Learning Words - 100 Words a Day?
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 30. 01. 2012
- đ„ Learn languages like I do at LingQ. Try it for free: bit.ly/3Kle4OZ
How fast can we learn words? What does knowing a word mean? Here is my blog post on this subject: blog.thelinguist.com/can-we-le...
Transcript:
Hi there, Steve Kaufmann here. I posted a post on my Blog The Linguist on Language (Iâll try to remember to leave a link here) where I talked about whether we can learn 100 words a day. I think since I started Czech I have learned more than 100 words a day. Maybe 150 words a day, I donât know. I describe all these numbers on my blog post. Basically, LingQ says that I know 25,000 words, but that includes non-words, numbers and names. How many of those there are I donât know, maybe 10%. Plus, I have saved about 20,000 links, which includes a number of phrases.
Of the words that I have saved I donât know how many I know, but I think I know maybe a third of them. So 25-28,000 words in there and then I said that and youâll see this all on the exchange on my blog. Various people have challenged different aspects of this. Stefan from Denmark said, well yeah, thatâs true in an inflected language like Czech where a noun might have six or seven different forms, verbs have different forms. In English there are fewer forms. I mean we do have âI goâ, but we have âhe goesâ, âyou goâ, âwe goâ, âwentâ and âgoneâ, so we have a few forms of the verbs. Probably verbs we have as many forms as the Czechs have, but in nouns we just have the singular and the plural and the Czechs might have six or seven. So if I have, theoretically, 25-28,000 words in Czech, what is that equivalent to in English?
Study the full transcript on LingQ: goo.gl/puZfKU
Timelines:
0:20 How many Czech words I have learned.
1:15 Number of words vary depending on a language.
3:29 Do you only know a word when you can use it?
4:40 My first goal is comprehension.
5:18 Even in English I know more words passively then use actively.
7:23 Nailing all words down is not realistic.
8:26 Passive vocabulary grows incidentally.
9:34 Focus on passive vocabulary and active one will come.
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Hi thanks for the tips I am currently learning Spanish and I got into what lingQ recommended but it translates into English is it possible to choose another language? How do you do that? Thank you
1) Make sure you have a large vocabulary. The words you don't understand may be important. Read more. Read novels, not just short articles.
2) Write. Keep a diary. Use new words and phrases when you write.
3) Learn some handy key phrases to use in conversation.
4) If you are a LingQ member, save a lot of key phrases and then review them in flash cards, with your native language on the front, and the English on the back.
5) Don't worry and keep speaking. You will improve.
Native language in the front? You mean target language on the front?
many say you have to forget your language to learn the new one and here, you say use your own language, I am lost .....
You need your own language. You learn new things based on having a point of reference, languages you know.@@michaelvaguet3655
U take anyone English, he says we have to learn the way babies learn âŠ. So I donât know Iâm lost and frustrated!
@@michaelvaguet3655 that makes absolutely no sense since there are peoples who know over 20 languages. Dont even think about trying to forget your native language lmao this is just ridiculous
Even in our native languages, passive vocabulary is much larger than active vocabulary.
Uhh you sure about that?
Yep. I am a native English speaker and there are words which I never myself, but if I see them written I will understand their meaning. There's also a lot of words in English that I have no idea what they mean, simply because I rarely come across them and have no need to know them.
Michael Short there are studies based on this that I'm a tad too lazy to look up right meow. I think it might be 10,000-20,000 and like 30,000 words passively
"Acquitted of all charges, Double-Jeopardy ruled to be at play."
@@Crashandburn999 Oh yeah. Especially in a language like english which has a lot of "combined" words (e.g., 'sunbathing' = sun + bathe) that make it easy for a native speaker to infer meaning the first time they see the word.
Hearing you say that forgetting is common is a lot more motivating than hearing about those who supposedly remember everything.
I'm getting tired of these 'secrets' which only seems to work for those who share those 'secrets'
There are no secrets, only hard work. Work. Work.
@LearningFrenchNow To me fluent just means comfortable, able to converse on a variety of subjects.
Advanced means more, an ability to write and speak almost without errors, almost like a native.
I am Advanced in French, Japanese, Mandarin, High Intermediate in Spanish , Swedish and German, Intermediate in Italian, Portuguese, Cantonese, Portuguese and Russian. High beginner, in Czech, (but able to read a lot), and high beginner in Korean.
But I can improve!
People who have learned many words by listening and reading don't speak like that. They speak well. Students of French in Canada's school system are usually unable to even sound like Tarzan in French after ten years in the system.
For my German exam I had to learn 300 words a week.
A technique I used was to associate the word with an image, not the translation into English. For example: I would attach an image of a bed with the word 'bett' and know bett as what it looks like, not the English word 'bed'
Du bist stimmt aber bett ist ein bisschen einfach ja?
***** Good for you - but where would you put 50 new pieces each day?
I'd like to add on that and say when you don't know a word your studying for go on google.(the nation goes here) i.e. google.de (for germany) select the image tab then type in the word to get an image for it. It's helped my recall immensely.
Mcwsmurf1
May i correct you ;P?
"Du hast recht, aber Bett ist ein bisschen einfach, oder / nicht / oder nicht?"
+CountryBoyGay thanks :)
Here's a tip. Take a song you like, get the lyrics, learn all the words in it, then go listen to it and sing along.
I like using that technique for Korean. Once youâve learn enough you can then focus on pronunciation (with the right song), which will be my first kind of output for the language.
Language learning is not a sport and not a competition. Language learning is personal. We learn for our own goals. The tests are relevant only for those who want or need to be tested. I speak 12 languages, and have only ever been tested in 2 of them.
I was only ever tested in French and Mandarin, almost 50 years ago. Since then I have learned to use 9 more foreign languages, without tests, and am working on two more. I have no need for tests.
Karate and language learning? Most sports do not have levels or belts. People just play them and enjoy, like languages.
What do you mean by words I am "supposed to use?"
Don't understand test obsession unless you need them for a job or to get into a school.
Thanks Steve for showing that tests are artificial. I agree with you, tests for language level are only useful for work or school placement, such as, what class do we slot you in?
It is a great measure IMHO. It mostly measures your reading activity, since you only count as "known", words that you have met and not saved for review. The more you read the more you learn. Furthermore, I often save for review many forms of the same root word. Different forms have different functions. For example, act, actually, active, inactive, activity, react, reactive, action, activate etc. are part of the same root word. If you know one, you don't you know them all.
When I first started using LingQ I was really strict about which words I'd click as "known." After a while I started using Steve's more lenient method of clicking words that I recognize in a certain context. I find that this actually helps me to learn the words because when I see that I "know" it in LingQ it gives me a little boost of reassurance that the word actually is what I think it is.
@4RleF Keep reading and listening. You cannot use them all, and you are going to forget some. Don't worry about it.
I realize this is 8 years later, but I think it's so funny how your videos keep on being recommended exactly as I need them! I am using LinQ to supplement my Chinese and this is helpful advice that I don't have to get so hung up on a word. Learn it and move on. If you see this, thanks a million!
Thank you for this video, Mr. Kaufmann! I find that this is actually what's happening with my language learning journey right now. I used to deliberately learn the words and, often, I will not move on until I have learned or understood every single one in the article or dialogue. But it was too difficult, I progressed very slowly and very few words were actually retained in my brain. Several months later, due to lack of time, I decided to just go and take whatever I can of the journey. Meaning, I read stuff when I could, listened to the language as much as I could through podcasts, movies and songs because I just didn't have the time anymore to actually dedicate several hours in a day to sit down and focus on studying the language. In truth, I find that I do learn more new words this way. I can't remember how many times I have come across the word "ì€ëȘ " but it never stuck until I heard it in a drama and instantly, it's a new word that I now know.
Anyway, I just wanted to stress the importance of "passive learning". Not to say that it can ever replace "active learning", but it's a great big help.
All your videos are terrific. I'm a language learner and your advices and comments have helped me a lot. Thanks!
Dear Steve, you are so easy to listen to. I have not heard of Lingq until finding your channel last night. Seeing how much you work i think your website deserves some Love. hopefully i will be able to further my chinese and maybe motivate my partner to study Czech more :) both tricky languages in their own right. Thanks again for the pep talks ;) I enjoy them a lot and always feel better about one thing or another once im done listening.
I just read and listen a lot, and words that I need to learn just naturally repeat themselves. I have no idea how often I need to see a word to remember it. This depends on the word itself and many other factors.
I love listening to your videos. You are always right on point. And more than that you are honest, you do not have an agenda and you do not put down others in the business like I have seen on other videos.
@CorinWright I doubt if that is the case. Of course, using the words helps you remember them. it is always a tug of war between reading more to acquire more words, or starting to use them to help you remember them. All languages seem hard to to understand at first and gradually become clearer.
Excelente video de vocabulario pasivo y activo. Lo mejor que vĂ en internet. Gracias Steve. Saludos, HernĂĄn de Argentina.
active words you can use, passive you understand
The more I watch your videos, the more I find myself agreeing with your views on learning languages. Thank you for sharing your ideas!
This is a fascinating topic that you have addressed. I've had this question in the back of my mind for years. Great food for thought.
Stephen is great. Such a good person to learn from. Iâm listening intently to every word he speaks.
@Neuroneos I first learn by reading (and LingQing) and most of the incidental words come from reading I think. I reinforce my sense of them by listening. You have to notice the words here and there for them to stick.
Thx for the info Steve! æăăŠăăăŠăăăăšăïŒ
I learned the word âsubscribeâ I know It and I can also put it in action:)
A new sub here!
@usenetposts I have spent about an hour or two a day, mostly reading and listening. Words are learned mostly from context, incidentally, not from any deliberate word review effort.
Which language to study is up to you. Try LingQ. There are 20 languages there.
Got to agree. Listening to Steve talk about language learning is delightful in itself.
Excellent explanation.
Thanks a lot for your advice! LingQ is really helpful!
Thank-you Steve for this great video, I'm only semi-fluent in Spanish being a mixed blood but have been putting a lot of time with German, these are amazing tips.
Thanks Steve!! great point!!
Hi Steve !
Im From Brazil I learn many things and many words in English with you.
Yes, after learning Russian with its Cyrillic alphabet, I am really enjoying Czech with its Latin alphabet. The tones are important but I just meant that it is hard to try to nail them in the beginning. Like most things, after enough exposure it will be easier. You need to get a feel for the rhythm, and as difficult as it seems, you will get better. Focus on listening, not speaking or pronouncing, at least for a long time. Then when you start speaking everything, including tones, will be easier.
Hi sir! I am so happy to see your passion for the learning process. When we can start a conversation in romanian about this topic ? I will be glad to speak about that
this was one of your best vids. thank you sir, now i feel more enthusiastic and also calmer.
Totally life changing video. It takes so much pressure off, but also puts so much natural ability on! ХпаŃĐžĐ±ĐŸ Đ±ĐŸĐ»ŃŃĐŸĐ”!
So which second you learned
Here's where a study of the bits and pieces, i.e. the smaller words, will help in understanding the more complicated words. As I always I enjoyed this video. Keep up the good work ! :)
You're the only one from whom i got the best suggestions... đâ€ïž
I developed my language learning techniques while learning Mandarin. Listen, and read, lots. Find things that interest you. Put in the time to learn the characters, and don't worry too much about the tones, they will come.
@cccEngineer What is higher than advanced?My 4 best are English, French, Japanese, and Mandarin
huge thank sir you help me a lot. I really appreciated
I too had the idea of sticking to only 10 words a day. But now you prove this method wrong and you are right sir. I was stuck to learning only 10 words which held me back and took forever. Now, I'm gonna continue learning words without worrying about them. You literally saved my day! I love your approach and mindset when it comes to learning languages.
I agree nariotto. I was reading Tolsty without a strong grasp of the declensions, and stil enjoying. I would save each form of the nouns in LingQ and review them. I would study the phrases where these words appeared. Their functions were different depending on ending. Gradually I got better at producing the cases correctly. So for me learning each form of the word as a different word was helpful.
great video and great take on language learning in general. I speak english as my first language and at the moment learning German. When I listen to you're podcasts in German the message from this video really rings true. I can understand pretty much all of what you say to whoever it is that you are in conversation with but find it harder to follow what it is the native german speaker is saying. It's always very obvious that you are easily following the conversation but you're playing it safe when it comes to speaking. I actually discovered your channel about a week ago and it's such a great, easy system. And super addictive!
James Heron Thanks and good luck.
Excellent. Thank you!
Thanks so much for your advice :) I really appreciate it:)
thank a lot it really helps me a lot,i was so obsessed with to know much vocabulary in the languages that I am learning , I wanted to use the whole words I read on lingQ and Wikipedia it was very frustrating when I didn't remember them
Very good Steve, let's not get hung up on word counts. Once you learn the most useful ones the others will flow in with exposure. Understanding how words are derived or amalgamated from other smaller more common words is a key, I think, in any language. In learning Thai, this is very key, many words are just 2 or 3 smaller common words combined into 1 to form another word.
your solution to learn vocabulary is so great.you amaze me.i'm understanding a lot.thank you very much.
Very well said, watching this video is like listening to my own internal thoughts, I agreed with all of it.
Thanks for commenting.
Incredibly inspiring to hear this! As someone who struggles with learning new Japanese words for active usage, I shall take more pride in the passive words that I already know of as well as _new_ ones that I manage to remember about! And to not worry so much about _when_ or even _if_ Iâll be able to actively make use of new vocabulary.
I came across this video in the right moment. I was starting to struggle in my target language because I have a good passive vocabulary but a can't use them well :)
@easportsitsinthegam1 I LingQ a lot of words. Whether this is from lots of short articles or from longer articles , I just want a lot of yellow highlighted words when I read. I agree that at first short articles are better, and then as we improve we can handle longer lessons.
Steve,
I admire that you are learning my native language, It is really hard work. We learn czech language 9 years and still we are uncertain where ato use i or y.
PĆeji VĂĄm hodnÄ ĆĄtÄstĂ a radosti. Knihy , kterĂ© bych doporuÄil napsal Karel Äapek.
Jan
@Neuroneos I certainly cannot use them. If you listen to my video and read my blog post you will see that I can only recognize them in context. Most of them are learned incidentally through the massive reading and listening that I do. You do not learn words one day and use them, or even recognize them the next day. It is a gradual process of getting used to words. You do not know when they will stick.
Thanks for the explanation....I appreciate that....
Thanks for post, interesting arguments. i'm gathering information on productive language learning. i want to learn english better then i'm doing now, want to grow my vocabulary because there are more opportunities in life when you learn international language. My native language is lithuanian, quite difficult language. Also I can read, speak and write in russian, because before our nation got independence we were in Russia's influence. So there were lot of people who spoke in russian and i grew up in such enviroment were i been able to listen and speak in russian. Later in school I choose Russian lessons and get to knew language letters and how to write them.
Yeah I know my english grammar is not very good, so thanks for patience.
Good luck in your pursuit.
I like your view. Thanks for sharing these ideas.
@raydenovo Glad to hear it!
If you have both the time and motivation to do so it is very achievable. I am an English teacher currently on vacation from work. I am learning +100 words a day on Memrise. 100 words is my daily goal but yesterday for example I covered 147 new words. If you convert new words into very memorable images and combine that with a spaced repetition program like anki or memrise like I'm using at the moment it becomes possible to both learn and remember a ridiculous amount of information. But, I have the time available to study for six hours a day for 5 days of the week this month. Obviously not everybody has that luxury.
+Dogodomo is memrise really very useful?
For me it is. Using a spaced repetition program is the fastest way to learn vocabulary and retain it in your memory. A lot of people like to create decks using Anki for example. The process of creating your own cards on Anki can make the word more memorable for you. The problem I had with that was that making the cards took up more time than actually learning so I was wasting time instead of being efficient. On Memrise every deck you could want is already pre made, there are pre made decks for Anki as well of course, but the most beneficial thing for me was the fact that they have points and leader boards. Some people don't really care about that kind of thing but for my personality it allowed me to tap into my competitive side to keep me studying everyday to keep myself on top. That might sound stupid but you have to do whatever works for you. If I'm just studying for myself I am very lazy but I love to win, even if it's just meaningless points. You can also create your own pictures or whatever to aid you on Memrise like you would on Anki if some words are causing you particular trouble. What I suggest is learning how to use more powerful memory techniques like converting words and information into crazy and memorable pictures in your head. This seems to allow words to stay in your head longer than the usual graph for memory loss over time suggests. A great book I recommend reading is 'Moonwalking with Einstein'. It's about how a normal journalist trained for a year and became national memory champion. Also, 'Fluent Forever' which will teach you more or less the same techniques but geared specifically for language. It is the best book on rapid language acquisition that I have come across so far and you will learn a lot about how to study in ways that work with your brain instead of against it. Anyways, this was a long response and probably more information than you needed but hopefully I was able to provide you with some value. Best of luck in your studies :)
Dogodomoâ thanks a lot for the response and ur valuable timeâș
Dogodomo will try memrise for sure
Dogodomo how do you create image associations? For example pato means duck. Do you see the word pot and imagine it on a ducks head?
@jjay75 People can Tag saved LingQs for root words or any other reason they want.
Every episode is a proof that you know topic from several directions like a highest level of dive in theme you learn
THIS IS A TRULY AWESOME VIDEO WITH A TRULY AWESOME MESSAGE
Thank you Sir!đđđŒ
if you have taken the language in school for a year or 2, it won't be too hard to try this. find a list of 2000 to 3000 of the most frequently used words or word families of a language. write a set of about 300 words down with a translation and say them out loud as you write them and repeat the next week and the next so that every week you're reviewing the same 2000 to 3000 words for about a month. 6000 words and you'll be able to read and watch movies and understand at least 70 percent.
great video, thanks
MANY THANKS
I really enjoy your videos Steve. I found what you said at 7:58 on this video very helpful - I've been trying to nail each word that I learn. I'm learning mainly Russian, but others too. I find learning song lyrics a good way of learning new vocabulary. I don't know if like me you find that some words stick instantly but that others just never seem to stick at all no matter how many times we try. By the way if you're interested in Scottish Gaelic I can help you.
I learned about 450 words of french in two days, but I still needed to make a review because after a few hours I'd forget them. And I could tell all of them for a while, and once again, they would escape...So It's possible to learn more than 100 words, but you'll have to refresh them. As you keep doing this, learning more words gets harder because you'll have 200 more words every day to revise.
450 is a bunch, most people can't even dream of learning that many words but I know is possible... however you still have to revise them and learn them in context, otherwise you'll have a vague understanding of their meaning and all the possible ways they can be used.
Anyway, learning that many words is possible and is really accelerates your learning process.
I learned 10000 words a day
I learned to talk Mandarin fluently backwards in 1 day.
Good discussion. However when I came here I was attracted by the title and curious how you do it in order to learn 100-150 words a day! Do you use flashcards, many rehearsals per day, or simply have a good memory on top of it...? It would be enriching if you could share what techniques you apply.
I just read and listen a lot and use LingQ. Most of my words I learn without realizing it. I don't think the deliberate study of words is as effective.
Thanks Steve. I'm not really convinced with the hundreds of words, but you made me realize a big mistake learning vocabulary. Of course I have to learn the different forms of the verbs (being German, learning Spanish). In a dialog, I always struggle with words and the fact, that I know the grammar rules to build the correct forms, doesn't help while talking. Oh boy... . Thanks!
a pleasant talk.
Thank you very much
Which language and what do you mean my daily conversation? In English I would am for 8- 0,000 words. The most important thing is to enjoy the language, to listen to and read things of interest. The rest will take care of itself.
I have been learning Japanese for 5 weeks and I already feel this is true. I study a few words or short sentences, but not for too long, and then move onto another topic or watch some CZcams language videos. Then I read them again a few days later and they start to feel familiar and after doing this a few times I can remember quite a lot of them now pretty well. I feel like the harder I try to force myself to remember things, the more likely I am to forget.
hows your japanese today?
@Iceland1944 We can enjoy the language passively too.
I agree with you 100%. I can read classical Arabic poetry, understand words in diverse Arabic dialects etc. but, I can't actively use those words. Still, I don't hesitate to say that I have a wide vocabulary in Arabic. Sometimes, when say in Iraqi friend uses an Egyptian or Palestinian dialect word, I fail to make the word and it's meaning, ie I don't recognize a word that I associate with a particular context when I come accross it outside that context.
Hard to say since I do not study Japanese on LingQ except the odd article. Any word I save has Kanji in it. Do whatever works for you.
What about learning "dead" languages like Ancient Greek or Latin? Any advice? Thanks.
Try an ouija bord
@rsloma71 Yes, yes, enjoyment is the key.
your videos are so interesting !!! I love them !!! ^_^
Which second language did you learnt
great. thank you
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Toujours un plaisir de rencontrer un passionné des langues!
really helpful thanks alot
So which second language you learnt.
very good comments . they help a lot
Well I Think it really depends on your level of whatever language you are learning. I am probably an intermediate-advance in Japanese so i have a great understanding of the foundation of the language so all i need is to build my vocabulary. I have about 4 methods i study a day and one of them is i take a song in Japanese and take all the vocabulary i don't know and put it into my anki flashcard program. This has greatly helped me even though all the words are not useful for me as of yet.
Ultimately what these declensions are good for... They allow one to express stuff with fewer words. E.g. compared to English, using the right declension saves you an extra "with", "by", "through", "via", "using" etc. that you would need in English in order to successfully convey the meaning. You can also skip the subject (I, he, she, they, we etc.) in a sentence in many cases because the verb's declension expresses it already.
Steve, could you make (or have you made) a video pertaining to learning languages and time management.
Very encouraging! In order to speed up the process, how often do you need to remind yourself of a word?
I'd say, both Neil and you are right, if a word can be used at will and/or be understood in a context, then it is mastered (which in a way makes the passive vocabulary grow).
Besides, what you say from 6:00 is obvious, when some word/expression makes sense to you, since you heard/read/heard it, then you can use it without doubt.
Thanks anyway for your video.
Learn unconsciously in context ,thanks steve
Totally agree with what you said here but as someone who teaches ESL in a foreign country I find many of the students here, primary and in particular secondary school students, have a huge passive vocabulary however, they never push on and reach the stage of being able to use those words or grammar structures actively.
Passive vocab is super important when talking to natives.. they'll forgive you mangling words but they won't persist if you don't understand them.
Thank u iam arabic and trying to be fluent in English ŰŽÙ۱ۧ ÙÙÙ
Estuve buscando tĂ©cnicas de mnemotecnia y trucos para aprender rĂĄpidamente nuevas lenguas pero este consejo es nuevo para mi: 1Âș aprender vocabulario pasivo, no activo. ÂĄGran consejo!
MrDionaea Hay que buscar contenidos interesantes y gozar del idioma. Las palabras se aprenden naturalmente.