About. Hey there. My name is Maria Popova and I’m a reader, writer, interestingness hunter-gatherer, and curious mind at large. I’ve previously written for Wired UK, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab, among others, and am an MIT Futures of Entertainment Fellow. Maria Popova. Photograph by Elizabeth Lippman for The New York Times Brain Pickings is my one-woman labor of love — a subjective lens on what matters in the world and why.
Mostly, it’s a record of my own becoming as a person — intellectually, creatively, spiritually — and an inquiry into how to live and what it means to lead a good life. Founded in 2006 as a weekly email that went out to seven friends and eventually brought online, the site was included in the Library of Congress permanent web archive in 2012. Here’s a little bit about my seven most important learnings from the journey so far. Please enjoy. Donating = Loving Bringing you (ad-free) Brain Pickings takes hundreds of hours each month. He's Not Scary, He's a Little Boy | AliceAnn Meyer. Why Some Kids Try Harder and Some Kids Give Up | Tracy Cutchlow. My toddler struggled to buckle the straps on her high chair.
"Almost," she muttered as she tried again and again. "Almost," I agreed, trying not to hover. When she got it, I exclaimed, "You did it! It was hard, but you kept trying, and you did it. The way I praised her effort took a little effort on my part. Stanford researcher Carol Dweck has been studying motivation and perseverance since the 1960s. Those with a fixed mindset, who believe their successes are a result of their innate talent or smartsThose with a growth mindset, who believe their successes are a result of their hard work Fixed mindset: 'If you have to work hard, you don't have ability.' Kids with a fixed mindset believe that you are stuck with however much intelligence you're born with. Growth mindset: 'The more you challenge yourself, the smarter you become.' What creates these beliefs in our kids? The research "Wow, that's a really good score.
She praised the second group for their effort: They waited five years. 20 Reasons to Drop Everything and Go to Spain | minube. 1.) The Mediterranean coast is paradise Spain’s long, sandy Atlantic beaches and cozy Mediterranean coves are rightly famous throughout Europe. That most get over 300 days of sun a year doesn’t hurt either. (Photo by Naxos). See more photos of beaches in Spain 2.) ...and the mountains are just around the corner. Trivia: Spain is Europe’s second most mountainous country, after Switzerland. 3.)
Ferran Adria’s legendary elBulli was number one in its day, and now another Catalan eatery, El Celler de Can Roca, has taken the reins as 2013’s best restaurant in the world. 4.) ...and the oldest restaurant in the world Casa Botín is the world’s oldest continuously-running restaurant (since 1725) and the painter Goya even worked there as a waiter. See more photos of Casa Botin 5.) Yup, there’s actually an Egyptian temple smack in the center of Madrid. 6.) ...lots of Roman ruins... Italy takes the cake on this one, but ancient Hispania has some fine Roman ruins of its own. 7.)...and Moorish palaces. 8.) Home - Radiolab. T is for Translation. During a talk on grammar teaching techniques, last week in Turkey, one participant queried my suggestion that translation could be a useful technique for raising awareness of similarities and differences between the students’ L1 and the target language.
I went so far as to suggest that – with some structures (such as the future perfect) it could be the most economical way of presenting them. However, the participant felt (strongly) that encouraging learners to translate L1 forms into the L2 would cause negative transfer. This led to an interesting discussion with other trainers and teachers, after the session, as to the current status of translation – specifically as a means of presenting grammar – on methodology courses, and prompted me to re-visit the entry in An A-Z of ELT.
There I don’t exactly come out in favour of translation, but, in weighing up the pros and cons, I definitely give translation the last word. To quote: David Crystal on Indian English. Translation activities in the language classroom. It does not consider the role of the L1 as a teaching tool, for example for classroom management, setting up activities, or for explaining new vocabulary. This question has been discussed elsewhere on the Teaching English site. The article starts by looking at what we mean by translation as an activity in the language classroom, and then briefly reviews the history of translation in language learning within the framework of various methodologies.
It then considers some of the many objections ELT thinkers and practitioners have had to translation, and some of the possible benefits of its use. It concludes with some observations about how to make translation tasks successful, and some activities. Introduction Translation was a significant part of ELT for a long time, and then a significant missing part for a long time also. Objections to using translation We can consider possible problems with using translation by looking at possible negative impact on learners and then on teachers. 45 People Who Should Not Be Allowed To Use The English Language.
Player Interviews - What is a typical day for you in the UK? | Teach English with the Premier League | Premier Skills English. 1. Before you watch Ask students to imagine what a typical day might be like for a Premier League footballer in the UK. This can be fairly light hearted. Explain any words they don’t know and ask them to speculate about why the players mention there things (‘fuel’ is something of a red herring – Ingimarsson says ‘go to the canteen and get some fuel in’). 2. Watch the video straight through to check predictions. Watch again and fill in the gaps in Activity 1 with verbs in present simple. Answers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Note: Sun Jihai’s answers (5) are grammatically incorrect. 3.
Ask students to fill in the gaps in Activity 2. Answers A Footballer’s Typical Training Day 9.30 a.m. 9.45 a.m. 10.00 a.m. 10.15 a.m. 10.20 a.m. 10.30 a.m. 11.15 a.m. 11.30 a.m. 12.30 p.m. 12.45 p.m. 1 p.m. 4. Make this a light hearted exercise. Oregon farmer eaten by his pigs. 2 October 2012Last updated at 10:52 ET Pigs are omnivorous Authorities are investigating how a farmer in the US state of Oregon was devoured by his pigs. Terry Vance Garner, 69, went to feed his animals last Wednesday on his farm by the coast, but never returned. His dentures and pieces of his body were found by a family member in the pig enclosure, but the rest of his remains had been consumed. The Coos County district attorney's office said that one of the animals had previously bitten Garner. The animals are estimated by the authorities to each weigh about 700lb (320kg). 'Good-hearted guy' Investigators say it is possible that the hogs knocked Garner over before killing and eating him.
But they have not ruled out the possibility that the farmer could have collapsed from a medical emergency, such as a heart attack. A pathologist was unable to determine the cause of Garner's death and his remains have been sent to the University of Oregon to be analysed by a forensic anthropologist. Should there be child-free zones on planes and trains?