How do Americans remember so many English words?

美國人是如何記住這麼多英語單詞的？

So I thought I'd make a video talking about my language journey, and also share some tips and techniques for learning a language as an adult without any language environment.

是以，我想製作一個視頻，講述我的語言之旅，並分享一些成人在沒有任何語言環境的情況下學習語言的技巧和方法。

Especially if you struggle with memorizing words, this is going to be really helpful.

特別是如果你在記憶單詞方面有困難，這本書會對你很有幫助。

So make sure to stick around to the end.

所以，一定要堅持到最後。

I've been learning Chinese for about six years now, and a lot of people have asked how I was able to reach a relatively fluent level, and honestly being in the classroom environment really helped me a lot in the beginning.

我學習中文已經有六年了，很多人都問我是如何達到相對流利的水準的，說實話，在課堂環境中學習中文對我最初的學習幫助很大。

It was really helpful to have a teacher teach me the basics and give me a foundation in this language, but a lot of the work for me also came from outside of the classroom.

有一位老師教我基礎知識，為我打下語言基礎，這對我真的很有幫助。

Especially in situations where you don't have a language environment, and you're not surrounded by this language every day, and you can't practice these basic daily conversations.

特別是在沒有語言環境的情況下，你不是每天都被這種語言所包圍，也就無法練習這些基本的日常對話。

So it's really important to try to make the environment for yourself and put in the extra effort.

是以，為自己創造環境並付出額外努力真的很重要。

Outside of class, I would surround myself with as much Chinese as I possibly could.

課餘時間，我會盡可能多地接觸中國人。

So I would constantly watch TV shows, movies, and I would listen to Chinese music while I was and really anything to help me listen to more Chinese and get more input.

是以，我會不斷地看電視節目、電影，聽中文音樂，只要能讓我聽更多中文、獲得更多輸入的東西，我都會聽。

I would constantly take note of the new words and phrases that I heard and write them down, and I have so many notebooks just filled with me repeating the same things over and over, and writing everything I heard down.

我會不斷記下我聽到的新詞和短語，並把它們寫下來，我有很多筆記本，裡面都是我一遍又一遍地重複同樣的話，並把我聽到的一切都寫下來。

But most importantly is that I would talk to myself in my head using Chinese.

但最重要的是，我會在腦海中用中文自言自語。

For example, if we learned a new word or phrase or even sentence structure in class, then I would try my best to really incorporate that into my inner monologue.

例如，如果我們在課堂上學習了一個新的單詞或短語，甚至是句子結構，那麼我會盡力將其真正融入我的內心獨白中。

So even though nobody would be there to practice with me, I could still practice with myself.

是以，即使沒有人陪我練習，我也可以自己練習。

And this is really important because if you honestly want to improve in any language, then the key is practice and spending time to really say all these words, phrases, and structures that you encounter.

這一點非常重要，因為如果你真的想提高任何一種語言的水準，那麼關鍵在於練習和花時間真正說出你遇到的所有這些單詞、短語和結構。

And another key point is not just focusing on one single word or phrase, but putting it into a sentence and understanding how it's really used in real life.

另一個關鍵點是，不要只盯著一個單詞或短語，而是要把它放到句子中，理解它在現實生活中的真正用法。

Because if you spend a lot of time just repeating one word over and over and over, you might be able to remember it, but it's gonna take a lot of extra effort and brain power, and it's not really applicable if you don't know how to use the word properly.

因為如果你花很多時間只是一遍又一遍地重複一個單詞，你也許能記住它，但這需要額外的努力和腦力，而且如果你不知道如何正確使用這個單詞，它其實並不適用。

So instead, I would recommend finding some more examples of how to use this word.

是以，我建議大家多找一些如何使用這個詞的例子。

And this way, you can really understand and deeply feel the meaning of this word, and you'll be able to use it naturally, and when other people use it, you'll be able to understand what they're trying to say.

這樣，你就能真正理解並深刻感受到這個詞的含義，你就能自然而然地使用它，當別人使用它時，你也能理解他們想要表達的意思。

This is also important because in real life conversations, or when we're reading a paper or a book or something like that, these words are never really isolated.

這一點也很重要，因為在現實生活中的對話中，或者當我們閱讀一篇論文或一本書或類似的東西時，這些詞語從來都不是真正孤立的。

They're never just alone.

他們從不孤單。

They always have some context, and we can use this to figure out what they mean.

它們總是有一些上下文，我們可以利用這些上下文來弄清它們的意思。

The use of context clues is actually how a lot of native speakers learn a language, no matter what the language is.

使用語境線索實際上是很多母語使用者學習語言的方法，不管是什麼語言。

For example, if your native language is Chinese, how did you learn it?

例如，如果您的母語是中文，您是如何學會中文的？

Your parents and the people around you would constantly be speaking this language, so as a baby, you just start to pick up on the sounds and the words, and you eventually start to speak it on your own.

你的父母和周圍的人會不斷地講這種語言，所以在嬰兒時期，你就開始學習這種語言的發音和單詞，最終開始自己講這種語言。

And this is the natural way of learning any language.

這就是學習任何語言的自然方法。

We connect words to real life objects, and we learn new words based on how other people use them in different contexts.

我們將單詞與現實生活中的物品聯繫起來，並根據其他人在不同語境中的用法來學習新單詞。

Even native speakers make mistakes when learning their native language, but each mistake is just a step closer to fluency.

即使是母語使用者在學習母語時也會犯錯，但每一次錯誤都是向流利邁出的一步。

And we can use these methods when we're learning a foreign language as well.

我們在學習外語時也可以使用這些方法。

I've had a lot of people ask how Americans learn English.

有很多人問我，美國人是如何學習英語的。

Like, do we have to memorize a lot of words too?

比如，我們也要背很多單詞嗎？

Or do we have English classes?

還是我們有英語課？

Or what do we do when we encounter a word that we don't know?

或者，當我們遇到一個不認識的單詞時，我們該怎麼辦？

We learn English the same way that anyone else would learn a native language.

我們學習英語的方式與其他人學習母語的方式相同。

But in order to go past a very basic level of English, native English speakers also have to spend time studying English in school.

但是，為了達到最基本的英語水平，以英語為母語的人還必須花時間在學校學習英語。

For example, when we're younger, we have to do a lot of spelling tests and memorize the spelling of new and longer words.

例如，在我們年輕的時候，我們必須做大量的拼寫測試，並記住新單詞和較長的單詞的拼寫。

As we get older, we also have to learn how to analyze English writing, and we have to learn how to write an English paper.

隨著年齡的增長，我們還要學習如何分析英語寫作，學習如何撰寫英語論文。

And we spend a lot of time learning about English literature and also history as well.

我們花了很多時間學習英國文學和歷史。

So English is a big part of our curriculum.

是以，英語是我們課程的重要組成部分。

English is a very wordy language, so naturally there are a lot of words that we might not know the exact meaning of.

英語是一門用詞非常多的語言，是以自然會有很多我們可能不知道確切含義的單詞。

And even as native English speakers, we have to spend time learning these new words.

即使是以英語為母語的人，我們也必須花時間學習這些新單詞。

There are a few different methods of learning these new words, but I'm going to share one common method that is going to be very helpful.

學習這些新單詞有幾種不同的方法，但我要與大家分享一種常用的方法，它將會非常有幫助。

We'll call this method the context clues method.

我們稱這種方法為上下文線索方法。

It's also used a lot for learning English when it's not your native language, and I've summarized three main steps for you to follow.

當英語不是你的母語時，它也經常被用來學習英語，我總結了三個主要步驟供你參考。

But just keep in mind, this method does require a little bit of a basic English understanding to use it.

但請記住，使用這種方法確實需要一點基本的英語理解能力。

When we see a new word that we don't know in a sentence, first we need to figure out the basic and general meaning of the overall sentence.

當我們在句子中看到一個不認識的新詞時，首先要弄清整個句子的基本和一般含義。

Like, what's the tone?

比如，基調是什麼？

Or what other words could we put in place of this new word and still have the whole sentence make sense?

或者，我們還可以用什麼詞來代替這個新詞，而使整個句子仍然有意義？

And this is the core of using context clues.

這就是使用上下文線索的核心。

Second, we use context clues or the information surrounding this word to make an educated guess on what this new word really means.

其次，我們會利用上下文線索或圍繞這個詞的資訊，對這個新詞的真正含義進行有根據的猜測。

And then the third step is to finally use a dictionary to confirm our educated guess.

第三步是最終使用詞典來確認我們的猜測。

And doing this also reinforces this word in your brain and helps with memorization.

這樣做還能在大腦中強化這個單詞，有助於記憶。

This is really important because if you see a new word and you just immediately go to the dictionary or you immediately translate this word to understand what it means and then quickly move on without even understanding the context of how to use this word, it's actually going to be really hard to remember the word and understand how it's really used.

這一點非常重要，因為如果你看到一個新單詞，就立即去查字典，或者立即翻譯這個單詞以瞭解它的意思，然後迅速繼續前進，甚至不瞭解如何使用這個單詞的上下文，那麼你就很難記住這個單詞，也很難了解它的真正用法。

So checking with the dictionary is important, but it should be the last step.

是以，查字典很重要，但應該是最後一步。

Using your brain to understand the use and meaning behind these new words is actually going to give you a deeper impression and help you understand the practical use of the words.

開動腦筋去理解這些新單詞背後的用法和含義，其實會給你留下更深的印象，幫助你理解這些單詞的實際用途。

And eventually this will make things a lot easier in the long run.

從長遠來看，這最終會讓事情變得簡單許多。

I also used this method when I was learning Chinese and I think it's part of the reason why I was able to pick up on things so quickly.

我在學習中文時也用過這種方法，我想這也是我能很快掌握知識的部分原因。

While I was listening to these TV shows and movies and anything like that in Chinese, if I saw something new that I wasn't sure of exactly what it meant, instead of just directly translating it, I would look for it in other contexts and slowly start to understand the meaning and how it's used.

我在聽這些電視節目和電影以及類似的中文節目時，如果看到一些我不確定其確切含義的新詞，我不會直接翻譯，而是會在其他語境中尋找，慢慢開始理解其含義和用法。

And honestly, when you rely too much on direct translation of words and phrases, then a lot of the times you'll start to lose the nuance and the feeling of a language.

老實說，如果過於依賴單詞和短語的直接翻譯，很多時候就會失去語言的細微差別和感覺。

It's also really important to remember that learning a language, no matter what the language is, takes a lot of time and persistence.

同樣重要的是要記住，學習一門語言，不管是什麼語言，都需要大量的時間和毅力。

It's taken me about six years to learn Chinese without knowing anything about the language previously, but only in the past year have I started to really kind of connect the dots and become a little bit more fluent in the language.

我花了大約六年的時間來學習中文，之前我對中文一無所知，但直到去年我才開始真正地把這些知識點聯繫起來，並能更流利地使用中文。

I spent years just understanding the sounds of Chinese and memorizing sentences and words and phrases and talking to myself a lot.

我花了很多年來理解中文的發音，背誦句子、單詞和短語，並經常自言自語。

All of these steps were needed for me to get to where I am today.

所有這些步驟都是我取得今天的成就所必需的。

So my biggest piece of advice is don't give up.

所以，我最大的建議就是不要放棄。

I hope this video was somewhat motivational for you, no matter what language you want to learn, and I hope that this technique is going to help you a lot in your studies.

無論你想學習哪種語言，我都希望這段視頻能對你有所啟發，也希望這種技巧能對你的學習有很大幫助。

So let me know if you have any other questions about language learning, and I'll see you guys next time.

如果你們還有任何關於語言學習的問題，請告訴我，我們下次再見。

Bye-bye!

再見