If you ask this question to English teachers or other English learners, they will tell you the same thing.

當你問英文老師或學英文的人這個問題你得到的答案千篇一律

They'll tell you that the best way to build your vocabulary is to learn vocabulary in context by listening and reading a lot.

他們會說最有效的方法是藉由大量聆聽或閱讀文章，情境中累積

And I completely agree with that.

我完全同意

That is the best way to increase your vocabulary.

這無疑是讓字彙量大增的最佳方式

So this is common sense, right?

已經算是常識了對吧？

Everybody knows that.

誰不知道呢？

This topic is so boring.

這主題真無趣

But there's a problem.

但是問題在於

Common sense is not common action.

具備常識不代表付諸實行

Everybody knows how to improve their vocabulary, but most people don't do it.

人人都知道如何增加字彙量，但大部分的人不會身體力行

Because they spend too much time on things like social media and funny cat videos.

因為他們把時間花在社群媒體，還有看可愛小動物的影片上

Now, if regular listening and reading is a common practice for you, then congratulations.

如果你已經養成規律閱讀及聽英文的習慣，那麼恭喜你！

You don't need to watch this video.

你不需要看這部影片

But if it's not a common practice for you yet, let me convince you to start listening and reading on a regular basis.

但如果你還沒有這樣的習慣，讓我來說服你從現在開始規律閱讀及聆聽英文

I'm going to share with you two other benefits you'll get from applying this habit.

我將告訴你養成這個習慣的另外兩個好處

I'm also going to share with you some listening and reading materials at the end of this video.

影片最後，也提供英文閱讀及聽力素材供你練習

So let's get started.

我們開始吧！

The first benefit you'll get is "intuition."

第一個好處是強化你的「直覺」

What is intuition?

何謂直覺？

Well, let's say that you come across a multiple choice question about English grammar.

好，假設你正在做一個關於英文文法的選擇題

You look at the choices and you know immediately what the correct answer is.

看過各選項後，你馬上知道正確答案是哪一個

You don't know the grammar rule that explains it.

你不知道文法規則

There's no reasoning behind it.

你無法解釋背後的原因

It just feels right.

但你就是感覺對了

That's intuition.

這就叫作直覺

It comes from taking in a lot of input by listening and reading.

直覺從無數次的聽讀經驗中習得

Unfortunately, some people don't appreciate the power of intuition.

可惜的是，有些人不了解直覺的重要性

They learn vocabulary in a very strange way.

他們用很奇怪的方式記單字

They don't learn words in context.

這些人不從情境中累積單字量

Instead, they find a list of words and memorize the meaning of each word one by one.

反而去找單字表，逐一背熟每個單字的意思

This seems like a good idea.

這點子似乎聽起來不錯

They're learning a lot of new words in a short period of time.

可以在短時間內學習許多新字彙

There's only one problem with this.

問題只有一個

It's stupid.

這是個蠢方法

Just because we know the meaning of a word doesn't mean that we can use it.

知道這個字的意思，不代表就會使用它

It's not enough.

這樣是不夠的

We also need to know how the word is used.

我們必須知道怎麼運用這些字

Now, I'm sure that you already know this, right?

我確定你已經知道這點，對吧？

You're not one of those people.

你跟那些呆瓜不一樣

You already know that it's much better to learn vocabulary by listening and reading.

你已經知道藉由聽力及閱讀增進字彙量，是比較有用的

Because when you do that, you're not only improving your vocabulary but also grammar, sentence structure, and so on.

因為當你這麼做，增加的不只是單字、還有文法句型結構..等等

Over time, you will become an independent learner.

日積月累，你會成為獨立型的學習者

It means that you'll have the ability to improve your English without help from other people.

意思是你能靠自己增強英文實力，不需他人協助

And that's really cool.

很酷吧

Let's talk about the second benefit of this habit.

接下來，我們談談養成聽力及閱讀習慣的第二個好處

The second benefit is an increase in brain power.

這個好處是能提升你的腦力

Just like how a muscle needs physical exercise to become stronger, your brain needs mental exercise to grow as well.

就像肌肉生長需要靠體能鍛練，腦袋茁壯也需要靠心智鍛練

Regular listening and reading is a great mental exercise.

規律的聽讀就是很棒的心智鍛練

It improves so many brain's functions

能協助改善許多大腦機能

When you listen to someone speaking, you have to stay focused.

當你聆聽別人說話，你必須保持專注

This improves your attention.

這能加強你的注意力

And if they're speaking really fast, you're also training your brain to process information faster, which leads to better comprehension.

如果講者說話速度很快，你便能藉此訓練大腦快速處理資訊最後會使你的理解力變強

Reading is great too.

閱讀也是一樣

It improves your memory.

能增進你的記憶力

When you read a novel, you need to remember lots of details like the names of the characters, their backgrounds, the plot, and so on.

當你讀小說時需要記得許多細節，例如角色的名字故事背景、情節..等等

Some books even increase your intelligence.

有些書甚至能提升你的智力

Reading certain types of books improves the way you think.

特定類型的書籍還能提升你的思考方式

And these are just a few benefits.

這些還只是少數的優點而已

There are so many other benefits that I didn't even mention here.

還有更多我沒提到的好處

Now you might be thinking, "Why should I care about my brain power?"

現在你可能會問：「沒事何必提升我的腦力啊？」

Well, because it will play a huge role in your English language development.

這個嘛，因為腦力在英語學習上扮演很重要的角色

Especially if you're trying to improve your spoken English.

尤其是當你設法改善口說能力的時候

For non-native speakers like you and I, speaking English requires a lot of effort.

對你我來說英文非母語，我們必須在口說能力上費很大的功夫

It places great demands on so many cognitive functions like memory, attention, auditory processing, reasoning, and so on.

英文口說需要許多大腦認知功能的配合，像是記憶力、專注力聽覺處理能力、邏輯推理能力..等等

So if you want to speak English well, you're going to need to have a strong, healthy brain with lots of power.

所以如果你想說一口流利英文，你得要有個強而有力的健壯腦袋

And by the way, if you're not living in an English-speaking country, this habit is a must.

對了，如果你不住在英語系國家，規律的讀和聽更是不可或缺

And I'm speaking from my personal experience here because I've never been to an English-speaking country.

這可是我的切身經驗，因為我從未去國英語系國家

If you're in the same situation, the only way for you to immerse yourself in the English language is by applying this simple but powerful habit.

如果你跟我處境相同，讓自己融入英文環境中的唯一方法便是養成這個既簡單又強大的習慣

I guarantee that you'll love the results.

我保證成果一定令你滿意

So do yourself a favor by start exercising your brain today.

所以幫自己一個忙，從今天起開始鍛練你的腦袋吧！

Click here to get some listening materials.

請點擊這裡前往英文聽力素材

Or if you feel like reading, click here for my reading recommendations.

如果你比較想讀點東西，這邊也有一些閱讀資源

You can also find these links in the description below.

你也可以在下方說明區找到這些連結