"How do I learn words?" or "What is the best way to remember new vocabulary, to remember new words?"

「我是怎麼學單字的」或者「什麼是記憶單字最好的方法？」

First of all, the best way to remember new words is just don't worry about it.

首先，學習新單字的好方法就是不要太焦慮。

The reason I say this is because the more you worry about it, if you're stressed because you can't remember words, for example, you studied a word and then in conversation you couldn't remember that word.

我這麼說是因為，你擔心得愈多，如果你因為記不住單字而感到壓力，例如你學了一個新的字，可是在對話中你完全想不起來。

The more stressed you get about it, the harder it becomes.

你愈焦慮就會愈學不好。

Just relax, don't worry about it.

放輕鬆，別擔心。

If you learn a word and you forget it the next day, doesn't matter.

如果你學了一個字，結果隔天就完全沒印象，沒關係的。

Doesn't matter.

不會怎樣。

Doesn't matter. Just forget about it.

別太在意。

Um, give it time.

學習是需要花時間的。

If you do remember the word great, fantastic, but if you don't remember the word, it doesn't matter.

如果你可以記得單字，那很棒，太好了；可是如果你不記得，也沒關係。

Just give it time. Let things come naturally.

只要隨著時間過去順其自然就好。

This said, there is a learning principle that is a learning idea worth bearing in mind, worth remembering, that will make your learning English words much, much easier.

這麼說吧，有一個學習原則，或者有一個學習的想法值得你銘記在心，它將使你學單字更容易。

Um, and that is, is that we remember words best by taking not one but two approaches and linking those two approaches together.

那個記憶的方法就是記單字不要只用一種方法，最好用兩種方法，再從這兩種方法找關聯把單字記起來。

Now, the first one is "deliberate learning."

第一種方法是「深思熟慮法」。

That is purposely trying to learn new vocabulary.

有特定目的地學習新單字。

Um, and this is what you do when you read a newspaper article, and you underline the words you don't know.

就種方法就像你在看報紙文章，將不懂的字畫線，

You look them up in the dictionary, you write them on flashcards, you study those flashcards.

然後去查字典，寫在單字卡上而且研讀它們。

Or, if you use something like an SRS software, something like Anki, for example, and you do reps on Anki.

或者你用一些 SRS 的軟體像是 Anki，在 Anki 上練習。

This is deliberate learning.

這就是「深思熟慮法」。

You're trying to learn words.

你試著去學新單字。

Now that's one way.

這是其中一種方法。

Now the second way is to let things come naturally.

第二種方法是讓學習自然而然發生。

That is "accidental learning."

那就是「偶然學習法」。

And this is what happens when you're not trying to learn words, but you're just enjoying the English.

它不是在你刻意學新字的時候發生，你反而是在享受英文。

You're watching a TV show, you're listening to some English, you're reading a book.

你在看電視秀，你在聽英文，你在讀英文書。

And maybe you'll be listening to English and then suddenly, a word you've been trying to learn or struggling to remember will pop out, and at the moment, you will just think "AH-HA!! got it."

可能你在聽英文的時候，一個你學很久的單字突然跳出來，就在那刻，你想：「啊哈，就是它！」

And then at that point, you will never forget that word again.

從那之後，你再也忘不了那個字。

A good example for me is when I was first learning Japanese, uh, the word "gyoretsu,"

我有一個親身的例子，第一次學日文的時候，有個日文字「gyoretsu」，意思是「排隊隊伍」，

Now that means queue as in a queue outside of a shop; Now, I think I saw this word first on a flashcard.

就是在店家外面排隊的人龍，我第一次在字卡上看到。

Now, I thought, uh, this is a useful word, I should remember this.

我覺得它是個很好用的字，我應該要記住它。

And I studied it many times, but it never stuck, and I'd always try to remember that word; the next day I'd be like "Ah, what was that?"

我讀它好多遍，可是沒辦法記在心裡。每當我要記這個字的時候，隔天就會這樣：「哦，那個字是啥？」

Just didn't sink in.

就是記不得。

But then one day, I was listening to a podcast from japanesepod101, and it wasn't even part of the lesson, it wasn't in the dialogue for the lesson.

可是有一天，我在聽 japanesepod101 的播客，它不在課程內容裡，也不是該課的對話。

But the presenters were talking.

節目主持人在講話，

I can't remember what they were talking about.

我不記得他們談了什麼。

I think they might have been talking about a famous ramen shop, a famous noodle shop, which always has a long queue of people outside.

我覺得他們可能在討論一間有名的拉麵店，這間知名麵館外頭總是排了長長人龍。

But one of the presenters said the word "gyoretsu."

其中有位主持人說了「gyoretsu」。

And that was it. It was like a light bulb went off in my head.

就是它了！我的腦袋突然靈光一閃。

PING.

砰！

AH-HA!!

啊哈！

And I never forgot that word. It just stuck.

我就再也不會忘記這個字了。它就這樣被我牢記。

See what happens is, when you try to learn words, you make a connection in here.

你在學新字的時候，把它們跟大腦聯結在一起。

And then when you accidentally hear them, you link that together.

之後當你不小心再聽到這些字的時候，聯結就出現了。

And it's when you make that link, that the word sticks.

當聯結產生時，那個字就被你記住了。

I don't know if you've ever seen videos from Steven Kaufman, he has lots of videos on YouTube and I definitely recommend checking them out.

我不知道你有沒有看過 Steven Kaufman 的影片，他在 YouTube 上有很多影片，我大力推薦你去瞧瞧。

But he often talks about making links, and it's true, that the most powerful way to learn words is to just make links between different thing.

他常常談聯結這件事。這是對的，學單字最厲害的方法就是從不同的事情找出聯結。

So don't do one thing; do two things, or do many things and let... just let the words come to you naturally.

不要只想一件事，找兩件事的聯結，甚至愈多愈好，接著...就讓單字順其自然來到你身邊。

Make links between those things; study a word; listen to English when you hear it, you'll remember it.

不同事物間的聯結；學習單字；聽英文。你聽到的時候，就會記住了。

Easy as that.

很簡單吧。

Okay, well, that's it for today.

好的，這就是今天的節目內容。

So, until next time, as always, any questions, anything you want to ask, any comments, leave a message in the comments box.

一如往常，你想問任何問題，想要求任何評論，在底下的評論欄裡留言。

Okay, until next time.

下次見。