単語
23:56
Learning a new language can be difficult, even when totally
immersing yourself in that language’s culture. It is all too easy to switch off
and think English thoughts when not being spoken to, but this practice can
prevent you from reaching your learning potential. Today, I want to discuss my
current vocabulary learning method, so that in the future I can look back and
judge its success.
My Japanese teacher in Australia advised me to write down
any new words or phrases with their translation in a notebook, at present, I
have over 200 new words from only 3 days. It is an easy way to record new vocab
and have it all in one place, for easy review. My method is as follows…
1.
Whenever I am going to do something that I know
vocabulary is involved in, I bring my book with my green pen. I use this pen to
write down English words that I want
to translate. For example, the other night I watched the movie 輝夜姫 with夏帆. We put on the English subtitles, and through this I was
able to identify which words I did not know in Japanese. Instead of freaking
out about the Japanese at that point in time, I noted down the English for
later review.
2.
Once I have a comprehensive list of words, I will
translate all of them in to Japanese. Though using an online dictionary, or
even 夏帆 Japanese “brain” {a Japanese electronic dictionary}, I’ve
found it best to just sit down with a Japanese friend and talk through it. I write
down the hiragana and kanji. Hiragana makes for easier reading, but kanji can
aid for recognition, and make reading books or articles in the future more
manageable.
4.
Once I am confident with the word, or even if I’m
not, I will try using in in casual conversation. If I’m wrong, my host sister
will correct me, but if I’m right it is another word under my belt.
If you think of yourself as a small child, this method is easier to understand. Small children use easy words as
they are unable to express more difficult ones. For example, a toddler might
always say: x is good, as they don’t know any synonyms. Once you expand your
vocabulary, you are able to adequately articulate your thoughts and feelings. I’ve
found that it is often discouraging to think of all the words I can speak in
English but cannot express in Japanese, but reminding myself that I am the
equivalent of a small child helps. Sometimes.
With that in mind, here are a few
more vocabulary words that I recently learnt:
1.
Plum blossoms
ばいか 梅花
2.
Harvest しゅうかく 収穫
3.
Dandelion たんぽぽ 蒲公英
4.
Supper
ばんさん 晩餐
-H
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