The Creative Outlet

Fionna

Hi! I'm Fionna, a product manager, YouTuber and late night FM DJ. Every week I share ideas on tech, design, languages and productivity @ The Creative Outlet! fionna.substack.com

Episodes

  1. Make 2025 Your Best Year: Resolutions in a Phone Wallpaper

    01/03/2025

    Make 2025 Your Best Year: Resolutions in a Phone Wallpaper

    Hello Friends! I’m Fionna, a broccoli lover 🥦, tree-weaving snowboarder 🏂, Eames chair admirer 🪑 (sitting in one as I write!) and someone who is going to bed early tonight ⏰! Every so often I share a story on what inspires me to be creative and musings that week. I’m fascinated by design, tech, people, languages, and the idea that I can use them to reinvent myself 🧠. You will find that I express myself through different languages, witty mEmeS and impeccable formatting. Want more content like this in your inbox? Let this be our creative outlet. Twitter | YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | Newsletter | Spotify | Buy me a 🍍 What if the secret to crushing your 2025 goals was right in your pocket all along? While most resolutions have already fizzled by now, mine are gaining momentum. I’m set to crush every goal—and the secret? A system built around the one device most blame for distractions. 2024 has been a year of profound transformation. One fateful life-altering decision redefined who I am and unlocked a realm of possibilities I never thought possible. This discovery hasn’t just expanded my horizons—it’s fired me up for the future—and I’ve never felt more alive ❤️‍🔥. It’s January 1st, and with that electrifying burst of #NewYearNewMe motivation, I decided this was the year I’d finally nail my daily routine. Meditation, exercise, sleep, reading—the Holy Grail of #Goals everyone’s chasing. My simple wish: Stay sharp to greet each tomorrow and dare something new, for as long as I can. Despite countless apps promising to build these habits and set me up for success, the true nemesis is the device that houses them—the mighty yet infinitely distracting smartphone. One red bubble, one notification, and I’m hours deep in the abyss of “Why did I unlock my phone again?” After a year of relying on search to find any app, I finally mustered the willpower to clean up my home screen and make it useful. As I rearranged, an epiphany struck: What if the homepage wasn’t just a jumble of apps, what if it told me what to do and when? That way, my goldfish brain could follow breadcrumbs to the destination, instead of wandering off to snack on CandyCrush and end up with amnesia. ☠️ Then it hit me—what if my homepage background mapped out my ideal routine? A foolproof guide at a glance! First, I reorganized my homepage, aligning apps and widgets with my routine. Then, I took a screenshot, imported it into Canva, and overlaid my list as text—each habit distilled into a single word, each widget group labeled with an outcome to keep me motivated. Staying true to my tradition of matching the year’s Pantone color (hello, #MochaMousse!), I chose a solid backdrop with crisp white text. A quick export back to my phone—and to my surprise, this might actually work! Then came the fun part—making it ✨ my own ✨. I set a 30-minute timer, but let’s be real—I snoozed it twice, completely lost in fine-tuning every detail. And now, here it is! Elated to walk you through my routine, the apps I use, and how I’ve perfected it over the past few weeks! Feel free to use these hyperlinks to jump to sections! Morning Routine * Meditate: Balance * Stretch: Therabody * Math: Duolingo * Elocution: Elevate * Cognition: BrainHQ * Wellness: ahead * Exercise: Gymshark Training * Posture: Posture Up Evening Routine * Declutter: Slidebox * Log: LifeCycle * Journal: Apple Journal * Sleep: SleepCycle 1. Meditate App: Balance (Free)Time: 10 minutes (in bed—so does it really count? 😜) I firmly believe the first hours after waking up set the tone for the day, so why not start strong? Before my brain has a chance to spiral, I hit a shortcut to play Balance’s free 5-minute “Wake Up” meditation—a ritual I’ve sworn by since 2020. It gently eases me into opening my eyes with mindfulness, followed by light stretches, and intention-setting. The difference is undeniable—on days I use it, I feel refreshed and focused. On days I don’t? I wake up, grab my phone, and next thing I know, I’m knee-deep in emails, already stressed. 2. Stretch / Massage App: Therabody (Free, require TheraBody Mini massage gun)Time: 5-7 minutes Massage guns are a post-workout godsend—but they’re bulky, and I never know if I’m using them right. Enter the TheraBody Mini: compact, effortless, and paired with an app that actually guides you. Timed, automated routines eliminate the guesswork—just power on and follow the “ping.” Yet, I packed it for trips, determined to build a habit, but still too easily dismissed. Now, with the app front and center and the device bedside after meditation, I’m betting proximity will help. It worked for flossing—here’s to less guilt at the dentist and the PT. 3. Math App: Duolingo (Free)Time: 10 seconds (really) “Isn’t Duolingo just for languages?” you might ask. Well, yes. I tried French on it (not going back—story for another day). But in 2021, Duolingo introduced Math. Initially, it didn’t quite fit my needs, but then I stumbled upon the Math Games, which train mental math. I gave it a try—and liked it! It extended my streak and took only 10 seconds. #StreakPrisoned Growing up in Asia, Math was king. Rigorous drills burned the basics into my brain. But over time, phone calculators and AI assistants replaced mental math, and now I hesitate whether 5 + 7 equals 12 or 13 (it’s 12. Yes, that took a second). So, I committed to playing Magic Square daily—mainly for the streak. Surprise, surprise—I’m getting faster! My PR is 10 seconds. Good enough for me—quick, easy, and just enough of a confidence boost to trick my brain into tackling something harder. Pro tip #1: You don’t have to watch the entire ad to extend your streak. Skip as soon as you see your results. Pro tip #2: If you’re grinding lessons but hate ads, set up an automation shortcut to turn on airplane mode when you open the app, and off when you close it 👌 4. Elocution App: Elevate (Free)Time: 5-10 minutes Elevate was my go-to app during my morning commute—easily one of the best-designed learning apps I’ve used. Each session taught me something new—until the pandemic disrupted that routine. Every day, Elevate serves up 3 exercises across arithmetic, vocabulary, writing, and reading. Math? A breeze (thanks, #Outliers), but the English? Brutal. Who knew there were so many ways to describe “dry” with more intensity? I’ve wanted a way to save new words as flashcards since day one. Still waiting… They added a word list after some exercises, so I started writing them down—only to lose the paper. I tried Notion, but switching apps mid-exercise wrecked my momentum. Now, I’m going old-school: a physical journal. I jot down new words and later transfer them to Notion—hoping I catch them in time for spaced repetition. 5. Cognition App: BrainHQTime: 5-10 minutes This might be the least-known app on the list, but it piqued my interest because it was developed by neuroscientists and backed by research—supposedly helping to slow brain aging. Sign me up! 😍 The free tier offers one game dailt, targeting attention, auditory processing, brain speed, and memory. These games? Much harder and longer to crack than Duolingo or Elevate. They start simple but progressively become more difficult. That’s why I start my mornings with Duolingo—an instant win before tackling BrainHQ’s challenges. The UI isn’t the sleekest, but the exercises are clear, and I’m constantly surprised at how my brain reacts to these challenges (whether I succeed or not). 6. Wellness App: ahead (7-day free trial, $62/year)Time: 5-10 minutes “Duolingo for mental health”—that tagline hooked me. I’d been searching for something structured yet engaging, and Ahead delivered. The sleek interface, playful tone, and rewarding surprises at the end of each lesson kept me coming back. But more importantly, it worked—calming me when I start spiraling into unhelpful thoughts: Is this piece even worth writing? → Nobody is going to read it → I’m terrible at writing. 😢 Each session starts with a check-in, like “What signs have you noticed in yourself lately?” It then unpacks why those feelings arise, blending psychology, research-backed insights, and practical techniques to navigate them. What sets Ahead apart from other self-help apps is its methodical approach. Instead of fragmented advice, it systematically explains why we think and behave the way we do, grounding lessons in real-life scenarios that feel instantly applicable. The core experience is the Journey, diving into topics like anxiety, and confidence in bite-sized lessons. There’s also a toolkit for journaling, techniques, and a community for discussion—plus the ability to save lessons for quick access. But what if I’m hit with intense anxiety and can’t remember anything I’ve learned? That’s where Resolve comes in—an SOS button for overwhelming moments. It guides you through breathing exercises, helps process emotions, and connects you to live support. I also use the widgets for quick techniques and affirmations throughout the day—because sometimes, the right message at the right moment can make all the difference. 7. Exercise App: Gymshark Training and FitnessTime: 30 minutes For the past 5 years, I’ve followed a structured workout routine based on Julian’s advice and tracked it in Notion. But now I need something less reliant on equipment and more adaptable to wherever life takes me. I tried SmartGym, but at $59.99/year, it quickly sent me back to the app store. Then I found Gymshark Training & Fitness, a free app that lets you create and customize routines. What sold me? As a visual learner, I prefer following along. I pick the most advanced bodyweight workouts, watch the demo, and check them off as I go—no brain gymnastics, no wasted time—just pure execution

    4 sec

  2. 16/05/2021

    💍 The One Thing that Engineering Taught Me

    Hello Friends! I’m Fionna, a product manager, YouTuber and late-night FM DJ. Every Sunday I share a story on what inspires me to be creative. I’m fascinated by design, technology, people, languages, and the idea that I can use what I learn to reinvent myself. You will find that I express myself through different languages, witty mEmeS and impeccable formatting. Want more content like this in your inbox? Let this be our creative outlet. Twitter | YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | Newsletter | Spotify | Buy me a 🍍 Almost as a tradition. Every time I go back to Toronto, I must visit the University of Toronto Campus. Namely the faculty of Engineering buildings that I spent 4 years in. Too many (painful AER, ESC, BME 😵… ) memories, but after 2020, everything turned into a blessing. I feel fortunate that I got to attend classes in person, nerd out in the libraries, pull all-nighters in the common room, and receive my iron ring in what’s known as the Ritual of The Calling of an Engineer✨. Note: Notice how I (probably most engineers) care more about the iron ring ceremony than convocation? Convocation is for parents and photo-ops, the ring is the real deal. 😍 So during my visit, I walk around the front campus, which is under *major* renovation by the way, and past Con Hall. I arrive at the way-too-familiar engineering complex. I walk into Sandford Fleming, down the hallway to Galbraith, then out to St. George Street, jay-walk to Bahen (what else do you do, wait for the light? 🤷‍♀️). Go up to the second floor, turn right, and look into the EngSci common room that I spent half of my waking hours of college there… yup, still looks the same. Then I keep walking down the hallway to the EngSci Office. Then, this very colorful poster caught my eye. I stopped abruptly. Took a few steps in to get a closer look. This is it! After graduating, I had numerous chats with interns, new grads and mentees about my career journey and how I got into product management with a biomed degree. Every time I tell them, “I studied biomedical engineering at UofT, which is nothing related to what I do now 😅”, I think to myself, “If so then… what did I learn from school? Did engineering help me get to where I am at all? It should have… right? But how?” Yes, and yes. And this poster is the answer. Well, one aspect of it. Allow me to walk you through this 🌈 rainbow of “Graduate Attributes” one by one, and see how it tallies up with what I think I should’ve learned vs. what I actually learned… and uncover that ONE thing I took away from all of this education. 🛑 Disclaimer:The following contains vastly unnecessary nerdy Canadian engineering references and satire that’s probably uncalled for. If you are a person not familiar with the matter, please meet the mythical creature that is an UofT engineer👷‍♀️👷👷‍♂️), and kindly consider preparing yourself before proceeding. There is going to be a lot of purple 🟣, don’t say I didn’t warn ya! 😉 Lots of ground to cover. Let’s carry on. 1. Knowledge base for engineering * Competence in Math: Yes, after moving to the US, I can use math to convert fahrenheit to degrees, which is very helpful in the “how’s the weather” conversations with Americans. Jokes aside, basic math is definitely required, but advanced calculus is never used. However, knowing statistics and the p-value is very helpful in understanding experimentation. Based on my observation in these meetings, nobody asked “what is the p-value”, so I assumed we all took stats. 🤓 * Understand engineering fundamentals: when in doubt, always refer back to the First Principles. * First Principles actually came up in my first few 1:1s with my manager. I think he would’ve thought that I’m a fraud if I didn’t know it... “Do you really have an engineering degree if you don’t know First Principles?” 😬 * Which then gave me permission to ask a lot of why’s (known as socratic questioning) with my newbie card. Such as “Why is this built this way?” or “Why do users need this?”. * Possess specialized knowledge: If fundamentals covered breadth, then specialized knowledge gave me depth. I know how to pipette liquids, operate a centrifuge and read DNA. Best part, how to write 5 pages of “possible sources of error” during the 3 hours of waiting in the lab. Needless to say, this taught me to be patient, detail-oriented, reflective, and multi-task-able. ✅ 2. Problem Analysis * Characterize an engineering problem: The Quebec bridge was collapsed in 1907 because the calculations were not properly checked. * Formulate a solution: Create a checklist, enforce safety protocols, appoint a new chief engineer, and rebuild in 9 years. * Formulate and interpret a model: An appropriate process or a combination of processes needs to be in place for the problem at hand. For example, in developing a software, is it best to use waterfall, agile or iterative, or a combination? Also, one should always double, triple and quadruple check, especially when a small error can literally cost lives or taxpayers a few hundred M’s. Redundancy is our friend. * Execute solution: Besides rebuilding the bridge with a robust process, moldthe fallen iron debris into rings, distribute to engineering graduates and command them to wear it on the pinky of their dominant hands. So when they sign off on a calculation, they leave a dent on the page and remember to never make the same mistakes again. 🙌 3. Investigation * Define a problem: Use first principles thinking to remove assumptions and only focus on the facts that make up the problem - “I don’t have time to write this newsletter post.” No, I have far more time than I think I have, especially in lockdown. Saying that I don’t have time to write is just a convenient excuse to spend the time on other things. Using first principles thinking means asking how much time I can spend on writing, and we all know it’s more than what I’d admit. So knowing that I have the time required, I need to reframe the problem to find why I’m choosing others over writing, what’s blocking me from writing this very post, and what I can do to overcome that. * Turned out, I started off this post too ambitiously. Wanting to elaborate and tell a story for all 12 attributes, and incorporate a right balance of satire. The first 2 attributes took me a while to get it presentable and the thought of writing 10 more just seemed daunting. Also, I needed to familiarize myself with these engineering lingo again and think of school and work scenarios to use as examples. So I pushed it off for days then weeks and substituted my instant gratification from publishing a post to publishing vlogs. #MetaToTheMax * Devise and execute a plan to solve a problem: This problem was blocking me from writing anything new. So I thought of a few plans. * Do a pass on the remaining attributes and jot down the first thing that came to mind - This breaks down the daunting task into smaller pieces and gets my rusty engineering brain spinning throughout the day. * Do something that relates to this - Luckily I was prepping for a Product School talk on how I got into PM with a biomed degree, so I double dipped on the preparations there 1️⃣🪨.2️⃣🦜. * Find and schedule recurring time to write - I found night time to be the most optimal for writing. Dim the lights, play some lofi hip hop, and volume up for the keyboard ASMR. * Choose a few attributes to focus on and “mEh” the rest - Not all 12 attributes were made equal and some had a stronger impact on me than others. I don’t have to kill myself by coming up with a compelling story for each. Hey, this is my newsletter. I set the rules and I can have fun with it if I want to! 😎 #dontunsubplz * Get help - I got through my first draft and asked my friends to proof read and give me feedback. I’m looking at them side by side right now to see how I can make this post more enjoyable (or convoluted 🤯). * Use critical analysis to reach valid conclusions supported by the results of the plan: Let’s start with the results. If you’re reading this, then my problem has been solved, so… ✅ Now let’s analyze my plans critically to see if they would lead to the same result: * We can probably all attest to it, but Psychology Today puts it in writing, when facing a big challenge, “breaking down a large project or situation into small, reasonable tasks that bit by bit add up to a brilliant whole is a key strategy.” * I just did the same work but wrapped in a different project. * From saying that I don’t have time to blocking time in my calendar. The word count should be guaranteed to increase (quality is however questionable). * I gave myself permission to opt out writing about attributes that I don’t resonate with, and focus on the ones that I have strong opinions on. * Their feedback unveiled where needed more work, and aspects of the attributes that I missed. Having had other eyes on the draft, and even some “I enjoyed reading👌”, this gave me the confidence to finally publish it for you to read! 4. Design * Frame a complex, open-ended problem in engineering terms: Categorize the problem in an engineering discipline, and use respective engineering terms to concisely describe it so your fellow engineers can understand, and your dinner guests are in awe of your sophisticated vocabulary. * Generate a diverse set of candidate engineering design solutions: It’s important to have options, so I can compare the pros and cons for the best bang for my buck. I find it helpful to use the SCAMPER technique to get Option B, Option ZZ, and Option YYZ. * Select candidate engineering design solutions for further development: When selecting the final candidates, a rigorous evaluation framework needs to be in place. RICE is great fo

    28 min

  3. 09/02/2021

    💌 A Love Story Between Languages and Me - Part 3: Korean 🇰🇷

    Hello Friends! I’m Fionna, a product manager, YouTuber and late-night FM DJ. Every Sunday I share a story on what inspires me to be creative and musings that week. I’m fascinated by design, technology, people, languages, and the idea that I can use them to reinvent myself. You will find that I express myself through different languages, witty mEmeS and impeccable formatting. Intrigued? Want more content like this in your inbox? Let this be our creative outlet. Twitter | YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | Newsletter | Spotify | Buy me a 🍍 I'm bilingual in Mandarin and English. As a hobby, I took French and Korean in high school and I'm still trying to keep them up in 2021. Through friends and travel, I also dabbled in learning Cantonese and Polish. Bonjour je m'appelle Fionna, je suis bilingue anglais et chinois et j'apprends le français et le coréen. 여러분 안녕하세요. 저는 피오나입니다. 네, 저는 블랙잭, VIP, ELF, 카시오페아 입니다. 케이팝은 저를 '한류'에 빠지게 했고 춤도 배웠지만, 저는 우정 때문에 계속 배우기로 결심했어요. In this series, I will unwind the "love letters" between me and these languages - what serendipitous encounters that started it all, the ups and downs, and where we are now. Thanks for reading Part 1 and Part 2. Today, let's talk about the most Mirotic of all - 한국어 🇰🇷 English | French Français| Korean  한국어 | Cantonese  粤语 | Polish Polski | Mandarin 中文 🎙️ Listen to this story on Spotify A Brief History Grade 7 - Self-taught and performed Super Junior's "U" dance at school assembly Grade 9 - Took Korean classes at Night SchoolGrade 9 - Founded a student club covering K-Pop dances~ Many Korean dramas, radio shows and variety shows later ~ 3rd Year College - Travelled to Korea for 2 weeksTime in between - screaming “NOLZA” at 2NE1, Epik High and G-Dragon's concerts Working at Microsoft - Weekly Korean classes taught by employees Discovering K-Pop In this digital age, K-Pop is probably the biggest reason why people started to learn Korean - to understand Korean Music, to sing Korean music, and most importantly, to follow artists who sang and danced to those music. I’m no exception. Not sure if I was too late or too early to the K-Pop bandwagon, but the earliest song I listened to was Big Bang’s “Dirty Cash” from their first album in 2006. Such nostalgia! Then, inevitably, I came across SM Town, and was swoon by TVXQ and Super Junior. Especially SJ because they were the largest boy group at that time with 13 members, and one of them is Chinese, Hang Geng or 韩庚. I was listening to their songs on repeat and watching variety shows they guested on (which is another incredible discovery because these shows are hilarious and a great stress-reliever). Even though I watched them with Chinese or English subtitles, I would still pick up a few expressions or two. Mostly commonly, 화이팅 - Cheer up!사랑해 - I love you~대박! - That’s amazing!뭐라고? - What? What did you say?왜그래 - What’s wrong?미안해 - I’m sorry.Note: these are all informal expressions without honorifics, not intended for seniors. Fast forward to 2021, K-Pop is everywhere. If you have watched at least one K-Pop music video you’d know that it has this powerful, peculiar, yet enigmatic way of hooking you into the world created by the artist, leaving you wanting more. Alright, I’ll stop here. This is not a story on K-Pop, but how it got me started on learning Korean. The reason is very simple, curiosity. I enjoy their songs, I like how they dance, and I want to learn more about them! What inspired them to write these songs or become an “idol”, how do they practice before stage, what’s the story behind that cool music video, and what other hobbies do they have, etc. A way to do that is watching talk shows, and you guessed it, they were in Korean. But as a fan, you’d want to get the latest scoop when it comes out, and not wait for subtitles. So, pull up yo sleeves and imma learn this thing myself! Night School Similar with the French Explore program, I saw a flyer about Night School in the Guidance Counsellor’s room. Yes, I was a regular because I did morning announcements and quite frankly, I enjoyed visiting. I enrolled in Korean Level 1 at Night School with a friend, but she soon dropped out and I kept going anyway… (mm I’m sending a pattern here 😢) The classes were every Monday from 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. at either Georges Vanier or A. Y. Jackson Secondary. I couldn’t remember, but I remember going home after school to eat dinner, then taking the TTC for 1 hour all the way up to “Sheppard-Youge” then to “Don Mills”. When classes are done, I would take a 2 hour night bus home. Needless to say, it was quite the trek. Despite the terrible and somewhat dangerous commute at night, I enjoyed the classes and they helped me set a solid foundation for pronouncing and writing Korean. Again speaking was not well-taught, and I could hardly remember the grammar. To this day, I still remember the teacher, Mrs. Bae Mi Ae or 백미애 or 白美愛. Her name is especially memorable because the 3 characters literally mean white, beauty, and love. Mrs. Bae embodied all of that. Her graceful way of talking and walking, and the care she put into ensuring her students are progressing was admirable. I treasured these 3 hours every week because I was learning something that I wanted, and the classes were delightful! Looking back, I do regret not taking Korean after Grade 9, but as an exchange, I packed my schedule with equally memorable and meaningful things from Grade 10 and onwards. Perhaps I’ll write about those another day. Anecdote: I’d never expect by taking Korean at night school, it would not only help my Korean, but also help me get A’s in Chemistry. I was quite carefree and didn’t care much about grades in Grade 9. We had a chemistry quiz every class on Tuesdays and I hardly remember studying for those. However, since I had a 2 hour bus ride every Monday, I studied on the bus. It was definitely a bumpy ride with terrible lighting, but I was bored and pushed through. Consequently, my chem grades skyrocketed 🤣. K-Pop dance Learning and performing dance covers doesn’t require or help me learn Korean. However, in order to keep up with the latest idols and trends, I had to be in-the-know and pick songs that are well received. Knowing this also helped with recruiting since people liked different idol groups and they wanted to dance to songs by their “oppas”. Traveling to Korea 7 years after I first started learning Korean, I had the opportunity to visit Korea. A lot of things have changed then, EngSci has robbed my time from dancing and my music taste has assimilated to what my friends were listening to, which were more American/Canadian. Insert Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Drake etc. Though I continued watching shows and dramas (when I should’ve been studying… RIP), so I was still connected to the culture and really wanted to experience it myself! After my internship in Asia, I took the dough and splurged on a solo trip to Japan and Korea for a month. Having learned Korean definitely helped me to get around and gave me the confidence to talk to strangers, which was something that I never did in Japan. The difference was stark and I had a much better time in Korea because of this. Anecdote: I almost couldn’t go on my trip because I planned the trip on paper but didn’t booked all the flights. When I arrived at the airport, I only booked a flight to Japan and not yet to Korea. It was about 30 mins before boarding and the airline staff checked my docs and told me that I couldn’t board unless I show proof that I’m not trying to stay forever in Japan. So I had to use my tiny iPhone 6 at the time and laggy airport WiFi to book a flight from Japan to Korea on the spot. Once I showed them the payment page, they let me in and I sprinted to security… 🤯 Lessons learned: Check the regulations on durations of stay for foreigners in your destination country, and make sure you have an outbound flight in case of Japan. After safely landing in Korean, I stayed in Seoul and made a trip to Nami island. I was able to read the signs, ask for directions, order food in Korean and most importantly, ask strangers to take photos for me :P #InstaTourist When I was visiting the Ihwa mural village (이화 벽화마을), I fell in love with the murals and wanted to take back a souvenir. I walked into the first craft store I saw and struck a conversation with the owner. Little did I know, that conversation led to taking a photo together, to helping me find a hairdresser (because obviously that’s what you do in Korea 💇🏻‍♀️), to having several meals together, and lastly, an unnie (sister) to talk to. As the story developed, I was in constant amazement that we were able to communicate despite… our differences. She spoke 100% Korean and I spoke 70% Korean and 30% body language. I think all the years of watching and listening to Korean content paid off, she didn’t sound foreign to me and I was able to understand most of what she said, especially the everyday expressions which were common in dramas. I definitely didn’t get all the grammar right but I was able to use the vocab I knew to put together sentences and make myself heard.We also added each other on Kakao Talk, the most popular messaging app in Korea. Even though I relied heavily on Google translate, but it gave me a chance to learn written Korean in the form of instant messaging where people use short forms and the Korean alphabet as emoticons like “ㅋㅋㅋ” or “ㅎㅎㅎ” to express laughter like “lol”. Needless to say, traveling to Korea is the absolute best way to learn Korean. Concerts You think going to concerts is jus

    21 min

  4. 01/02/2021

    Language Classes Got it Wrong: Forget Grammar, Develop a Language Instinct

    Hello Friends! I’m Fionna, a product manager, YouTuber and late-night FM DJ. Every Sunday I share a story on what inspires me to be creative and musings that week. I’m fascinated by design, technology, people, languages, and the idea that I can use them to reinvent myself. You will find that I express myself through different languages, witty mEmeS and impeccable formatting. Intrigued? Want more content like this in your inbox? Let this be our creative outlet. Twitter | YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | Newsletter | Spotify | Buy me a 🍍 🎙️ Listen to this story on Spotify Speaking first or grammar first? I have been using the "每日法语听力 (Daily French Listening)" app for the last 2 months. Every day it suggests a few episodes and I was delighted to discover the series "InnerFrench" by Hugo Cotton, a French teacher in Poland. After watching his videos, it dawned on me that why after years of learning French in school, it didn't enable me (or give me the courage) to have a meaningful conversation with native speakers. That's because schools or languages classes got the best order for learning reversed. In Hugo’s words: Le problème, c'est que quand on apprend une langue à l'âge adulte, on fait le contraire. On commence par apprendre la langue dans le registre formel, dans des livres de grammaire à l'école avec les professeurs, et puis ensuite, on essaye de s'exprimer de manière plus naturelle, plus informelle. Mais c'est assez difficile à faire parce qu'on a déjà une certaine rigidité à cause de toutes les règles qu'on a apprises avant. C'est pour ça qu'il faut vraiment essayer d'écouter des choses un peu plus informelles. Infants in France, anywhere really, start learning language from talking to their parents at home. They are constantly immersed in the environment, listening and making mistakes. They hear what French conversations “sound” like and how do their siblings ask for more candy. It’s all very informal and they are motivated by “survival” or getting the toy they want. In primary school, they start to learn grammar, expand their vocabulary and how to write formal essays etc. But when you look at adult language classes, it’s the complete opposite! We start with grammar. The boring stuff. Whenever I’m writing a sentence, I’m thinking: Should it be present tense, future tense, future simple, passé compose, l’imparfait? Should I use être or avoir? Is the word feminine or masculine? Is there an auxiliary? Do I pronounce the “ent”? The list goes on. So even before we get to speaking, we’re doing brain gymnastics to construct the perfect sentence. The result? We become literate mutes. Even if we want to speak naturally or express ourselves with personality, it’s too late. We’re stuck with the “correct” way of speaking which makes us sound just like everyone else. Worst of all, it makes us sound like the text book. So we need to develop this language instinct. Listen for 30+ mins everyday, speak using what you know, make a ton of mistakes to get the “feel” of how this language works. Somethings will come naturally and some won’t make any sense. Then, it’s time to pull up a textbook or Google to figure out what is right and solidify that through repetition. I learned about the book “The Language Instinct” by Steven Pinker from Hugo just this week. But in a New Year gift exchange, I said I wanted to get better with languages in 2021 and my colleague got me that book! It’s in an Amazon package somewhere and I can’t wait to read it! Leave me a comment if you’ve read it or want me to review it :) “Vous” vs “Tu”? Well, you could say that grammar gets easier after practice, then you can speak more freely. Of course that’s true. Hence my second point. The expressions we learn in textbooks are rigid and dry. Most importantly they don’t help with everyday conversations, which is the reason why many people are learning in the first place - to talk people. In textbooks, if there’s a mention of “you”, it uses “vous”, which is the formal version of “tu”. But unless you are President Macron, a news anchor, or speak to strangers often like customers, you would use “tu” instead of “vous” 90% of the time since you are talking to friends, colleagues or family daily. Even translation services like Google or Microsoft return “vous” when you intend to say “you”. Taking the famous phrase, “Je t’aime” or “I love you” that we hear in movies. I bet you have never heard anyone say “Je vous aime”. Clearly, there’s a misconnect here. I’ve been taught to use “vous” to address the other person because it’s the polite thing to do. But it serves no good when all I want is to talk to my friends who already speak French or make friends in French. By the way, the handy translator becomes useless when I want to to conjugate for “tu”. Even if I try to trick the system and translate from informal and formal Chinese, it still returns “vous” for both. How to talk like the French I’m in no way a French teacher and this is not intended to be a comprehensive lesson. However, as someone who has gone to school for French and is picking it back up with a new mindset, I'd love to reiterate some tips* for French learners so we can all speak this language naturally and confidently like a local. *These tips were inspired by Hugo’s videos which are absolutely amazing for learning French, and I linked the specific videos at the end of the post. Well, for starters: * Replace "nous" with "on" for saying we * Drop the "ne" in negatives: Je ne l’aime pas. → Je l'aime pas. * Shorten "tu as" to "t'as" Focus on the “familiar” register French has 3 major “registers” or levels of formality: formal, common, and familiar. Technically 6 according to this but “literary” and “slang” are not going to help us much here. The “familiar” register is what most people use every day in France for speaking with friends and family. It’s a mix of ‘light’ slang and formal French, and varies on the speakers’ age, level of education, personal vocabulary choice and above all, the context. [ref] An example from Hugo: Can you pass me the salt? * Formal: Pouvez-vous me passer le sel? * Common: Est-ce que tu peux me passer le sel? * Familiar: Tu peux me passer le sel? ← say this Ask questions in a natural way If you are like me who starts every question with “Qu’est-ce que …”, you might want to add these to your repertoire because we should avoid sounding like a textbook. How was the ? * Comment ça s’est passé, ton ? * Ça s’est bien passé, ton ? How is your going? * Comment c’était, tes / ton / le / la ? * C’en est où, ton ? * T’en es où avec ton ? * Ça avance ton ? What are you doing? * C'est quoi que tu es en train de faire? What’s this ? * C'est quoi ce truc ? How come …? * Comment ca se fait que …? What do you think (ask for an opinion)? * Common: Qu’est-ce que tu en penses? * Familiar: T’en penses quoi? ← say this * Familiar: A quoi tu penses? ← say this If you were me what would you do? * Tu ferais quoi à ma place? * Tu aurais fait quoi à ma place? (if the event already happened) Tell me more, why did you say that? * C’est-à-dire? * Qu’est-ce qui te fait dire ça? A Suggestion for Web Translators Give users the option to choose the level of formality. Is it for a formal or informal setting? Naver, the Korean search engine, nailed this. Its translation service called "Papago" has a toggle for “honorific” since Korean has 2 distinct levels of formality, and trust me, you do not want to get that mixed. So if I’m on a first name basis with that person, I can turn “honorific” off to get the informal translation. How convenient! Resources This post was inspired by Hugo’s videos and I’m not taking credit for anything. I recommend you to watch the following for a more comprehensive understanding of the topic. * Speak like the French? * Poser des questions plus naturelles en français * How to relearn French * 198 phrases and expressions to understand spoken French (pdf + audio) * The Language Instinct - Book by Steven Pinker There’s so much to learn about French, but I’m much more confident than before because I’ve found amazing resources and avenues to help me learn persistently and a “develop the language instinct” mindset to keep me on the naturel. If you found this helpful in anyway, I’d love it if you could share it with a friend or on social media - whichever floats your boat :) Leave a comment below if you have any questions or feedback, happy to keep the conversation going. See you next week! What’s coming to your inbox * Languages and me: Korean * My favorite widgets Where to find me * 👩‍💻 Twitter: @fionnagan * 👩‍🍳 YouTube: Fionna Gan * 👩‍🎤 Instagram: @fionna.gan * 👩‍🎓 LinkedIn: Fionna Gan * 🤹‍♀️ Newsletter: The Creative Outlet * 👩‍🚀 Voice: The Creative Outlet This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fionna.substack.com

    14 min

  5. 27/01/2021

    💌 A Love Story Between Languages and Me - Part 2: French 🇫🇷

    🎙️ Listen to the following story with music previews on Spotify. Hello Friends! I’m Fionna, a product manager, YouTuber and late-night FM DJ. Every Sunday I share a story on what inspires me to be creative and musings that week. I’m fascinated by design, technology, people, languages, and the idea that I can use them to reinvent myself. You will find that I express myself through different languages, witty mEmeS and impeccable formatting. Intrigued? Want more content like this in your inbox? Let this be our creative outlet. Twitter | YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | Newsletter | Spotify | Buy me a 🍍 I'm bilingual in Mandarin and English. As a hobby, I took French and Korean in high school and I'm still trying to keep them up in 2021. Through friends and travel, I also dabbled in learning Cantonese and Polish. Bonjour je m'appelle Fionna, je suis bilingue anglais et chinois et j'apprends le français et le coréen. In this series, I will unwind the "love letters" between me and these languages - what serendipitous encounters that started it all, the ups and downs, and where we are now. Thanks for reading Part 1. Today, let's talk about my favorite language of all. Le français 🇫🇷  English | French Français| Korean  한국어 | Cantonese  粤语 | Polish Polski | Mandarin 中文 Learning French in: Chinglish - English - Québecois - Traveling - Media - French - News Bonjour à toutes et à tous! But first… A Brief History Grade 6 - First encounter & 🦋 at first soundGrade 6 to 12 - Learned in class as a secondary language creditGrade 10 Summer - 5 week immersion program at Cégep de Jonquière (life changer!)2019 Summer - Travelled to Paris to get cultured and practice French (and watch the Roland Garros)2020 - Lessons on Lingoda.comCOVID-19 pandemic - Daily listening and reading Learning French in Chinglish As you know, I moved to Canada and started learning English at age 10. Before that, I have never heard of anyone speaking French. Since Canada has 2 official languages, English and French, I guess you could say that I had a "culture shock". One of the most pleasant culture shocks of all. Culture shock + a new language I vividly remember that cold snow day in school. During recess, my French teacher asked me how do I like French. "I love it! It sounds so ROMANTIC!", I said in total amazement while puffing out a massive cloud of breath. I used one of the few Chinese loanwords I know (Romantic → 罗曼蒂克 for reference) and probably didn't pronounce it correctly. He got it and chuckled as if he didn't expect such a blunt and rather affectionate response from someone who just started learning. Limited by my English vocabulary at that time, I think I was trying to say, it's a beautiful and sweet sounding language. It's poetically melodic. The whole "je ne sais quoi" vibe and the accent on its own just radiates fanciness and allurement. If you don't believe what I said in Grade 6, hear it from Rocket Languages and Mental Floss. Often considered to be the most romantic language in the world... and its pronunciation contributes to this euphony. French also builds upon centuries of music, poetry, art and culture that contribute to its romance and allure. With a good first impression, I started taking French in elementary school but I wasn't graded on it since I was in ESL. Regardless, I took the homework and looked up the English translation in Chinese to understand the words in French. French → English → Chinese → French “ah! oh la la”La pomme → Apple → 苹果 → La pomme Yup it was pretty convoluted and I used a physical dictionary to translate all that. #WhatsThat Since I was still trying to assimilate to this new and predominately English-speaking society, French took a back seat. Thankfully this changed in high school. Learning French in English Only Grade 9 French was mandatory, but I took it all the way to Grade 12. And that was my last time taking French in a classroom 😭. High School I was fluent in English by then and started to participate in class discussions. Taking French over other second languages offered was a no brainer and I loved it! I sat in front and looked forward to every class. French and Math were my 2 favorite subjects, you could tell because their binders were my favorite colors 💖💜. You see, learning French or languages in general is not hard. Unlike calculus, in order to a solve problem you have to know what theorems to use and how to use them. For some problems, it doesn’t matter how many theorems you memorize, if you don’t “see” which form it could be used, you still can’t solve it. But for French, it’s a matter of taking the time to practice reading, writing and most importantly speaking. It’s a linear function between input and output. #fran𝜍𝛼𝜄s Unfortunately, time too became a luxury. Grade 10 started and it was dawned on me that my grades and extra curricular activities mattered for college admissions. And if I wanted to study engineering or life sciences, I needed to get As in math and sciences. To some extent, that shift in perspective changed how I viewed French classes. I don’t know if everyone felt the same, or if anyone was studying to become a linguist. But compared to calculus or physics, French classes seemed… more chill. It could definitely be the teacher, he was always so relaxed. To me, in addition to being a language class, French classes were the escape from all the problem sets and Fermat contests. It was the left brain right brain balance I needed. The time I spent on French was getting less, and I didn't feel like I was improving much as a rightful reciprocation of how much I was putting in. I remember I was torn from making a decision between Visual Arts and French. I wanted to keep both but my timetable wouldn’t allow it. I would still pop back to the art room from time to time and look at the unfinished paintings on the racks, what new mediums are people experimenting? And I would greet the art teacher with a hint of guilt. Why did I give up art, why can’t science students have it all? #firstworldproblems Learning French in Québecois Immersion program in Jonquière I saw the program poster in the guidance counsellor’s room and applied right away. The program was truly immersive. In a town where 99% of the people didn’t speak French. I even chose to stay with a host family instead of the student dorm, hoping to practice more. The program was like summer school but in French. We had all sorts of classes on the weekdays like phy ed, art, music, improv, with a focus on learning French of course. On weekends, we'd go on trips with other students and explore Québec. There was one rule though, as long as we’re in the program we cannot speak English. It was a summer of many firsts. My host family was Christian, so before every meal we'd pray in French. Something I’ve never done before. In the evenings, we’d exchange stories and photos. I learned about their lives in Jonquière and why they became hosts. Another change was personal growth. I actually applied with a friend and packed our bags to take a coach to Jonquière. Due to personal reasons, my friend had to cancel last minute. This news put me in a predicament, but giving up was not an option. I rode the coach myself in disbelief and distress. How am I supposed to do this… alone? Time… quietly flew by. I learned a decent amount of French, learned to live with a host family that doesn't speak any English, and out of all, I had to look past all the plans we made, and make friends in this foreign place. For a 16 year old, it was a lot to take in. Luckily, another girl on the coach was also headed to Jonquière and we became great friends that summer. Sometimes all you need is a simple “Hi, I’m Fionna. Are you also going to Jonquière?”. In the end, I was used to not only speak in French but also think in French. When I returned, it actually took me a while to readjust as I kept saying “desolé” (sorry) whenever I’m passing by people. #CandianPoliteness Learning French through Traveling I went on a month-long trip to Europe in 2019 and stopped in Paris for a week. Largely because I'm a huge tennis fan and I've always wanted to watch Federer and Nadal play on clay (which I did!). Ok, I planned the trip around Roland-Garros. When I was in line to checkin, I struck up a conversation with the person in front of me. I told him I'm from Canada and can't wait to watch tennis tomorrow, and he said he's from another city and came to Paris to work. That was my first full on conversation with someone in France. I was honestly amazed at how helpful body language can be and the importance of adding a French accent to everything so it’s much more understandable. #FakeItTilIMakeIt In Paris, most people could speak English and were really helpful. Besides the announcements at Roland-Garros and in the subways, I didn't have any trouble getting around. Though it was nice to pretend that I’m from here but just speak terrible French. For my amusement, I tried to ask people questions to see how much of my French they could understand. Another interesting conversation I had in French was with these school girls I met while lining up to see Roger Federer. They were sent by the school’s tennis camp to watch the games, and naturally we bonded over our love for tennis and Federer. I wish I had asked for a photo with them. They were super cool. Learning French through Media This is perhaps the most entertaining and fulfilling way of learning. Imagine watching a movie, some French words came up and you jump out of your chair to nudge the person beside you, “Omg! I understood what he just said”. I’m not going to deny that never happened. My top 10 songs of the year have always included something in French. “Comme des enfants” is my all-time favourite from C

    23 min

  6. 18/01/2021

    💌 A Love Story Between Languages and Me - Part 1

    ps. you can listen to this post by playing the audio above! Hello Friends! I’m Fionna, a product manager, YouTuber and late-night FM DJ. Every Sunday I share a story on what inspires me to be creative and musings that week. I’m fascinated by design, technology, people, languages, and the idea that I can use them to reinvent myself. You will find that I express myself through different languages, witty mEmeS and impeccable formatting. Intrigued? Want more content like this in your inbox? Let this be our creative outlet. Twitter | YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | Newsletter | Spotify | Buy me a 🍍 I'm bilingual in Mandarin and English. As a hobby, I took French and Korean in high school and I'm still trying to keep them up in 2021. Through friends and travel, I also dabbled in learning Cantonese and Polish. In this series, I will unwind the "love letters" between me and these languages - what serendipitous encounters that started it all, the ups and downs, and where we are now. Cheesiness (+🤮) aside, let's get started with English. 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 English | French Français | Korean  한국어 | Cantonese  粤语 | Polish Polski | Mandarin 中文 Learning English in Mandarin My mother tongue is Mandarin as I lived in China for 10 years before moving to Canada. My elementary school started teaching English weekly in Grade 3. I remember the textbook was in Chinese but our teacher, Miss He, instructed us to only speak English in class. She was one of the best teachers I had. I enjoyed her classes so much that I volunteered to be the class rep where I collected homework and read textbooks out loud (🤓). That was a great introduction to English and I was hooked. However, the school system prioritized Math and Sciences. Right before exams, my favorite English (and Phys Ed.) classes would get replaced by "more important" classes. We would have our English textbooks out, as the bell rang, the Math teacher would walk in and tell us that we need this time to prep for the Math exam (true story, comment 😢 if it happened to you too!). Needless to say, English was not highly regarded by schools back then. Being a mandatory class instead of an elective, many students just wanted a pass. You can probably relate if you had to take French or Spanish in school 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️🙋. Learning English in English After 4 years of English "education", one 15-hour-plane-ride later, I found myself immersed in an environment where English is needed for survival and I couldn't even ask for directions. Good thing that Canada has an "English as a Second Language (ESL)" program where newcomers are offered English classes for free. For students, I also had a version of that but at the sacrifice of taking regular English classes. Anecdote: I was terrible at English but absolutely SMASHED Math, as you probably guessed. My entire class was astonished to see me ace the quiz so fast. What can I say, It was third grade Math to me at most 🤷‍♀️ #edupriorities I graduated ESL in middle school and finally started taking English with my class. We read literary classics, wrote essays and presented our views. At that point, my listening was pretty good, but writing and speaking were still lacking. What helped me the most was going out and talking to people. I never liked that "ESL" label and how people treated me differently at school. Instead, I went out to community centers, libraries and volunteer hubs where I discovered hobbies that would accompany me years later. After school, I would go to multiple community centers on my kiddy scooter, taking classes in dance, swimming, skateboarding, website design, basketball, and even creative writing. Everything that seemed fun and new. The people there didn't see me as an "ESL" student but just another gal who wants to have a good time. I was relaxed and got more comfortable expressing myself. Learning English through Student Clubs Whenever I think about high school, I still couldn't believe that I, who couldn't speak a few years ago, stood in front of the microphone and read morning announcements to the whole school. During the audition, I remember my body trembling so hard and couldn’t even hold the script still. After I was done, I couldn't look at anyone in the eye because I was convinced that I absolutely bombed it. Bless their hearts, they welcomed me to the Announcements Team! Looking back, I think that’s when everything changed. This external validation shut down the doubts in my head. It didn’t matter how much I reassured myself that “Yes, Fionna, you have no trouble speaking English”. But now it’s a fact that people can understand me through announcements”. This also planted the seed for me going into radio later on. With the seniors' help, I learned to speak with a big smile and a modulated tone so that my voice comes out friendlier through the speakers. Things that I never would've known if I didn't show up. Another game changer was speaking to lead. I started a dance club to perform at various events and led the "Free the Children: Me to We” club to fundraise and raise awareness. Both required me to recruit, facilitate meetings and resolve conflicts. Every day presented a different challenge, a scenario that I've never been in, and had to use words to carry the team or project forward. For dance, I had to teach the choreography in a way that members can understand and follow. With performances, I had to negotiate costume prices with vendors and collaborate with the stage crew on lighting design. These were experiences that I didn't know I had signed up for, but they taught me to use English in a different light. The scariest was delivering a speech to recruit for the "Me to We" club during school assemblies. Hundreds of students and staff sat in the audience with a spotlight on me. I revised my speech over and over again trying to sound persuasive, empathetic and inspiring. At that point, I think the mission and responsibility of contributing to a philanthropic cause completely changed my relationship with English. It had power. Beyond announcements on where clubs meetings are held, or which direction a dancer should spin. English can move you, excite you, influence you, and unite us to make a difference. In the world of “Me to We”, that’s one more school built in Kenya. Luckily I had a group of awesome friends, native speakers or not, who supported me and gave me space to learn and grow. It’s a cringe-fest whenever I watch these videos, but no regrets. Learning English through Engineering Recess is over, college wants no fluff, prove everything using the first principle. Praxis. Request-For-Proposals (RFPs). Lab reports. Presentations. Research papers. Thesis. If anyone told you that engineering only requires math skills and not English, they are wrong. Communication is king in any discipline. Even if you use symbols in your proof, you still need to know what they mean and when to use it. E.g. All writers on Substack are amazing. Fionna is a writer on Substack. ∴ Fionna is amazing. Q.E.D. In every lab, and every class had a lab 😭. Performing the experiment is only 20% of the work. Writing the introduction, theory, method, results & discussion, and conclusion are the other 80%. How you “twist” your conclusion if results didn’t match the hypothesis gives you the extra 10%. #tooreal By the end of college, I think I had 100x more .doc or .ppt files than .matlab. The amount of writing and presentations I had to do was insane, and they weren't anything like what I learned before. No one taught us how to write a response to a RFP or defend a thesis, so we all had to learn this cold, logical and meticulously numerated "Engineering English" wrapped up in a table of contents as we pulled all-nighters in the common room. #goodtimes #butnomoreplz Needless to say, Engineering English is pragmatic. It’s used to describe a proposal, //comment on what this gibberish code printlns, record results in significant figures, legalize an agreement and direct people out of dangerous situations. It’s cold, dry and feels distant. There's no room for hand-wavy stuff and very little room for imagination. Yet through these seemingly emotionless words, we’re able to innovate and send people to outer space. Learning English through Product Management If the RFPs I wrote in college were theoretical, then the RFPs I write as a PM are the real deal. We call them "specs". I got into product management by chance. I wrote biomedical research papers but nothing related to software. Engineering taught me critical thinking and the different perspectives needed to solve a problem. So the idea of RFPs weren't novel, but it still took me some time to write English in yet another way. PMs are natural communicators, or that's how we want you to think. Because it's literally our job to talk to everyone and make sure we're "aligned". #PMJargon How we write specs will directly impact the product, and we must think from the perspective of a user. It's no wonder that a typical requirement starts with, "As a user, I want X so that I can do Y". If you are a good PM, you also need to combine English words with Arabic numerals to define OKRs and KPIs. Taking this newsletter as an example: Objective – successfully launch a weekly email newsletter * Key Results * Viewed by 300+ people per post * Gain 5 new subscribers every week * Get shared on 5 different platforms * Collect feedback from 10% of the readers It goes without saying, after 4 years of being a PM, my understanding and use of English has evolved yet again. It's a tool I use to facilitate

    17 min
  • 6 Episodes

About

Hi! I'm Fionna, a product manager, YouTuber and late night FM DJ. Every week I share ideas on tech, design, languages and productivity @ The Creative Outlet! fionna.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Fionna
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Fionna Gan
  • Show Website
    The Creative Outlet