#47 Travelogue Germany: Political stickers
Walk through any university town in Germany and you’ll find these little stickers on lamp-posts, traffic light poles, bus stops and so on. It’s a form of political activism. What are the messages? Mainly these three:
Anti-capitalism
Capitalism makes rich people richer and poor people poorer and is therefore the root of all injustice in the world. Bring back communism!
Environmentalism
There are two ways to save the climate – back to nature or geoengineering. Let’s choose ‘back to nature’ and criticise consumers and governments!
Anarchism
Wouldn’t you like to live in a country without government or in a world without countries? Oh and no police either. Total freedom, that is!
---Vocab---
📍lamp-post = poles to hold street lights 📍pole = long stick made of metal or wood 📍activism = trying to change society for the better 📍geoengineering = changing the climate with technology
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #germany
Walk through any university town in Germany and you’ll find these little stickers on lamp-posts, traffic light poles, bus stops and so on. It’s a form of political activism. What are the messages? Mainly these three:
Anti-capitalism
Capitalism makes rich people richer and poor people poorer and is therefore the root of all injustice in the world. Bring back communism!
Environmentalism
There are two ways to save the climate – back to nature or geoengineering. Let’s choose ‘back to nature’ and criticise consumers and governments!
Anarchism
Wouldn’t you like to live in a country without government or in a world without countries? Oh and no police either. Total freedom, that is!
---Vocab---
📍lamp-post = poles to hold street lights 📍pole = long stick made of metal or wood 📍activism = trying to change society for the better 📍geoengineering = changing the climate with technology
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #germany
Which of these -isms do you support?
Anonymous Poll
19%
Anti-capitalism
38%
Environmentalism
10%
Anarchism
10%
all of them
22%
none of them
#26 YouTube Channel Recommendation: Business Insider
📊 English Level: Advanced
🔤 Subtitles: Mostly available
💬 Topics: Business, economics, technology, news, psychology
💡 Content: Business Insider is an excellent source of up-to-date knowledge about all kinds of modern phenomena and trends, from Elon Musk’s riches to why gold is so expensive. Most videos relate to money matters in some way, and for some of us that’s probably a really good way of getting to understand the world. It is especially good preparation for those hoping to study business abroad or at some point engage in international business.
⛓ Link: https://www.youtube.com/user/businessinsider
👉@afandi_english👈 #youtube
📊 English Level: Advanced
🔤 Subtitles: Mostly available
💬 Topics: Business, economics, technology, news, psychology
💡 Content: Business Insider is an excellent source of up-to-date knowledge about all kinds of modern phenomena and trends, from Elon Musk’s riches to why gold is so expensive. Most videos relate to money matters in some way, and for some of us that’s probably a really good way of getting to understand the world. It is especially good preparation for those hoping to study business abroad or at some point engage in international business.
⛓ Link: https://www.youtube.com/user/businessinsider
👉@afandi_english👈 #youtube
#22 It’s a strange world: Pyramid of Needs
❓Can we be nice and kind to each other if we don’t have food or a house?
❗️ Possibly not, because all humans have some basic needs that have to be satisfied first, and there they come in a particular order. A model was proposed by Maslow, an American psychologist, and is well-known popular science.
⛓ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs
▶️ Here’s a video about Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0PKWTta7lU
👉@afandi_english👈 #strange_world #psychology
❓Can we be nice and kind to each other if we don’t have food or a house?
❗️ Possibly not, because all humans have some basic needs that have to be satisfied first, and there they come in a particular order. A model was proposed by Maslow, an American psychologist, and is well-known popular science.
⛓ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs
▶️ Here’s a video about Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0PKWTta7lU
👉@afandi_english👈 #strange_world #psychology
Wikipedia
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
theory in developmental psychology proposed by Abraham Maslow, comprising a five-tier model of human needs: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization
#45 Afandi Quiz: Cultural Misunderstanding
Today’s quiz is about a cultural misunderstanding in the following situation:
▶️ Jesper from 🇩🇰Denmark is a talented young professional who has recently taken up a job at a bank in New York, 🇺🇸USA. He is very focused on his job but also wants to be a good colleague. Unfortunately, he could not leave a good impression at the first business lunch with his colleagues. Why?
👉@afandi_english👈 #culture_quiz
Today’s quiz is about a cultural misunderstanding in the following situation:
▶️ Jesper from 🇩🇰Denmark is a talented young professional who has recently taken up a job at a bank in New York, 🇺🇸USA. He is very focused on his job but also wants to be a good colleague. Unfortunately, he could not leave a good impression at the first business lunch with his colleagues. Why?
👉@afandi_english👈 #culture_quiz
Afandi English
What went wrong?
Oh, too bad!
👎 Danes and other Northern Europeans don’t frequently touch their friends. Personal space may be even bigger for Americans but there’s no major difference between Europeans and Americans.
👎 Saying “yes” and “ok” isn’t a cultural thing but a strange personal habit that not many people have.
👍 In America it is considered bad to consume alcohol in public, and especially in a professional setting like a business lunch. Out on the street you also shouldn’t be seen holding a can of beer or a bottle of wine; those have to be covered. In Europe there is no such taboo (=sth that you shouldn’t do in a particular society).
👎 What to do with chicken bones is decided by table manners (=rules how to behave when eating). There are only minor differences between Europeans and Americans, and spitting out anything is generally considered rude.
👎 Danes and other Northern Europeans don’t frequently touch their friends. Personal space may be even bigger for Americans but there’s no major difference between Europeans and Americans.
👎 Saying “yes” and “ok” isn’t a cultural thing but a strange personal habit that not many people have.
👍 In America it is considered bad to consume alcohol in public, and especially in a professional setting like a business lunch. Out on the street you also shouldn’t be seen holding a can of beer or a bottle of wine; those have to be covered. In Europe there is no such taboo (=sth that you shouldn’t do in a particular society).
👎 What to do with chicken bones is decided by table manners (=rules how to behave when eating). There are only minor differences between Europeans and Americans, and spitting out anything is generally considered rude.
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#2 Short Film: The Neighbours’ Window
🆕 Once a month on a boring Wednesday evening Afandi English will bring you a short film for some mid-week entertainment.
▶️ There’s a saying that goes “The grass is always greener on the other side” – people always desire what they don’t have but don’t realise what good things they already do have. Watch this short film for a good example of this.
👉@afandi_english👈 #short_film
🆕 Once a month on a boring Wednesday evening Afandi English will bring you a short film for some mid-week entertainment.
▶️ There’s a saying that goes “The grass is always greener on the other side” – people always desire what they don’t have but don’t realise what good things they already do have. Watch this short film for a good example of this.
👉@afandi_english👈 #short_film
#82 Our favourite mistakes: Pronunciation
▶️ Try pronouncing the following words:
• bargain
• Britain
• captain
• certain
• curtain
• fountain
• mountain
❓What do these words have in common?
❗️ The unstressed -ain is pronounced like something between [ə] and short [ɪ]:
• barg-ɪ-n
• Brit-ə-n
• capt-ə-n
• cert-ə-n
• curt-ə-n
• fount-ɪ-n
• mount-ɪ-n
👉@afandi_english👈 #mistakes #pronunciation
▶️ Try pronouncing the following words:
• bargain
• Britain
• captain
• certain
• curtain
• fountain
• mountain
❓What do these words have in common?
❗️ The unstressed -ain is pronounced like something between [ə] and short [ɪ]:
• barg-ɪ-n
• Brit-ə-n
• capt-ə-n
• cert-ə-n
• curt-ə-n
• fount-ɪ-n
• mount-ɪ-n
👉@afandi_english👈 #mistakes #pronunciation
#2 World Food: Tacos from 🇲🇽Mexico
🆕 In this series of posts Afandi English brings you the best food this world has to offer. Knowing the world’s famous dishes is not only minimum knowledge of the world, of course you can also imagine what it might taste like or even try to cook it at home.
▶️ Tacos are ...
... made with:
Meat and/or vegetables of any kind (typically beef or chicken, beans, tomatoes, onions, lettuce) in a flat bread made from corn or wheat flour.
... eaten with:
Salsa (the Spanish word for ‘sauce’) made of tomatoes, guacamole (a green avocado sauce) and cheese, either grated (=cut into stripes) or as sauce.
Healthy or not? 🟢
Easy to make? 🟡
Cheap enough? 🟢
👉@afandi_english👈 #world_food
🆕 In this series of posts Afandi English brings you the best food this world has to offer. Knowing the world’s famous dishes is not only minimum knowledge of the world, of course you can also imagine what it might taste like or even try to cook it at home.
▶️ Tacos are ...
... made with:
Meat and/or vegetables of any kind (typically beef or chicken, beans, tomatoes, onions, lettuce) in a flat bread made from corn or wheat flour.
... eaten with:
Salsa (the Spanish word for ‘sauce’) made of tomatoes, guacamole (a green avocado sauce) and cheese, either grated (=cut into stripes) or as sauce.
Healthy or not? 🟢
Easy to make? 🟡
Cheap enough? 🟢
👉@afandi_english👈 #world_food
#48 Travelogue Germany: Berlin Airport
Germans are known for their punctuality and planning skills, or are they? The story of Berlin’s new airport is a different story:
Bureaucracy
Rules and standards above all else. In another country they might have just opened the airport anyway and solve the little problems later, but not so in Germany.
Cost explosion
The cost of the airport was three times higher than estimated. Some of the construction was of low quality and there were plenty of scandals.
Delays
Construction began in 2006 but it was opened in 2020. That’s fourteen years. By contrast, Beijing’s new airport is several times bigger than Berlin’s and was built in just five years.
In the end it’s still a beautiful, modern and much needed airport.
---Vocab---
📍estimate = guess 📍scandal = bad behaviour that shocks people
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #germany
Germans are known for their punctuality and planning skills, or are they? The story of Berlin’s new airport is a different story:
Bureaucracy
Rules and standards above all else. In another country they might have just opened the airport anyway and solve the little problems later, but not so in Germany.
Cost explosion
The cost of the airport was three times higher than estimated. Some of the construction was of low quality and there were plenty of scandals.
Delays
Construction began in 2006 but it was opened in 2020. That’s fourteen years. By contrast, Beijing’s new airport is several times bigger than Berlin’s and was built in just five years.
In the end it’s still a beautiful, modern and much needed airport.
---Vocab---
📍estimate = guess 📍scandal = bad behaviour that shocks people
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #germany
What's your conclusion?
Anonymous Poll
53%
Germans are also just humans, not machines.
15%
Their problems are not real problems.
23%
I wouldn't have expected that.
8%
Not sure what to think.
#60 SUPER AFANDI: Afandi at a classy café
❗️ Spot Afandi and his donkey and win 10,000 Paynet-soums instead of only 5,000!
❓ Can you find Afandi and his donkey on one of these pictures?
❓ If you can, mark Afandi and send it to @jochenho. The time limit is 30 minutes. Not sure what Afandi looks like? Check the pinned message above! 👆
👉@afandi_english👈 #spot_afandi
❗️ Spot Afandi and his donkey and win 10,000 Paynet-soums instead of only 5,000!
❓ Can you find Afandi and his donkey on one of these pictures?
❓ If you can, mark Afandi and send it to @jochenho. The time limit is 30 minutes. Not sure what Afandi looks like? Check the pinned message above! 👆
👉@afandi_english👈 #spot_afandi