作者：Lucy Haagen

No wonder English  poses such a challenge to non-native speakers.  This most global of languages has more words than any other, over one million at last count according to the Global Language Monitor (languagemonitor.org)  And these million words are more varied in their form and origin thanks to English’s willing absorption of words from other languages.  Out of this vast collection, the average American college student has mastered between 8,000-15,000.  In contrast, the best English learners in China – as measured by Gaokao results – know a mere 3,000-4,000 words.

Realizing that like bricks, words are the building blocks of language, many Chinese students diligently try to catch up.  Dutifully, they make out long lists of words – often in alphabetical order – and simply memorize their definitions and Chinese translations. 

The bad news is that definition memorization does them little good when it comes to college entrance tests like the SAT and AP which demand that a reader and writer  understand, not merely, parrot words studied.

The good news is that there are better – and more motivating – ways to build an academic English vocabulary.

Vocabulary  Learning System

The first thing to do is to develop an organized, but easy means of collecting and learning new words.  We recommend a card system that includes the following information:

Word – Simple Definition – Phrase or Sentence –

Related Words – Synonyms and Antonyms – with a Chinese translation on the reverse of the card.  The advantage of this system is that with a single card, a student can learn as many as ten new words 

Keep your cards on a detachable metal ring, so you can carry them around and add to your collection daily.

Learn by Theme not Alphabet

Psychologist who study learning have found that people understand and remember facts better if they are presented in logical categories.  For example, it is much easier to remember words that are related to each other or to a central concept than it is to remember a random list of unrelated words.   Creating lists of words related to common themes – friendship, family, wealth, poverty, careers, sciences will be much more effective – and interesting – than collecting words related only by their first

Repetition v. Repeated Encounters

The usual way of "memorising" new material is through repeated rehearsal of the

material while it is still in working memory. However, simply repeating an item seems to have little long-term effect unless some attempt is made to organise the material at the same time. But one kind of repetition that is effective is repetition of encounters with a word. It has been estimated that, when reading, words stand a good chance of being remembered if they have been met at least seven times over spaced intervals.  This is why reading English – particularly English found in magazines like the Global Times, Time Magazine or Newsweek – is so often recommended as a vocabulary building strategy. 

Retrieval

Another kind of  effective repetitionis what is called the "retrieval practice effect". This means, simply, that the act of retrieving a word from memory makes it more likely that you  will be able to recall it again later. Activities that require retrieval, such as using the new word in written sentences, "grease the wheels" for future recall.

Spacing and Review

It is better to distribute memory work over a per iod of time than to mass it together in a single block. This is known as the "principle of distributed practice". This means that new vocabulary introduced in one lesson, should be reviewed in the next, with successive tests spaced at gradually longer intervals over the sequence of lessons. 

Use it or Lose It

Putting words to use, preferably in some interesting way, is the best method of ensuring they are added to long-term memory In a study of vocabulary learning, students who had read aloud a sentence containing new words showed better recall than students who had rehearsed the words silently. Students who made up their own sentences with the words - and read them aloud - did better still. Best of all were students who were given the task of silently visualising a mental picture to go with a new word. Other tests have shown that immediately evoke a picture are more memorable than words that don"t. This suggests that - even for abstract words - it might helpif learners associate them with a mental image. This principle is the basis of the "keyword" technique which involves devising an image that connects the pronunciation of the second language word with the meaning of a first language word.

Mix it Up 

Let’s face it – learning vocabulary words can be really boring – but it doesn’t have to be.  Thanks to the Internet, there are lively ways to get the job done, while having fun along the way – but that’s the subject of a future blog.