without this tradition would not be half as nice.

Interviews

Interview with classmates

Today I interviewed two of my classmates, Sonya and Kathi. Sonya is an exchange student from Valencia and speaks many languages: Spanish, English, French and Catalan, a special type of Spanish they speak in the area where she is from. I was glad to hear that she likes Graz a lot and has already visited many interesting places of the city, like the Schlossberg.

Kathi is from Graz and studies Russian as a second language, which is quite difficult. Her passion is dancing and also reading is one of her favourite hobbies, especially she likes reading „Mangas“.