Why I can't speak English Part 2
This thought blown my mind away for a little and I said to myself, okay, my vocabulary is around 6000 words, but obviously, it includes both most popular words and less popular ones. What if I learn exactly TOP 5000 of the most popular words and will master using them so perfectly so that I don’t need a single second trying to translate the word in my head. I thought this way I could finally have a major progress in the way I speak.
This idea deprived me of a sleep. I started gathering the set of Top-5000 most popular words, avoiding 100500% obvious words, like mother, father, cat, dog, etc. Then I made a little test. All words seemed perfectly familiar to me, I needed no time memorizing them, but! When I tried a reverse translation test (from my language to target language), I faced so much
troubles with the very easiest words that just completely blown me away. And all this happened with such obvious words that I doubted at first as to whether I need them in my set at all.
After this reverse translation test I finally understood that my vocabulary is not 6000 words as I thought before; because when it comes to speaking, vocab shrinks so hard that it can reach roughly a level of 500-1000 words. So, starting from yesterday I learn the most popular words that I knew before, but now I only try to translate from my own language to the target language. And in couple months I’m gonna compare the results.
God bless those who managed to read to this point! :)
Search from various English teachers...
Corrections · 2
0
Wow, Victoria, thank you so much for the explicit comment! I read it twice and will surely read it more and also will show it to my girlfriend :)
0
It was very interesting reading your perspective on your experience with English.
The difference between "passive skills" (listening and reading) and "active skills" (speaking and writing) is extremely important in language learning. These skills are learned separately and different parts of the brain are used for different language skills and processes ( http://tonks.disted.camosun.bc.ca/courses/psyc110/biopsyc/brlang.gif ).
While you may think you know a word because you can understand it when you hear it or read it, you may not "know" it in the sense that you can elicit it from your memory and actually use it in a conversation or writing. You've attached the English word with a meaning, but not the meaning with the English word. This can be extremely frustrating to students learning a new language; I know it has frustrated me before.
One thing to keep in mind is how we learned our first languages. Most people grow up babbling and trying to speak and copy our parents' words from the beginning (using active and passive skills). Children do not memorize lists or listen silently (using only passive skills). When learning new words, one should always say them aloud and write them in order to incorporate all parts of the brain used for language. Learners should listen, read, speak and write all new vocabulary so they can truly "know" it. Each part fits together like a puzzle.
Good luck, Zamir!
Want to progress faster?
Join this learning community and try out free exercises!
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!
Start Learning Today
