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I have been using English for about 15 years, but have never attempted to enlarge my vocabulary. One exception. A friend had challenged me to read a GRE vacabulary book for one week and he would test me on any 50 words. I got 49 correct. (It was a real busy week. Apart from all the assignments, a friend had come to visit me. So, about two sevenths of my spare time was spent on the streets of Shanghai.
I did not use any special method. Or perhaps I have used some methods but I have not realized it.
Anyway, it does not matter now.
I have forgotten each and every of the words I learned during that week.
There are always people trying to teach ways to memorise words of a foreign language. They are all good. At least for some people.
Not a single is the best. It's safe to say that, I suppose.
What's important is whether it suits you. For me, to remember a word as it is is much easier than remember all the "brother going to brothel alone" things (by no means to offend accueil. It just does not suit me). A new word is already a burden for me, and now I am supposed to remember something else, even more burdensome.
What's more important, what are you going to do with your newly acquired vocabulary? To pass a GRE test? Go ahead! Any method is good, as long as you can still have anything left at the time of test. Or perhaps you want to write better English and communicate in the language. Then this sort of snatch-food way of enlarging your vocabulary would never work.
In the first post, I noticed the author proudly announced that you could explain a few of the difficult words you have learned to impress the foreigners. Can you? Do you know how to explain to a foreigner the meaning of a really difficult word? In Chinese, perhaps. By saying so, I do not intend at all to offend anybody. At least I have found it very difficult to explain an English word in ENGLISH, although I feel confident that I speak better English than a lot of our country people.
In summary, do not waste your not so plentiful time memorising something that you will forget tomorrow.
Do something real.
Speak English more often. If you do not know anybody to speak English with, talk to yourself. That's what I did 20 years ago.
Listen to the radio. Watch television. Better comprehension and speaking skills are more important and more practical than a few "big words", even if you CAN really impress a few foreigners.
Write something in English. |
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