A British boy studying

Wang Fei:  大家好，欢迎收听本期的《你问我答》节目，我是王飞，今天和我一起主持节目的是 Finn. 
 
Finn:  Hello  everybody.  This  is  Finn. Wang  Fei, What's  the  question  for  today? And what are you doing with all these books?
 
Wang Fei:  Oh. I'm still searching answers for today's question! 
 
Finn:  How to Memorise 1000 English Words in One Week!
 
Wang Fei:  Believe it or not, some books say  they can help you memorise even more words more quickly. 
 
Finn:  What? More words more  quickly! Do  you  really  believe  that?  I'll help you with  some  really  good methods  for memorising  English words  in  today's programme. I've got at least five effective ways. 
 
Wang Fei:Oh that's brilliant!  Now, let's hear the question first.
 
Insert 
 
Ben:Hello.  I  am  Ben  from  Zhengzhou  Henan  province.  How  British  kids memorise  the  vocabulary  at  the primary  school. Does  it work for Chinese (learners)?  Can  you  give me  some  suggestion  on  how  to memorise  the words? 
 
Wang Fei:  来自郑州的 Ben 向我们询问英国的儿童是如何学习英语单词的？中国的英语学习者能不能模仿他们的学习方法呢？另外，Ben 也想知道记忆英语单词的有效方法。
 
Finn:  As you know, there are so many words in English to learn. So the process of learning and memorising them can be quite a long and difficult one. 
 
Wang Fei:  对。英语的词汇确实非常多。Finn, how did you manage to memorise so many English words as a boy?
 
Finn:            Well, you know  it wasn't  so difficult  for me  to memorise  so many English words because I grow up in an English-speaking environment with English-speaking parents. So for me the process was extremely natural. 
 
Wang Fei:    Finn 说他小时候就生活在一个英语环境中，an English-speaking environment. 所以他就不用像我们中国的英语学习者那样，经历一个把英语单词转换成汉语意思的过程
了。
 
Finn:So  if  a Chinese  learner  of English wants  to  learn English  as  I  did when  I was  a  boy, well what  they  have  to  do  is  to  put  themself  into  an  English language environment. But I think that might be quite difficult for some of our listeners in China. 
 
Wang Fei:Yes what a pity. 看来大多数的中国人无法像英国的儿童那样学习英语了。
 
 
Sting
 
 
Wang Fei:So Finn, maybe we can find some good methods from these books. 
         
Finn:I  know  some  of  these  books may  tell  you  that  you  can memorise  1000 words  in  one  week  or  two  days.  But  I  think  it's  against  the  nature  of learning a foreign language. 
 
Wang Fei:Finn. 解释说这样快速记忆单词的方法并不符合学习外语的本质。Why  do  you  say that, Finn?
 
Finn:Well actually, Wang Fei, OK let’s …can we talk about you?
 
Wang Fei:    Yes. No problem. 
 
Finn: Because I think you are a typical Chinese learner of English. And if you look back at your learning process, was there any benefit to using these books memorising so many words at one time? What do you think?
 
Wang Fei:我回想看一看，还真没有什么速成的记忆单词的方法。整个过程就是记了就忘，然后继
续再记，然后继续再忘, 然后再记，然后 … 
 
Finn:然后再忘，是吗？
 
Wang Fei:Finn, it's quite embarrassing.  Am I too slow in memorising English words?
 
Finn:You  know,  actually Wang  Fei.  I  don't  think  you  should  feel  bad.  I  think most learners would be like you. And, you know, I was no exception when I  was  learning  Chinese.  其实，大家都差不多！So  I  think  this  is  a  natural learning  process.  Now,  there  was  a  psychologist,  called  Hermann Ebbinghaus, who discovered what he called a “forgetting curve"  in human memory through his experiments.
 
Wang Fei:  德国的心理学家艾宾浩斯发现了人类记忆的遗忘曲线forgetting  curve. 那他发现什么了呢？
 
Finn:   He  found  that  people  start  forgetting  right  after  memorising,  and  the sharpest decline is in the first twenty minutes. 
 
Wang Fei:  人们在记忆后，马上就开始遗忘。最初的 20 分钟忘得最快。真是很有道理。有时候刚记了 一 个 单 词， 回头 就 忘了 。 Finn,  What  are  YOUR  effective  ways  of memorising English words then?
 
Finn:  Ok, well, there are many ways. Actually. Wang Fei, I think you might have used  some of  them. Now  if you have used  these, please  tell  the  listeners whether you think they are effective.
 
Wang Fei:  没问题。
 
Finn:  Ok, the first method is … 
 
 
Insert           
 
 Method No.1: Choose a practical vocabulary book 方法一：选择一本实用的词汇书               
 
Finn:The good thing about this method is that if you have a clear list, then it can help you set clear targets. Just in case that you feel a bit lazy. 
 
Wang  Fei:对。这个方法确实很有效. 我上大学的时候，花了整整一个暑假的时间，背了一本大学英语词汇书。大约 1000 个单词左右。暑假过后，我感觉自己的英语阅读、听力还有口语都有很大的提高。
 
Finn:Well. That sounds very effective! But did you continue doing that?
 
Wang Fei:别提了，后来我选的词汇书不是太厚，就是太难，一个也没有坚持下来。
 
Finn:So, I think it's important to choose a vocabulary book or list that suits you.
Now, the second method is … 
 
Insert
 
Method No.2: Listen, read and write at the same time.方法二：记忆单词的时候，要边听、边读、边写
 
Wang  Fei:    Finn. 这个方法我也试过。我在咱们的 bbcukchina 的网站上，Listen,  read  and
write  at  the  same  time. 特别是可以大声跟着读，确实非常有效果。不过，说实在
的，我还是会经常忘。
 
Finn:          Don't  worry.  You  know  when  you  encounter  these  new  words  again,  no
matter  whether  you  listen  to  them  or  read  them,  you  know,  you  will
memorise them more quickly. Now, the third method is …   
 
Insert
Method No.3: Memorise words in meaningful sentences.    方法三：把单词放在有意义的句子里记忆。
 
Finn:Many  linguists  have  found  out  that  it's  much  easier  and  quicker  to memorise  a  poem  or  a  meaningful  sentence  than  to  memorise  each individual word. 
 
Wang Fei:是这样的。Finn. 我还有个好办法，就是我随身带的这个小黑本。
 
Insert
 
Method No.4: Keep a vocabulary pocket book with you. 方法四：随身带着生词本
 
Wang Fei:    我碰到不会的单词或者句子我就写下来。坐地铁或者等人的时候，我就拿出来看看。也很有效。
 
Finn:Let  me  have  a  look  at  your  little  black  workbook.  Ah,  it's  interesting. You've  written  quite  a  lot  here,  Wang  Fei,  very  good.  There's  a  word, "hallucinate". What does that mean?
 
Wang Fei:Sorry. I've forgotten. 
 
Finn:You’ve  forgotten? Well  that’s  not  good  enough.  You  know,  although  you wrote it down, you need to go over it again and again, from time to time. 
 
Wang Fei:Yes, that's absolutely true. 
 
Finn:Now there is a sentence in your 小黑本, and it is "to use a sledge hammer to crack a nut".
 
Wang Fei:这个我记着。这个是“杀鸡焉用宰牛刀”“小题大做”的意思。
 
Finn:And,  you  know,  that's  proved  that  it's  easier  to  memorise  meaningful sentences. 
 
Wang Fei:Sure. It really is effective. Finn, what method do you usually use now?
 
Finn:Well, these days I use the internet quite a lot. 
 
Insert
Method No.5: Use software or an online dictionary.                       方法五：使用网上字典或者英语学习软件
 
 
Finn:You know some online dictionary websites or different kinds of software are really  quick  and  really  accurate.  You  can  also  easily  compare  the  results from different online sources to make sure what you get is accurate.
 
Wang  Fei:This is a very good way for advanced  learners. 看来有效记忆单词的方法非常多，我们无法一一列举，关键一点是找到最适合你自己的。 

Finn: Right,  so  all  of  these methods  we mentioned  today  are  not  very  useful unless  you  remember  to  repeat  what  you've  learned  and  to  find opportunities to use it as soon as possible. 
 
Wang Fei:  是的。希望我们今天的节目为 Ben 的问题提供了一个满意的答案。如果其他听友也有有关记忆英语单词的好方法，那就请给我们发个邮件过来，我们的邮箱地址是：
 
Finn:questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk. 
 
Wang Fei:Bye!
 
Finn:Bye for now. 

How can you learn English as a native English speaker did in his or her childhood?

Here are some effective ways for memorising English words:

Method 1: Choose a practical vocabulary book.

Method 2: Listen, read and write at the same time.

Method 3: Memorise words in meaningful sentences.

Method 4: Keep a vocabulary pocket book with you.

Method 5: Use software or an online dictionary.

Wang Fei and Finn will explain how to use these methods effectively. However, they also point out that all of these methods are not very useful unless you repeat and use what you've learned as much as possible.

If you have a question you would like to ask our team, email us at questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk.

We might produce a programme about your question.