Learning Strategies

Recent Posts - page 25

• Learning Ukrainian: progress report #5

  By ljd42 on April 16, 2022

  The lessons are starting to become uninspired/uninspiring. My guess is that Duolingo had to rapidly hire some Ukrainian speakers and no one had the time to write thoughtful, well-vetted lessons. So we get sentence after sentence with only small variations… Read More ›

• The Conversation, a 1974 movie

  By ljd42 on April 14, 2022

  The Conversation is supposedly a great film. Everyone says so. It has mystery, suspense, interesting technology, and excellent acting. So why was I just meh about it? Well, it’s half a century old, so it may just be that it… Read More ›

• Learning to read aloud fluidly in a new alphabet

  By ljd42 on April 12, 2022

  As you know, I’ve been learning Ukrainian through Duolingo for about six weeks now. I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I am progressing. The bad news is that Duolingo doesn’t give me enough context!… Read More ›

• Are we really living in the real world?

  By ljd42 on April 10, 2022

  That question may now seem like a tired old trope. That’s because it all started with Philip K. Dick’s classic 1959 work, Time Out of Joint. For some reason I had never read this dystopian novel before, even though it… Read More ›

• What are we? “Jewish Americans” or “American Jews”?

  By ljd42 on April 8, 2022

  The excellent PBS documentary from 2008, The Jewish Americans, is an in-depth account of three hundred years of American Jews. I have no idea why it took me 14 years to watch it! The mix of presenters includes public figures,… Read More ›

• Mangia, mangia al Tavolo!

  By ljd42 on April 6, 2022

  Yesterday evening it was time for a return visit to Peabody Square, this time to Tavolo. It felt like my Italian grandmother kept urging “Mangia, mangia!” No, wait, I don’t have an Italian grandmother. OK, so my Jewish grandmother kept… Read More ›

• Following 22 podcasts…

  By ljd42 on April 4, 2022

  That’s too many, you say! Maybe so, but I really do follow 22 podcasts. First, though, I should say that I started following a 23rd podcast today. But another one that I followed up through yesterday is no longer producing… Read More ›

• The golden age and more

  By ljd42 on April 2, 2022

  Those who read enough science fiction, particularly those who read enough about science fiction, hear a lot about the so-called golden age. The golden age of what? Well, the golden age of science fiction, of course. When was that? Well,… Read More ›

• Fortunately, things have changed in the past 30 years.

  By ljd42 on March 31, 2022

  Or have they? A couple of days ago, as part of an ongoing trip down memory lane on Apple Music, I happened to be listening to a 1992 song by Fred Small, The Marine’s Lament. Since it’s only two minutes… Read More ›

• New menu at Ashmont Grill!

  By ljd42 on March 29, 2022

  The Ashmont Grill has a new menu! Admittedly the majority of the items on the menu are still the familiar old favorites, but plenty of new choices are available. It didn’t take much arm-twisting for Barbara and me to try… Read More ›

• Learning Ukrainian: progress report #4

  By ljd42 on March 27, 2022

  As you see from the title, this is the fourth of my weekly reports on my progress in learning Ukrainian through Duolingo. After today, I will switch to writing intermittent reports: i.e., whenever I have enough new to write about,… Read More ›

• Just Thai

  By ljd42 on March 25, 2022

  Delicious delivery from Just Thai Kitchen in Fields Corner last night: tom yum soup with extra shrimp; JTK wings; spring rolls; and stir-fried crispy pork-belly with Chinese broccoli in chili-garlic oyster sauce with white rice, more commonly known as Khao… Read More ›

• Rod Stewart, Neil Young, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Ringo Starr. What do they all have in common?

  By ljd42 on March 24, 2022

  No, it’s not what you think. Yes, all of them are (or were) very successful and popular musical artists. But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m referring to the fact that all of them are (or were) model railroad… Read More ›

• Can you multiply 2573 by 389?

  By ljd42 on March 22, 2022

  Pencil and paper only: can you multiply 2573 by 389? No calculators. And you have to get the right answer, of course. This is not a trick. “Of course I can,” you reply. “That’s a skill one never forgets!” Well,… Read More ›

• More chaos! More CatNet!

  By ljd42 on March 21, 2022

  The second novel in a series is always worse than the first. Of course that’s not true—unless you replace “always” with “often” or perhaps even “usually.” Or perhaps the wishy-washy “sometimes.” All generalizations are false, as they say. Including this… Read More ›

• Learning Ukrainian: progress report #3

  By ljd42 on March 19, 2022

  We have, as they say, good news and bad news. The good news is that my Ukrainian lessons are progressing well in their third week. The bad news—speaking as a teacher—is that pedagogically speaking the lessons are not designed nearly… Read More ›

• Happy St. Gertrude’s Day!

  By ljd42 on March 17, 2022

• Why teach gerrymandering? And why teach it in a math course in particular?

  By ljd42 on March 16, 2022

  Gerrymandering is a hot topic in certain circles. Right now I am in the midst of writing and modifying some gerrymandering activities for my summer course at Crimson Summer Academy (CSA). Although we have taught various voting methods since the… Read More ›

• The Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything* (*abridged)

  By ljd42 on March 14, 2022

  Everyone needs to read this engaging, delightful, and informative book! Read it even if you’re not a math-and-science geek. Or maybe I should say especially if you’re not a math-and-science geek. Geneticist Adam Rutherford and mathematician Hannah Fry are well… Read More ›

• Learning Ukrainian: progress report #2

  By ljd42 on March 11, 2022

  It’s now one week since my first progress report. Apparently I’ve learned 95 new words in the past seven days. Duolingo previously said that I had learned 105 words in the first three days. Eek, am I slowing down? Aside… Read More ›

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