Prática de Shadowing: Humans and multitasking - How much can we do simultaneously? | DW Documentary - Aprenda a falar inglês com vídeo
Escolha um modo de prática
Cada modo abre uma sala de prática em tela cheia.
329 frases
Se as frases estiverem muito curtas ou longas, clique em Edit para ajustá-las.
1
For many of us, multitasking has become routine.
2
But does performing several tasks at the same time really make sense?
3
Our brain is not good at tackling two different tasks simultaneously.
4
It causes stress that can be measured.
5
We know that stress can damage various areas of the brain.
6
So what does multitasking actually do to us?
7
The magic power of multitasking is to create the subjective illusion that we are achieving a great deal.
8
It’s a feeling nourished first and foremost by the digital world.
9
Seductive yet demanding, it keeps us constantly on the go.
10
Because we’re always in reception mode for everything, our actual attention span is reduced.
11
Today, it is considered quite normal to be constantly accessible while performing some other task.
12
Sometimes multitasking is also productive.
13
It’s about finding the right degree and structure.
14
But where is the limit?
15
How does our brain react when it has to perform different tasks simultaneously?
16
And what about the body? Are there also positive effects, perhaps?
17
And is it true that some people handle multitasking better than others.
18
We humans are quite capable of doing different things at the same time.
19
But that depends on the tasks and the conditions.
20
During the pandemic, many parents were forced to juggle childcare and working from home. But is this what we mean by multitasking?
21
The term multitasking is not always used in one rigid sense.
22
To some it really does mean doing at two things at the same time.
23
Others see multitasking as co-ordinating two different life roles: Like being a parent and having a job.
24
The term multitasking actually comes from computing.
25
It describes the ability of an operating system to perform several tasks simultaneously.
26
The human brain is also a gigantic, complex computing center.
27
But, it’s no computer.
28
Machines function solely along mathematical lines.
29
They are characterized by their ability to process and store vast amounts of data very quickly.
30
By comparison, our brain works in a selective way...
31
constantly absorbing information, even when we’re not aware of it.
32
Most processes, of course, take place subconsciously.
33
That simply depends on how many processes are automated.
34
It’s then easier for them to take place parallel to others.
35
But our capacity for solving problems that involve new and, in particular, more complex mental performances is very limited.
36
The constant filtering and selection of incoming information is carried out by the thalamus in the interbrain.
37
The main switching center for the sensory organs, the thalamus passes relevant information on to the cerebral cortex.
38
Everything that we see, hear, feel, taste, or smell is processed in the cerebral cortex which is also responsible for what we think, learn, and memorize.
39
It is the anterior cingulate cortex, or the ACC, which controls our conscious focus.
40
If, for instance, we have to perform three different tasks and manage to do so successfully, this is only because we focus on task number one while suppressing the challenge posed by tasks two and three. When we switch to task number two, we suppress the challenge posed by tasks one and three.
41
And we need strength for this.
42
It calls for great attention and, above all, self-discipline.
43
In many situations we overestimate our capacities and, as a result, even put ourselves in danger.
44
Driving is still a highly complex activity even for experienced motorists.
45
Using your smartphone while at the wheel is illegal - for good reason.
46
Tests carried out in Germany and the United States have shown that the attention of a motorist using a mobile phone is reduced by 40%.
47
That is like having a blood-alcohol level of between 0.8 and 1.1 per mil.
48
Our subject, an experienced motorist, wants to find out for herself and has turned up for some driver safety training.
49
She has to cover a certain distance over which she will face various challenges.
50
From time to time she has to read and write messages on her smartphone or make a call - just like in real life.
51
Our motorist is well aware that she is in a special test situation and that her attention is being divided. Nevertheless...
52
Someone losing concentration for just two seconds at 50 km/h drives blindly for nearly thirty metres.
53
Here, too, it’s a case of distraction through parallel digital communication.
54
In this college seminar the lecturer is constantly competing with the entire online world.
55
Yet studies carried out at five German universities showed that the performance of students using smartphones during a lecture drops by about thirty per cent.
56
And what about you? How do you divide your attention?
57
How many platforms can you handle simultaneously without having the feeling that it’s just too much?
58
I’ve noticed that, for instance, I can’t discuss something with my mother while tying my shoelaces. I admit that I just can’t do it.
59
I’ve got one device for Zoom, and I usually have an I-Pad for making notes or whatever.
60
I might also have Instagram on my phone. But then, when I get a message, I notice that I’m no longer concentrating on the lecture and need to re-focus. So I am not really good at multitasking.
61
From time to time I listen to Spotify.
62
I don’t have it on loud, just in the background.
63
Following the lecture is no problem.
64
Psychologists at Zurich University have been studying exactly what happens in the human brain when it is confronted simultaneously with learning material and music.
65
After all, many people listen to music while they are working.
66
They think it helps them concentrate better.
67
Some learning theories even support this idea.
68
In the Zurich experiment, subjects learn sometimes with and sometimes without music.
69
Here, for example, a student is learning English vocabulary while listening to classical music. Her brain activity is being recorded.
70
Matthias Kobi, the PhD student who is running the experiment keeps a close eye on the EEG curves.
71
Together with the head of the study, Professor Lutz Jäncke, the young scientist is monitoring how the woman’s brain is coping with dual tasks. Although he’s actually a great lover of music, Professor Jäncke would never listen to music while working.
72
And he has his reasons.
73
If you are learning vocabulary, for example, while listening to music, you should really be focusing solely on learning vocabulary and suppressing whatever music triggers in your brain - fighting it, in a way.
74
And that costs strength and effort. We can’t do it for very long.
75
In the laboratory Professor Jäncke has shown visibly how a composition by Vivaldi triggers virtual storm waves in the brain.
76
This leaves little room for coping with additional tasks and other stimuli.
77
There are certain exceptions: When you work in an open-plan office and our surrounded by stimuli, you might put on headphones and listen to predictable music - like lounge music or relatively simple music which to a certain extent has a predictable structure.
78
That is a lesser evil compared to constantly changing, unexpected stimuli.
79
It all depends on how strongly our attention is challenged.
80
We can calculate fairly accurately that eleven million bits of information impact on our senses every second.
81
But we can only consciously process between eleven and sixty bits of it.
82
Just think about that for a moment: Eleven million bits versus between eleven and sixty bits.
83
So we have to consciously select this consciously processed information.
84
But how do we do that? In a soundproof chamber at the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment in Dortmund, Professor Edmund Wascher and his team are studying how our speech comprehension functions.
85
This particular experiment focuses on the cocktail party effect.
86
It involves a situation in which, just like at a cocktail party, we are surrounded by lots of sensory stimuli.
87
Here, three people can be heard at once.
88
So how does our brain sort this babble of voices?
89
To a certain extent it’s like a filter, but one that is always based on mutual interference, in other words on competition between the various types of information or the neurons which process certain types of information.
90
In this experiment, the research team in Dortmund want to determine the importance of additional visual information - like mouth movements — for speech comprehension.
91
This research is becoming increasingly important, especially for our working lives.
92
There can be no doubt that through the new technologies and also through digitization in many areas we have to process far more information than in the past.
93
Many more jobs these days involve information processing.
94
So a challenge exists today that cannot be compared with what we had twenty or thirty years ago.
95
Job offers often stress the need for applicants to be capable of multitasking.
96
So does this mean that anyone applying must be able to handle as many things as possible at once, without being deterred by interruptions?
97
It seems the ideal efficient employee is now considered someone who can communicate easily with colleagues, customers, and bosses, who is always available and accessible, and who can work on several digital devices at once while keeping track of all their tasks.
98
The phenomenon of multitasking is not only found in an office environment but also in the production sector.
99
The change in the world of work has also changed research into the working environment.
100
In the past such research tended to focus on physical demands.
101
Today the emphasis is mainly on mental pressures.
102
To what extent does our head play along when, for instance, it has to process information while completing a physical task?
103
In this boating experiment subjects have to negotiate obstacles without losing their balance on the swaying deck: A mental but also a motory challenge.
104
The ultramodern gait laboratory allows for tests in extreme situations, without the risk.
105
The focus in the boating experiment is mainly on physical co-ordination, on stability and also on movement planning.
106
The next experiment also calls for maximum concentration.
107
This time the subject has to cross a suspension bridge.
108
What is simulated here in a virtual environment provides important information for structuring our world of work.
109
Just think of a roofer or, in a different context, of people working in logistics who have to process various forms of information but who have to do so while moving.
110
In certain industrial contexts there is increasing use of data glasses.
111
Information is presented directly in the glasses. So it is omnipresent.
112
And that is a situation we know too little about in order to say for certain not only that safety is guaranteed during walking but also that all information can be processed correctly.
113
Inside the modern workplace the interface between people and technology is becoming increasingly important.
114
A fairly new area of research known as cognitive neuro-ergonomics focuses mainly on studying the new mental demands at the workplace.
115
How do we cope with the many challenges?
116
What is the advantage of working on several things at once?
117
Does it really make us faster and more effective?
118
Or, conversely, is multitasking counter-productive?
119
Doctors, and especially nursing staff, often deal with multiple demands and work interruptions.
120
Constantly switching between caring directly for patients, administrative tasks, and organizing a hospital ward is stressful.
121
Scientists have been taking a closer look at the everyday routine in hospitals.
122
Amongst other things we have carried out studies involving carers on an early shift who, depending on whatever task they are performing, are interrupted between 60 and 120 times. If they are preparing medication, for example, this could result in disastrous mistakes being made.
123
Working in an emergency centre like the Trauma Hospital Berlin requires not only a practiced routine but also a high degree of flexibility.
124
According to Dr. Johanna Ludwig, outsiders often have no idea what this entails.
125
Seriously injured cases are rarely seen in a waiting room.
126
They come in through a different entrance and are taken straight to a shock room.
127
They require a large number of staff and a lot of time.
128
And, naturally, they take priority over everything else.
129
But people in the waiting room find it hard to understand why they are having to wait so long.
130
With apparently nothing happening, they often think that, instead of working, doctors and nurses are sitting around drinking coffee when, in fact, they are perhaps in the shock room saving someone’s life.
131
Urgency is determined on the basis of an initial medical assessment.
132
The triage system lays down clear criteria.
133
Colours illustrate the time windows involved.
134
Red means the patient needs immediate treatment.
135
Orange means that doctors have ten minutes to spare.
136
Green and blue represent the less serious cases.
137
But not all procedures are predictable... that’s where flexibility comes in.
138
Triage is an excellent system, but in my opinion, teamwork and co-operation are at least as important.
139
So if a nurse who has been working in the emergency centre for fifteen years comes to me and says: Johanna, I’m worried about a patient.
140
You need to take a look. I go and check - even if the patient has been triaged green and I would actually have an hour’s time to spare.
141
As a rule, seriously injured patients are announced ten minutes in advance.
142
So the hospital team is already waiting.
143
Despite the time pressure, here, there is no hectic activity.
144
The calm and focused handover of the patient is an important point in the process.
145
Second to third-degree burns covering 15% of the body sustained this morning and caused through using a fire accelerant.
146
For a minute we don’t look at the patient or talk to him or her.
147
We just listen to what happened. It’s a totally structured procedure.
148
What took place? How did it happen?
149
That’s especially important in trauma surgery.
150
What sort of forces were involved?
151
What kind of an accident pattern are we talking about?
152
What has been done already?
153
Only then is the patient transferred and treatment commenced.
154
Where multitasking is concerned, optimum workflows and clear communication are of major importance.
155
Scientists at Koblenz University are studying how that takes place in a totally different environment: Large commercial enterprises.
156
In business management it is always said that there is too much multitasking.
157
And we definitely see that in companies, too.
158
Basically, the problem has been recognized. But it is hard to remedy.
159
The big question is how to maintain an overall view of the diverse existing and incoming tasks?
160
Here, incoming and completed tasks are represented in totally analogous fashion with stickers.
161
What at first glance seems somewhat out-of-date in our digital world is, in fact, totally appropriate.
162
The more abstract tasks are, the more complex and the more digital they are, the more important it is for us to break things down and depict them.
163
If ten machines are half-finished in a factory, being physical entities they are much easier for someone to see than ten customer enquiries which have all been embarked on to some degree but without clients having seen any results.
164
In our model factory here at Koblenz University we make the processes in a fictional truck plant visible and really comprehensible.
165
It starts with purchase, with procurement.
166
So here at the back we have the suppliers.
167
Then we have the receiving area, then warehousing.
168
This is the intralogistics sector with various production stations - and, finally, dispatch.
169
So the aim, here too, is to identify uncontrolled, negative multitasking and to find ways of doing things better.
170
And that is necessary in many areas.
171
In a major study involving participants from both trade and industry, Professor Komus and the Vistem consultancy found that 20% of capacity is wasted and 25% of turnover is lost through permanent multitasking in project management.
172
Our most important discovery was that the situation really is as bad as is always claimed.
173
There is a lack of clear structures, clear objectives.
174
Prioritization is not very clearly defined.
175
So we have to assume that there really is too much multitasking in many areas of companies and organizations.
176
Above all, there is no structure, no system, for addressing this problem.
177
One of the participants in the study was Swiss company Endress & Hauser, one of the world’s leading providers of process and laboratory technology.
178
The company develops highly specialized measuring devices.
179
And recently, with the push for automation, digitization, and sustainability, demands on the company have risen enormously.
180
Over time we have found that although our staff are working more and more and being exposed to increasing stress, in the final analysis less is being achieved.
181
We wanted to make use of the latest scientific findings in order to improve this situation.
182
The study involved online surveys and extensive interviews with workers and management in order to examine the work process from various angles.
183
The major question - at what point in the process do multiple stresses occur?
184
Indeed, the main problem was that the people doing the work, in this case the development teams, simply had to handle too many tasks from a wide range of areas - and that every task had top priority.
185
This situation results in overload in a team.
186
Consequently, separate work areas were created within the open-plan office.
187
Now, the software developers can work with fewer disturbances and coordinate better with one another. The company restructured work loads and got rid of the fourteen-day phases known as sprints.
188
Now, management, clients, and staff together determine realistic targets, individual workloads, and prioritize tasks.
189
The result is a transparent and connected workplace.
190
Where efficiency is concerned, I’d say that we have improved by a factor of three to four.
191
Coordination within the team and being able to work undisturbed is destressing for everyone.
192
In general, being completely immersed in a hobby or a task has a positive effect on our sense of success and our feeling of happiness.
193
This is called the flow experience. Interruptions and disturbances - multitasking in other words — has exactly the opposite effect.
194
At Lübeck University, Professor Corinna Peifer is studying the impact of multitasking on flow at the workplace.
195
As part of a diary study, over a week we randomly interrupted employees twice a day and asked them about their experiences over the last half an hour.
196
We asked them how much multitasking they’d had to show in the last half an hour and also how much flow they had experienced.
197
Our study shows that multitasking has a negative impact on flow experience.
198
Embarking on too much, leaving too much unfinished, having a guilty conscience and always being digitally accessible, leads to permanent stress.
199
But what is the actual root of the problem?
200
As a specialist in digital sociology Professor Dominique Boullier studies the social effects of new technologies.
201
He analyses the impact digital factors have on human relations and the world of work.
202
The concept of the polyvalent employee is directly linked to a management model which is now widespread: I must at all times be available and accessible for all tasks and able to handle everything simultaneously.
203
I can react to everything in a micro-second, so to speak.
204
That’s the sort of level we are talking about in the world of finance, for example. But if we force people to work in this way, it leads directly to the burn-out situations which are commonplace in companies today: At some point people no longer manage to react to everything in an equal way. Some people even see this as a challenge.
205
They think that they can handle it, that they’ve got everything under control.
206
But in reality they’re exhausting themselves, and at some point they collapse.
207
Frank Richter also wanted to do too much at once for too long.
208
I was so glad to get help. I actually sought help because I’d said to myself: You just can’t go on like this.
209
Often, the only way out of the multitasking trap is a strict break.
210
Mr. Richter came to me in a state of serious exhaustion.
211
Over a long period of time a massive, stressful work load had led to depressive exhaustion.
212
In his case this manifested itself first and foremost in what we call agitated depression: He was really pumped up, restless, tense.
213
He couldn’t get to sleep. His concentration was poor.
214
And he brooded a lot. In other words, his entire mental apparatus was churned up but at the same time seriously exhausted.
215
You can compare it to hitting the brake and the accelerator simultaneously.
216
Patients suffering from accumulated stress recover in specialized clinics for psychosomatic and mental disorders.
217
They re-develop a normal feeling for time and their own personal needs.
218
Here, at the Gezeiten Haus clinic near Magdeburg patients are helped with practices taken from traditional Chinese medicine.
219
Mindfulness exercises are an antidote, so to speak, to multitasking.
220
With mindfulness you focus on being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling in the moment.
221
I blank out everything: Where I am, what time it is, what day.
222
No extraneous thoughts: I’m totally within myself.
223
I’m totally focused on myself.
224
The effects of meditation on a brain stressed by multitasking can be measured.
225
In the Neuroradiology Department at the Rechts der Isar Hospital in Munich psychologist Dr. Britta Hölzel examines subjects with an MRI scanner.
226
We see how the brain can be damaged through extremely high stress levels over a long period of time, in other words when a large amount of cortisol is released.
227
Cortisol has a negative impact on neurons in the hippocampus, for example.
228
We also see that stress can reduce the density of the grey matter.
229
On the other hand we also see that the density of the grey matter can increase again through mindfulness meditation.
230
But that is not the only area of the brain that interests scientists in this context.
231
A study carried out several years ago showed that people who do a lot of media multitasking have a lower density of grey matter in the anterior cingulate cortex, the ACC.
232
This area of the brain is highly interesting because it is important for mindfulness regulatory processes.
233
So if we want to stay focused on something but are distracted by other stimuli, the ACC helps us concentrate on what we want to do at that moment.
234
Various studies into mindfulness meditation show that both the function and the structure of this cerebral region can be strengthened through mediation.
235
Building regenerative phases into the patient’s life actually means changing his lifestyle.
236
But effecting a lifestyle change is not easy: Even after an average eight-week stay at the clinic, a patient is still the same person, of course.
237
In fact, it takes a long time - one to two years — for things to become firmly established.
238
Having to do many things at once makes some people ill, while others seem to do it with ease.
239
So can some people cope better with multitasking than others?
240
Young people look at their smartphone or tablet up to 150 times a day.
241
But, through this constant switching from the online to the offline world, in reality they are only partially present in their own life and quickly become bored.
242
Experts talk of a fragmented presence, both at work and also in leisure.
243
It’s a problem many are not even aware of.
244
In this seminar the lecturer is discussing the phenomenon with students who offer their own personal experiences.
245
You’ll be well aware through your parents and grandparents - and through the generation younger than you — that attention spans change, that something new has to happen faster.
246
Just when we start to get restless, when we need a fresh stimulus, can actually be measured.
247
Sometimes I find it impossible to control.
248
Occasionally I might find texting friends more interesting, or I might find a video on YouTube easier to follow than the Netflix series I’m watching.
249
Sometimes I notice that I’m doing two things at once.
250
I don’t really know if this is something I can influence.
251
Scientists talk of a worrying trend: an increasingly impulse-driven state: A kind of addiction.
252
This is attributable to the nerve cells in our forebrain, in the nucleus accumbens.
253
It is here that the body’s own reward, or pleasure, centre is located.
254
It is stimulated by the messenger substance dopamine and also plays a decisive role in addiction.
255
When this neurotransmitter docks onto the corresponding receptors, it gives us positive feelings: Sensations we want to experience time and again.
256
Situated in this area of the brain is the driving force for all our behaviour.
257
If this reward system is constantly triggered by new stuff, a kind of addiction can arise.
258
Push notifications, likes and constant distractions: This is the stuff which plays a central role in our multitasking everyday lives.
259
That’s because our pleasure centre is greedy for newer and newer stimuli, and thus for the release of dopamine, the happiness hormone.
260
The design of the interfaces in social networks favours a kind of multitasking.
261
There are a number of minor stimuli and signals with a very low cognitive intensity.
262
These extremely minor signals are followed by ultra-fast reactions.
263
So, no matter what we are doing at any moment, in the background - in the peripheral attention sphere — we still manage to pick up what is happening on Instagram, on YouTube, and so on. And we react. But what have we reacted to?
264
We see a headline, a hashtag, and say: Oh, so that’s what this is about.
265
And we just press the button. Done!
266
That doesn’t take a lot of cognitive energy.
267
So we get the feeling that we are handling a host of things and following diverse strings of information because we no longer take the time to focus on the content.
268
The way social networks are designed intensifies the illusion we get from multitasking even more.
269
But in reality our attention level has been lowered to simple alarm stimuli.
270
And that is what we react to.
271
Digital natives... the generation which has grown up with social networks and with a hoard of information and communication possibilities on offer...
272
handle various devices with ease and also seem to be better conditioned for multitasking. But appearances can be deceptive.
273
I’d briefly like to mention one aspect from a neuroscience perspective.
274
You mustn’t forget that the brain matures.
275
And it does so in a totally typical process.
276
One very specific area, the frontal cortex, takes a relatively long time to reach an adult state.
277
So around puberty this cerebral structure is not yet capable of unfolding the appropriate inhibitory processes to cope with rising emotional stimuli.
278
And precisely that is the problem not only in puberty but also with adolescents: They are born into a world which bombards them with many impulse challenges, and they don’t even have the hardware, the basis to counteract these challenges with the appropriate inhibitors.
279
As part of a priority programme some twenty German universities are studying various aspects of multitasking.
280
Their spokesman is cognitive psychologist Professor Iring Koch.
281
On a personal level he’s interested in the trainability of the human brain.
282
We asked him to take a look at a performance by Harry Kahne, a vaudeville artist of the 1920s who amazed his audiences with his extraordinary feats as a mental marvel.
283
As an entertainer and author, Kahne advocated mental training programmes for everyone.
284
Upside down and backwards.
285
I am going to spell every word backwards and I’m going to try and talk to you at the same time.
286
This example shows quite clearly that with an enormous amount of practice even difficult tasks can be combined really well.
287
But we can also see that Kahne’s demonstration isn’t totally smooth.
288
If we look closely at the motor coordination of his writing movements, in my opinion it shows that these difficult tasks are combined in such a way that they don’t actually overlap.
289
The tiny pauses, and the slightly longer pauses between the words, make the whole performance a tad less than fluent.
290
Young people really are more proficient at dealing with several attention flows simultaneously.
291
So this certainly is an evolution in terms of cognitive capacity.
292
But even young people today have to learn ways of spreading their attention in a sequential way: Some things always have to be suppressed somewhat.
293
What they cannot do is handle two tasks simultaneously with the same degree of attention.
294
In general, it’s thought that women are better at multitasking than men.
295
An international study carried out in the United States, the Netherlands, and Germany, showed that half of those interviewed - men and women — believed that the two sexes have different multitasking capabilities.
296
And 80% were of the opinion that women are better at multitasking.
297
Psychologist Dr. Patricia Hirsch from Aachen University has tested this assumption in a laboratory experiment.
298
So how realistic is this widespread idea? And what’s the basis for it?
299
People believe that women are better at multitasking than men because in everyday life they are confronted with more multitasking situations. They have to do the housework, for example, and often have to hold down a job as well.
300
For Patricia Hirsch’s study male and female subjects had to perform simple reaction tasks on a screen.
301
For example, they had to determine whether a letter was a vowel or a consonant and whether a number was odd or even.
302
Greater attention was called for when the exercises were presented in a mixed form - in other words when they had to be solved under multitasking conditions.
303
The time needed was noted along with the number of errors they made when they had to focus on several things at once.
304
The results of our study show that, where multitasking performance is concerned, there is no difference between men and women.
305
So there is no convincing empirical evidence that women are more capable of multitasking than men.
306
Yet even though other studies have produced similar findings, the old cliché persists - perhaps because it’s more convenient that way.
307
And what about the older section of society?
308
In Europe the proportion of over-fifty-year-olds in the working population continues to grow.
309
There is clear evidence that our cognitive capabilities diminish as we approach old age.
310
So it could be assumed, that the elderly have problems with multitasking.
311
If we take a close look at the world of work and compare younger with older employees, the stereotype just isn’t true.
312
Indeed, people who have built up a level of competence in their field over many years actually achieve more in their job.
313
So younger employees have to compensate through their perhaps greater mental speed, while their old colleagues know short-cuts.
314
We now know that even older brains change as a result of learning.
315
And I would like to see fifty, sixty, and even seventy- year-olds spending one hour a day working in a calm and concentrated way.
316
This would also give a huge innovation push, because in my opinion there is still a vast capacity reservoir in elderly people that is going unused.
317
Yet in aging societies there is a distinct need for this capacity.
318
That is also why we must structure our world of work to protect ourselves from excessive stress and premature wear-out.
319
We already have laws on working hours.
320
Now, with France leading the way, attempts are being made throughout Europe to define a right to be non-accessible.
321
Trade unions in Germany are also involved in similar negotiations.
322
And in industry the first positive examples can be seen.
323
There are a certain number of large companies, like HP for example, which have limited the times when emails can be answered - because it is not only the social networks that can generate a lot of pressure. So can emails.
324
Consequently, there is a period in the morning and another in the late afternoon when emails can be answered.
325
And people don’t expect their own emails to be answered.
326
Much research focusses on how much stress the brain can take, how we can protect ourselves from the increasing flood of information, and how we can better cope with our digital everyday lives.
327
But there is no single answer.
328
A few suggestions for escaping the multitasking spiral...
329
ticking off completed tasks one by one, taking breaks, exercising, and resolutely stopping work at the end of the day.
Baixar aplicativo
Tudo o que você precisa para falar fluentemente
Pronúncia com IANota em cada frase
Prática de IPADomine cada som
VocabulárioMonte seu banco de palavras
Jogo de vocabulárioAprenda brincando
Mesmo canal
B21
BookTok and Gen Z - Are young people saving the book market? | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C11
North Korea's alliance with China and Russia | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B2China's competition for living space | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
Cheap and toxic - The dark side of mass-produced fashion jewelry from China | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C1Money, happiness and eternal life - Greed (1/2) | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C13
Skin: Multitalented and underappreciated | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C12
Virtual love - How dangerous are AI relationships? | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B24
What it's like to be a working homeless person in Germany | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C111
Global renewables: Pioneering the energy transition | DW Documentary
IELTS PrepBusiness EnglishUniversity Students
B27
Father unknown? Life as a sperm donor's child | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B24
Our memory - A phenomenal storage system | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B22
The secret to concentration - How to increase your attention span | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C12
Junk food, sugar and additives - The dark side of the food industry | DW Documentary
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
C18
Can trees save the planet? | DW Documentary
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C1New work - The future of toil | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B2Loneliness in young people - Ways out of isolation | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2No future in Germany? Why skilled Polish workers are going home | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C1Artificial intelligence and psychotherapy | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C1Do we need to eat meat? | DW Documentary
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C1Smart insects - The astonishing intelligence of bumblebees, wasps & co. | DW Documentary
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
FOR YOU
Vídeo recomendado
C13
73 frases
We could make every human on Earth rich and happy—if we decided to | Agustín Fuentes
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
171 frases
How to Learn New Languages Faster and The Surprising Brain Benefits of Being Bilingual
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C111
121 frases
Neuroscientist Explains: Why You're Always Tired (and How to Fix It)
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
85 frases
We Can Now Simulate a Human Brain, Scientists Show
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B25
10 frases
Is smart technology making us dumb? | GMF compact
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C112
79 frases
The 15% Rule: How to Learn Faster | Andrew Huberman
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C1110
6 frases
Neuroscience of Time
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C12
122 frases
The Rise of the Machines – Why Automation is Different this Time
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
290 frases
This 19th Century Cure For Brain Rot Will Make You Unstoppable
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
50 frases
The Science of Stress: How Does Stress Affect Our Brains and Bodies?
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C15
235 frases
Your brain wasn't built to hold this much information | Richard Cytowic
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C121
25 frases
Is Binge Watching Bad For You?
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Vocabulário e dicas de fala para esta lição
Esta aula de conversação usa o vídeo “Humans and multitasking - How much can we do simultaneously?”. Este vídeo tem 329 frases e 5370 palavras para praticar shadowing. A fala dura 42:01. O falante mantém um ritmo estável de cerca de 128 palavras por minuto, confortável para o shadowing. Apenas 80% das palavras estão entre as 3.000 mais comuns do inglês, por isso o vocabulário é exigente.
Vocabulário principal deste vídeo
15 palavras do vídeo que vale a pena aprender, com pronúncia e significado:
| Palavra | Pronúncia | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| simultaneously advérbio | /ˌsaɪmlˈteɪnɪəsli/ | simultaneamente |
| stimulus substantivo | /ˈstɪm.jə.ləs/ | estímulo |
| experiment substantivo | /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/ | experimento, experiência |
| cognitive adjetivo | /ˈkɑɡ.nɪ.tɪv/ | cognitivo |
| involve verbo | /ɪnˈvɑlv/ | envolver |
| accessible adjetivo | /əkˈsɛs.ɪ.bəl/ | acessível |
| react verbo | /ɹiːˈækt/ | reagir |
| cortex substantivo | /ˈkɔɹtɛks/ | córtex |
| everyday adjetivo | /ˈɛvɹiˌdeɪ/ | cotidiano |
| laboratory substantivo | /ˈlæb(ə)ɹəˌtɔɹi/ | laboratório |
| workplace substantivo | /ˈwɝkˌpleɪs/ | local de trabalho |
| cerebral adjetivo | /səˈɹi.bɹəl/ | cerebral |
| extent substantivo | /ɪkˈstɛnt/ | extensão |
| priority substantivo | /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/ | prioridade, prioridades |
| increasingly advérbio | cada vez mais |
Phrasal verbs que você vai ouvir
| Palavra | Pronúncia | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| carry out verbo | /ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/ | carregar |
| burn out verbo | apagar-se | |
| lay down verbo | desistir, recuar | |
| pick up verbo | pegar | |
| wear out verbo | desgastar |
Frases que vale a pena repetir
Frases curtas e completas do vídeo que você pode usar na conversa do dia a dia:
- How do you divide your attention?
- I admit that I just can’t do it.
- We can’t do it for very long.
- How do we cope with the many challenges?
- Does it really make us faster and more effective?
Gramática neste vídeo
As estruturas que o falante mais usa, com as palavras exatas do vídeo:
| Estrutura | No vídeo |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — uma ação que começou antes e continua | have been studying · have been taking · has been working |
| Present perfect have/has + particípio passado — uma ação passada que ainda importa agora | has become · have shown · has turned |
| Voz passiva be + particípio passado — o foco está no que acontece, não em quem faz | can be measured · is reduced · is considered |
| Orações relativas who / which + oração — informação extra sobre uma pessoa ou coisa | cortex which is · student who is · one that is |
Pronúncia para ficar de olho
O falante usa 34 contrações e formas reduzidas, como I'm, don't, can't. Diga-as na forma curta, do jeito que você ouve.
- Os sons de “th”: thirty /ˈθɝti/, smooth /smuːð/, thalamus /ˈθæləməs/
- Os sons de “sh” e “zh”: concentration /ˌkɑn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/, addiction /əˈdɪkˌʃən/, meditation /mɛdɪˈteɪʃn̩/, shock /ʃɔk/, illusion /ɪˈl(j)uːʒ(ə)n/
- Palavras longas — acerte a sílaba tônica: simultaneously /ˌsaɪmlˈteɪnɪəsli/, experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, accessible /əkˈsɛs.ɪ.bəl/, laboratory /ˈlæb(ə)ɹəˌtɔɹi/, priority /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/
Sons difíceis para falantes de português:
- Consoante final — sem acrescentar um “i” depois: experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, react /ɹiːˈækt/, extent /ɪkˈstɛnt/, psychologist /ˌsaɪˈkɑl.ə.d͡ʒɪst/, vast /væst/
- /l/ final — a língua toca o céu da boca, não vira “u”: accessible /əkˈsɛs.ɪ.bəl/, cerebral /səˈɹi.bɹəl/, predictable /pɹəˈdɪktəbləl/, virtual /ˈvɜɹt͡ʃuəl/, lifestyle /ˈlaɪfˌstaɪl/
- /h/ — um sopro suave, diferente do “r”: happiness /ˈhæpinɪs/, comprehension /ˌkɑmpɹɪˈhɛnʃn̩/, hardware /ˈhɑɹdˌwɛɹ/
Como praticar com este vídeo
- Ouça o vídeo inteiro uma vez sem falar e anote as palavras que você não conhece.
- Faça shadowing frase por frase na velocidade normal, repetindo cada uma até o seu ritmo ficar igual ao do falante.
- Grave a sua voz e compare com o original, prestando atenção a palavras como simultaneously, stimulus, experiment.
O que é a Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing é uma técnica de aprendizado de idiomas com base científica, originalmente desenvolvida para o treinamento de intérpretes profissionais. O método é simples, mas poderoso: você ouve áudio em inglês nativo e repete imediatamente em voz alta — como uma sombra seguindo o falante com 1-2 segundos de atraso. Pesquisas mostram melhora significativa na precisão da pronúncia, entonação, ritmo, sons conectados, compreensão auditiva e fluência na fala.