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Learning Languages Made Easy: 5 Tips on How to Quickly Improve Your Language Skills

Whether for school, work or just because: learning languages ​​is important for many people. But it’s not that simple – or maybe it is? Here are five tips on how you can easily improve your language skills.

#1 Podcasts, Series, YouTube and Co.

One of the easiest and most popular methods, especially among the younger generation, is to watch series or films in the original language. In particular, because puns and inside jokes are not lost. It has the positive side effect that you learn new words and phrases in a playful way without realizing it. If the original language is not the target language, you can of course switch films and series to the desired language. This is very easy to do with streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Disney+.

But even if you don’t want to spend money on the television services, you can easily immerse yourself in the language with the help of YouTube videos or podcasts. There are YouTubers from almost every country in the world who film and upload videos in their native language. Whether vlogs, cooking videos or specific language learning videos. The “genre” doesn’t matter in learning as long as you’re actively listening. This can lead to great difficulties in understanding, especially in the beginning. This can be remedied by subtitles, which can be generated automatically for many videos.

Podcasts also offer audios on a wide variety of topics in different languages. For example, you can easily improve your language skills on the way to work or when going shopping. Special podcasts that specialize in language learning can be particularly interesting here. The Coffee Break Podcasts, for example, upload short audio files on various topics that you can use to learn the language bit by bit. There are also a growing number of news podcasts designed to speak extra slowly and clearly to make it easier to understand.

#2 Read, read, read

If television and podcasts are not for you, you can easily read in your desired target language. Nowadays, the internet makes it very easy to find books, newspapers, etc. in all languages. If you don’t mind reading on your phone, tablet or computer, there are some apps that also offer many books in different languages. Amazon’s Kindle, iBooks or eLibrary from your local library offer a variety of e-books that you can even read on the go. A particular advantage of reading online is that you can quickly and easily look up words that you do not yet know in your target language in the dictionary on your mobile device.

Of course, conventional books have the same effect as e-books and can also help to better memorize vocabulary and proverbs due to their special reading experience.

Above all, reading promotes your vocabulary, but grammar is also learned particularly well here. Because by repeatedly reading a wide variety of phrases, tenses and sentence constructions, they can be internalized particularly well.

#3 Exchange and language trip

Exchanges and language trips are also very popular when learning a new language. Some students have the opportunity to take part in a year abroad or an exchange while they are still at school. After graduating from school, it makes sense to do a gap year while going abroad or to do a semester abroad during your studies. But not only young people should take advantage of these opportunities. There are numerous agencies that offer language trips for people of all ages.

Living with a host family during this time helps immensely to develop language skills. You also learn a lot about the culture and lifestyle of the residents in the host country, which can also have a positive effect on learning behavior.

#4 language tandem

If an exchange or a language trip is too expensive or doesn’t work for other reasons, you don’t have to do without direct personal exchange with people from the target country. Language tandems are a cost-effective and interactive alternative. Such tandems are often offered by schools, adult education centers or universities. But you can also quickly find people with whom you can work together on social networks such as Facebook or Instagram.

In such a cooperation, two people who want to learn each other’s mother tongue come together and exchange ideas. It is usually arranged in such a way that people meet about once a week for an hour and then speak the respective language for half an hour. However, everyone could also speak the respective target language and correct the partner if a mistake is made. There are no limits to the execution of the exchange, it is best for you to find out for yourself how you can get the greatest benefit from it.

#5 Language Learning Apps

As with almost everything, there are numerous apps for language learning that can help you. In addition to the book apps mentioned above, there are also special language learning apps that teach you the language in a playful way. Duolingo and Babbel, which offer their services for countless languages, are particularly well-known and popular here.

With step-by-step learning and goal setting, the apps provide a good learning atmosphere with reminders and rewards. All areas that are important for languages ​​are also learned here: listening, reading and speaking are specifically tested in the individual exercises so that you get fit in all areas.

Learning languages: It’s all in the mix!

Speaking, reading and listening are essential in language learning, so a mix of all is best to learn your target language the fastest. However, one should not overdo it either. At the end of the day, having fun is the most important thing, because without having fun, the whole thing is only half as effective!

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health

Nutrient Deficiency Despite Healthy Eating? With These Foods You Improve The Bioavailability of Your Body

How well does your body utilize vitamins and minerals from food and dietary supplements? To find out, it is important to know your own bioavailability.

What is bioavailability and how does it affect nutrient deficiencies?

One speaks of bioavailability when it comes to how well certain substances, including micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals, can be absorbed by the body. In other foods, vitamins and minerals are integrated into the respective cell structure. They are part of the so-called food matrix. Bioavailability refers to how easily substances are released in the body and in what quantities they can be absorbed, absorbed and used further.

In the form of dietary supplements, you can take vitamins, minerals and other substances in concentrated form to supplement your diet. The substances are usually not integrated into a matrix, but are present in an isolated form. The body thus has easier access to the supporting substances and can continue to use them directly because it no longer has to decode the matrix.

When dosed correctly, dietary supplements are no more unhealthy than the naturally occurring vitamins and minerals found in food. The chemical structures are identical. Therefore, the human organism cannot differentiate between the two. However, according to Verbraucherzentrale.de, the products are neither tested for effectiveness nor for safety by the manufacturers or official authorities and can be harmful to health in the event of an overdose, previous illness or in combination with medication.

Possible reasons why the bioavailability can be disturbed

There are certain factors and nutrients that can significantly affect bioavailability, making it difficult or impossible for the nutrients contained in a food to be utilized. These can interfere with the digestion of micro and macro nutrients
they compete for the same transport system,
change the chemical form of the nutrients contained in food,
which bind nutrients and make them unusable for the receptors in the small intestine.
In addition, the following factors influence bioavailability:
ingestion of alcohol
Physical activity, stress, illness
Previous operations of the gastrointestinal tract
The health of the intestinal flora
The additional intake of medication or dietary supplements
The duration of chewing food
The combination of foods
age and gender
Possible consequences of a nutrient deficiency with disturbed bioavailability: Iron deficiency can lead to general weakness, a weakened immune system and impaired brain function. Calcium deficiency manifests itself in the long term as osteoporosis. In adults, vitamin D deficiency leads to muscle weakness, a weakened immune system, weak bones and an increased risk of fractures and cancer. Children may experience stunted growth and weak bones. Common symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency are enlargement of red blood cells, impairment of brain functions and increased homocysteine ​​levels, which can lead to various diseases.

Which substances inhibit bioavailability?

Bioavailability can deteriorate not only through the wrong food supplements, but also through food. Alcohol, coffee and vitamin B1 impair the absorption and utilization of vitamins. Another factor that can negatively affect bioavailability is the battle of two nutrients for the same absorption pathway, according to a study by the University of Chile. For example, copper and iron inhibit the absorption and processing of zinc.

Oxalic acid inhibits the absorption of iron, zinc, magnesium and calcium. It is found, for example, in spinach, chard, rhubarb, almonds and sweet potatoes. Tip: If you enjoy eating these foods, heat them up before eating to reduce the oxalic acid content.
Phytates are found in grains, legumes, seeds and nuts, which should actually be on the daily menu. Tip: By soaking, fermenting or sprouting you improve the bioavailability of these foods.
Protease inhibitors are found in legumes. They can significantly reduce the bioavailability of protein-rich foods by inhibiting the metabolism of protein-splitting enzymes.
Lectins are also considered disruptive. The substance can cause inflammation in the intestines. It is found, for example, in legumes, cashew nuts, peanuts, cereals and tomatoes.
Polyphenols are found, for example, in tannins (tannins), coffee, green or black tea. They can reduce bioavailability if consumed with a meal.
To avoid such reactions, you can pay attention to the ingredients on the packaging when buying food. If these substances are present, you may want to look for an alternative.

This improves the bioavailability

When choosing, preparing and assembling food, keep a few basic things in mind in order to be fully productive again and to fully exploit the nutrient potential of your healthy and varied diet.

Good combinations for optimal nutrient absorption would be:
Oatmeal with fruits, nuts and seeds
Cereals with orange juice or vegetables rich in vitamin C
Lentils or beans with parsley and paprika
Spinach with lemon or fruit
Some vitamins and minerals can influence each other and increase bioavailability: For example, calcium with vitamin D or iron with vitamin C. Legumes should always be cooked before consumption, as they are toxic when raw and can cause intestinal inflammation. Tip: You can also increase your bioavailability with sunshine vitamin D.

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Food

Legumes: Family of Plants That Improve The Soil

Legumes is one of the most species-rich plant families, also known as legumes. Through a symbiosis with bacteria, they bind nitrogen from the air and thus improve the soil.

Legumes are a plant family of lepidoptera that includes around 17,000 species. They are also called legumes.

Legumes form a connection with so-called nodule bacteria. These bind valuable nitrogen for the plants and enrich the soil with it.

In this article you will read which plants are legumes and why they are so valuable for humans.

representatives of legumes

The legumes are divided into two broad categories. The so-called grain legumes form the first category. They form nutritious grains and seeds for humans. These include legumes, such as:
Chickpeas
Beans (bush beans, pole beans, soybeans)
Peas
lupine
lenses
peanuts
The second category mainly includes forage crops for livestock farming. These include, for example:
clover
alfalfa
Legumes also include trees and ornamental plants:
acacias
wisteria

Legumes and their symbiosis

Legumes form root nodules in which they enter into a symbiosis with so-called nodule bacteria. This is referred to as biological nitrogen fixation.

The nodule bacteria bind the volatile nitrogen from the air and make it organically available in liquid form for the plants. They convert the nitrogen in the air (N2) into liquid ammonia (NH3).

This makes the plants independent of nitrate levels in the soil. Legumes also thrive on very nutrient-poor soils and also enrich the soil for the following plants. As a result, less fertilizer can be used. This protects the soil and groundwater.

If you want to grow legumes yourself, make sure you don’t plant them in back-to-back years. Since the plants have already enriched the soil, the soil may already contain too much nitrogen for the legumes. Plant medium and heavy feeders in the improved soil the following year.

Nutritious legumes

Legumes play an important role not only in agriculture, but also in our diet. The University of Giessen has dealt extensively with the nutrients and antinutrients it contains:

Due to the nitrogen fixation, the plants have sufficient nitrogen available for protein synthesis. Therefore, the fruits of the legumes are very rich in protein.

In addition to proteins, legumes contain fiber and long-chain carbohydrates. Since the human body needs a lot of time to process these substances, they keep you full in the long term. Legumes are also rich in vitamins and minerals such as calcium and magnesium.

In addition to nutrients that are valuable for the body, legumes also contain so-called antinutrients. These inhibit the absorption of nutrients and are sometimes toxic to the body. Legumes contain phytic acid and tannins. The substances inhibit the absorption of minerals. They also contain lectin, which is toxic to the human body.

It is therefore advisable to soak legumes such as chickpeas or lentils and cook them for a long time.

benefits of legumes

Legumes play an important role in our agriculture.
They enrich the soil with nitrogen and keep the soil fertile. Farmers can take advantage of this effect by cultivating the soil with legumes in the last year of crop rotation and thus enriching the soil with nitrogen for future plants.
The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture has decided on the so-called protein planting strategy to promote the cultivation of legumes. This could save on chemical fertilizer in the long term, which enables sustainable and ecological agriculture.
Healthier soil also reduces plant diseases and pests. This also means fewer pesticides and herbicides are needed.
The various types of clovers grow quickly and are well suited as cattle feed, while at the same time they can serve as green manure.
Most legumes develop taproots. These also loosen the deeper layers of soil and thus counteract soil compaction.
Due to their nitrogen-fixing properties, legumes are ideal as pioneer plants. This means that they can be grown in areas that were previously not covered with greenery. As a result, they also play an important role in the renaturation of areas destroyed by humans.

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