Kulturraumstudien USA, Tips for an Enriching Break

Thanks for a productive semester! Below are some tips for keeping your English and cultural knowledge active during the break:

- aim to read at least one (US) novel or work of non-fiction in English.  Good book reviews can be found on the NY Times, Guardian and Globe and Mail websites. Have a look at the books available in our book swap shelf on the fourth floor in the main wing of offices.

- watch some (US) films in English (obviously Netflix is great, but explore the cinemas in the region that offer English-language films in the original, like Odeon, Off Broadway and Filmpalette in Cologne, Brotfabrik and Neue Filmbühne in Bonn, and Black Box in Düsseldorf).

- check out the documentaries on US history and culture available on Netflix. Documentaries by PBS and part of the series called The American Experience are of a very high quality.

- keep up to date with US news by regulary watching news clips (PBS NewsHour is my favorite US news source) on YouTube or reading headlines from news outlets like the NY Times, the Guardian, or the BBC. The Atlantic and National Geographic are great resources for long reads.

- when we reconvene in March, the primary period for the 2020 elections, so keep up on who is in the lead among the Democrats, possibly by watching some of the debates and campaign speeches made.

- check out the YouTube channels of major publications like the NY Times and the Economist. Bonn-based Deutsche Welle has excellent English-language content. Content made by YouTube influencers can also be very interesting to analyze culturally.

- the Literaturhaus Köln invites a lot of US-based authors for readings and Lit.Cologne is an annual literary Festival in Cologne that also invites many "A-list" US writers to read and lecture.

Links of interest: 

The Paris Review - Addy Walker, American Girl

Kompetenzerweiterung I, Tips for the Semester Break

After the exam, I highly recommend that you do the following to stay immersed in English during the break: 

1) Subscribe to an English-language newspaper's/magazine daily newsletter to get a daily dose of English (even just reading the headlines is a great way to practice and add new vocab)

2) Find some podcasts you like in English, ideally in accents/voice types that are harder for you to understand

3) Read content in areas that are foreign to you (so if you like the arts/entertainment, read the business pages and vice versa)

4) Subscribe to a SAT/GRE word-of-the-day newsletter to increase your academic/advanced vocab 

5) Find a way to organize your vocab items for regular review 

6) Challenge yourself to take in more English-language TV shows, film, music, etc. (only turn on subtitles when absolutely necessary)

7) Talk in English regularly with someone from class (you don't need a native speaker to do this!)

Kompetenzerweiterung I (Wednesday Group), Homework for January 11th

In preparation of our last class session of the semester, please review Unit 23 (verbal complements) in your book and bring any final questions about the course content from this semester with you to class.

Please also read this article (click on "read the text version here" above the photo) and complete the following (you can also listen to the article using the player featured on the page): 

From the archive: How to spot a perfect fake: the world’s top art forgery detective – podcast | News | The Guardian

a) at the beginning of the podcast, you'll hear a speaker of Indian English. Identify (some of) this English variety's key phonetic features.  

b) identify at least 10 words, expressions and/or collocations featured in the podcast (consult the "How to spot an art forgery" file on Ilias)

c) answer the following question: is art forgery less egregious than other crimes? Why or why not?

If you are interested in (fine) art, I highly recommend the following YouTube channels: 

The British Museum - YouTube

The Met - YouTube