Stephanie M. Urban

28/01/2025

"The question we must confront is, why are we studying anything? Is it to gain specific knowledge, or is it to develop general skills and build intellectual muscle? If the latter, then if AI does the heavy lifting, students may lose the very practice that cultivates analytical skills. It may be that the presence of AI necessitates an evolution of the curriculum. Still, ultimately, there will remain a proper sequence of exercises to be done to develop the intellect. This is the student’s job; the instructor’s role is to motivate, chastise, celebrate, and optimize."

AI tools have taken on an increasingly diverse set of educational roles. What will it take for AI to match the best teachers and deliver education at the highest level?

19/12/2024

Ohhh, those silent letters in the English language... 🤫

08/10/2024

If anyone's interested in winning a one-week intensive English course on Malta, here's the link to a contest that's being advertised in this month's Spotlight magazine:

Attend a one-week intensive English course of 30 lessons on Malta.

10/02/2024

"There’s a difference between someone choosing to learn a new language to talk to locals as they travel, and being pressured to learn English to participate in the global economy. The latter is the case for many of the one billion plus non-native English speakers around the world, and it’s not likely to become obsolete anytime soon."

AI and apps have made translation easier and more accurate than ever, but won't replace the value of the real thing

20/11/2023

The first recorded use of the term “Black Friday” was applied not to post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping but to financial crisis: specifically, the crash of the U.S. gold market on September 24, 1869. Two notoriously ruthless Wall Street financiers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, worked together to buy up as much as they could of the nation’s gold, hoping to drive the price sky-high and sell it for astonishing profits. On that Friday in September, the conspiracy finally unraveled, sending the stock market into free-fall and bankrupting everyone from Wall Street barons to farmers.

The retail bonanza known as Black Friday is now an integral part of many Thanksgiving celebrations, but this holiday tradition has darker roots than you might imagine.

13/11/2023

Sad! 😢🚉🇩🇪🐻

Trainspotters have one last chance to see Berlin's beloved Model 485s, known to fans as "Coke Cans," before the city decommissions the last of its GDR S-Bahn trains.

27/08/2023

From courts to classrooms to politics, Germany is embracing the English language. It's a bid to make the country more attractive globally, but the linguistic jump comes at a price.

06/03/2023

Monarch will become first UK sovereign to address French senate and Bundestag on six-day trip

07/07/2022

Summer rain smells like heaven!

There's some chemistry to the pleasant smell of rain after a long, dry spell.

07/07/2022

Word of the day:

PETRICHOR - The sweet smell of summer rain 🌦🥰

26/10/2021

Leipzig has been named Germany's #1 destination in Lonely Planet's 2021 Top 250 List!

"The hype that some attest to the city is none at all: Leipzig really is cooler than Berlin and hipper than Munich, especially among Millennials," the guidebook says. "The city is young, exciting, multifaceted, sometimes colorful, sometimes gray, of vibrant liveliness."

Mein Leipzig lob ich mir! 🥰

Hier finden Sie Informationen zu dem Thema „Reiseführer“. Lesen Sie jetzt „"Lonely Planet" kürt Leipzig zum Top-Ziel in Deutschland“.

07/10/2021

Punctuation matters! 😆