美国文化脱口秀 第332期:美国人怎么背单词?

 今天，我们问问美国人，他们是如何背单词、学新词的？会给你带来不少启发哦。

关键词：

美国小朋友怎么学单词？

When you were a kid, how did you learn new English words? 你小的时候，怎么学新词？

We had books & stories with vocabulary lists: 有英语课本，通过课文学单词

Textbook: 课本

Passage: 课文

We also had vocabulary assignments in school: 也有词汇功课

We were given a list of words that we needed to look up in the dictionary: 老师会给我们一串词，让我们查字典

Antonyms¹: 反义词

Synonyms²:近义词，同义词

Construct sentences: 造句

美国成年人怎么学单词？

We looked up answers on Quora: 我们看了美国的一个问答网站，Quora

Adults learn new words through reading and social interaction: 成年人学新词主要靠阅读和实际生活接触

上下文、语境很重要！

When you encounter a new word, you can often infer its meaning from the context: 遇到一个新词，你通常可以通过上下文来推断这个词是什么意思

Don't just memorize vocabulary lists: 不要单纯去背一串单词

They don't give you the context: 这样没有语境

You might know the meaning of the word without retaining or internalizing it: 这样就算知道了意思，也不会用

Vocabulary words are the building blocks of your language ability, but don't be obsessed³ with just memorizing vocabulary: 虽然词汇非常重要，是学语言的基础，但千万别迷失在单纯背单词这件事上

It's more useful to know how to use 50 words than to memorize 100: 会用50个词比能背出100个词更有意义

美国人怎么背单词?

不要一味追求高难度

Read things you're interested in or will use: 读你自己感兴趣、用得到的内容

You don't have to read classical novels: 不一定要读经典小说才有质量

Charles Dickinson: 狄更斯

Jane Austen: 奥斯汀

Broadsheet newspapers such as New York Times or the Wall Street Journal might not be suitable either: 纽约时报、华尔街日报这样的严肃大报也不一定合适

The content might not be the most practical or useful to you: 这些内容对你不一定实用

The language might also be too difficult: 语言也有可能太难了

You might need to check 80% of the words you're reading: 你可能要查80%读到的词

It disrupts the learning flow: 这样会打乱学习的连贯性

20%不懂的内容是最佳难度

Content where you don't understand 20% of the words is the most helpful: 20%不懂的内容是最佳难度

It means you can pretty much infer new words from the context: 因为你基本上可以从上下文推断出新词的意思

Pay attention to the sentences where the new words occured so that you know how to use them: 也要注意新词汇出现的句子，这样你会知道怎么用这个词

Define reading in broader terms 广泛定义阅读

Find content that motivates and matches your interest and hobbies: 找能激发你兴趣的内容读

High frequency content: 找你使用频率高的内容

Even work-related topics could be fun to read: 即使工作类的内容，只要对你有用，也是好的资源

Check American news portals 查看美国新闻门户网站

Current affairs/events: 时事

听美国播客

I learn a lot of new words from listening to podcasts: 我很多新词都是听美国播客学的

NPR has a many great podcasts: 美国国家公共电台有很多好节目

On Point：NPR旗下一个每日更新的新闻节目

It covers a wide range of topics: 涉及的主题非常广

You will learn a wide range of things and words and natural expressions: 你能学到广泛丰富的新词和自然的表达方式

记笔记

I kept a notebook when I was in school: 我上学的时候有一本单词笔记本

I'd write down new words every day:每天接触的新词会记下来

I'd write down each word and its definition for a few times to help me memorize: 每个词和解释多写几遍，增加记忆力

I'd also write down the sentence where the new word was used: 也会记下新词出现的句子

It helped me internalize the new words: 这样能帮我真正掌握新词

1 antonyms   

反义词( antonym的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• And have listed these antonyms through simple illustration to out. 并把这些反义词通过简单例证列了出来。
• Can you give the antonyms of the following adjectives? 你能给出下列形容词的反义词吗？

2 synonyms   

同义词( synonym的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If you want to grasp English, you must carefully discriminate synonyms. 如果你想掌握好英语，你必须仔细区分同义词。
• Study the idioms and synonyms l wrote down before your test. 学考试前我给你写的习惯用语和同义字。

3 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。