Hello Steve
I’m so glad to be speaking with you
During my English learning process
I have this small confusion
that I wish to resolve today with your help
As the base of language learning, vocabulary is very important
However, for many students
vocabulary is often the most challenging part
So I would like to ask you
that in the learning process
how does one master vocabulary better and faster?
How to learn vocabulary better and faster
There is no fast process in language learning
Learning a new language
is us getting used to a new language gradually
This is a slow process
because our brain needs to get used to the new language
So you are right
Vocabulary is the most importing part of learning a new language
because without vocabulary
you don’t have words
you can’t express what you want to say
and you can’t understand a lot of things that you see or hear
But there is no fast approach
Only by
listening to a lot of things and reading a lot of things
and letting your brain get used to new vocabulary gradually
such as new phrases and new words
then you can master new vocabulary
This process will certainly happen
and you need to trust your brain
It needs to have enough stimulation
and you need to read enough material
especially things that interest you
Don’t memorize words or a word list
that won’t work
You need to read more and listen to more things that you are interested in
and try to read out the things that you listen to as well
In this way, your brain will slowly get used to the new language
including the new vocabulary
Hope this will answer your question
First of all, thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak with you
I have two questions that I would like to ask from you
First question, when expressing in a new language
I sometimes would use English that has been translated directly from Chinese
then my expression would become not so native
so I would like to ask you
if there is a good way to
improve the language sense of my expression
and its logic
When learning a foreign language
we tend to translate it from our mother language
How do we avoid this?
Well, it is inevitable
For Chinese people, when learning a new language, such as English
they need to get used to it more in order to master it better
After seeing and listening to a lot of things
they may have more opportunities to speak
Slowly, you will not rely on your mother language
to express what you want to say
You will then more and more
express yourself in English directly
There is no special approach to that
You just need to carry on with the listening, reading and speaking
in order to get used a new language gradually
Then this situation where you have to translate your mother language into a foreign language
will likely to happen less and less
Second question, when expressing in a new language
I would sometimes try to show my fluency of the language
and I would speak too fast, but not so clear
I wonder if you have any good suggestion to this issue
Thank you
In regard to the speed of speaking
there are two situations
One is when a student
is trying to show his/her fluency
then he/she might speak too fast
In my opinion, when learning a foreign language
especially on an entry or intermediate level
you shouldn’t speak too fast
instead, take it slow
you need to adapt a speed that you can maintain
in order to make the other person feels comfortable
When the other person speaks too fast
you may not be able to catch all
but you still need to try to listen
This is all about letting your brain get used to the new language
Hope this will answer your question
First question is how to correct my own pronunciation
Because sometimes when I’m speaking English
I would notice that my pronunciation isn’t accurate
or that my expression isn’t as native
So how do I speak like a native speaker?
How to improve your pronunciation
and speak like a native speaker
First, it is nearly impossible to speak like a native speaker
I do business with many foreigners using English
and almost no one
not only Chinese and Japanese
but German and Swede as well
They all had an accent
This is not a problem
The problem is that you need to make the other person feel comfortable
especially people whose mother language is English
You need to make them understand you fully
So this issue
is actually about choosing words
Your ability of choosing the right words is more important than your pronunciation
I know people who speak English
by making choice of words
They can speak very well by choosing the right words
This is a smart move
Even if they have an accent
or a heavy pronunciation
it wouldn’t be a problem
And if you still want to improve your pronunciation
you need to listen more
but there are some pronunciations that we didn’t notice
In English, for example
bird, b-i-r-d
heard h-e-a-r-d
There are words in English
whose spellings are different for the same pronunciation
so you need to notice it
notice those English pronunciations
and understand them
then you will most likely
pronounce them in the right way
a way that’s close to a native speaker
So listen more, let your brain get used to it
and notice what happens when you pronounce words
take it slow, because this can’t be a fast process
You can’t learn a language today and master it tomorrow
you need to take it slow
speak more and try not to care too much about your pronunciation
pay attention to it while listening
then your pronunciation will slowly get better
Also, you need to pay attention to your intonation
that is your tone
Chinese have four tones right?
I need to learn these four tones when learning Chinese
mā má mǎ mà
English has it too
You need to pay attention to intonation
intonation is the music of language
If you can understand and imitate well
then your pronunciation will be better
Second question is that when you are practising your hearing
you may not hear clearly or understand fully
so how to improve English listening ability
of course, there are more ways to it, for example when I learn a foreign language
such as Arabic and Persian
sometimes I still can’t understand after listening to it so many times
this is normal
some parts you can listen and understand clearly
and some parts you can’t
you just need to carry on
besides, you need to be able to see and read what you hear
note the words that you don't understand
especially the compound words
If you use our LingQ
Note those words before you reply
so the parts that you can’t understand easily
get noticed
and then you listen to it again, read it again, and listen to it again
slowly, you will pay more attention to it
and then slowly
your hearing will be improved
Okay, thank you.