Everyone knows that having a big vocabulary is really important for speaking English well, and of course for succeeding at IELTS. So how do you learn more words and improve your English? There are lots of different ways.
每個人都知道掌握大量的詞彙對於學好英語非常重要，當然對於雅思考試的成功也是如此。那麼你如何學習更多的單詞並提高你的英語呢?有很多不同的方法。
CARRY A VOCABULARY NOTEBOOK隨身攜帶詞彙筆記本This is so important. When learning a new language, it’s really helpful to carry a vocabulary notebook in your pocket. (Ok, so in 2019 maybe you prefer to have an app on your iPhone…)
這非常重要。學習一門新語言時，在口袋裡放一本詞彙筆記本是很有幫助的。(也許2019年你更喜歡在你的iPhone上安裝一個應用程式……)
Why?
Science shows us that writing something down helps us to remember it. You can read a word over and over, but it’s better to write it down.
科學告訴我們，把事情寫下來有助於我們記住它。你可以一遍又一遍地讀一個單詞，但最好把它寫下來。
Write notes to help you remember words.
Later, you can come back and review the word, helping to keep it permanently in your brain. You can also note down information about how to use the word, such as some examples.
稍後，你可以回來複習這個單詞，幫助它永久地留在你的大腦中。你也可以記下如何使用這個詞的信息，比如一些例子。
By keeping a vocabulary notebook, you can help yourself gather lots more new words and study them any time you like.
通過記單詞本，你可以幫助自己收集更多的新單詞，並隨時學習它們。
2. USE GOOGLE 使用谷歌
What do I mean by using Google for learning new vocabulary? Well, you can use Google in many different ways, but here’s a really good one:
使用谷歌學習新詞彙是什麼意思?你可以用很多不同的方法來使用谷歌，但這裡有一個非常好的方法:
When you find out a new word, it’s important to learn how to use it. It doesn’t matter if you know the meaning and pronunciation of a word; if you can’t use it in a sentence, it is worthless.
當你發現一個新單詞時，學會如何使用它是很重要的。你是否知道一個單詞的意思和發音並不重要;如果你不能把它用在句子裡，它就是毫無價值的。
A good dictionary should have some example sentences that show you how to use the new word, but not all of them do, and some only have one or two sentences.
一本好的詞典應該有一些例句來告訴你如何使用這個新單詞，但並不是所有的都有，有些只有一兩句話。
So when you learn a new word, stick it into Google and look up some examples of how it is used by native speakers (preferably professional writers).
所以，當你學習一個新單詞時，把它放到谷歌中，並查看一些以它為母語的人(最好是專業作家)是如何使用它的例子。
Let’s take an example.
You read the word 「forge」 in an article. You realize it is a verb, and you check its meaning in a dictionary. However, you wonder what sort of practical use it may have. So you type it into Google:
你在一篇文章中讀到「偽造」這個詞。你意識到它是一個動詞，你在字典裡查它的意思。然而，您想知道它可能有什麼實際用途。所以你把它輸入谷歌:
You can check Google News for more topical ideas, and hopefully a better standard of English.
你可以查看谷歌新聞，了解更多的時事觀點，希望能提高英語水平。
3. ALWAYS LEARN COLLOCATIONS-學習搭配
When people learn words in English, they often just learn single words. This simply isn’t good enough because there are some combinations of words that commonly go together, and you really need to learn these to get a better understanding.
當人們學習英語單詞時，他們通常只學習單個單詞。這還不夠好，因為通常有一些單詞組合在一起，您需要學習這些單詞才能更好地理解它們。
in writing task，A student wrote, 「I agree to this idea.」
在寫作中，有學生這麼寫，「我同意這個想法。」
What is wrong with that?
In English, we can say 「agree to」, but it has a very different meaning to 「agree with」. It is possible to agree to something, but that means you have been asked to do something.
在英語中，我們可以說「agree to」，但是和「agree with」的意思卻大不相同。同意某事是可能的，但這意味著你被要求做某事。
I agree to help you move house.我同意幫你搬家。We offered him a contract, and he agreed to it.我們向他提出一份合同，他同意了。On the other hand, he should have said 「agree with」, which is far more likely in an IELTS essay, as it refers to agree/disagree in regards an idea.
另一方面，他應該說「agree with」，這在雅思作文中更有可能出現，因為它指的是關於一個想法的同意/不同意。
We agree with the aforementioned statement.我們同意上述說法。I agree with the notion that everyone should help out.我同意每個人都應該幫忙的觀點。There are so many examples like this in English, where you may learn a verb, but you don’t know which preposition must follow it. There aren’t many rules that govern this, and unfortunately they just need to be learned.
在英語中有很多這樣的例子，你可以學習一個動詞，但你不知道哪個介詞必須跟在它後面。並沒有太多的規則來管理它，不幸的是，它們只是需要學習。
4. USE IT OR LOSE IT 要麼利用它，要麼失去它
If you want to remember new words, you should start using them. If you think that you can just remember a word and then maybe it will come in handy one day, you are mistaken.
如果你想記住新單詞，你應該開始使用它們。如果你認為你能記住一個單詞，也許有一天它會派上用場，那你就錯了。
One of the best ways to make a word stick in your head is to put it into practice. Even if it is not a word that naturally comes into your everyday language, you should try to find some means of practicing it.
把一個單詞記在腦子裡最好的方法之一就是把它付諸實踐。即使它不是一個自然進入你日常語言的單詞，你也應該試著找到一些練習它的方法。
Let’s say you find the word 「daydream」. You write it into your notebook, check it on Google, and figure out some useful collocations. Next, you should use it. If you can’t bring it up in conversation, try writing about it in a journal!
假設你發現了「白日夢」這個詞。你把它寫在筆記本上，在谷歌上檢查一下，然後找出一些有用的搭配。接下來，你應該使用它。如果你不能在談話中提起這件事，試著把它寫在日記裡!
Here is an example:
When I was a child, I used to get into trouble at school for daydreaming. My teacher was so frustrated because I didn’t pay enough attention, and spent all my time looking out the window. 「You’re such a daydreamer,」 she told me.當我還是個孩子的時候，我經常在學校因為做白日夢而惹上麻煩。我的老師很沮喪，因為我沒有足夠的注意力，把所有的時間都花在看窗外。「你真是個空想家，」她對我說。Here you can see I have used the verb in a new form, and also transformed it into a noun. This will help me to remember it better.
在這裡你可以看到我用了一個新的形式的動詞，也把它變成了一個名詞。這將幫助我更好地記住它。
A FINAL NOTE-最後一個注意
I think it’s important to add something here.
Vocabulary is important, but it’s not enough to only have a big vocabulary. When I was teaching in China, I met many students who learned thousands of words, but they couldn’t hold a simple conversation.
詞彙很重要，但僅僅擁有大量詞彙量是不夠的。當我在中國教書的時候，我遇到很多學生，他們學了成千上萬的單詞，但是他們不能進行簡單的對話
If I asked them for a synonym or to conjugate an obscure verb, they could do it. However, if I asked, 「How was your weekend?」 they wouldn’t be able to answer me.
如果我問他們一個同義詞或一個模糊動詞的變位，他們能做到。然而，如果我問，「你周末過得怎麼樣?」「他們不會回答我的。
It is important to take your new language and practice using it. Pay attention to context, grammar, and try to build up fluency whenever possible. Vocabulary is great, but it’s only part of the struggle!
學習一門新的語言並練習使用它是很重要的。注意語境、語法，儘可能提高流利程度。詞彙是偉大的，但它只是奮鬥的一部分!
蚌課堂-Amber雅思工作室 出品