Improve Your Vocabulary: Part 1
2024-05-18
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we talk about how you can improve your vocabulary.
2Many VOA Learning English fans write to us with this question: What is the best way to improve my vocabulary?
3This is a good question, VOA fans.
4Many learners think the best way to improve their vocabulary is to learn the definition of many words.
5But this is not necessarily the best way to improve.
6The best way is to fully know a word.
7To know a word, we must know its form, meaning, and usage.
8Today let's talk about the form of a word. In the coming weeks, we will talk about meaning and usage.
9The form of a word can relate to how it sounds, is written and what its parts are.
10Knowing the sounds of a word includes recognizing it when it is spoken and being able to say it correctly.
11This includes the individual sounds and also how the sounds may change when people are saying the word quickly. For example,
12It's nice to meet you.
13When some people say this sentence at a natural speed, they might make a /ch/ sound at the end of the word "meet" and the beginning of the word "you" although the words' spellings do not suggest this.
14This sound change does not affect the meaning of the words.
15But it might cause you trouble when you are trying to understand the sentence.
16In English, stress is important to the sound of a word, and it can even decide whether a word is a noun or a verb.
17For example, the word spelled r-e-c-o-r-d can be thought of as two words.
18When we stress the first part of the word, RE-cord, it is a noun.
19When we stress the second part of the word, re-CORD, it is a verb.
20What appears to be one word is really two parts of speech.
21This is part of knowing what form a word takes.
22The form of a word also involves its parts.
23It is important to recognize the root word in addition to prefixes or suffixes.
24These are added beginnings or endings, which change the meaning of the word's root.
25For example, knowing that the word "addition" includes recognizing the verb "to add" plus the suffix -t-i-o-n, which suggests a state or an action.
26Knowing the word "untrue" includes recognizing the base word "true" and the prefix -un, which means "not."
27When we look at English words in this way, we can see that our vocabulary expands by understanding a word's form.
28As we saw in the word "record," the same word can work as two parts of speech.
29VOA fans, the best way to improve your vocabulary is to really "know a word," its form, meaning, and usage, not just a definition.
30Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
31And that's Ask a Teacher.
32I'm Gena Bennett.
1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we talk about how you can improve your vocabulary. 2Question 3Many VOA Learning English fans write to us with this question: What is the best way to improve my vocabulary? 4Answer 5This is a good question, VOA fans. 6Many learners think the best way to improve their vocabulary is to learn the definition of many words. But this is not necessarily the best way to improve. The best way is to fully know a word. 7To know a word, we must know its form, meaning, and usage. Today let's talk about the form of a word. In the coming weeks, we will talk about meaning and usage. 8The form of a word can relate to how it sounds, is written and what its parts are. Knowing the sounds of a word includes recognizing it when it is spoken and being able to say it correctly. This includes the individual sounds and also how the sounds may change when people are saying the word quickly. For example, 9It's nice to meet you. 10When some people say this sentence at a natural speed, they might make a /ch/ sound at the end of the word "meet" and the beginning of the word "you" although the words' spellings do not suggest this. 11This sound change does not affect the meaning of the words. But it might cause you trouble when you are trying to understand the sentence. 12In English, stress is important to the sound of a word, and it can even decide whether a word is a noun or a verb. 13For example, the word spelled r-e-c-o-r-d can be thought of as two words. When we stress the first part of the word, RE-cord, it is a noun. When we stress the second part of the word, re-CORD, it is a verb. What appears to be one word is really two parts of speech. This is part of knowing what form a word takes. 14The form of a word also involves its parts. It is important to recognize the root word in addition to prefixes or suffixes. These are added beginnings or endings, which change the meaning of the word's root. 15For example, knowing that the word "addition" includes recognizing the verb "to add" plus the suffix -t-i-o-n, which suggests a state or an action. Knowing the word "untrue" includes recognizing the base word "true" and the prefix -un, which means "not." 16When we look at English words in this way, we can see that our vocabulary expands by understanding a word's form. 17As we saw in the word "record," the same word can work as two parts of speech. 18VOA fans, the best way to improve your vocabulary is to really "know a word," its form, meaning, and usage, not just a definition. 19Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com. 20And that's Ask a Teacher. 21I'm Gena Bennett. 22Yaroslav Khrokalo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 23__________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25vocabulary -n. all the words a particular person knows 26stress -n. giving attention to one part of a word when speaking it 27prefix -n. a group of letters appearing at the beginning of a word that changes the word's meaning 28suffix -n. a group of letters appearing at the end of a word that changes the word's meaning